IOC UNESCO Leadership Retreat
Challenge
Working alongside Research for Purpose, CoCreate was asked to design and facilitate a two-day Management Team Retreat for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The Commission had recently welcomed a new Executive Secretary and the Retreat was seen as an important opportunity for the Team to come together and develop a shared view of the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. With Ocean Protection and the ‘blue economy’ commanding more attention than ever, there was recognition across the Management Team of the need to make changes to the way IOC UNESCO operates as a way of increasing the impact it has as a Commission.
Programme
To support the design of the two-days, we organised pre-retreat 1:1 calls with all the members of the Management Team to better understand the context, agree objectives for the Retreat and identify priority conversations.
Day 1 focused on shaping a shared understanding of progress against the mid-term strategy. We used a combination of live survey data and interactive breakout conversations to explore what was working well, what was getting in the way, and the key factors behind the successes and shortcomings. This open and honest dialogue laid the foundations for an action-focused session in which the team formulated specific, measurable results that they wanted to see by the end of 2026/27.
With Oceans increasingly in the spotlight, the IOC has never before been invited to so many high-level discussions. Day 2 looked at how the Commission can improve the way it comes together to plan, execute and communicate. We used a Planning Wheel to map out and prioritise the key events and moments and a process for developing clear, consistent messaging.
Impact
- Stronger, more trusting relationships across the Management Team
- A shared understanding of the Team’s progress
- A commitment to a sharper results focus and a plan of how to achieve this
- Clarity and commitment for how the Team comes together to plan, execute and communicate
Client experience
Our Executive Secretary described this as the most productive two day Retreat he has experienced throughout his career and this was – in large part – a consequence of the thoughtful preliminary research, planning, design and excellent facilitation of the CoCreate team. Tom is a remarkable facilitator. All of us had our share of retreats and it is rare to have someone so gifted at making people engage without steering them in any pre-determined or desired direction.
xenia yvinec – head of operational support unit, ioc unesco
