We excel in cultivating learning communities, networks, collaborations, and coalitions. Our expertise lies in uniting diverse groups—both in person and virtually—to effectively address complex societal challenges through shared goals and to chart a strategic course of action.
To ensure a successful retreat, we will collaborate closely with your organization to gain a deep understanding of the team’s aspirations, desired outcomes, and the overall context. This collaborative process will lead to the development of a comprehensive agenda that optimizes the available time, achieves the defined goals, and fosters a sense of fun, engagement, and connection among participants.
Following the retreat, we will conduct a thorough debrief with your organization. We will provide a concise memo summarizing key learnings, actionable next steps, and, if applicable, strategic recommendations for your consideration.
“[Cities & People] led a retreat that brought together a diverse group of staff from across the country and across organizations who had never previously connect in person, and facilitated a day-long retreat that led to deeper team cohesion, trust, and a shared vision for our work. They created a space where people felt comfortable, wanted to engage, and had fun. They helped us navigate complicated conversations with professionalism and grace, and led us to a place of deeper understanding each other and the work we want to do together. In the post-retreat survey, the overarching feedback across the team was that the facilitation was the best part. ”
In October 2022, we facilitated a two-day long team building and planning retreat for ACLU California Action’s Racial & Economic Justice, Education Equity, and the Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Teams. Here you will find the internal agenda for this retreat. The retreat aimed at trust and relationship building among team members working together from various regions throughout California and gaining clarity and focus around the team’s strategic goals and priorities for the coming year and their vision for the coming five years for their work.
In November 2023, we facilitated a day-long team building and planning retreat for the California Budget & Policy Center’s Analyst Team. Here you will find the agenda for this retreat, which aimed at combining both team and trust-building with strategic annual work planning decision-making within one day. This project included multiple steps of planning in partnership with a small committee of team members, agenda feedback from the full team, and follow-up check-ins with both the staff and team leads.
