Basic Project Steps
I coach clients through a series of steps that set a group well on its way to new, or renewed, success. Preparation (Step I, below) always comes first and requires substantial time and effort long before any meeting or event actually takes place. The subsequent steps (II through V) are all necessary components of a successful project. In most cases, I consult through all or most of the steps. Sometimes, I assist with just one or a few of the steps, or I design and facilitate a single meeting or event.
- Step I. Getting Ready: clarify leadership commitment, establish a planning or design committee with membership that is representative of those being served, gather resources, and agree upon expected outcomes.
- Step II. Getting Started: identify the full spectrum of those who are interested in or affected by the project and include their perspectives from the beginning.
- Step III. Getting Into It: discover underlying issues and needs; create and explore options.
- Step IV. Getting Things Done: make decisions and implement courses of action.
- Step V. Getting Better: learn and adapt through constructive feedback; recognize, reward, and celebrate success.
Principles and Practices
It’s all in the Integrity of Design
The design and facilitation of participatory group work is an art that requires a creative mix of tested practices and innovation. Here are the guiding principles and strategies I use to match a client’s needs to proven methods of creating partnerships and collaborations.
Successful partnerships or collaborations have visionary leaders who invest time and resources into exemplary process.
I support this process through the rigorous application of 4 Core Values, based on the work of Sam Kaner and colleagues.
Core values:
- Full participation
- Mutual Understanding
- Inclusive Solutions
- Shared Responsibility
Successful partnerships and collaborations use tools that foster a positive culture of continuous communication and learning and bring the above 4 Core Values to life at all times.
I carefully craft a match between every strategy or agenda item and the participatory tools and methods needed to address them. As I select from the best practices for facilitation, I focus clients on the positive (Appreciative Inquiry), on meaningful large group conversations (World Café), and on creating powerful visual and written records of their work.
Successful partnerships or collaborations make high quality decisions.
I use a variety of approaches to poll for trends in a group’s thinking so that participants explore and improve early proposals and develop them into strong, inclusive decisions.
Successful partnerships and collaborations have access to quality information that is presented in ways that empower participation by everyone involved.
I help design strategies and agendas that include all participants in teaching and learning. This process draws on the most important local knowledge and scientific information needed at each step.
- Experts are coached to provide the most relevant information and analysis needed to support the group’s vision and goals.
- Participants are encouraged to become informal experts themselves, seeking out and sharing information.
- Information, instruction, and group work are presented through large-scale posters and handouts that support exploration of alternatives, meaningful conversation, and the search for common ground.
Successful partnerships and collaborations have clearly defined mandates or “sideboards” that communicate the political and cultural context of the project, the timelines, what is ‘at stake,’ and what everyone can expect.
As coach to the leadership or planning team, I facilitate the up-front articulation of the ‘promise’ being made to participants and the type of influence they will have on the outcomes (IAP2 Spectrum of Participation). I also ensure that policy or legal guidance, mandated outcomes, and all roles, responsibilities, and timelines are clear.
Successful partnerships and collaborations meet in open, comfortable spaces that support their best, most creative work.
I work with clients to ensure that the setup of the working environment reflects needs of the participants and the methods selected. This means that:
- People are physically comfortable.
- There is ample “elbow room” for the variety of agenda activities planned.
- There are large blocks of wall space and/or flip charts for graphic recording and group work.
- The seating is arranged so that people can see each other’s faces, not just those of a leader or presenter.
Successful partnerships and collaborations are rewarding and fun.
- I help clients foster a culture of gratitude and celebration. Giving thanks for the small successes along the way helps sustain commitment and produces positive outcomes.
- I help clients take a pragmatic approach to stay on schedule and maintain optimism. As the planning process reaches conclusion, its vitality carries over into the implementation phase.