Community engagement requires thoughtful planning, an understanding of the community’s context, history, assets, and challenges, and opportunities for people with different perspectives to contribute. When engagement activities involve a large or diverse group, organizations also need a structured process for facilitating discussion, documenting contributions, and identifying themes that can inform action.  The World Café model is a facilitated discussion method that organizes participants into small-group conversations and allows ideas to build across multiple rounds of dialogue. This article explains when the model may be useful, how to plan and facilitate a World Café, and how to evaluate and apply the information participants provide. 

Selecting and Applying the World Café Model 

The World Café is a facilitative approach that uses small group conversations followed by larger group discussions to gather multiple ideas through thoughtful dialogue. The model often includes several rounds of small-group conversation, with participants moving between tables so ideas can build across groups. This model can support groups of different sizes to discover relevant and meaningful issues that can inform programs, practices, or policy.   The World Café model is one of several approaches organizations can use to engage community members, and it is especially useful when the goal is to bring together a diverse group of people to explore a shared issue, surface multiple perspectives, identify patterns, and generate ideas through structured conversation. Unlike approaches that are designed primarily to collect individual stories, build long-term research partnerships, or transfer decision-making authority, World Café is designed to create interactive dialogue across participants. Participants move among small-group conversations, build on one another’s ideas, and contribute to a broader collective understanding of an issue. 

Consider using a World Café when you want to: 

• Engage a relatively large or diverse group in meaningful conversation. 

• Explore a complex issue from multiple perspectives. 

• Generate ideas, priorities, or possible strategies. 

• Identify common themes, areas of agreement, or differences across groups. 

• Create opportunities for participants to learn from and build on one another’s thinking. 

Other approaches may be a better fit depending on your goal. The IAP2 Spectrum can help determine the level of community participation needed, while Photovoice centers lived experience through photography and storytelling. Asset-Based Community Development focuses on community strengths and existing resources, and Community-Based Participatory Research supports longer-term shared research and decision-making. Liberating Structures offer practical facilitation methods for increasing participation and including more voices in group discussions.  The engagement approach should ultimately follow the purpose. Choose World Café when collective dialogue and cross-pollination of ideas are central to the work; choose another model when storytelling, long-term partnership, asset mapping, shared research, or a different level of community decision-making is the primary goal.  The World Café model is free to use, and this website provides e resources to help first-time facilitators design a discussion that meets the specific needs of their group.   

Example of a World Café in Practice 

One example of a World Café process occurred during a large community discussion focused on early childhood systems. Approximately 100 participants from areas such as education, health care, infant mental health, and developmental supports came together to explore shared challenges and opportunities.  Participants were seated in small groups and invited to discuss a single question related to the topic. These smaller conversations created space for individuals to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas in a more intimate setting. As discussions unfolded, participants built on one another’s thoughts, often identifying connections across different sectors and areas of expertise.  Following each round of conversation, groups shared key themes and insights with the larger group. Ideas were captured visually in a mural-style format so participants could see how individual contributions connected to broader patterns and emerging priorities. Several cycles of small-group discussion and large-group reporting followed, gradually deepening the conversation and expanding collective understanding.  A hallmark of the process was the intentional design of the environment. Skilled facilitators guided the discussions, and participants were offered multiple ways to contribute, including speaking, writing, and visual documentation. The physical space was also designed to encourage engagement, with welcoming table arrangements, flowers, and calming background music that helped create an atmosphere of openness and inclusion.  In this example, the World Café process ultimately generated ideas that informed the development of a comprehensive county-wide early childhood plan. The resulting work supported policy changes and strengthened collaboration among service providers and community partners.  This example illustrates one of the key strengths of the World Café model: its ability to begin with personal, accessible conversations in small groups and then elevate those insights into a larger collective dialogue. By creating opportunities for diverse perspectives to be shared and connected, the process helps uncover new ways of understanding challenges and identifying solutions that might not emerge through traditional meeting formats. 

How to Plan and Facilitate a World Cafe 

The World Café model is one community engagement tool that can be applied in many different settings. A successful World Café requires more than organizing participants into small groups. Organizations should clearly define the purpose, involve community partners in planning, develop focused questions, prepare facilitators, and create multiple opportunities for meaningful participation. The planning process helps ensure that participants are exploring the right questions, hearing from a variety of perspectives, and contributing ideas that can be carried forward after the session.   As you plan, it can be helpful to ask: 

• What is the purpose of this engagement? 

• Who needs to be part of the conversation? 

• What questions will help people share their experiences and ideas? 

• How will we capture what is shared? 

• How will we show participants that their input mattered? 

• What will happen after the conversation? 

Below are the steps to help you organize the model in action. 

Define the Purpose and Intended Use 

Before developing questions or inviting participants, clearly define what the World Café is intended to accomplish. Identify the decision, plan, or implementation activity the conversation will inform, who will review the information, and what aspects of the process participants can realistically influence. Defining the purpose first helps ensure that the right people are invited, discussion questions are focused, and the information gathered can be used in a meaningful way. A World Café should not simply generate conversation; participants should understand how their perspectives will contribute to a larger planning or decision-making process.  Depending on the initiative, a World Café may be used to: 

• Identify community assets, strengths, or barriers that may influence implementation.  

• Generate implementation strategies that reflect community knowledge and experience 

• Prioritize community needs or areas for action 

• Assess readiness for a new program, practice, or organizational change. 

• Strengthen partnerships by creating space for shared learning and relationship building. 

• Inform program adaptation or planning so that an approach better reflects the needs, priorities, and context of the community 

When defining the purpose, take the time to clarify why you are using a World Café and what you hope to learn or accomplish. Consider what participants should leave having explored, understood, or contributed to. This purpose should guide every other decision – from who is invited and how tables are organized to the questions participants discuss and how their ideas are captured.  

Identify Participants 

Thinking intentionally about whose perspectives, experiences, and knowledge are important to the topic. The goal is to bring together a mix of participants who contribute different viewpoints and learn from one another. For this, you will have to return to the purpose of the World Café. You may want to start with the questions: Who is affected by this issue? Who has experience with it? Who has influence over what happens next? Who may see the issue differently? Questions like this can help identify who should be represented.   Another consideration is to include participants who have different roles, come from a variety of organizations or sectors, and have lived experience related to the topic. One thing to avoid is only relying on people who are regularly involved or easiest to reach. While these voices are important, having varied perspectives support having a more complete understanding of the topic.  

Co-Design the Process with Community Partners 

Engaging community partners in the planning of your engagement process can also help ensure the model you choose is responsive to the community. This is something that is best done at the start of the process. Recognizing that different organizations and programs have varying levels of capacity, the process may look different, depending on the resources or need. The process of co-designing a World Café could entail a small planning group, a few individual conversations, or asking trusted partners for feedback on the proposed session.  Whichever format you choose, community partners can help shape the questions, identify who should be invited, name what supports are needed, and make sure the process reflects the culture, history, and priorities of the community. They can also help interpret the findings and decide how results should be shared. 

Develop Focused Discussion Questions 

While your team may want to take this community engagement opportunity to think expansively about the topic, World Café works best when you start small, with a few well-worded questions. The questions you ask directly support achieving your purpose and encourage participants to speak candidly. Develop a small number of open-ended questions that directly support the purpose of the engagement. Questions can be sequenced so that participants first describe their experiences, then examine patterns or challenges, and finally identify possible actions. Use plain language and review the questions with community partners before the event. Remember to co-design the questions with your community partners to ensure they are generative and relevant to the conversation.   For example, a World Café focused on sustainability might ask participants to discuss questions such as: What is already strong in our community? What barriers keep this work from lasting? What partnerships, resources, or practices could help sustain this work?  In a sequence, this may look like the following example:  Round 1—Experience: What is already helping this work succeed in your community?  Round 2—Analysis: What barriers make this work difficult to sustain?  Round 3—Action: What partnerships, resources, or changes could help address those barriers? 

Prepare the Facilitation Process 

Preparing the space, materials, and facilitation team is another important component of a productive World Café. Before the event, determine how participants will be organized, how long each discussion round will last, and whether participants will move between tables. Assign clear roles for facilitators, table hosts, and note-takers. Use a consistent documentation template across tables and prepare multiple ways for participants to contribute, including written and verbal options.  Facilitation teams should consider what is needed to create an environment that will allow for robust conversation. Some of these components will be resource dependent, especially designing the logistics of the space. For this, you want to consider the number of people you invite to make sure that they can be grouped in small tables that allow people to sit comfortably and move between tables. Doing things like labeling tables and posting discussion questions help communicate to participants where they should be and what they will be answering.   To prepare for the discussion, hosting a pre-meeting with facilitators, notetakers, and other team members supporting the event will help everyone understand their role and who they should go to for support. If you are able to put together a quick reference guide or checklist facilitators can refer to, that can help facilitators to stay on track.  

Facilitate Participation 

Facilitating the World Café means creating a space where everyone can contribute. Depending on your group, some people may be more or less likely to speak up. To address this, at the beginning of the session, explain the purpose of the discussion, how contributions will be documented, and how the results will be used. Establish agreements that support respectful dialogue and shared participation. Facilitators should invite contributions from different participants, monitor dominant voices, and provide written or other accessible options for people who may be less comfortable speaking in a group.  Here are some ways of engaging people who are not contributing to the conversation: 

• Inviting quieter participants into conversations without putting them on the spot 

• Redirecting when one person is dominating the conversation 

• Watch for jargon, side conversations, accessibility needs, or unclear instructions- these can all be barriers to participation 

• Remind participant they can contribute by speaking, writing, adding notes, or even drawing 

Capturing and Interpreting Results 

Create a plan to determine how information from the session will be captured, reviewed, and used. A verbatim record is not needed; rather, a process for identifying ideas, themes, differences, and priorities that emerge across the tables and discussion rounds.   To do this, a consistent approach for documenting each conversation is useful. This could include note-taking templates, table paper or butcher paper as tablecloths, or sticky notes. At the end of the session, collect all the materials and make sure they are clearly labeled by question and discussion round.  

• Work with your facilitation team, including your community partners, to determine: 

• Recurring themes or ideas that appeared across multiple groups 

• Areas of agreement 

• Different or contrasting perspectives that are important to preserve 

• New or unexpected insights that emerged during the discussion 

• Recommendations, opportunities, or potential next steps 

• Questions or issues which may require additional exploration 

Next, you should plan for how findings will be shared back with participants and connected to action.  

Participant Feedback Loop 

Community engagement should not end when the World Café session is over. A participant feedback loop helps ensure that community members understand how their input was interpreted, what was learned, and how their contributions will inform next steps. Closing the loop also demonstrates that participation was meaningful and that community input is being taken seriously.  After the session, share a brief summary of key themes, priorities, or recommendations with participants and invite them to confirm, clarify, or add to what was captured. Organizations should also communicate what actions will be taken, what may not be possible to address, and why. Organizations should continue to provide updates as plans, decisions, or implementation activities move forward.   Finally, consider how participants can stay engaged beyond the World Café, such as reviewing recommendations, joining a planning group, helping shape implementation strategies, or providing feedback as the work moves forward. 

Using the Findings 

The findings from a World Café should be connected back to the purpose established at the beginning of the process. Use the themes, priorities, and ideas identified by participants to inform the specific decision, plan, strategy, or implementation activity the World Café was designed to support.  From there, identify clear next steps based on what was heard. This may include prioritizing recommendations, identifying actions the organization can take, assigning responsibility, establishing a timeline, or identifying areas that need additional community input before moving forward. Be transparent about which ideas will be acted on, which may require further exploration, and which may not be feasible.  Share these next steps with participants so they can see how their input is influencing the work. When continued community involvement would strengthen the process, invite participants to stay engaged by reviewing recommendations, helping prioritize actions, participating in planning or implementation, or providing feedback as decisions move forward. 

References 

Brown, J., & Isaacs, D. (2005). The World Café: Shaping our futures through conversations that matter.  CDC/ATSDR. (2025). Principles of Community Engagement, 3rd Edition.  International Association for Public Participation. (n.d.). IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.  Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health.  Kretzmann, J. P., & McKnight, J. L. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets.  Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment.