FS47 Facilitators and the Sustainable Development Goals with Tanya Nash

Facilitation Stories

In this episode Nikki talks to Tanya Nash. Tanya is the Founder of Future Clarity. She is a facilitator, coach, trainer and researcher and works with people in the sustainability field or organisations looking to make sustainability one of their core organising principles.

Tanya is also one of the hosts of the IAF Wales and Cardiff meetup. Her and Nikki reflect on a discussion that took place at one of these meetups, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 17 SDGs form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a commitment made by the United Nations in 2015 to Peace and Prosperity for People and Planet. Tanya highlights in particular the 16th - focusing on peace, justice and strong institutions - and the 17th - recognising that none of the goals can be achieved without working in partnership. They are a common set of goals that all countries which have committed to them can work towards and measure themselves against.

Tanya explains the significance of the SDGs in Wales where Sustainable Development is the central organising principle at the core of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act for Welsh Public Bodies It’s the only Act in the World that legislates for the SDGs and they inform 7 Wellbeing Goals for Wales.

Nikki wants to know how the SDGs feature in Tanya’s work. A few years ago she was seconded to work for the Welsh Government coordinating the Voluntary National Review of Progress Towards the SDGs. Through this she worked cross sector and got to understand more about the work happening in Wales. Now in her own work Tanya focuses on supporting people and organisations to make a difference towards the SDGs.

Common opportunities to contribute include decarbonisation and climate change and efforts to make positive impact on poverty, gender issues, discrimination and inequality.

Nikki and Tanya think back to some of the ideas that came up in the Meetup discussion about ways facilitators could include the SDGs in their work. Suggestions included using the goals in how we describe ourselves, mentioning them on our websites or considering how they connect with our personal values. We have an opportunity to raise awareness of the SDGs, promote what they are and what they are trying to achieve.

The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) is a newer framework, developed in recognition that it’s not just institutional and structural goals that we need, but that within organisations people need a framework of transformative skills to work towards the SDGs. The IDGs include 5 Dimensions seen to be important in allowing us to work together towards the SDGs. These are: Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating, and Acting. The Framework allows individuals and organisations to consider what they need to do to maximise their contribution towards the SDGs.

Tanya is hearing a lot of conversations within facilitation and coaching spaces about how practitioners are integrating the IDGs in their theories of change and also using them to reflect on their own work and the areas they need to grow and develop. Tanya is also seeing them come up at organisational level in terms of values and ways of working.

Tanya is building the IDGs into programmes she’s developing and as a conversation starter with clients around the human side of the SDGs. She’s also reflecting on them herself and how they relate to her business planning.

The episode ends with a discussion on how the IAF could link the SDGs more strongly to its work. Tanya feels they could be used as a framework to consider behaviours as an association; or mapping work being done at an organisational level towards the SDGs and IDGs and showing a public commitment to them, as is happening in other professions.

Actions could include thinking about the IDGs and their role in building facilitators’ skills to have an impact on the goals, as well as considering who the IAF is collaborating with, and how this could build a movement to support the SDGs. Finally,as an international network the IAF could think about the potential positive and negative difference it could make towards the SDGs.

If this episode left you wanting to find out more you can look up the Sustainable Development Goals and Inner Development Goals following these links:

SDGs

IDGs

To discover the IAF meetups (and join us!) head over to https://www.meetup.com/IAF-facilitators-and-friends/ Connect with Tanya through LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-nash-7576b837/

And today's host Nikki : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolawilson2/ And let us know what you think over at facilitationstories.com