One day. Ten proven approaches. A "recipe book" of tools you'll use again and again.
ToP® Training / ToP® Approaches to Environmental Scanning
Organizations that skip environmental scanning end up planning for the world they wish they were in, not the one they're in. Before your group can plan for the future, they need to understand their history, the current dilemmas they're facing, and the shifts happening in their larger environment.
Environmental scanning is how you build the shared context a group needs before strategic work begins — quickly, honestly, and in a way the whole group can act on. But one size doesn't fit all. Different situations call for different approaches.
In this one-day course, you'll explore 10 creative, insightful ways to assess customer, staff, or community perceptions and needs, delve into relevant data, and get groups on the same page before the planning starts.
You leave with an extensive "recipe book" of techniques you can use immediately — and the judgment to choose the right approach for the specific situation in front of you.
You don't just leave with notes. You leave with specific capabilities you can use in the meetings and processes you're already leading.
Customer feedback, staff climate, community needs, environmental trends, or data interpretation — different situations call for different approaches.
Not what people wish was happening. Honest scanning is the foundation of every meaningful plan.
Before strategic work begins. The single highest-leverage move in any planning process.
So planning is grounded in current reality — not in the assumptions the group walked in with.
One full day, in person. 8 contact hours.
Hands-on practice with all 10 approaches.
You practice selecting the right approach for different real situations — so you walk out with a "recipe book" you can use immediately.
Your registration includes everything you need to put the methods to work — during the course and after it.
A comprehensive reference you'll use long after the course ends. The methods, the designs, the templates, and the examples — all in one place.
Scheduled within 90 days of course completion. Bring a real challenge — a session you're designing, a group dynamic you're navigating, a process that's stuck — and we'll work through it together.
Quarterly gatherings of ToP® practitioners across the region. Keep your skills sharp, learn from others, stay connected to the work.
ToP® Facilitation Methods, Focused Conversation, or Focused Conversation Online is required. This course assumes you already have the foundational facilitation skills — it focuses on applying them specifically to environmental assessment work.
This course gives you tools in a day that can help you kick-start, plan, re-energize, and celebrate the milestones of the planning process and sets a compass for where you need to go.
Amazing opportunity to learn how to utilize past information or raw data to build buy-in and energize complex conversations. Loved the practical application and the ease of use of each of the new tools.
This was the best class. I loved learning the 10 approaches to environmental scanning and will be using them right away in my job.
Pricing is tiered based on organization type and budget — so participants from small nonprofits and large corporates pay rates that match their context. Choose the tier that fits.
Student rate available with valid student ID. If pricing is a barrier — please reach out. We want the right people in the room.
No public cohort scheduled at the moment. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know as soon as the next one is announced — or reach out about an in-house cohort for your team.
Join the WaitlistWhether you're ready to register for the next cohort or you'd like to talk through whether ToP® Approaches to Environmental Scanning is the right fit — both paths are open.