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The GMA will admit candidates who can meet the criteria shown on this page to ordinary or associate membership.

Observer status is also available for non-practising facilitators.

This information is also available by sending e-mail to: membership.gma
@gopp.org

a) professional moderators, who apply GOPP and GOPP-like methods to assist clients in solving planning problems;
b) have experience in the different stages of the planning process;
c) enable clients to make sound and consistent project plans;
d) have done so to the satisfaction of clients.

The GMA has two kinds of membership:

• full members: who have successfully assisted clients with planning workshops in all stages of the project cycle;
• associate members: who have successfully assisted clients with planning workshops in one or two stages of the project cycle.

Admittance to either level is at the discretion of the Board of the association.

Admittance procedure

Application form

a) Characteristics of a professional GOPP facilitator

GOPP is a technique to perform planning workshops with a group of participants, who normally represent stakeholders involved. The GOPP technique is used by a moderator to enable clients to:

• create an accurate image of their situation based on the knowledge of the participants
• look for alternative solutions and plan how to implement them
• implement, monitor, adjust and re-plan the original plans or projects.

A GOPP moderator is able to conduct a workshop which exhibits the characteristics shown in the righthand column.

For a brief description of Goal-oriented Project Planning, see here: GOPP

Some basic characteristics of a GOPP approach are:

Procedure:
GOPP is performed using a predesigned workshop procedure independent from the content or subject matter of the workshop. This procedure usually leads to the formulation of goals/objectives and the ways to achieve them.

Stakeholders' participation:
The GOPP procedures take into account that the participation of the most important parties involved is based on the their (legitimate) interests, so that decisions are negotiated choices which have the full support of the relevant actors.

Consistency and causality:
Logic is the guiding principle of GOPP. A standardised 'language' for situational analysis and project design helps to achieve consistent workshop results. In order to make this happen, GOPP is built around a set of well-defined concepts, which are linked in a rational way.

Visualisation:
GOPP workshops makes use of ‘cards and charts’ to provide transparency and focus during the planning process. The charts are made with some typical ‘visualisation rules’ which are explained in advance to the participants.

The level of experience that is required by the GMA does not refer to the number of years or a number of workshops, but refers to the different kind of workshops which have been delivered by the moderator. GOPP is a procedural technique, but a moderator should have applied and adapted the procedure to different stages of the project cycle, e.g.:

1. Find a common base: In the beginning of a planning process, parties have to agree on which problem to tackle, and which scope to choose (identification of the project).

2. Repair the gaps: Later on, if a basic design has been agreed, all sorts of gaps and blocks may need further attention or repair. A plan to do this can be made in a "formulation workshop“.

3. Fix the design: Further choices can be made in a design workshop, in which outcomes, indicators, responsibilities and actions are specified to the required level of detail for contractual arrangements to be made.

4. Revise the concept: After a certain time of implementation experience and/or formal evaluation may suggest a replanning of the project.

This list is not exclusive, there are many other types of workshops possible, including those of a more strategic nature. Ideal is if a moderator is requested to accompany the design process of a certain project during several years.

c) Sound workshop results

The moderator should make sure that any workshop result adheres to certain minimal requirements, which are technical soundness and transparency.

The technical requirements are of course difficult to specify, since they are determined by the nature of the workshop result, but, for instance:

• methods and concepts should be applied consistently throughout the workshop;
• a basic project design should have a correct representation of the relevant levels in the logical framework
• an operational schedule should specify activities, actors, outcomes, delivery dates, dependencies, and indicators for internal and external control.

The transparency of the workshop results refers to the fact that they should be owned, supported and “wanted” by the participants. This does not necessary mean that there is full consensus on everything, but it means that parties ‘agree where to disagree’, and that the position of each party is made clear to all.

The process

Clients and participants will be satisfied if the workshop process was agreeable and efficient, and if the expected results were achieved. Indications of client satisfaction regarding the workshop can be obtained from workshop evaluations, but preferably from a repetition of the requests for the services of the moderator.

Relevance of the outcomes

The relevance of the workshop for the clients refers to what happens after the workshop. If clients are able to pursue their venture successfully without further assistance, relevance can be considered to be high. If they get stuck soon after again, relevance is less.