three participants meeting with a facilitator

Facilitated Dialogues

A facilitated dialogue is a structured conversation that brings individuals or groups of people together to engage in productive conversation regarding issues of concern. The process is managed by a trained and impartial facilitator. The facilitator functions as a guide, assisting participants with overcoming communication barriers that may impede the process.

A restorative practice facilitated dialogue is a voluntary process that brings together individuals or community members harmed by wrongdoing, misconduct, injustices, or crime with those responsible for that harm. In a supportive and confidential environment, an individual harmed by another’s actions or inactions can fully express their experience of what occurred and its impact on them. This process creates a context where the responsible party can jointly appreciate the true impact of their actions and participate in generating options for redress.

For the individual who has experienced harm, the ability to dialogue, ask questions, and perhaps witness a meaningful apology or remorse is often a profoundly healing experience. The outcome is a unique process resulting in accountability and restoration that the parties may collectively find healing and empowering. 

We have Fred Van Liew, a highly experienced restorative justice practitioner, and our consultant facilitator, and we are currently in the process of training other facilitators. If you are interested in learning to become a facilitator or in need of one, please let us know of your interest.

What Does a Facilitated Dialogue Look Like? 

Trained Grinnell College restorative practice facilitators typically initiate the process by reaching out confidentially to interested parties with an introduction and explanation of the restorative dialogue process as part of the consultative phase.

Following an explanation of the process, parties are offered an opportunity to discuss the issues of concern with the facilitator. The facilitator may visit separately with all the parties involved in the matter. Once the facilitator is satisfied that the matter is one that benefits from a restorative process, and the parties are comfortable with the idea of a restorative dialogue and wish to proceed, the facilitator determines an appropriate time and venue for all involved to participate in the process, led by the facilitator.

Before embarking on the process, the facilitator offers all parties another opportunity to meet and discuss any issues or questions that may have arisen since the agreement to proceed. Engaging in a restorative dialogue is voluntary and is an informal process.

All participants are required to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to participating in the process. 

The facilitators’ role is to assist the parties in their effort to fully articulate the issues, actions, and consequences in a respectful and productive manner.

Each situation is unique, but typically, guiding values are established at the outset, and participants are encouraged to honor the process through what may be difficult and challenging discussions.

If resolution is reached on the matter/matters, parties are encouraged to sign an agreement detailing what participants have agreed upon for resolution.

In circumstances where no resolution or partial resolution is reached, participants are not precluded from pursuing formal processes of resolution through the relevant offices on campus

Restorative dialogues at Grinnell College may be employed in a variety of situations including individual conflict situations, instances of harm to the larger community in which relationships have been damaged, instances of broken trust, or situations of misconduct.

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