Online popular education school for activists.
Online popular education school for activists.
Purpose of this resource: This guide is for event planners, program coordinators, and facilitators who are deciding whether—and how—to host gatherings in a hybrid format in a way that actually increases access. Hybrid spaces are often chosen in the name of access. Too often, however, they are under-prepared, ineffective, and end up excluding people anyway. This resource names what it actually takes to do hybrid well—and when not to do it.
By “hybrid,” we mean: gatherings where some people are connected to an online space individually and others are gathered as a group, all sharing a connection. There are many variations: a big group in a room and a few people connected individually, many people connected individually and a few small groups connected, etc.
Be thoughtful about whether hybrid is the best format based on your group and the needs of the particular gathering. Remember hybrid isn’t the only way to create access; there are other format options: totally online, totally in-person, running the same program online and in-person at different times, hybrid but not everyone is connected all the time, etc. Check out this flowchart for more.
Prepare to invest more time and energy for the same outcome if your event is hybrid compared to in-person or online only. You’ll need to do some of the same steps you would have to do if it’s in-person AND the prep you would need for if it was online. Plus additional tech and support roles are usually needed in a space where a larger group is gathering. Facilitators new to hybrid need time to think through how to redesign their activities and engagement methods so that everyone can participate.
There are a few types of capacity to consider here:
🛠️ Number of people: co-facilitators, multiple support roles in multiple locations
🛠️ Internet bandwidth in shared meeting space
🛠️ Tech in meeting space: speakers, projection, multiple devices (which can also act as microphones)
🛠️ Time to connect early to set-up (from every connection method)
🛠️ Time in the agenda to adjust A/V and to facilitate in way that includes everyone
🛠️ Capacity to address access needs (for every connection method)
Deciding to go hybrid at the last minute can make it very challenging to pull together all of the capacity needed. A last minute change to hybrid often puts most of the burden on whoever is facilitating (see below for more on "Suddenly Hybrid"). When we present hybrid as being “for access” but then don’t give facilitators enough time to prepare, it compromises both access for the participants AND the facilitator.
Will going hybrid increase access for those who can’t participate otherwise or is it just more convenient for someone? Consider who has power and rank; the goal of access is to address power imbalances and support participation, not to prioritize the comfort of people with power.
➡️ Example: a group leader who usually attends meetings on site will be on vacation and requests a hybrid option so they can participate while on the road. Consider alternatives like rescheduling, holding it online only, or filling them in after the fact via notes or a 1:1 conversation.
➡️ Example: a newer group member who used to attend on site meetings has become immunocompromised after a Covid infection and is requesting hybrid meetings. There are also group members who struggle to participate online, due to low bandwidth and access challenges with online meeting platforms. Consider going hybrid if the group has the capacity to do so!
➡️ If you are struggling to determine the difference between convenience and access or are navigating access conflicts, learning more about disability justice and creating cultures of access might be helpful. (Check out this workshop series, for example.)
The option to go hybrid opens doors to significantly expanding our reach, allowing more folks to participate more fully (or at all!) in movement power-building and decision-making. It’s truly a tool for agency and inclusion. It’s also true that right now most folks who are experiencing hybrid are seeing the many ways it can NOT work - whether people are in a room with others, connecting on their own, or facilitating the space, hybrid spaces can be frustrating, disconnected, and ineffective. With people having so many of these experiences, resistance to hybrid is reasonable!
So what do you do when you think hybrid is the way to go, but you're facing resistance?
➡️ Ask about their past hybrid experiences.
➡️ Validate that many/most hybrid spaces truly suck.
➡️ Let them know that there are ways to hold hybrid spaces that actually work - if the prep time and capacity is there.
➡️ Discuss whether the capacity needed (see below) is available. Check in with facilitators on their access needs and anything that might support them to feel more confident with hybrid.
➡️ Connect access to your work. How can hybrid support the involvement of specific people in your work? How does increasing access support the values and goals of the group? How could having more than one way to engage support resilience, flexibility and sustainability?
➡️ Connect the need for hybrid with the reality of Covid denialism and disablement. Preventing the spread of Covid and other illnesses supports the continuation of our work!
➡️ If it doesn’t seem like you have what you need to make an effective hybrid gathering, it’s okay to decide not to go hybrid! Discuss what other options would work best and how to communicate with your group about the choice. Considering your goals and people, which of these would be the most impactful and accessible: online only, in-person only, or both online and in-person but at different times?
Folks who do training and facilitation in movement spaces are frequently running into situations where they are suddenly asked to facilitate hybrid. That might mean they’re finding out a couple days before, or even showing up and discovering it’s hybrid! This is a sure-fire way to sabotage the potential impact of your gathering and burn out your facilitators.
Facilitators: Minimize the chances this happens to you
⚠️When first planning a meeting, training, or event, check in about whether a hybrid format makes the most sense for the group and goals. See this flowchart for more help.
⚠️ Ask directly if there is any chance you’ll be asked to hold the space hybrid. It’s easier to plan for hybrid facilitation and switch to in-person or online only than to have to change to hybrid planning at the last minute. If there’s a chance it may go hybrid for access, ask about planning for hybrid from the start and changing it later if needed.
⚠️Pay attention to whether it seems like the group has developed a pattern around hybrid for convenience vs. access. Consider whether you can push back on that, offering other alternatives (see below).
⚠️Develop a pocket toolkit of hybrid facilitation practices and tool adaptations, so you’re ready to shift if a last minute request comes in. Check out this handout from Training for Change for more: Facilitating Hybrid Online Groups.
If you receive a “suddenly hybrid” request, here are some options:
➡️ Note that hybrid spaces bring a lot of challenges and can make it a lot harder to reach your goals, especially without time to prep.
➡️ Check in to see who the hybrid is meant to support and how.
➡️ Is this something that could be repeated? For example: a training that could be done now in-person and later online for people who couldn’t be there in person.If it’s clear the hybrid request is about convenience rather than access, check for alternative options. (See above - “Don’t confuse accessibility with comfort”)
➡️ Check about holding the meeting online-only (if the access challenges are about in-person participation). Note there may be resistance to the effectiveness of online meetings, but there are many tools for engaging online-only meetings that are easier to achieve than effective hybrid spaces. (Check out these tools, for example.)
➡️ If they are firm about holding the event now and hybrid, check in on the capacity available (see list above). Do you feel able to meet the goals of the gathering given the capacity, your skills, and the time available? If not, consider: Say no. “Given the need to go hybrid and this timeline, it’s not going to be possible for me to meet the goals. You’ll need to [find a different facilitator, address capacity gap, etc.].”Bring in a co-facilitator. Is there anyone else with hybrid facilitation experience who can help you with the last-minute adaptation?
➡️ Establish boundaries for the future. It’s not cool to be set up for failure. Whether you accept the “suddenly hybrid” request or not, you can set boundaries for the future, like “I need at least one week’s notice to prepare for hybrid so we can have a successful and accessible space.”
Hybrid spaces can expand participation and build movement power—but only when they are:
✅ Chosen intentionally
✅ Planned early
✅ Resourced adequately
✅ Grounded in disability justice and power analysis.
Remember:
🌻 Access is not an add-on
🌻 Hybrid is not a shortcut
🌻 Preparation materializes access.