Step 4: Facilitate the focus groups The effectiveness of a focus group largely depends on the ability of its facilitators to encourage free, open and deep discussions about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges facing them. Among other things, good facilitators will: • use techniques to encourage free thinking • encourage participants to clarify and refine their ideas • show participants their ideas have been heard, and • enable diverse views to be expressed. The APF is working across the region to build the capacity of facilitators in NHRIs. Those who have completed this programme are part of the APF Facilitators’ Network (AFN). If you have an AFN member and/or competent facilitators in your NHRI, ask them to facilitate or oversee the facilitation of your focus groups. If you don’t have access to competent facilitator/s, consider using external expertise including contacting a member of the AFN from another NHRI. The APF will give you these details. The AFN have also developed Guidelines for Effective Facilitators. Guidelines for Effective Facilitators The APF Facilitators’ Network has developed a set of guidelines for human rights facilitators (Jakarta Guidelines for Human Rights Facilitators). They are available at www.asiapacificforum.net/resources/jakarta-guidelines-human-rights-facilitators/ in Arabic, English and Thai. 64