Creative Waco is the Affiliate of the AIR Institute serving Waco and other small cities and towns across Texas. Creative Waco will host AIR Certified Facilitator Training and monthly meetings to keep facilitators up to date on content and to help communities host workshops and programs. Several Creative Waco staff are Certified Facilitators and several grant programs are aligned with AIR programs so that communities can apply for funding to host workshops, implement projects, and support new ventures. We hope that beyond Waco, every rural Texas community that wants to focus on building their local creative economy will use the AIR programs to achieve their goals.

In 2022 Certified Facilitator Training will take place virtually and in-person in March.

Creative Waco is providing AIR Certified Facilitator training at no cost to the accepted participants. Meals and printed materials will be provided during the training. Creative Waco may require facilitators to commit to facilitating a minimum number of workshops each year. Many Texas Facilitators may provide AIR Facilitation to communities as part of their job, and will not charge a fee for their services. We will also train talented people who are independent contractors. Communities that hire AIR facilitators for their workshops will pay $1000 plus any travel or lodging required for facilitation of a Shift Workshop.

AIR Facilitators are the heart of the our programs. They provide a personal connection and give participants confidence that they can learn, connect, change and succeed.

Our facilitators share an important philosophy – they are committed to helping participants discover answers and devise solutions for their community on their own. Our facilitators help with managing the collaborative process but are trained to not give answers so that participants truly learn and practice collaboration, consensus building, design thinking and business planning.

It is an acquired skill to learn to facilitate without teaching or leading or providing an “answer.” All of our facilitators work hard to master this skill and to share tools with participants so that communities have more people ready to be open for a truly local, collaborative process and creative ecosystem.

Facilitators must know the ABBBA and Shift Workshop curriculum inside and out, be friendly but firm, open and engaging. To be AIR Certified, trainees must:

• Attend all AIR Certified Facilitator training sessions.
• Achieve 70% score on the AIR Certified Facilitator Test
• Attend 30 minute meeting with AIR staff to establish benchmarks for success, using the established AIR rubrics.
• Participate in monthly Facilitator meetings
• Attend training refreshment sessions when there are curriculum updates or technology changes

To Deliver Workshops:

• Participate in pre-workshop planning sessions for each ABBBA and/or Shift Workshop contracted to facilitate.
• Attend entire workshop.
• Serve as facilitator for a group of up to 9 participants.
• Present sections of the workshop curriculum to the full participant group.
• Provide 15 minute one on one coaching sessions for up to 9 participants.
• Participate in workshop debriefs for each Shift workshop contracted to facilitate. 

For more information contact:
Fiona Bond
Creative Waco
(254) 300-8677
Email AIR@CreativeWaco.org

The AIR Institute provides a 30-hour Certified Facilitator Training that prepares participants to deliver ABBBA and Shift Workshops. Once certified, additional training can prepare AIR facilitators to deliver the Evolve Program.

The trainings focus on mastering:

• Presentation of AIR materials
• Facilitation of collaborative teams
• Coaching individuals for future success

AIR programs were designed using adult learning best practices so the workshops are very interactive and focused on doing skill building, rather than listening to talking heads. Facilitators help ensure that the participants practice and gain self efficacy in collaboration, listening, design thinking, and business planning.

The AIR programs use facilitation skills that empower workshop participants to learn by doing with a team. AIR facilitators are trained to not “give the answer” to the teams they are facilitating. Instead, they empower the participants to discover the answer together. Excellent facilitators learn to balance their desire to help others, with the knowledge that people learn best when they discover the answers themselves.

Facilitators are also trained to provide a fifteen minute coaching session for the participants on their team. Facilitators learn to help participants identify what they are trying to change in their lives and careers and some next steps that will lead them toward those goals.

AIR Certified Facilitators are important to Waco. This is a competitive process that seeks to train a cohort of people from diverse backgrounds. Stipends for the training sessions are available for those who need them to offset work or childcare. Contact Creative Waco for details.

Submit your application below by February 17, 2022: