Great Neighborhoods

2016 San José Budget Allocator Training for in-person Facilitators and Observers

Transforming communities with the power of every voice

What is San Jose Budget Allocator?

Budget Allocator is a collaborative prioritization framework used online and in-person to: Identify shared community prioritiesEducate citizens about budget challengesHelp build budget consensus among residentsAnd engage citizens and their government in a fun and non-

threatening way!

EVEF has worked with San José for the last 5 years to use various versions of the Budget Allocator.

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Goals for 2016

Mayor Sam Liccardo wants to engage 50,000+ residents in a zero-based budget prioritization forum

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Feb 20 Feb 22nd – Feb 26th

500-1000 will participate in-person at Parkside Hall in San José

1,000 people will participate in facilitated online forums

49,000 will join unfacilitated online Galas

Focus of today’s training

Facilitator & Observer Training Goals

Prepare volunteer facilitators, observers & helpers to successfully:• Facilitate an in-person budget

allocation forum• Capture important feedback from

residents that enables San José staff to make better budget decisions

Agenda

Budget Allocator Overview• What is the Budget Allocator?• What does a budget allocator forum look like?• What results does a budget allocator forum produce?• Who participates?• What’s my role and what are the materials and tools I and

the participants will be using?• How do I “facilitate”?

Questions?

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Budget Allocator

12 to 20 items described in terms of benefits and costs5 to 8 Participants tables given limited budget, equally divided,

to buy what they want

1. …2. …3. …4. …

A list of items

prioritized by your

Participants

The reasons behind the

prioritization

Feedback that shapes

and improves the

items

Distributing Different Budget Amounts Creates Different Scenarios

0%

100%

60%

40%

Distributing 100% is a Reallocation Forum: Given 100% of the budget, do you want to fund programs at the same level, increase the funding or decrease (reallocate) the funding?

Distributing between 40% to 60% emphasizes Prioritization: Given a limited budget, what are your most important priorities?

Distributing 0% of the budget means that residents must raise taxes or cut programs in order to secure funds.

We’ve Used All of These Options

0%

100%

60%

40%

This is what we are doing in 2016! We are using a zero-based budget allocation process.

This was used in 2014 to identify priorities of a proposed sales tax increase. The total cost of all items was $145M. The sales tax would have generated about $68M.

This was used in 2011, 2012 and 2013: Citizens were given funding proposals and tax-generating/program reduction proposals.

What Does an in-person Forum Look Like?http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=COtAOBfesDA

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Who Participates

• City residents and leaders - like Neighborhood Associations, Youth and other Commissions

• Different districts are balanced across the tables to ensure balance among participants

• City Subject Matter Experts available to answer questions (e.g. Fire Captain, Budget Director)

• Facilitators explain and manage the process• Observers capture the “why” of prioritization decisions

Optional Write-In Candidate

In 2016 each table will be given the chance to add two ideas to the list of projects.

Write-In candidates do NOT increase the total budget. Instead, residents must fund a write-in candidate like any other project.

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Sample Results from 2012Funding Proposal Price

Purchase Count?

14. Gang Prevention Efforts $2,900,000 1110. General Code Enforcement $500,000 109. Restore Park Ranger Program $2,200,000 919. Neighborhood & School Traffic Safety $600,000 91. Hub Community Center $900,000 82. Satellite & Neighborhood Community Centers $600,000 86. Open Bascom & Seven Trees Libraries $1,600,000 87. Open Calabazas & Educational Park Branch Libraries $1,600,000 85. MLK Library Services Restoration $500,000 711. Traffic Safety Improvements $1,500,000 73. Branch Library Hours 4-4.5 $1,700,000 68. Open Bascom Community Center $600,000 617. Pavement Maintenance: Maintain FAIR Neighborhood Streets $32,000,000 64. Branch Library Hours 4-5.5 $4,700,000 412. Police Field Patrol: 40 positions $7,500,000 413. Police Field Patrol: 80 positions $15,000,000 415. Temporary Fire Company Closures (Brown-outs) $5,400,000 416. Open South San José Police Substation $2,400,000 418. Pavement Maintenance: Improve from FAIR to GOOD Neighborhood Streets $64,000,000 2Citizen Proposed ProjectsW1. Medical Marijuana Improvement Program $2,500,000 1W2. Bike Lanes/Table Proposal $900,000 1W3. Elementary Public School in Meadowfair $2,000,000 1W4. Boards and Commissions $250,000 1W5. Spartan Keys Alleyways Repair $750,000 1

8 tables funded pavement maintenance. 7 through a parcel tax, 1 through the sales tax.

8 tables funded police field patrol.

10 tables funded increasing branch

library hours.

5 tables created and funded write-in

candidates.

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Your RoleFacilitatorThe facilitator leads the Forum which consists of 6-8 Participants. They explain the rules, keep track of purchases, help draw out why ítems are more or less important to the Participants and basically keep the Forum moving forward when needed. They are also the banker giving out, taking in money and keeping track of purchases

ObserverThe observer is silent. Their role is to write down anything significant said or done in the Forum that is useful in understanding why and how Participants made choices. It may be a player quote, head nods of agreement or disagreement over a particular ítem or a discussion that points to different interpretations of the choices and consequences. If needed the observer can help the facilitator, especially with keeping track of bids

Special Observer Tracking Sheets

We are going to be using special Observer tracking sheets to help us analyze the data.

We’ll practice with these sheets during our training session.

Forum Logistics and Timing

Program Agenda - Sat - Feb 20, 2016 Parkside Hall, 180 Park Ave. San Jose, CA 95113

07:30 Facilitators arrive at Parkside Hall09:00 Welcome - Mayor Sam Liccardo09:15 2016-2017 Budget Overview - Lee Wilcox, Budget

Director, Mayor’s Office09:30 2016-2017 City Budget Prioritization Exercise10:00 Break 10:30 Zero-Based Budgeting Exercise: Our Neighborhoods12:00 Closing

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What You Do…

1. Arrive at Parkside Hall2. Find your partner3. Collect and assemble your materials 4. Quality check your materialsDuring the Mayor’s presentation:• Prepare money for the participants• Prepare sheets and write down participant names

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Make Sure You Have…

For the Facilitator: 2 copies of the tracking sheet, pencil, calculator (or smart phone) San José Money 3 copies of the Write-In candidate (only 2 can be used, 1 is spare)

For the Observer: 1 copy of the Observer sheet, pencil 1 copy of the Observer debrief

For each Participant: A copy of the Items being tested Pencils

Forum Timing

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5 Min

Participants and Facilitator Introduce Themselves: Everyone at the table says a bit about their goals and background. (My name is _______. I represent _______ neighborhood. What I hope to get out of the Forum is _______.)·Observers begin taking notes.·Subject Matter Experts can be called over at any time for questions.Facilitators Explain the Rules of the Forum and Distribute Materials: Distribute an equal amount of the total Forum budget to each player and (ONLY) the funding proposal sheet.

15 Min Participants review funding proposals

40 MinParticipants make bids and discuss items.

At any time participants can introduce a Write-In Candidate.

20 Min Bring the group to close·Congratulate Participants on successfully playing Budget Forums.·Distribute satisfaction surveys to Participants and collect them after debriefing or before they leave.

10 Min Really – close the forum

Forum Ends

Immediately Following

Forum

Forum Coordinator or Government Officer Debriefs Participants:·More in-depth discussion of budget items and budget in general·Time for questions·Collect Satisfaction Surveys from ParticipantsFacilitators and Observers Fill Out a Debrief Sheets which they keep and use to fill out the qualitative results sheet. This word doc is later sent to the analyst.

Being a Great Facilitator

Facilitating a Forum

What is facilitation?What makes a good facilitator?Be preparedBe yourselfStay cool – BREATHE!!!Find the energy and follow itFocus on Process not

Content!

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What Not To Say

• Avoid making any promises on priorities.• Avoid commitments to specific projects/programs.• Listen non-judgmentally.• Never talk negatively about a project or a program.• Squash your own political opinion. We want Democrats,

Libertarians, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and Pizza Lovers to all feel welcome!

• Never say “That should be easy”.• Never say “That is too hard”.• Never say “Gosh, that’s a really good idea”. You can say: “Thank

you for explaining your perspective on this project.”

Good Questions

• Can you tell us why you think this program should receive more funding?

• Can you tell us what you will do with excess funding if you fund the program less?

• Are any major programs missing? If yes, consider adding them as a write-in candidate.

• What are the most important issues facing the City as a whole? Are these the same as the issues facing your District or Neighborhood?

Phrases for Managing “Table Energy”

Challenge ResponseDominator (Talker) Thank you for sharing your ideas. Let’s hear

from <pick another person>.

When the Dominator interrupts, say: “Hold on – <other person> is still talking.

Wallflower (Shy) Linda, care to share your perspective on <x>.

Linda, I can tell you’ve been thinking about this. We’d love to hear your perspective on this.

Essential Roles For the Facilitator

A professional knows how to: Establish rapport with respondents Probe beyond rationalizations to

uncover genuine motivations Interpret and build on what they hear Maintain flexibility in guiding the

discussion without losing sight of the objectives

“Turn on a dime” – adapt their approach when they and the clients encounter unexpected issues or insights

Manage the energy level and personality dynamics of the discussion

Avoid creating bias among respondents

A professional is prepared for challenging situations, and is able to: Get around respondents’ defensive

behavior Effectively handle talkers and non-

talkers Keep unexpected issues from

sabotaging the discussion Notice contradictions that don’t "ring

true" Handle sensitive topics with

diplomacy Recognize problem respondents and

act appropriately (from www.qrca.org)

Transforming Communities with the Power of Every Voice• Experienced facilitators

provide support and manage structure/process, not outcome

• Online and/or in-person events, facilitator training

• Quantitative & qualitative feedback

• Measurable results• Powered by Conteneo

Every Voice Engaged FoundationThanks you!