flow-ing
flow-ing specializes in group facilitation, participatory approaches, conflict management, and training. Founded in 2016 by Yorck von Korff as a Simplified Joint Stock Company in France (SASu), our company is committed to a comprehensive approach to support you (preparation, facilitation, follow-up).
Our expertise extends to accompanying territorial projects as well as teams and networks.
Regarding territorial management, our interventions encompass projects related to water management, sustainable development of territories, biodiversity, agriculture, and urban planning.
Regarding teams and networks, we intervene in strategic planning and removing work blockages.
Yorck von Korff
Yorck von Korff, originally from Hamburg, Germany, holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (2001, University of Hamburg). Since 2000, he has worked as a facilitator, consultant, and trainer, initially based in Egypt and since 2005 in France.
In 2005, he received certification in facilitation from the International Association of Facilitators. In 2008, he graduated from a two-year continuing education program in conflict mediation at the University of Bochum (Germany). In 2017, he began working as a systemic coach using methods from the Syst®-Institute in Munich (Germany).
Yorck has published a book on his threefold approach to facilitation. He has also written various articles in scientific journals on participatory processes. He is the director of flow-ing, based in Montpellier, where he helped establish a local association of mediators called Mediatio societatis as well as a community of practice on systemic constellations, which meets once a month.
He is fluent in English, French, and German, and can also facilitate and train in Spanish.
Scientific and philosophical roots
Our approach is influenced by these roots:
Our Stance
During our interventions, we take on two distinct roles: that of a consultant and that of a facilitator. As consultants, we provide advice to our clients, focusing on their specific needs and possible solutions for a given situation. As facilitators, our role is to support the exchange between our clients (aka “the group”). In this context, we refrain from giving advice. Through our empathetic listening and belief in the participants' ability to discover the most appropriate solutions themselves, we foster the emergence of trust and ideas within the group. Regardless of the hat we wear, our goal remains constant: to help. This embodies the true essence of facilitation – making things easy for others as well as oneself.
Our Clients
Since its establishment in 2016, flow-ing has worked with the following clients:
Workshop Facilitation
Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (Bruxelles), DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), University of Bremen (Germany), Eidgenössisch Technische Hochschule Zurich (Switzerland), Association Drômoise d’AgroForesterie, MDPI (an Indonesian association that works on fisheries), WWF Germany, McGill University (Montréal, Canada), Government of New Caledonia, CIRAD Montpellier
Territorial Dialogue and Territorial Conflict Management
Réserve de biosphère de Fontainebleau et du Gâtinais, Parc Naturel Régional des Vosges du Nord, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Conseil Départemental des Vosges, Istituto di Ecologia Applicata (Rome), Fondation Natur und Umwelt Rheinland Pfalz (Germany), Communauté de Communes Sauer-Pechelbronn, adelphi consult GmbH (Germany), Communauté de Communes Lodévois et Larzac, Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges.
Participatory Democracy
Saint-Vincent de Barbeyrargues (Municipality in the Hérault, France), INRAE- National Research Institute for Agriculture, Montpellier University
Accompanying Teams and Families for Conflict Management
Office française de la biodiversité, CAUE 54, Agence française de développement, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Germany), CIRAD Montpellier, IRSTEA Montpellier, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) at Nouméa, Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (Bruxelles), Pays de la Vallée de l'Agly, Association Suisse des Formateurs en Communication non-violente, A-Certif (Association pour la certification des formateurs en communication non-violente), Famille Fabre
Individual or Group Coaching
Allianz Partners Paris, CAUE 54, INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, various individual clients
Intra-organizational Trainings
Office française de la biodiversité, City of Paris, CAUE 54, CAUE 11, CAUE 39, Ministère de la transition écologique et solidaire, Conseil Départemental Val-de-Marne, Wageningen University, Eidgenössisch Technische Hochschule Zurich (Switzerland), University of Sherbrooke (Canada), AgroParisTech Montpellier, CIRAD Montpellier, S.P.E.C.I.E.S (USA), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) at Nouméa, Pays de la Vallée de l'Agly, McGill University (Montréal, Canada).
Partners
flow-ing collaborates with various partners according to the specific requirements of each project. We are integrated into various networks comprising facilitators, graphic facilitators, urban planners, ecologists, agronomists, water management experts, as well as scientists from various fields. We have collaborations at the French as well as European levels.
Living Lab
Since October 2018, flow-ing has been leading a community of practice (living lab) on systemic constellations in Montpellier. Participation in the lab sessions is free of charge and open to everyone after prior contact with Yorck von Korff. The objective of this community is to explore and put into practice systemic constellations, to benefit from mutual support, and to deepen learning. Typically, the lab meets once a month.
Publications
Yorck has published or co-published ten articles in scientific journals on citizen participation. He has also written training guides on group facilitation, conflict management, group dynamics and emotions, and systemic constellations. He has just finished writing a book on his approach to facilitation. Here are five of these publications:
von Korff, Y. (2024) A practical guide to group facilitation. The threefold approach. Routledge.
Lécuyer, L., Balian, E., Butler, J. R. A., Barnaud, C., Calla, S., Locatelli, B., Newig, J., Pettit, J., Pound, D., Quétier, F., Salvatori, V., von Korff, Y., & Young, J. C. (2024). The importance of understanding the multiple dimensions of power in stakeholder participation for effective biodiversity conservation. People and Nature, 6, 1407–1420. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10672
Marino, A., Salvatori, V., Cattoen, E.-M., Fernadez Ramos, J., LeRoux, B., Gross, E., Panzavolta, A., Hovardas, T., von Korff, Y. (2023): A transformative approach to the mediation of environmental conflicts: from entry to exit points. Environmental Mediation Initiative
Salvatori, V.; Balian, E.; Blanco, J.C.; Carbonell, X.; Ciucci, P.; Demeter, L.; Marino, A.; Panzavolta, A.; Sólyom, A.; von Korff, Y, and Young, J.C.. 2021. Are Large Carnivores the Real Issue? Solutions for Improving Conflict Management through Stakeholder Participation. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4482. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084482
Salvatori, V, Balian, E, Blanco, J.C., Ciucci, P., Demeter, L, Hartel, T., Marsden, K., Redpath, S.M., von Korff, Y., and Young, J.C.. 2020. Applying Participatory Processes to Address Conflicts Over the Conservation of Large Carnivores: Understanding Conditions for Successful Management. Front. Ecol. Evol., 30 June 2020. [online] URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00182