PAIN CONSULT

Concept design workshop

Peter Jones, OCADU Toronto

Agoras Institute

FROM ENGAGEMENT TO EMPOWERMENT

A Dialogic Design Workshop

What brings you to this session?

What do you care about that led you here? What concerns are reaching out for possibility? What might we learn together?

What is dialogue? Is dialogue just a collective conversation? Buber Dialogic encounter : I-Thou Gadamer As a fusion of horizons Bohm About the process of reflection itself & the willingness to change our thoughts & selves

A committed conversation for understanding. From discovery to the co-creation of meaning.

Wicked problems require a design approach. Not individual designers – social design. Autonomy & authenticity conserved. Due care to minimize impacts of power in planning. Engaging all stakeholders of a problem system. Systems principle of (Ashby’s) Requisite Variety: Sufficient variety of inputs that match system variety

DESIGN WITH DIALOGUE

Conversation Discovering Dialogue Understanding Deliberation Action

PROGRESSIVE DIALOGUE

Sensemaking in Conversation >

Social design starts with a conversation for possibility. Open, interactive, discovering what’s available & possible.

How can I help?

Sensemaking in Dialogue >

A way of being and a set of practices & principles that prepare us to convene strategic conversations.

Principles include: Hosting Ourselves Deep Listening Emergence The “Container”

Practices include: Circle World Café Open Space Five Breaths

ART OF HOSTING

Structured Dialogue Methodology developed to address root causes of wicked problems

• Created in 70’s, after notables failures to solve world problems. • Used in Cyprus peace dialogues, WHO disease mgt, forestry, education

Consensus among very disparate stakeholders

• All decisions are collected through inclusive “supermajority” voting

Elicits root causes AND interconnections • Grounded & sustained by systems science, visually describes system

Radically democratic • Exacting method for equality & autonomy in engagement

• Cyprus Reunification Dialogues (1990 – 2011) EU project for Israeli-Palestinian dialogues

• WHO Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis Partners, Clinicians, Villagers & Pharma from multiple agencies (1999)

• Transnational Indigenous Leaders Dialogue on Globalization: 40 Indigenous leaders from Americas and New Zealand & experts

• US Forest Service - Forest Service Priority Setting (2003)

• Alternative Energy Future Planning, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

Democratic - For complexity & power

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“Obamavision” Wiki

• “When concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action. (Janis, 1971)

• Spreadthink: Unable to reach any genuine consensus, or even majority view toward component aspects of a complex issue

• Clanthink: When like groups maintain concurrence within group

• Linkthink: When people “link” like ideas in concurrence

Warfield: “Facilitators who try to bring groups to a consensus without the aid of some methodology that resolves the difficulties caused by Spreadthink may well be driving the group to Groupthink, and thus helping to arrive at a decision that lacks individual support and, usually, lacks substance.

Resolves Groupthink

FROM ENGAGEMENT TO EMPOWERMENT

• What is the possibility of citizens empowered to collectively create new community services?

• People co-creating services once expected of government

• Collective actions become services that serve more needs

• Learn from the small-scale community-led projects around the world where people are leading the way

Design-Led Civic Engagement

• Welcome & Introductions What is a community that you belong to that could benefit from increased participation?

• Dialogue 1: Current Examples What are the some stories from here or around the world of community-led local services?

• Dialogue 2: Possibilities For your neighbourhood, what service could community members invent or radically improve?

• D3: Idea Selection : Host a small group for an idea

• D4: Idea Design : Break out to co-create the idea

• D5: Design Harvest

• Reflection & Close @ 7:00

Agenda

1. What personal or community need does this service address?

2. How might this service involve the community to deliver maximum value?

3. What, tools, resources or incentives would community members need to help them initiate and implement this service?

4. What support could government provide to kickstart or sustain this service?

Idea Design Questions