Context: When establishing the first practice development school in Switzerland, it became evident that there would be a need to support persons wishing to become facilitators so as to ensure the sustainability of practice development. From this need was born the role of observer for novice facilitators. This was inspired by the idea of learning through observing an advanced facilitator as a complement to the theoretical knowledge gained from practice development literature and the practical skills stemming from practice development schools. It is based on the Critical Ally conceptual framework.

Aim: To describe the genesis of the role of observer and to trigger a dialogue based on this experience, as well as to encourage other countries in a position similar to Switzerland in terms of practice development to consider this observation model.

Implications for practice:

• The observer role can play a significant part in supporting the novice’s learning process, especially in countries at the beginning of the practice development journey
• The results may be used as a template for supporting the development of facilitators alongside the range of practice development foundation schools and literature
• The observer role also supports the continuous learning process of experienced facilitators in that the observer acts as critical ally

This article by Christoph von Dach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License.