International Conference on Practice Facilitation 2020, 2021, 2022 - Further Development and Promotion of Practice Facilitation
Through the International Conference on Practice Facilitation
Project Summary
Practice facilitation is a new, dynamically emerging healthcare profession worldwide. Practice
Facilitators (PFs) have varied professional backgrounds, but they are specifically trained to
support healthcare improvement by providing critical resources and developing sustained
relationships with community-based healthcare organizations. In 2017, a consortium of practice
facilitation stakeholders, which evolved from a strategic collaboration of AHRQ P30 Centers for
Primary Care Practice-Based Research and Learning, received an AHRQ R13 award to develop
and conduct three consecutive annual conferences to advance the science and implementation
of practice facilitation on an international scale. Partnering with the North American Primary
Care Research Group (NAPCRG) and support from AHRQ, the first International Conference on
Practice Facilitation (ICPF) was held in Louisville, KY (2017) and a second meeting in Tampa,
FL (2018). Both conferences were highly successful, attracting 122 and 146 registrants,
respectively, from three countries (the US, Canada, and Australia). Building on the enthusiasm
and success of the first set of conferences, the long-term goal of the ICPF consortium is to
move the successful annual conference, through a continued expansion of our PF Learning
Community, toward the development of a professional organization for practice facilitators. In
order to achieve our long-term vision, we propose the following aims: 1) Expand and further
develop the current annual conference, responding to the emerging and growing professional
needs of PFs worldwide; 2) Establish a maintainable approach to develop and grow the ongoing
PF Learning Community based on conference activities; and 3) Leveraging the PF Learning
Community structure, guide the activities of ICPF toward the establishment of a professional
society for practice facilitation.