Thursday, September 29, 2016
How to be an effective trustee
I am going to try to post some videos I have created so I can show them from the web when I'm out of the office. Here goes #1, How to be an Effective Trustee
Friday, September 16, 2016
Polarity Management
... Is a problem solving methodology, well summarized by Barry Johnson at http://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/14-06-19.Barry_Johnson.Polarity_Management.pdf
It is an alternative to "either/or" and "independent alternatives" decision making. Polarities are situations where options are interconnected, e.g. should I take care of myself or my kids first? (Bad example but it shows how one alternative might serve the apparent goal of the other alternative, as when you put the oxygen mask on yourself first.)
There are some techniques to incorporating polarity management into your decision, which could be summarized as "balance, grasshopper."
This has little connection to anything else I'm doing but I wanted to capture it before it blows away. 😀
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Public engagement techniques, categorized by situation
Yet another interesting online resource ...
Design with Dialogue describes four types of group consultation approaches, the situations they apply to and the facilitation techniques that work for each.
Exploration is about examining a situation in an open ended way. It emphasizes learning and insight over action and results. Techniques include Conversation Cafe and World Cafe. It could be a useful first step in community needs assessment for libraries but it requires additional followup.
Conflict transformation is for resolving conflict. Techniques include Sustained Dialogue and Compassionate Listening. It wouldn't normally be relevant in community needs assessment unless you have a situation where the public is upset about something, e.g. the relocation of a beloved library. It could also be useful for resolving conflicts between and within board and staff.
Decision making is about getting to the point where you decide something. If "exploration" is the beginning, "decision making" is the end. It is appropriate for when "public engagement is needed on an issue to strengthen policy decisions and public knowledge" - and that is exactly the case with community needs assessment for libraries. "These methods are recommended when the issue at hand is going to be decided on by a single entity, such as a government agency or committee, that is genuinely interested in learning about their constituents’ informed opinions and shared values." This is the sweet spot for library planning. Appropriate techniques include National Issues Forums, Deliberative Polling, 21st Century Town Meetings, Charrettes, and Consensus Conferences.
"Key features of decision making methods include unbiased “naming” of the issue and balanced framing of options, creating space for participants to weigh all options and consider different positions, and identifying the public’s core values around an issue."
Collaborative action empowers the group to make decisions and can even assign responsibility for results to the group or members thereof. It is appropriate when dealing with partners. This level of empowerment and offloading of responsibility seems a bit much for the public library / community relationship. Study Circles, Future Search, and Appreciative Inquiry work for collaborative situations.
Design with Dialogue describes four types of group consultation approaches, the situations they apply to and the facilitation techniques that work for each.
Exploration is about examining a situation in an open ended way. It emphasizes learning and insight over action and results. Techniques include Conversation Cafe and World Cafe. It could be a useful first step in community needs assessment for libraries but it requires additional followup.
Conflict transformation is for resolving conflict. Techniques include Sustained Dialogue and Compassionate Listening. It wouldn't normally be relevant in community needs assessment unless you have a situation where the public is upset about something, e.g. the relocation of a beloved library. It could also be useful for resolving conflicts between and within board and staff.
Decision making is about getting to the point where you decide something. If "exploration" is the beginning, "decision making" is the end. It is appropriate for when "public engagement is needed on an issue to strengthen policy decisions and public knowledge" - and that is exactly the case with community needs assessment for libraries. "These methods are recommended when the issue at hand is going to be decided on by a single entity, such as a government agency or committee, that is genuinely interested in learning about their constituents’ informed opinions and shared values." This is the sweet spot for library planning. Appropriate techniques include National Issues Forums, Deliberative Polling, 21st Century Town Meetings, Charrettes, and Consensus Conferences.
"Key features of decision making methods include unbiased “naming” of the issue and balanced framing of options, creating space for participants to weigh all options and consider different positions, and identifying the public’s core values around an issue."
Collaborative action empowers the group to make decisions and can even assign responsibility for results to the group or members thereof. It is appropriate when dealing with partners. This level of empowerment and offloading of responsibility seems a bit much for the public library / community relationship. Study Circles, Future Search, and Appreciative Inquiry work for collaborative situations.
There are so many facilitation techniques out there. It is useful to see them categorized like this so you know which ones fit your situation.
Community engagement resources available online
"Participatory Methods Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual" includes general guidelines and tips for participatory methods, and describes ten approaches (World Cafe, etc.). It is a very in depth 167 page PDF. Available here.
"The Change Handbook" lists a whole lot of techniques for group discussion and analysis. Here is a screenshot from the website:
Most or all of these are basically group facilitation techniques that can be applied to any group analysis or investigation. So these will work with, for example, community needs assessment.
"The Change Handbook" lists a whole lot of techniques for group discussion and analysis. Here is a screenshot from the website:
Most or all of these are basically group facilitation techniques that can be applied to any group analysis or investigation. So these will work with, for example, community needs assessment.
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