Facilitative mediation is considered the middle of the road when it comes to the amount of control that a mediator exerts over the mediation.  Here, the mediator will control the procedure of the mediation, but the parties will control the outcome.  It gives the parties more freedom to be creative with their cases and find ways to bring their ideas closer to a settlement, but still provides the procedure and establishes boundaries for the parties to work within. This style arose as a way for mediators to act as facilitators rather than evaluators and give more agency back to the parties.  Some common characteristics of a facilitative mediator include: