Application Deadline: January 26, 2024

The Connecticut Office of the Arts in partnership with the AIR Collaborative is offering a training program for individuals who will serve as facilitators to advance creative community solutions.

CT AIR Facilitators will work as a cohort under the auspices of the CT Office of the Arts to facilitate workshops across the state that are community-driven and that focus on helping municipalities build their local creative economy using the AIR program strategy to achieve their goals. Learn more about the AIR Collaborative method at Air Collaborative – Thriving Creative Communities.

CT AIR Facilitators:

• Will receive training at no charge and receive a stipend to participate.
• Must commit to facilitating a minimum number of workshops each year.
• Will work in communities as independent contractors.
• Must have flexible schedules that can accommodate workshops based on community need.
• Will be compensated for their work as AIR facilitators when working under the direction of the CT Office of the Arts and the Air Collaborative.
  • Are not prohibited from providing AIR facilitation on a volunteer basis for communities (service without pay).

ELIGIBILITY

The program is open to arts and non-arts professionals who are committed to creative and collaborative work with communities throughout Connecticut.

Applicants must:

• Be a full-time resident of Connecticut at the time of application.
• Attend pre-training virtual workshop(s) in February.
• Be able to attend the three-day in-person training in February.

Make a three-year commitment to the program.

TRAINING

The AIR Certified Facilitator Training for Connecticut participants will be held in-person and in either the Hartford or New Haven area.

Online Training using Zoom

• Tuesday, February 13th from 2:00 – 5:00pm
• Thursday, February 15th from 2:00 – 5:00pm

In-Person Training (Location TBD)

• Monday, February 26th from 12:00pm – 5:00pm
• Tuesday, February 27th from 8:30am – 5:30pm
• Wednesday, February 28th from 9:30am – 12:30pm

The AIR Certified Facilitator Training opportunity will include a stipend of $750 for participant who engage in the full training. Participants will also receive printed resource materials provided during the training.

What Does Certified Facilitator Training Look Like?

The AIR Collaborative provides a 30-hour Certified Facilitator Training that prepares participants to deliver Engage and Shift Workshops. Once certified, additional training can prepare AIR facilitators to deliver the Evolve Program.

The trainings focus on mastering:

• Presentation of AIR materials
• Facilitation of collaborative teams
• Coaching individuals for future success

AIR programs were designed using adult learning best practices so the workshops are extremely interactive and focused on skill building, rather than listening to talking heads. Facilitators help ensure that the participants practice and gain self-efficacy in collaboration, listening, design thinking, and business planning.

The AIR program uses facilitation skills that empower workshop participants to learn by doing with a team. AIR facilitators are trained to not “give the answer” to the teams they are facilitating. Instead, they empower the participants to discover the answer together. Excellent facilitators learn to balance their desire to help others, with the knowledge that people learn best when they discover the answers themselves.

Facilitators are also trained to provide a fifteen-minute coaching session for the participants on their team. Facilitators learn to help participants identify what they are trying to change in their lives and careers and some next steps that will lead them toward those goals.

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be submitted through the Air Collaborative application portal. Learn more at Connecticut – Air Collaborative

Application Deadline: January 26, 2024

Notification: February 2, 2024