AI, Facilitation, and the SDGs: A Conversation Worth Having

Today, I left a meeting at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon with a renewed sense that this is a conversation whose time has come.

The occasion was the 12th Meeting of the Network for Cooperation on Innovation in the Sustainable Development Goals, held in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley Region, and convened by CCDR-LVT, hosted by Universidade Católica Portuguesa. The session brought together partners committed to strengthening collaboration on the SDGs, sharing regional reflections on the Agenda 2030, and identifying new initiatives to develop in partnership. What stayed with me was not only the institutional relevance of the meeting, but the deeper reminder that the SDGs are not abstract global aspirations. They are already being translated into regional dialogue, shared governance, and practical frameworks for action.

That experience prompted me to reflect again on a question that has been growing in importance for me through my involvement as co-founder of the IAF Special Interest Group on AI and Group Facilitation: what might become possible if we build a more intentional bridge between the world of facilitation, the emerging role of AI, and the very real sustainability challenges that the SDGs are asking us to address?

Starting a new bridge

Over recent months, through my involvement as co-founder of the IAF Special Interest Group on AI and Group Facilitation, I have been reflecting on a simple but important question: what might be possible if we built a more intentional bridge between the emerging work on AI in facilitation and the growing interest in the Sustainable Development Goals?

At first glance, these may seem like separate domains. One appears to belong to the world of technology, methods, and experimentation. The other sits firmly in the landscape of sustainability, social equity, resilience, and global purpose. Yet the more I reflect on both, the more I see that they are not separate at all.

The SDGs give us a shared horizon. They help frame the kind of world many of us would like to contribute to through our work: more inclusive, more equitable, more sustainable, and more conscious of interdependence. Facilitation, at its best, helps people do the real work required to move in that direction. It creates the conditions for better conversations, shared ownership, wiser decision-making, and more responsible collaboration across differences.

And now AI enters the room.

The question, of course, is not whether AI will become part of our working reality. It already is. The more relevant question is what role it might play in the hands of facilitators, and under what conditions. Can AI help facilitators prepare more effectively, synthesise more intelligently, include more voices, and navigate complexity with greater clarity? I believe it can. But only if used with care, discernment, and a deep respect for the human dynamics that remain at the centre of our craft.

This is why I see a natural and timely synergy between the IAF SIG on AI and Group Facilitation and the new SIG on Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs SIG is articulating a compelling purpose: to empower facilitators and leaders, to foster regenerative leadership, to support multi-stakeholder dialogue, and to promote inclusive and sustainable practices. These are not marginal themes. They are central to the future relevance of facilitation as a profession.

At the same time, our AI and Group Facilitation SIG is exploring how AI might reinforce rather than diminish facilitators' core capabilities. Not to replace human presence, judgment, or relational intelligence, but to strengthen our ability to work well in increasingly complex environments.

When I place these two strands side by side, several questions arise.

• How can AI help facilitators support organisations that are already working with the SDGs as part of their sustainability, ESG, or transformation agendas?
• How can we use AI to deepen participation rather than bypass it?
• How can facilitators employ AI to strengthen inclusion, transparency, ethical practice, and trust?
• How can we prepare a new generation of facilitators to work competently at the intersection of sustainability, systems change, and intelligent tools?

These are not technical questions alone. They are professional questions. They are ethical questions. They are design questions. And they are, above all, facilitation questions.

For me, this conversation is not about promoting AI for its own sake. Nor is it about dressing facilitation in the language of innovation. It is about asking whether, when responsibly used, AI can help facilitators become more capable stewards of dialogue in a world facing increasingly interconnected challenges.

In practical terms, this could lead to many useful things. Joint conversations between SIGs. Shared learning sessions. Case studies from facilitators already working in sustainability-related contexts. Reflection on the ethics of AI in participatory processes. Development of practical tools for facilitators who want to engage with SDG-related work in organisations, communities, and cross-sector partnerships.

As a small contribution to this emerging space, I recently developed a draft self-assessment matrix for facilitators working in AI-enabled SDG contexts. It is only an early working tool, but its purpose is simple: to help facilitators reflect on the capabilities they may need when using AI to support complex, sustainability-oriented work. The matrix examines areas such as systems thinking, inclusive design, the ethical use of AI, sensemaking, stakeholder dialogue, and reflective practice.

I do not see this as a finished answer. Far from it. I see it as an invitation.

• An invitation to colleagues in the SDGs SIG.
• An invitation to fellow members of the AI and Group Facilitation SIG.
• An invitation to facilitators across the IAF community who sense that these themes are beginning to converge in meaningful ways.

If the SDGs need better conversations, and if organisations around the world are already using them as a framework for change, then facilitators have an important role to play. And if AI can help us play that role with greater depth, reach, and insight, then we should explore that possibility together, carefully and openly.

Not as technologists chasing novelty.
Not as consultants chasing trends.
But as facilitators asking how our craft can continue to serve people, systems, and the future with integrity.

That, to me, feels like a conversation worth having.

— Paul Nunesdea, PhD, CPF