convergent thinking

Participatory Decision-Making

convergent thinking

Facilitation

Slide 2

convergent thinking

FacilitatorSomeone who “makes the process easy.” • remains objective and neutral•helps everyone feel comfortable and included•designs an agenda to keep things on track•guides the discussion•plans the outcome•may record key discussion points•helps the group reach decisions•summarizes the conversation

convergent thinking

Ground rules

Techniques: ground rules1. Listen to others2. Respect the validity of others’ views even if you disagree3. Suspend judgement 4. Be brief5. Participate by sharing your views

convergent thinking

•Agreement on procedures we’ll follow to make discussion productive

• Process for making decisions

•Reminder that everyone needs to participate

•Reminder that no one should dominate

Ground rules

convergent thinking

New topicdecision pointgroup discussion

convergent thinking

New topicdecision point

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

familiar opinions ?

convergent thinking

New topicdecision point

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

familiar opinionsdiverseperspectives

Boy, is Boy, is that that

stupidstupid

That makes That makes me madme mad

I I disagree!disagree!

convergent thinking

New topicdecision point

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

familiar opinionsdiverseperspectives

struggle

convergent thinking

New topicdecision point

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

divergent thinking

convergent thinkingfamiliar opinions

diverseperspectives

struggle refinements

consolidated thinking

convergent thinking

New topicdecision point

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

divergent thinking convergent thinking

generating alternatives evaluating alternatives

free for all open discussion summarizing key points

gathering diverse points of view sorting ideas into categories

discovering the logic of a problem

arriving at a general conclusion

convergent thinkingFacilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

Core values: Participatory decision making

Full participation

•all members encouraged to speak•no one is allowed to dominate•diversity of opinion leads to better decisions

Mutual understandin

g

•need to understand and accept legitimacy of one another’s goals and needs

•basic acceptance and understanding is crucial

•diversity of opinion leads to better decisions

Inclusive solutions

•group is wiser than individuals•Quakers say” Everybody has a piece of the

truth”

Shared responsibilit

y

•members feel a strong sense of shared responsibility for decisions

•feel responsibility for helping to implement decisions

•diversity of opinion leads to better decisions

convergent thinkingFacilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duana Berger

Benefits of participatory values

Personal learning

• Improved leadership skills•Stronger power of reasoning•More confidence•More commitment•Better communication skills

Effective groups

•greater access to multiple talents•access to more sources of information•more peaceful atmosphere for making

decisions•clear procedures for handling group

decisions• increased capacity for tackling difficult

problems

Sustainable agreements

•more ideas•higher quality ideas•solutions that integrate everyone’s goals•wiser decisions•more reliable follow-through

Case study:Reengaging the

community

Scenario• Board struggling with how

to get people involved

• Many new residents were not active

• 10-year-old strategic plan had lost relevance

• Changing community conditions including development activity, housing market, economic downturn

• Changing demographics – more families with children

Where would you start?

Where would you start?1. Must have agreement that organization really wants involvement – discuss pros and cons of engagement

2. Build on what’s already in place - past strategic plans, neighborhood surveys and votes

3. Process design - what are your goals?

Process design1. Give new residents an opportunity to set a new agenda

2. Quickly develop a vision for the future – focus on positive

3. List obstacles and opportunities

4. Spend majority of time developing action steps

Techniques: large group

SWOT analysis:•strengths•weaknesses•opportunities•threats

Techniques: large group

Dot voting

Simple way to let everyone have an equal voice in setting priorities

Techniques: small groups6-10 people

share ideas

record their group opinions

report out to entire group

Outcomes•a working plan to help all residents feel involved in activities and priorities.

•board and long-time neighborhood residents felt reenergized

•roadmap for next 5 years for dealing with city, developers and community partners