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Certification · 2 modules · 4 days

Co-creation Facilitator Training

Build the capability to run co-creation workshops — and become a certified facilitator.

In short

Co-creation Facilitator Training is a four-day certification program, delivered in two modules, that equips managers, developers and change agents to facilitate co-creation workshops using the Clarify–Ideate–Solution framework derived from the Creative Problem Solving process.

Duration
4 days across 2 modules
Format
Public course · In-company · Certification track
Group size
Max 25 participants
Who it is for
Those facilitating co-creation in product, service or business development, and anyone helping an organization clarify present or future challenges and create new solutions

About this program

This is a tools training for creating a co-creation culture. Imagine the people in your organization energised to develop your ways of working, to spot new opportunities when visiting customers, or to carry through the changes your organization needs. What would that mean for your co-creation capability — and how much potential is still unreleased?

People are the best resource an organization has for becoming more co-creative. This program gives managers, developers and change agents concrete tools to raise participation and make better use of that resource.

Clarify, Ideate, Solution — a framework with a 50-year track record

When new approaches are needed we use a framework based on the Creative Problem Solving process, first introduced by Alex Osborn in 1953. Three stages: clarify the problem or goal to find the key question; ideate to generate and select ideas; then form solutions by designing and analysing them. It is among the most widely used and most thoroughly researched co-creative thinking models in the world.

What you gain

A practical toolbox

Leave with tools you can run on Monday, not a theory you have to translate first.

Certified capability

Demonstrate you can design and deliver an effective workshop and receive certification for the skill.

Applied to your own work

Throughout the training you practise facilitating and designing processes against real situations.

Program structure

How the modules build on each other.

Module 1 — Co-creation Essentials

2 days

Intensive practical training in the tools of clarifying, ideation and solution forming — plus the most common traps to avoid.

  • Clarifying: WAVE (finding market opportunities), Empathy Map, Force-field Analysis
  • Ideation: Idealogue, Forced Connections, Lateral Thinking
  • Solutions: Open Space Technology, Prototyping, Evaluation
  • Designing your own creative session

Module 2 — Advanced Co-creation

2 days

Advanced group tools for more complex co-creation and change workshops.

  • Clarifying: 5 Whys, Challenge Map, Target Circle
  • Ideation: Gallery Walk, Attribute Listing, Context-shift Brainstorming, Heuristic Questions and Role Play, Picture Cards, Criteria Matrix
  • Solutions: LEGO prototyping, Value Statement, Dots

Tools and techniques

Every tool is demonstrated, practised and debriefed — you leave with a toolbox, not a reading list.

WAVEEmpathy MapForce-field AnalysisIdealogueForced ConnectionsLateral ThinkingOpen Space TechnologyPrototypingEvaluation criteria5 WhysChallenge MapTarget CircleGallery WalkAttribute ListingContext-shift BrainstormingPicture CardsCriteria MatrixLEGO prototypingValue StatementDots

Outline

The shape of the program. Exact sequencing is adapted to the group and the context.

Day 1 — Co-creation theory and tools for clarifying
  • Presentation on facilitating co-creation; the facilitator's role
  • What facilitation is and when to facilitate
  • The co-creation process and its stages, with interactive exercise
  • Clarifying tools: Empathy Map — interviewing the customer, building the map, storytelling
  • Clarifying tools: Force-field Analysis — finding customer pains and gains, setting the co-creation goal
  • Creativity theory: what creativity is, and how to use the whole brain
Day 2 — Ideation and forming solutions
  • Recap
  • Ideation tools: Idealogue — creating shared understanding of ideas
  • Ideation tools: Forced Connections — reaching genuinely creative ideas
  • Solution tools: Open Space Technology — handling many ideas simultaneously
  • Prototyping and value creation; evaluating solutions
  • Designing your own creative session — principles, and how to select tools
  • Key learnings and closing ceremony
Days 3–4 — Advanced module
  • Reviewing co-creation theory and the core clarifying tools
  • 5 Whys — digging deeper or reaching for a higher goal
  • Challenge Map and Target Circle — finding and prioritising the real challenge
  • Advanced ideation: Gallery Walk, Attribute Listing, context-shift methods, Picture Cards
  • Setting criteria and using the Criteria Matrix to select ideas
  • Advanced solutions: LEGO prototyping, Value Statement, Dots
  • Designing and running your own co-creation workshop with feedback

How the learning works

The same learning process runs through every JoyeLearn facilitation program.

Delivered in partnership with Grape People

Grape People is a Finnish company founded in 2003 by a team of facilitation pioneers. It develops organizations through facilitation and participative practice, and has helped hundreds of organizations build consensus and take action. JoyeLearn delivers these programs as an authorised partner.

The CSA Facilitator Certification Program is quality-endorsed by Education Finland, the national education export programme, and its quality has been audited by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (karvi.fi).

Lead trainer Pepe Nummi has facilitated since 1998 and led international and virtual teams since 1990. A co-founder of Grape People and the inaugural chairman of the Finnish Association of Facilitators, he developed the Idealogue method and authored The Handbook on Facilitation, The Handbook of Virtual Facilitation, The Handbook of Facilitative Leadership and Beyond Brainstorming – Idealogue. He has provided facilitation services in over 20 countries and trained more than 10,000 facilitators.

Source: program content on this page is drawn from the official Co-creation Facilitator Training program documentation. Accreditation and trainer credentials are as stated in that documentation. We do not promise specific business outcomes, rankings or certification results — what we commit to is the program content, structure and learning process described above.

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to what people ask before booking a program.

What framework does the program use?

A three-stage framework based on the Creative Problem Solving process first introduced by Alex Osborn in 1953: clarify the problem or goal to find the key question, ideate to create and select ideas, then form solutions by designing and analysing them.

How is this different from Innovation Facilitator Training?

The two programs share the same Clarify–Ideate–Solution framework and much of the toolset. Co-creation Facilitator Training is aimed at those facilitating collaborative development across product, service and business development and organizational challenges; Innovation Facilitator Training is framed around product and business development innovation. If you are unsure which fits your situation, ask us and we will point you to the right one.

Do I become certified?

Yes. After the four-day program you can be certified as a facilitator. The certificate evidences a demonstrated skill — that you can design and effectively deliver a workshop.

How large are the groups?

Maximum 25 participants.

What tools will I be able to use afterwards?

Clarifying tools such as WAVE, Empathy Map and Force-field Analysis; ideation tools including Idealogue, Forced Connections and Lateral Thinking; and solution tools such as Open Space Technology, prototyping and structured evaluation.

Next step

Bring this program to your organization.

Every program runs as a public course, as in-company training tailored to your context, or as part of a longer capability-building track. Tell us the situation you are working with and we will suggest the right format.