Purpose -This paper aims to report on research into managers' and facilitators' perceptions of effective facilitation. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 20 managers from across five industry sectors, and 20 facilitators from larger organisations or working as consultants, were interviewed in-depth regarding stories of effective and wholly or partially ineffective facilitation experiences. These stories are analysed within a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm. Findings -Four stages important to facilitation are identified: Preparation, Event, Satisfactory Outcomes and Transfer. Strategies and considerations are evident in the first three stages but poorly discussed and under-utilised strategies in the last.Research limitations/implications -Further research is suggested to identify strategies for implementing outcomes; consider the contribution internal facilitators can make to the facilitation process; appreciate of the context within which the facilitation takes place; and the impact of organisational size and culture of the facilitation process. Practical implications -Facilitation is likely to be more effective if facilitators share a common language with the participant group; are conscious of the Transfer stage through-out the process; and work to ensure affective, as well as effective, outcomes. Managers may also consider training, empowering and utilising their internal facilitators to a greater extent, in recognition of the value-adding their knowledge about the organisation brings. Originality/value -This paper adds a multi-dimensional framework of facilitation to the empirical evidence for academics and practitioners working in the areas of facilitation and group effectiveness.

There have been widespread changes to working arrangements and employment relationships, including significant decreases in continuing/full-time employment contracts. This trend is particularly notable in academia, with more universities relying on the expertise of sessional, teaching-focused academics. This qualitative study extends understanding of this important group of professionals, identifying sessional work as a 'double-edged sword' and suggesting a typology of sessional academic careers to be tested in future research. It reports on the diversity among sessional academics, some enjoying the autonomy and flexibility of this working arrangement others seeking more job security and greater alignment with continuing employment. It also identifies synergies and contradictions between sessional academic careers and key themes in the contemporary careers literature.

In Australia and elsewhere, universities face increasing pressure to improve research output and quality, particularly through partnerships with industry. This raises interesting challenges for academic staff with considerable industry experience that are 'new' to academe. Some of these challenges were faced by the authors who have been successful in generating research, consultancy and executive education funds since joining academe and been somewhat surprised at being described as successful researchers and entrepreneurs. Taking a reflexive look to identify and make explicit our practice through the lenses of social capital and the entrepreneurial process, we identified ten practices. However, we remain troubled by the dissonance between organisational rhetoric and its rewards for entrepreneurial activities. We offer some considerations for universities to help bridge this gap.

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