Role: Workshop Designer & Lead Facilitator—commissioned by the Executive Team (ET)
Client: a global health organization
Scope: Senior leaders from across multiple departments
Language: English
Tools & Approaches: Shared vision exercise · Social contract · Gallery walks · Perspective-taking activities · SWOT analysis · Priority voting · Detailed action planning
Commissioned directly by the CEO, I designed and facilitated a high-stakes multi-day strategic alignment workshop for senior leaders from across the organization. This was a cross-departmental group navigating a period of significant misalignment, which was creating bottlenecks and friction in day-to-day operations. The assignment carried enough weight that a member of the executive team was present throughout, on hand to lend support and answer questions as they arose.
My interaction design approach—drawing on systems thinking and principles from complexity science (to work with emergent group dynamics) and human-centered design (to keep participants and their perspectives at the center)—focused on intentionally structuring conversations and energy flows to first surface shared goals, then open safe channels for voicing perspectives and building empathy. Incorporating the Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing model, I designed it deliberately to surface and work through tensions rather than smooth them over. Activities included participatory visioning, gallery walks, voting, consensus-building, and a detailed action plan with assigned ownership and deadlines.
Every element of the interaction was purposeful—environment shifts (formal to collaborative to informal settings), physical movement to sustain energy, and hands-on dialogue tools (sticky notes, flipcharts) instead of slide-heavy passive presentations—all in service of keeping participants actively engaged and shifting group dynamics in real time.
The workshop was a significant success. By the end, participants who had arrived feeling misaligned were engaging openly and collegially, a shift that was visible in real time. I received a performance bonus in recognition of my contribution.
Role: Bilingual Facilitator and Learning Materials Developer (French language sessions) — Learning & Development Specialist, Centre for International Training and Development (CIDT), University of Wolverhampton
Client: University of Wolverhampton / EU and UK-funded IFG Program
Scope: Multiple annual cohorts of civil society and NGO representatives from Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Location: Telford, England
Languages: English, French & Spanish (simultaneous interpretation across all three)
Dates: Annually from 2010 to 2014
Tools & Approaches: Participatory Facilitation Techniques (Gallery Walk, etc.) · Peer Exchange · Group Work
Each year, representatives from civil society groups and regional networks working to improve forest governance (IFG) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America convened at the University of Wolverhampton for an intensive six-week residential program. As the French-language facilitator, I adapted and led sessions on Results-Based Management (RBM) and the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) for Francophone participants, alongside Anglophone and Spanish-speaking facilitators delivering parallel sessions with live interpretation across all three languages.
The program was deliberately designed around learning by doing. Rather than teaching RBM and LFA as abstract frameworks, I structured sessions so that participants immediately applied concepts to their own organizational priorities. Each module moved from core principles to hands-on group work, where participants developed real project concepts and translated them into full logical frameworks. Peer exchange across regions was embedded throughout, with participants testing assumptions, refining indicators, and strengthening causal logic through iterative feedback.
This approach aligned with a Kirkpatrick Level 3–4 focus, emphasizing not only knowledge acquisition but also the ability to apply skills in practice and generate tangible outputs. By the end of the program, each group had produced a draft project logframe that they could transform into a full proposal for donor submission. More importantly, participants left with the confidence and practical experience to replicate these approaches within their own organizations, strengthening results-based planning and implementation beyond the training itself.
"In her 3.5 years with us at CIDT, [Kim] continually impressed with her meticulous approach and very high standards of delivery and organization to clients. Her skills in training program design and delivery, workshop development, and facilitation are particularly impressive."
~ Ella Haruna, Head of the Centre for International Development and Training (CIDT) at the University of Wolverhampton
Role: Bilingual Workshop Designer & Facilitator — Centre for International Training and Development (CIDT), University of Wolverhampton
Client: World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Enhanced Integration Framework (EIF)
Scope: Diverse stakeholders from government, private sector, civil society and development partners
Location: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Senegal
Languages: English and French
Dates: Six 4-day workshops between 2010 and 2016
Tools & Approaches: Project design/LogFrames · Group work · Problem & Objective Trees · Stakeholder Analysis
Across several years and five countries, I designed and facilitated six intensive 4-day "results-based project design" workshops for diverse stakeholders including government ministries, private sector representatives, civil society organizations, and development partners within the commerce and trade sectors in five countries. As the only facilitator, I handled both the organization and facilitation of the workshops, including logistics and note-taking.
Working in both English and French, I liaised closely with stakeholders to understand their expectations and the participants' needs, translated and adapted the training materials to each context, then led participants through a learning-by-doing process whereby they didn't just learn the techniques and principles in theory — they applied them in real time to design actual projects and draft proposals for international donors including WTO, EIF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UK's international development agency (then-DfID). All workshops resulted in concrete, fundable project proposals submitted to donors.
Role: Co-Designer and Co-Facilitator — Senior Consultant with the Centre for International Development & Training (CIDT)
Client: African Union Commission (AUC)
Scope: 19 female senior leaders and middle management from across the AUC
Location: Arusha, Tanzania (AUC headquarters)
Language: English
Dates: Two five-day workshops in March and May 2018
Tools & Approaches: Participatory facilitation · Reflective exercises · Leadership style tests · Role plays · Case studies · Open Space Technology · Group work · Personal action planning
Unlike a typical skills-based training, this leadership development program was deliberately designed to go deeper — focusing as much on mindset, self-awareness, and attitude as on practical tools. Working in close partnership with CIDT's then-Deputy Head, I co-designed all materials from scratch and co-facilitated two five-day residential cohorts across five modules: Gender in the Workplace, Leadership Identity, Voice and Influence, Institutional Power and Politics, and Taking It Forward.
We created a space where participants could examine their own relationship with leadership, confront internal and structural barriers, and leave feeling genuinely more confident and empowered. Sessions drew on a rich mix of reflective exercises, role plays, case studies, Open Space Technology, and peer exchange — always grounded in participants' own lived experiences as women navigating leadership in complex institutional environments. Each participant left with a personal action plan.
"I have previously attended a number of trainings on leadership, but none has ever spoken so directly to me like the CIDT 'Women in Leadership.'
Now I can lead!"
~ Makopi Tihomola, program participant
"The workshop was really informative, educative and practical. The faciliators...had the perfect mix of theory and practice. I can now stand tall as a woman leader and lift my game, serving as a change agent and champion for women and girls."
~ Olushola Olayide, program participant
"The training was a truly awakening moment, from a point of giving up to feeling there is still hope."
~ Mmatalenta Maphosa, program participant
Role: Workshop Designer & Lead Facilitator — initially as an FHI 360 staff member, then as a freelance consultant
Client: FHI 360 (Family Health International)
Scope: Country office staff, regional and headquarters representatives
Locations: Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia
Languages: English and French
Dates: Three workshops in 2012 and 2013
Tools & Approaches: Participatory facilitation · SWOT analysis · Pair & Group Work · Dot Voting · Action planning
Across Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia, I designed and facilitated participatory country strategic planning processes for FHI 360 — bringing together country office staff alongside regional and headquarters representatives to develop the strategies they would actually implement.
As part of a global working group, I helped shape the strategic planning framework, curriculum, and workshop materials, then facilitated a three-day session in each country to collectively analyze the landscape, build consensus on the vision and priorities, and develop strategies and action plans. In Senegal, I worked in French; in Zambia, in English; and in Rwanda, in both languages.
The goal in each context was the same: a strategy that people owned rather than received. That meant creating space for brainstorming while also guiding groups through the harder work — sorting competing priorities, surfacing disagreements, and landing on decisions everyone could get behind.
"Kimberly is a top-notch professional. She provided expert support in finalizing the country strategy for FHI 360 in Zambia. During the process, Kimberly displayed excellent facilitation skills. She is a strategic thinker, pays close attention to the details, and is a pleasure to work with."
~ Mike Welsh, former FHI 360/Zambia Country Director
Role: Team Lead and Lead Facilitator — Senior Technical Director for Local Capacity Strengthening (LCS)
Client: Management Sciences for Health (MSH)
Scope: 7 senior staff, members of the new LCS Practice Area team
Location: Arlington, VA
Language: English
Dates: February 2024
Tools & Approaches: MBTI · Visioning · Brainstorming/Sticky Notes · Various Liberating Structures & Structured Facilitation Activities · Conceptual Framework Development · Escape Room for Team-Building
When the Local Capacity Strengthening (LCS) Practice Area launched at MSH, its newly assembled global team of seven had never been in the same room. I designed and led a five-day, in-person retreat that served as the team's founding moment—part strategy session, part team-building, and part organizational design.
As both practice area lead and lead facilitator, I designed the overall agenda and my own sessions, coordinated with teammates who each led or co-led sessions, and provided facilitation coaching along the way. Pre-work included an MBTI personality assessment, whose results we explored together on Day 1 to build self-awareness and shared understanding across the team. Sessions drew on a variety of participatory facilitation techniques and liberating structures to keep the group engaged and the work generative.
By the end of the week, we had a draft LCS conceptual framework, a shared vision statement, and a strategic roadmap of priorities for the year ahead—built collectively so that everyone had a hand in shaping the direction they'd be working toward. Evenings included a team dinner, a staff happy hour, and an escape room, all intentional investments in the relationships that make a team actually function.
Group Work
Brainstorming with Sticky Notes
"Talking Stick" Activity
Plenary Discussion
Role Plays
Art-based Visioning
Airplane Metaphor Exercise
Conceptual Framework Design
Role: Workshop Designer, Moderator, and Session Facilitator — Portfolio Director, Southern Africa
Client: FHI 360 East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO)
Scope: Country Representatives and Project Directors from the ESA region
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Language: English
Dates: June 2022
Tools & Approaches: Hybrid (F2F & Virtual) Facilitation · Panel discussions · Plenary Presentations & Dialogue · Group Work · Case Studies · Guided Visualization · Art-based Visioning Exercise · Peer Voting/Participant Awards
Each year, FHI 360 convened its East and Southern Africa (ESA) country leaders for an intensive week of orientation, upskilling, and peer exchange. The 2022 event brought together 17 project directors and country representatives — 10 of them newly appointed — alongside virtual contributors from headquarters (HQ) spanning multiple time zones.
I developed the full five-day agenda, balancing the competing demands of many departments that each wanted airtime, and managed the hybrid logistics that allowed both in-person and virtual facilitators to participate. On content, I wore several hats: designing and facilitating my own sessions, co-facilitating others, and moderating a panel discussion.
A pre-workshop needs assessment (via a Microsoft Forms survey) informed the final program design, ensuring that sessions directly addressed the priorities participants had identified: navigating matrix management; advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in complex country contexts; building business development confidence; and understanding what locally led development (LLD) would mean in practice for their roles.
My sessions spanned the week's thematic arc—from organizational structure and matrix management on Day 1, to DEI and inclusive language on Day 2, to moderating panels on localization and business development on Day 3, to a guided visioning exercise on Day 5 in which participants imagined themselves as fully empowered leaders in a fully localized context, then identified the concrete support they needed to get there. I also designed the participant award certificates—voted on by peers at the close of the workshop—as a lighthearted way to end an intense week.
PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
In the post-workshop survey, 46% of respondents gave a perfect score (5/5) for achievement of overall objectives; and 54% gave it a 4/5.
What participants most appreciated:
The participatory, multi-method approach to session delivery;
Open discussion formats and space for genuine exchange;
The participant awards ceremony as a lighthearted close to an intense week; and
The range of facilitators and panelists, including HQ representation.
"Well done to all the organizers. Kim Kane played a critical role."
~ participant (FHI 360 staff)
"This was very well organized and facilitated. It was spectacular, I thought! Congrats, Kim! A lot of work went into this. This is certainly one of your areas of expertise."
~ participant (FHI 360 staff)
"This was a superbly well thought through package, with excellent delivery."
~ participant (FHI 360 staff)
Interactive Exercises with Sticky Notes
Small Group Work
Discussions with both in-person and virtual panelists
Hybrid Participation & Facilitation
"Talking Stick" Activity
Case Study Analysis
Role: Co-Facilitator and Process Designer — Senior Consultant with CIDT, University of Wolverhampton
Client: Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Scope: ~25 AGRA staff (from Kenya and Ghana offices)
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Language: English
Dates: Two workshops in March - June 2015
Tools & Approaches: Participatory Stakeholder Analysis & Typology Mapping · Problem & Objectives Trees · Carousel Exercise · Drop-Add-Keep-Improve Activity · Dot & Card Voting · Plenary Dialogue · Group Work
This multi-phase consultancy supported AGRA—a pan-African agricultural alliance—in auditing its existing partnerships, mapping future influencers, and co-designing a stakeholder engagement strategy aligned to its corporate refresh. Extensive pre-work informed the workshop design: a literature review, a desk study of 133 past and present partners, online surveys of AGRA staff and external stakeholders, and face-to-face interviews across eight countries. Rather than delivering findings to participants as a finished product, I designed the workshops so that this data was presented back to staff as a catalyst for reflection and debate, ensuring the strategy emerged from their collective analysis, not just ours.
Along with CIDT's Deputy Head, I co-facilitated two participatory workshops in Kenya. The first (2.5 days) guided ~25 staff through a structured, cumulative process—building from foundational concepts to honest examination of AGRA's reputational risks before moving into stakeholder prioritization and analysis. Techniques included carousel exercises, problem trees, theory of change mapping, and a reputational continuum to surface difficult conversations productively.
The second workshop (2 days) brought staff back together to validate preliminary findings, refine guiding principles, analyze strategic and influencer partnership opportunities, and develop a concrete roadmap for action—with sessions led by different members of the facilitation team depending on content area. The result was a strategy built on real data and genuine organizational buy-in.