Table of Contents

1. MMM Unhinges Modules
2. ToP Network is Evolving
3. August Theme - Environmental Sustainability
4. Member Map
5. Honoring New Members
6. ToP Training Registration Website
7. 2014 Gathering Registration Open
8. All Member Call

Honoring 2013's New Members

We offer our hearty welcome to new members to the ToP Network so far this year. Some of these names you've seen before but we post them all again to highlight the energy coming into the Network in 2013.

If you are logged in, clicking on the link will take you to their profile, where you can learn more about them, invite them to be connected or join a Circle.

Let's welcome them!

ToP Training Registration Website is Up and Active!

Trainers and registrars already know this but other ToP Network members might not.  We've added a link to the training registration site to the footer to make it easy to access the ToP training calendar. 

You are encouraged to check it out at the link below: https://icausa.memberclicks.net

You can also access the training site link anytime from www.top-network.org by clicking on the "Events" tab of the main menu bar or on the word "Training" in the website footer.  Just scroll down to the very bottom of the page.  We'll feature more about this new site in a future newsletter.

Navigating top-network.org Jam Sessions

There are two remaining Jam sessions scheduled to help members find their way around the website and discover features to help them be connected and involved.

The sessions are on August 12 and August 28, both starting at 7AM Pacific time.  To access details, login, and go to http://www.top-network.org/event-calendar.  (These events are invisible to the public so you have to sign in to see them.)

Highlights of the first session are captured in a powerpoint accessible in the ToP Community Forum, in the 2013 Action Teams section.  Find it under ToP Cares (or if logged in, click here).

Fifteen members have taken advantage of these jams so far. 

2014 Gathering Registration Open

Registration is open for the 2014 Gathering in Minneapolis.

ToP Network members receive special pricing, so be sure to login when you register.  Click the button below to access the registration form and get that Early Bird pricing.

All Member Call July 30!

July 30 at 8:00AM CDT (6:00AM PT and 9:00AM EDT)

Learn about the upcoming conference.  Share your insights and hopes for the event, and contribute your ideas!

To participate - sign in as guest at: https://top.adobeconnect.com/topanngath/   Then call in: 712-775-7040, access code 6536586#

Where We Are

We recently took a look at the work location of our members.  Limiting our view to US locations, our distribution is shown on the map at right. 

July Featured Content from Curriculum Team (AKA Methods, Modules and Magic- "MMM"):

MMM Unhinges Modules

"If it ain’t broke don’t fix it", and our beloved TFM surely ain’t broke, just a little worn and dated and in need of some care and attention. So that’s what we did. Without compromising our principles and to attract both new and seasoned facilitators, we created a proper alternative to the standard two-day TFM.  How you ask? We successfully unhinged the three core methods: focused conversation, consensus workshop and action planning from one another to create half day and 1 day modules.  And while we were at it, we built some new courses too, all with an eye on desired facilitator competencies.

So imagine a room of 13 ToP facilitators and trainers with the combined experience of a billion years, working together on this for three consecutive days at ICA.  And with creativity playing an increasingly important role in our work, it was no surprise that a new metaphor emerged, which inspired and guided our thinking.  It is this:

(CAPTION) Our stream flows from an open source of discovery, has many tributaries of learning, hits the rapids of professional commitment, and ends in a deep pool of mastery.

The tributaries represent entry level facilitation course work such as Facilitation 101, Intro to ToP methods (in any version), Graphic Facilitation, Environmental Scanning, and using data with groups.
The rapids represent a commitment to ToP and the quest for further learning including TSP and courses in Design, Power of Image Shift, ToP in conciliation work, and Creativity.

And the pool of mastery represents options for continuous learning and advancement (possibly with an eye toward certification) such as Mastery in ToP (MToP), equipping facilitators to manage difficult group situations and behaviors, or how to facilitate virtually.

So what now?  We’re continuing to work in small teams to complete and polish the course work described above, which we hope to pilot this year at every available opportunity, including our ToP Gathering in January in Minneapolis.  It’s just one more reason to come join us!

Your Methods, Modules & Magic Team ~
Melanie Goodman,  Barbara MacKay, Nancy Jackson, Judy Weddle, John and Ann Epps, Heidi Kolbe, Dennis Jennings, Becky Groff, Sarah Shumpert, Eunice & Sherwood Shankland, and Cherie Lockett.
 

Message from Mary Flanagan

ToP Network is Evolving

Greetings to all ToP Network Members

Our ToP Network is evolving, growing and transforming into a new stage of organizational development.  This is exciting and challenging.  It is the result of each of your contributions to training and facilitating with ToP Methods, and commitment to the ToP Network, where we push the envelope to keep ToP methods current and relevant, AND support each other in our efforts to grow professionally.  The launch of the ToP Training website (https://icausa.memberclicks.net/) pushes us to get more precise on our unique role as an organization, and the "face" we put forward via our website.

Our roots go back to the early 1990s, when the ToP methods were being codified and a national training program was developed and tested.  The first flight of ToP "trainers" was launched.  Manuals were produced.  We were the "ToP Trainers Network", figuring out how we could improve the training, learn from each other, and expand our impact and influence. 

The ToP Network was incorporated in 2009, as a 501c6, with an expanded  image of our target members, to include facilitators who use ToP methods as the core of their practice.  The early years were formative with the establishment of mission, values, and relationships with ICA- the organization from which ToP methods sprang.

These are the core elements developed during the initial formative stages of the ToP Network, copied from our website:

• An organization that works with Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) to promote the training and use of ToP methods
• A forum for professional communication, course development and idea exchange
• Network that provides ToP Trainers with professional development in pursuit of excellence in providing ToP methods courses
  
• Facilitator and Trainer professionals expanding the breadth and depth of the work of the ToP Network through affiliation, partnership, and collaboration with other organizations
  
• Formal non-profit professional organization (501(c)(6)). Registered in State of Minnesota.

• Supporting your professional development journey
  
• Continually innovating ToP (Technology of Participation) methods and curriculum
  
• Maintaining training as our core competency

Our Vision is to release human spirit and potential.

This definition and organizational relationships are fairly clear. 

At this point in time, we have members who also hope  our organization might be more expansive, creating opportunities for national contracts, or serving as an access point for clients who might want to find a skilled facilitator to help them move forward.

We are emerging into a new phase of re-discerning who are our customers, what value they seek, how we provide that value, and how we sustain our organization as we provide that value. 

Your Board is working over the next few months to revisit our organizational business plan to ensure that we can move forward to a meaningful and viable future.  We plan to present any recommendations for change that might emerge at the January meeting in Minneapolis for approval.

We welcome your input!  Please share your thoughts (click here) on what you want from our Network so we can consider them as we move forward. 

This organizational evolution is challenging and exciting.  We are evolving.  Thank you for being a part of it all.

I value each of you, and look forward to your input.  Our ToP Network is full of rich possibility.

I hope to see you in Minnesota in January!

Mary Flanagan, Chairperson, ToP Network

Environmental Sustainability
 
The August theme for the ToP Network is Environmental Sustainability. We're going to move out to the edge a bit to engage ToP Network members in an important topic using our technology in a new way.

Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and supported. Join in one or more of several learning activities that are happening.
 
2 Webinars will feature presenters from organizations doing inspiring environmental sustainability work. We'll have a chance to explore how these presentations can inform our individual practices,our collective work and the ToP Network. The presentations and a case story write-up will be posted on top-network.org for you and others to reference!

Sign-ups begin on August 1 for each of the Sessions.

Get the Dates on Your Calendar NOW
August 16 and September 6, noon - 2:00 pm, Pacific Time

In addition to the two webinars that feature facilitated discussions with clients actively engaged in this work, this project will include:

• An Environmental Sustainability Forum which members and others can join to talk together about issues, challenges, successes, resources, model programs, etc.

• A Resource List of books, articles, websites, research studies, organizations that you can add to! Send your resources to Jane Stallman, [email protected].  We'll grow the list together.

• A list of clients that we, ToP facilitators and trainers, serve. The purpose of this list is to illustrate where in the environmental sustainability field ToP methods are working so that we can all share it with current clients.  Those who come to our website can see the powerful work we are collectively doing and contact us to do work with them!

Look for more information about our presenters, where resources are posted, the start of the Forum group, and other exciting interactions that will happen this month (and into September). 

Call or email Jane if you have questions, suggestions, input. They will be welcomed.

 Where ToP Network Members Are