Advanced Critical Friends® Facilitation Coaches Published March 24, 2023 Certified Critical Friends Group ® Facilitation Coaches are trained in using collaboration tools called “protocols”. Protocols are structured activities intended to elicit desired outcomes or objectives as a result of collaboration during meetings, project planning sessions or lessons. Protocols help cultivate trust and a sense of safety amongst members and enable groups to focus on problem solving and accomplishing goals for the sake of growth and improvement. Facilitation tools help ensure equity of voice and a sense of belonging in the absence of judgement. The tools stem from a project initiated at Brown University in 1994, which resulted in a collection of best practices by and for educators to form professional learning communities. Grounded in andragogical and pedagogical theories, the tools serve to support student-centered learning, have a proven record of success, and are used widely in some of the most elite universities as well as teaching and learning labs across the nation.