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How is your community’s agenda established?
October 30th, 2009 by Lindsey Karlson
I recently stumbled on an idea that won’t let go of me. I love those kind of ideas-something I can’t ignore, even if the Swedish side of my brain is telling me ‘no, not another project.’ So, here it is.
The town of Harrisonburg, VA has started something called the Harrisonburg Summits to create intentional opportunities for public conversation around important issues facing the community. The idea in and of itself isn’t new. What puts it over the top, in my mind, is the use of Open Space Technology.
What’s Open Space Technology?
I first learned about Open Space Technology at an Art of Hosting training sponsored, in part, by the Rural Learning Center. The RLC understands that conversation, and the ability to host conversation, is a critical need in our rural communities. Open Space is one tool we use to do that. At its most basic, Open Space is a facilitation process that allows meeting participants to create the agenda around a specified topic based on what’s most important to the people in the room. Several conversations are hosted at one time, and people can choose to participate in whichever is most interesting to them. There is a lot more to it, but the premise that it genuinely allows the voices of those in the room to influence the outcome is most important here. This is vital if your goal is to engage people both in conversation, and then in the work that follows.
See what Harrisonburg residents think of the process in the video below.
The importance of involvement from the start.
Why is it so important to engage people in the process of creating the agenda? I think the answer begins and ends with one principle: people care more about ideas and projects that they feel a part of. Gone are the days when a city leader can come to a group of people with a project identified and execution planned, and simply ask for their help in doing the work. People want to feel more a part of the process, and their ownership is fundamental to getting the project completed. That ownership is one of the reasons why the community building work in Miner County has been so successful; people’s individual ideas and passions became the community’s ideas and passions. And they were willing to work hard to make things happen.
The Harrisonburg Summit webpage indicates that the summit started as a one-time project. They indicate that it continued because “the event was so successful.” What I would surmise is that the summits have continued because it has created a renewed sense of ownership and contribution for residents. They have become a part of something that matters.
If your community is looking for a meaningful way to engage residents, I think the Harrisonburg model is something to consider.
Tags: art of hosting, community dialogue, conversation, Harrisonburg VA, open space, Virgina
Posted in Community Engagement, Rural | Comments (
4 )
October 30th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Very cool, Lindsey! I experienced Open Space at a citizen journalism gathering in Minneapolis last year. I found my initial reaction split between, “Fun!” and “There’s no way this will work.” But work it did, and I ended up feeling very comfortable with the flow of programs and conversations. But will it work with everyone? Can you get really hardcore left-brained people to go with the flow and accept such an undefined opening and evolving structure?
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hi - Thanks for posting about our summits in Harrisonburg, VA! I agree with you that having participants set the agenda allows them to feel ownership of the event and any ideas presented in conversation. The Harrisonburg Summit series included four summits in 2009 on three topics: Sustainability, Health and Wellness, and Intercultural/Interfaith (we repeat sustainability on Nov 14).
I’m in a unique position because I coordinate the events through my job at the local Community Mediation Center, but am also the mayor in this city of 45,000. I’m happy to share with others about how you can have a community summit using Open Space Technology. My contact info is at HarrisonburgSummits.com.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:37 am
Corey,
Great question. We’ve practiced open space with everyone from artsy crowds to rural communities (the bankers, farmers, etc.) with success. I think the key is explaining the structure that does exist as well as that it’s okay to be a butterfly (someone who hangs out and observes a bit before jumping in) or a bumble bee (someone who floats between sessions, connecting ideas and cross-pollinating conversations) in addition to hosts and participants.
The real tension we’ve found is between thinkers and doers. Thinkers love open space. Doers want to do, rather than talk (which we’ve tried endless to convince them is productive).
Thanks for your comments!
Lindsey
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:50 am
Thinkers vs. doers — I’ve run into that tension, too! Butterflies and bumblebees — those roles surprised me, since they don’t fit with the usual dynamic of public meetings (come, sit, don’t walk in or walk out midway). But they do work, they do have value. What surprises me is that you can find the hosts/session leaders to fill such a spontaneous agenda. Do you ever feel like you need to “prime the pump” beforehand and let potential participants know that they themselves are responsible for proposing and leading the sessions on the agenda?