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By Dean Summers
 If
you completed the DS 5-Day Facilitator Training, you are certified
to lead your clients and students and associates, your family
and friends, through the Dependable Strengths Articulation
Process. For new facilitators, the only restriction for leading
DSAP is that you must have a prior established connection
with the participants. Level 1 and Level 2 Facilitators are
certified to lead DSAP only for their usual and customary
clients, students, or populations (including family, friends,
and associates). A Level 1 or Level 2 Facilitator may assist,
as co-facilitator, any Trainer or Master Trainer. Trainers
and Master Trainers are free to develop a client base from
among the general public. There are four levels of DS certification.
A description of the certification process is included in
your Facilitator’s Manual, and is available on the DS
Members Only webpage, accessible at www.dependablestrengths.org.
If you are preparing to lead a DSAP experience, you will
want to bear in mind the following:
Number of Participants
It is best to work with participants in multiples of four—so
that each participant gets the full value of peer feedback
that we call the quad experience. It is advisable to limit
the number of participants to eight for each facilitator,
though two experienced facilitators may be able to accommodate
as many as twenty-four participants.
Cost
There is no standard cost for presenting a workshop. The cost
will vary, depending on your resources. You will have to do
your own planning and pricing and calculating, but here are
the items to consider:
Per Workshop
- Transparences (1 set of 36; originals provided in your
Facilitator’s Manual)
- Blank Flipchart Sheets (6-12)
- Marking Pens (2 or 3)
- Refreshments/Meals (if any)
- Equipment (overhead projector, pen for transparencies,
easel for flipchart)
- Facilities
Per Participant
- Copy of Prework (9 pages plus cover letter, envelope
and postage; originals available online, DS Members Only
access at www.dependablestrengths.org)
- Copy of Participant's Workbook (35 pages in a 3-ring
binder; originals provided in your Facilitator’s
Manual)
- Name Tag, Name Plate (tent card), Pencil, Crayons (2
or 3), Blank Paper (2 or 3 sheets)
Fees & Royalties
Remember that you have signed an agreement to send to the
Center for Dependable Strengths 15% of all personal income
generated by your use of the DS process. You are not required
to charge for your services, but you may—and it is generally
advisable on the principle that people tend to value an experience
in terms of dollars and cents. You may set your own fee based
upon your costs, the participants’ ability to pay, and
any organizational guidelines that apply. A fair market value
for an 18-hour DSAP workshop is $250 per person.
Copyright
Remember that your Facilitator’s Manual is protected
by copyright. As a recipient of the Manual, you are free to
copy portions (and you will need to copy portions in order
to make your own set of transparencies and to produce copies
of the Participant’s Workbook), but you are not free
to alter the material, and you must present the material as
material protected by copyright.
Adaptations
New facilitators are advised to adhere to the DS process as
outlined in the Facilitator’s Manual. A lot of wisdom,
gained from years and years of experience, has been packed
into the standard presentation. (See the current and back
issues of DSNews for a wide variety of DSAP experiences.)
Co-Facilitators
It is generally advisable to work with a co-facilitator, but
not required. There are three ways to find a co-facilitator:
- Contact one of the other participants from your Five-Day
Facilitator Training. You have the contact information on
a list you received during the training. If you have misplaced
your list, request the information you need from ds@highline.edu.
- Go to Workshops
& Facilitators here in DSNews, where you will find
listings for DSAP facilitators available for contact.
- Request assistance from the CDS office via ds@highline.edu.
If you want other facilitators to find you, consider a listing
in DSNews under Workshops
& Facilitators.
Level 2 Certification
Be sure to keep a careful record of your work as a DSAP facilitator.
You have already paid your application fee for Level 2 Certification.
It was included in the cost of your Five-Day Training. To
qualify for Level 2 Certification: you must facilitate or
co-facilitate at least two DSAP workshops; one of those workshops
must be the standard 18-hour process; and you must personally
facilitate each step of the standard process at least once.
The guidelines for reporting your work for Level 2 Certification
are available online at www.dependablestrengths.org.
You will need to enter the password in order to access the
DS Members Only webpage.
Password
As a certified DSAP facilitator, you are a member of the Dependable
Strengths community. You received the DS Members Only password
the last day of your Five-Day Training. If you have forgotten
the password, it is available to certified DSAP facilitators
upon request. Send your request by email to ds@highline.edu.
Good Experiences
Every time you facilitate the Dependable Strengths Articulation
Process, you will be adding to your fund of good experiences.
Don’t keep those good experiences to yourself. Tell
the world! Submit your story for publication in DSNews. Most
stories in DSNews are about 500 words in length. Send your
story to ds@highline.edu.
If you can, include (by email attachment) a digital photo
of yourself or photos of the event.
Dean Summers is a DSAP facilitator and
a CDS Project Manager at the Center for Learning Connections,
Highline Community College, Des Moines, Washington. CLC provides
administrative support for the Center for Dependable Strengths.
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