Facilitation is any activity that makes tasks for others easy, or tasks that are assisted. For example:
Facilitators
A person who takes on such a role is called a facilitator. Kaner defines facilitator as follows: "A facilitator is an individual who enables groups and organizations to work more effectively; to collaborate and achieve synergy. She or he is a “content-neutral” party who by not taking sides or expressing or advocating a point of view during the meeting, can advocate for fair, open, and inclusive procedures to accomplish the group’s work. A facilitator can also be learning or a dialogue guide to assist a group in thinking deeply about its assumptions, beliefs, and values and about its systemic processes and context"(Kaner: 2007: xv)
A neutral leader who makes a process easier, e.g., a Session Leader. The term Facilitator is derived partially from the Old French "faculte" via Latin "facultas", or parallel form of "facilitas". Both were derived from Latin "facilis" or easy, an adjective formed from the verb "facere", or to do. Retains a connotation of easiness whereas derivation meant closer to capability or power—combines the dimensions of both enable and empower that align well with Tuckman and similar models of group behavior.
Gary Rush, an International Association of Facilitators Certified™ Professional Facilitator, defines Facilitator as follows: "A Facilitator is a content-neutral task leader who forms a group of people into a collaborative team supporting consensus and uses a range of processes to enable the group to accomplish their task. The Facilitator is responsible for the context." (G Rush: 2013)