BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

citizens and users have been involved testifies to the insights,
creativity and richness of their inputs. In
Indianapolis the method of "structured" interviews was
used. 150 people were seen individually or in small
groups. About 50 of these were selected by the Steering
Committee as "important people to see". The rest were a
random sample. Each interview was structured around the
same series of questions, which were asked more in the
spirit of "items of discussion" than as direct questions.
Each interview averaged about an hour in duration, and was
tape recorded.
f) Following the collection of "hard" data and perceptions by the
staff, the staff's next task is to set out the material in undistorted
and graphic form, and to develop a series of analyses
and expert opinions on the material, in joint meetings with the
Steering Committee.
g) These materials and opinions are then presented at the first
Public Forum. The public forum itself can be organized simply
by making a public announcement of the meeting and opening the
doors to all-comers. In Indianapolis an alternative to this was
used. Each of the 150 people interviewed in the "perceptions"
stage was. asked to come and to bring three new people. Not
everyone managed to bring three, but 350 to 400 people came to
the public forums. The first public forum has two main items
on its agenda:
- review the analysis and synthesis of data prepared by the
staff and the Steering Committee. This material is best
presented in large-scale graphic form: inventories of
basic ideas in large letters on huge sheets of paper;
maps, slides, etc., so that the public feels that they
are truly included in the project;
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