Facilitation

Neutral and empathetic management

We facilitate dialogue without taking sides, valuing every voice.

Inclusion and collective intelligence

Active listening, conflict management, valuing diversity.

International standards

Our facilitators are CPF (Certified Professional Facilitator) accredited, with IAF certification.

For EStà, Living Labs are participatory and facilitated processes that focus on co-creation between different actors in urban food systems, with the aim of strengthening governance and producing systemic change. These are not just one-off events, but processes that promote dialogue, mutual learning and collective ownership, acting as catalysts for open innovation in public policy.
In line with the 2030 Agenda, EStà considers Living Labs as tools for: creating cohesion, encouraging direct participant involvement, legitimising decision-making processes and building shared languages and visions.

Principles and references

1. Explore – identification of a need or research question relevant to sustainability; formulation of a working hypothesis and mapping of stakeholders according to the quadruple helix model (government, civil society, academia, industry).
2. Engage – context analysis and targeted interviews with actors to refine the hypothesis, stakeholder map and expected results.
3. Design – co-designing the workshop: defining the theme, objectives, outcomes, validation with the promoter and taking care of logistical and linguistic aspects.
4. Meet-up – running the workshop, which combines plenary sessions, inspirational moments, networking and group work (divergent, transformative and convergent phases), with final feedback and evaluation.
5. Feedback & Follow-up – drafting of a concise and readable report, which provides feedback on the views and results that emerged, accompanied by recommendations for the next steps.

Concrete applications

This methodology has been applied in different contexts, always adapting it to local specificities:

• Lusaka (Zambia): to launch a Food Desk in the City Council and strengthen the Food Policy Council as a strategic space for dialogue.
• Palermo/Chefchaouen: workshop dedicated to Chefchaouen but hosted in Palermo, focusing on the food-climate nexus and the promotion of the Mediterranean Diet as a lever for sustainable tourism and agroecology.
• Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso): a process aimed at integrating the planning of the Ceinture Verte with the emerging Territorial Food Plan (PAT), including a round table with the main bailleurs to strengthen the financial sustainability of the actions.