U.S. Department
of Justice
Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict
Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict (FMACC) is a one-day training program designed to educate community leaders in the fundamentals of facilitating meetings where community tension requires difficult conversations. The program provides community leaders with the skills and tools to successfully facilitate meetings in their communities.
Training Goals
- Train community leaders to prepare for, facilitate, and follow up after meetings
- Educate community leaders on the fundamentals of conflict resolution
- Practice the skills needed to successfully facilitate meetings that help groups to resolve conflict
Training Overview
- Enhance community leaders’ effectiveness as meeting facilitators
- Expand community leaders’ listening and observation skills to help them understand the varying perspectives of community members
- Provide community leaders with tools, helpful tips, and resources to prepare for, conduct, and follow up after meetings designed to help resolve community conflict
Case Highlights
CRS piloted the newly developed Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict (FMACC) training program in February 2020 for Loudoun County, Virginia, community leaders. Through FMACC, CRS teaches community leaders the fundamentals of successfully facilitating meetings where community tension requires difficult conversations, including tools, helpful tips, and resources to prepare for, conduct, and follow up after the meetings.
In the fall of 2019, the Loudoun County branch of the NAACP requested CRS services to address community concerns about perceived racial bias in history classes in local schools and procedures for selection to attend the Academies of Loudoun, a public Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-focused high school, as well as incidents of Ku Klux Klan flyers anonymously distributed in communities in the county. Community members expressed concerns about the language used in public school textbooks and the perceived racial undertones of the curriculum’s interpretation of historical events. At the same time, reports circulated of the Ku Klux Klan’s active pursuit of members in some parts of the country. Given the broad range of community needs, in consultation with CRS, the Loudoun County NAACP branch requested that CRS conduct the FMACC training for a group of county community leaders to help build capacity across local organizations to address these concerns.
CRS conducted the program for 16 participants, including local religious leaders, educators, and community leaders. The training program uses skill-building exercises and scenarios to help participants practice the skills needed to successfully facilitate dialogues and encourage positive change in their community. The training also provides the opportunity for these leaders to share their knowledge related to facilitating groups, managing conflict, and exercising community leadership and discusses how they can collaborate in their communities to address sources of conflict and tension.
All participants agreed that the training was valuable and provided additional tools for tackling issues of conflict in their communities. CRS is currently modifying the program so it can be conducted virtually, as well as in person, beginning in early Fiscal Year 2022.