MAP: Making Action Plans
A Person-Centred Planning Process for Making a Difference
To facilitate a group, family, team or organisation in thinking together around a given challenge or issue here is an opportunity to experience for real the person centred, futures planning tool – MAP (Pearpoint, Forest et. al. 1989).
This is a process not a training day. Let us facilitate your planning and refocus your story whilst strengthening you and your group.
This tool uses both process and graphic facilitation to help any group develop a shared vision and then to make a start on working out what they will need to do together to move towards that vision.
Prefer to learn at your own pace? Our online course, Making Action Plans - MAPs, is £369, or included in the all courses subscription at £25 a month including VAT. Start the online course.
MAPS are great for threshold moments.
Is your team stuck?
Want to move on, haunted by the past cannot get any useful dialogue about the future?
Facing a challenging transition into a new school or setting?
Leaving school?
Bored with annual reviews, transition plans and review meetings?
Want to find a way of making meetings and planning feel more real and engaging?
Need an approach, which engages a young person respectfully together with his or her family and friends?
Want the ultimate visual record of the process of a meeting, which will help everyone, keep track?
Want to problem solve and plan for the future of a small or large group, service or organisation up to the size of a local authority?
Questions about MAP
What is a MAP?
MAP (Making Action Plans) is a person centred futures planning tool developed by Pearpoint, Forest and others in 1989. It helps a group, family, team or organisation think together about a challenge, build a shared vision and start planning how to get there. Colin Newton and Derek Wilson, the founders of Inclusive Solutions, have championed inclusion and person centred practice for more than twenty years, training and inspiring educational psychologists, school staff, families and services across the UK and internationally, including the Czech Republic, Serbia, Bosnia, Georgia, Ukraine, Canada, Gibraltar and Malta. Their tireless work has helped build person centred planning into educational processes, and so many educational psychologists now see MAPS and PATH as a key part of their toolkit.
How does a MAP work?
A MAP uses process and graphic facilitation. The group moves through six steps: the story so far, building shared dreams, the nightmare, gifts and capacity, needs, and actions. Everyone leaves with a visual record of the whole meeting.
When is a MAP most useful?
At threshold moments: a team that feels stuck, a move to a new school or setting, leaving school, or reviews and transition plans that have stopped feeling real.
Who can take part?
A young person with their family and friends, a staff team, a service or an organisation, up to the size of a local authority.
Can you run a MAP for us?
Yes. This is a process, not a training day: our team facilitates a live MAP session with graphic recording. Ask us to facilitate a MAP.
How can I learn to facilitate MAP?
Book in person training, or take our online course, Making Action Plans - MAPs. It is £369, or included in the all courses subscription at £25 a month including VAT.
More about the MAP process
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The MAP process has 6 Steps:
The story so far.
The group is required to think back over the years to describe their collective experience of changes and events over time within their settings. Stories and events are recorded on the graphic.Building Shared Dreams.
The group thinks together about what they would love to see happening for children, families and practitioners in their settings if they could have it all. If there were no constraints on time, money, resources, people or anything else what do they see happening in their imaginations? The various ideas that the group comes up with are then recorded in key words, images and colours on the MAP graphic. The purpose of this Step is to give the group a sense of direction, their North Star, an image of the place they want to work towards.Nightmare.
In this Step, the group imagines the worst scenarios. What is the opposite of their dreams? How bad could it get? This is a shorter but powerful process that can give some groups more energy than dreaming together.Gifts and Capacity.
In this Step the group is asked to take explicit stock of their capacities and what they already have going for them as they begin working towards the vision. This is a strong reminder for any group of the wealth of knowledge and experience that is already and always in the room.Needs.
In this Step the group is invited to begin to name some of the needs they will have if they are to move forward to wards the dream and away from the nightmare.Actions.
This is the final Step in the MAP and calls for individuals within the group to name a range of very specific actions (however small) that they will take within a definite time scale. This is not a time for declaring good intentions or suggesting good ideas for someone else to do. The purpose of this Step is to end the MAP process with a range of clearly understood actions that carry this planning process forward into the real world. -
To create a shared vision
To talk through the story so far and reflect upon it
To name the worse nightmares that will block progress
To strengthen the group by focussing on gifts and capacity
To detail needs
To specify an Action Plan
To create a visual graphic record of the whole event
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For anyone interested in planning with a person of any age, or a group, team or organisation needing to reflect on their story and needing future directions and a shared vision.
How to get started with MAP
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Person Centred Planning Together
This book explores Person Centred Planning, a transformative approach that empowers individuals to shape their own lives, rather than being directed by service systems. Focusing on tools like MAPS and PATH, it offers practical guidance for effective, inclusive planning with skilled facilitation and meaningful participation at its core.
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Self Paced Online Learning
The MAPs self paced learning course really immerses you in the world of MAP facilitation. The therapeutic, structured process is outlined, demonstrated and explored in depth.
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Facilitated Process
Our team will guide a live MAPS session - a structured, story-based planning process that helps individuals reflect on their past, celebrate strengths, and envision a positive future. With sensitive facilitation and graphic recording, we create a safe space for collective insight, shared commitment, and practical next steps.
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In Person Training
Join Inclusive Solutions for in-person training on the MAPs (Making Action Plans) process - a creative, person-centred planning tool. Learn how to facilitate inclusive, future-focused conversations that celebrate individual strengths, build shared vision, and inspire action. Ideal for schools and organisations supporting individuals with additional needs or navigating life transitions.
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Hear From Others
Hear directly from those who have used MAPS to create meaningful change. These video stories share real experiences of how MAPS has helped individuals, families, and teams reflect, plan, and take action. Visit our YouTube channel to see the impact of this powerful person-centred planning tool in action.