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| Criterion |  Facilitation Dot Voting |  Facilitation World Café |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Facilitation Consensus Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a workshop has produced too many options and the group needs to condense quickly, dot voting makes preferences visible in a short time. It bundles individual votes into a solid signal for the next selection. | When a group needs to connect many viewpoints in a short time, World Café creates a calm alternation between closeness and rotation. It sets thinking in motion without forcing the conversation into full-plenary rigidity. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 5-15 min | 60-180 min | 1-2 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 | 12-100+ | 4-12 | 5-30 |
Formatsame | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Ranked list, Consensus signal, Shortlist | Table Notes, Emergent Themes, Shared Questions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas |
Tags1 shared | FacilitationVotingConsensusPrioritization | FacilitationDialogueLarge groupSensemaking | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment |