Full Report - Knight Program in Community Building

More documents

Recommendations

Info

HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS 7Stages in the ProcessWithin the field of consensus-building, there are well-recognized stages in theprocess: (1) assessment/convening, (2) building the agreement, (3) implementation,and (4) evaluation. These stages are not purely linear. Activities in one stage maylead participants to revisit an “earlier” stage. However, these stages describe tasksthat must be completed, and provide a framework for understanding the overall arcof the process.Each of these stages relates to aspects of using charrettes in a planning process.I will discuss each stage in turn, describing the tasks undertaken as part of a consensus-buildingprocess, and then discussing how they relate to charrettes.Step 1: Assessment/ConveningThe assessment/convening stage is crucial in consensus-building. This stagesets the tone for the entire consensus-building process. Common tasks undertakenin this stage include:• Stakeholder Analysis• Determine if collaborative process is appropriate• Secure commitment from stakeholders to participate• Arrange first event/meeting• Agree on ground rules, including a decision rule• Choose a facilitator• Stakeholder Training (if appropriate)“Stakeholder Analysis,” a technique developed as an application of systems theory,has three primary components: identifying the stakeholders; identifying the interests,influences, resources, and power that those stakeholders have and can use; and mappingthe relationships among different stakeholders. Identifying the stakeholders simplymeans answering as completely as possible two questions: “Who can affect the project?”and “Who is affected by the project?” The first question is strategic. Anyone whocan affect the outcome of the planning and development process should be involvedas early as possible. The second question is driven by concerns about equity. Thesecond and third components of stakeholder analysis provide information abouthow to influence the “system,” the group of people who have a relationship to aproject. Some people will need to be involved early and often, some only once,some at certain points in the decision-making process. A thorough stakeholderanalysis prevents unpleasant surprises later in the project.
HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS 8Lesson: Know the playing field. Conduct a thorough stakeholder analysis atthe beginning of a project and develop the community outreach plan based onthat analysis. Revisit the stakeholder analysis as the scope of the project changes.The last thirty years of experimentation in public policy dispute resolutionhave produced great successes, dismal failures, and everything in between. Inreflecting on the differences between success and failure, mediators have developedguidelines for determining whether or not a collaborative process is appropriate.Guidelines include consideration of many factors, including suitability of the issuesfor negotiation, ripeness for decision, time and resources available, political climate,agency willingness, and underlying interests. This task is similar to asking if a communityis “charrette-ready.” Where the charrette-ready concept focuses on projectdefinition and data support, the guidelines developed by mediators focus more onprocess and power dynamics.Lesson: Make sure a community is ready for a collaborative process such as acharrette. Include considerations of politics and community organizing in the definitionof “ready.” Make sure key stakeholders will participate and decision-makers will listento their input.One of the first tasks of a collaborative group is to discuss and agree on“ground rules.” Mediators and facilitators use ground rules as a tool to help groupsof people work together productively. Ground rules are especially important in situationswith high levels of distrust, strong emotions, and conflicting views. By discussingthe ground rules openly with participants and asking for agreement to workunder these rules, the facilitator makes the group members responsible for theirbehavior. At the same time, this agreement empowers the facilitator, because thefacilitator only enforces rules that the group has decided it wants. Typical groundrules include:• Start and end on time• Listen…Don’t interrupt• Speak up…Everyone is important• Focus on issues, not people• Respect confidentiality• Decide by consensus
Page 1 and 2: The Public Process andNew UrbanismB
Page 3 and 4: 2The Public Process and New Urbanis
Page 5 and 6: 4The Public Process and New Urbanis
Page 7: HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS6So what
Page 11 and 12: HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS 10Step
Page 13 and 14: HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS 12Exper
Page 15 and 16: HURLEY | THE PUBLIC PROCESS 14In ad

Full Report - Knight Program in Community Building

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?