SayProject Design Facilitator Facilitate design workshops (virtually or in-person) with team members.

Certainly! Here’s a detailed explanation of the role and responsibilities of a SayProject Design Facilitator, particularly focused on facilitating design workshops either virtually or in-person with team members:

🧩 SayProject Design Facilitator: Workshop Facilitation Role (Virtual & In-Person)

1. Overview of the Role

A Design Facilitator at SayProject plays a critical role in guiding creative and problem-solving sessions with internal teams. Their responsibility is to plan, structure, and facilitate design workshops that align with SayProject’s goals—whether for product innovation, service design, branding, process improvement, or strategic planning.

The facilitator ensures collaboration, inclusivity, creativity, and focus during sessions, whether conducted virtually or in-person.

2. Core Responsibilities

a. Workshop Planning

• Define the workshop objective: Clarify the purpose—ideation, solution generation, problem framing, user journey mapping, etc.
• Understand the participants: Tailor the format and tools to the team’s background, expertise, and dynamics.
• Design the agenda: Structure time-blocked activities with clear outcomes.
• Prepare materials/tools:
  • For in-person: whiteboards, sticky notes, markers, templates
  • For virtual: tools like Miro, MURAL, Google Jamboard, Zoom, or MS Teams

b. Facilitating the Workshop

• Set expectations: Start with goals, ground rules, and an overview.
• Encourage participation: Create an inclusive environment where all voices are heard.
• Guide activities: Lead teams through structured design exercises such as:
  • Brainstorming
  • Crazy 8s
  • Empathy mapping
  • Journey mapping
  • Dot voting
  • “How Might We” question generation
  • Rapid prototyping
• Manage time and energy: Keep the group on schedule while maintaining engagement.
• Navigate group dynamics: Handle conflicts, dominant voices, or disengagement tactfully.

c. Use Design Thinking Principles

The facilitator applies principles of Design Thinking:

• Empathize – Understand user needs or project challenges.
• Define – Help the group identify clear problem statements.
• Ideate – Foster creative thinking and generate solutions.
• Prototype – Encourage quick, low-fidelity modeling of ideas.
• Test – Capture early feedback or next steps.

d. Post-Workshop Follow-Up

• Synthesize outcomes: Organize and document notes, insights, and decisions.
• Create a summary report or visual map of outputs (PDF, presentation, shared board).
• Recommend next steps: Share action items and assign responsibilities.
• Debrief with stakeholders: Review what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve.

3. Key Skills of a SayProject Design Facilitator

4. Virtual vs In-Person Facilitation

5. Example Workshop Topics Facilitated by SayProject

• Designing a new youth training module
• Mapping the end-to-end user experience for a new community service
• Brainstorming campaign ideas for public engagement
• Aligning stakeholders on a shared vision or mission
• Co-creating innovation solutions with program beneficiaries

6. Measuring Workshop Success

• Participant feedback surveys (rating engagement, clarity, usefulness)
• Tangible outputs (number of ideas generated, clarity of next steps)
• Post-workshop implementation (ideas translated into action)
• Team feedback on facilitation quality and group dynamics

7. Facilitator Toolkit

Digital Tools:

• Miro / MURAL – Virtual whiteboarding
• Zoom / MS Teams – Video conferencing
• Google Suite – Documentation and collaboration
• Mentimeter / Slido – Live polls and engagement

Templates & Resources:

• Workshop brief template
• Agenda builder
• Design Thinking activity guides
• Icebreaker collections
• Feedback form templates

8. Conclusion

The SayProject Design Facilitator plays a pivotal role in shaping creative, structured, and inclusive workshop experiences. By enabling teams to collaborate more effectively and think more creatively—whether remotely or in-person—they help turn abstract ideas into concrete innovations and actions that drive SayProject’s mission forward.