Making it easy to start
For conversations to be possible everywhere an easy to begin, highly scalable process is required but also as simple an organisational structure as possible. The website should make it easy for a group to begin independently anywhere by anyone. Thinking Box is very much about meeting face to face but we hope that the online community of facilitators and organisers can provide community of support for each other. We also hope that this collaborative community can support the provision of any centralised resources required.
100% volunteer run
We have decided that we would like to only spend any donations on practical items or software and infrastructure support systems that currently require funding (website space and meetup fees are the main ones). We therefore would prefer it if all personal time spent is voluntary. We hope this will strengthen the connection of all volunteers with one another and with the value they are providing to others.
Cultivating high standards and preserving integrity
All hosts and facilitators are required to take part in facilitator training. This will be in phases at the beginning of a group starting or a facilitator running sessions. All facilitators will also be able to benefit from regular practice at hosting groups, initial online and face to face training, ongoing continual professional development (CPD) and being a member of a network of Thinking Box facilitators sharing best practice.
Facilitator development and advanced accreditation
Our basic programmes are designed to be relatively easy to run. While facilitation is an acquired skill that requires practice to improve, we design TB sessions for facilitators to be able to deliver value to guests with minimal experience. We expect that some facilitators will want to use more advanced skills in sessions and we would like the TB community to help us develop the necessary to allow such added value be manifest (while maintaining the TB quality and principles)
Thinking Box session programmes
Only programmes provided centrally can be delivered as TB sessions, these will be provided to registered facilitators only via the Thinking Box website facilitator area. Our aim is to create the best programmes (with community support) to save individual facilitators creating them individually.
Programme development
At the moment all programmes are developed centrally. We like to source the latest and best video content and so we encourage suggestions. Video suggestions can be made via email to paul@thinkingbox.info. The aim is to create a varied and balanced programme steered by the Thinking Box community of facilitators. We also welcome facilitators creating sample programmes and submitting them for review and re-distribution. We hope that we can cultivate programmes by the community for the community.
Funding
All TB groups are self financing and run strictly at cost only. Many TB groups will have very low or no overheads for example if they already have facilities and equipment in-house (eg a workplace, home or place of learning). Where venue and equipment must be sourced and paid for these should be funded by the participants of each group. Room and equipment hire costs can be covered by a small attendance fee. We encourage the community to share good sources of equipment and venues.
All centralised fuctions will be funded by website donations only. No donations will be used to pay individuals, we are 100% volunteer run. Central overheads include website costs, meetup subscription fees and supporting software.