Facilitation · 60-120 minutes
Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
A structured variation of small-group discussion designed to reach consensus by giving equal weight to all participants' input. It minimizes the influence of dominant personalities and encourages independent thinking before group interaction.
When to use Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
Effective when dealing with complex or controversial problems, when there is a power imbalance in the room, or when a group needs to prioritize a long list of potential solutions quickly.
How Nominal Group Technique (NGT) works
Facilitators can integrate NGT into the 'diverge' and 'converge' stages of a workshop. Start with a clear prompt, allow for silent reflection to prevent 'groupthink,' and use the voting phase to transition from brainstorming to actionable decision-making.
Phases of Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
- Silent Generation of Ideas in Writing
- Round-robin Recording of Ideas
- Serial Discussion for Clarification
- Preliminary Vote on Item Importance
- Discussion of the Preliminary Vote
- Final Vote
Key principles
- Silent reflection before verbalization
- Equal participation and contribution
- Separation of idea generation from idea evaluation
- Mathematical aggregation of individual judgments
Best for
- Consensus building
- Problem identification
- Strategic planning
- Needs assessment
Considerations
- Requires a highly disciplined facilitator to maintain the structure
- Can feel overly formal or rigid for groups seeking a casual creative flow
- Requires preparation of specific prompts and voting materials
Attribution & sources
Developed by André Delbecq and Andrew H. Van de Ven, 1971
Design a session with Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
METODIC builds a complete Nominal Group Technique (NGT)-based session — methods, timing, worksheets, and facilitator guides — in minutes.