My first week of simulating the IF process via my facilitation and notetaking for the class discussion went OK. It is a large group (around 40), and I made students responsible for taking turns speaking, building on each others’ comments,… Read More »
Monthly Archives: February 2010
What Is the Difference Between Conceptual and Practical Policy Possibilities?
In our sanctuary projects we ask our panelists to develop contrasting conceptual policy possibilities pertaining to their areas of concern, and to then explore the practical policy possibilities that might flow from them if they were actually adopted as public… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged conceptual possibilities, contrasting possibilities, Project Discussions Comments closed
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Picking at the Glue and Possibilities for Innovation
In his novel So Yesterday, Scott Westerfeld explores questions about innovation, about how the new can come into society, and about how the next cool thing can become yesterday’s news in the steady advance of consumer culture. The book deals… Read More »
Snacks
My students had their first IF discussion this week. They talked for about 50 minutes, then we spent about 15 minutes debriefing as a group before I met individually with the three facilitators. I started the debriefing by having them… Read More »
Putting Chicken Little in His Place
Life imitates art, or so they say. But not always. At least not completely. Take the story of Chicken Little. True, we’ve got no shortage these days of Chicken Littles. It’s hard to turn around without bumping into a Chicken… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged citizen discussions, contrasting possibilities, governance, Public Discussions Comments closed
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Some Thoughts on Recruiting Panels for the Best Contrast of Possibilities
The current tendency within IF is to recruit at least the generalist panels via Public (or “Citizen”) Discussions. Those of us who use Meetup to recruit Citizen Discussion participants have a greater chance of connecting with a broader public. We… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged attitude, citizen discussions, Project Discussions, Public Discussions, recruiting Comments closed
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Why Spend Time in Public Discussion on “Concepts”?
A lot of people wonder why IF public discussions focus on conceptual possibilities. Instead of talking about abstract ideas, why not deal with something really practical? The short answer is that, from one perspective at least, nothing could be more… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged citizen discussions, conceptual possibilities, Public Discussions, reasoning skills Comments closed
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Front-End Deliberation
One of the benefits of ongoing citizen conversation is the ability to talk about issues that might impact individuals and communities long before they become controversial or partisan. This type of citizen re-imagining was once part of our approach to… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Tagged citizen discussions, civic engagement, governance, Public Discussions Comments closed
Practical Tips for Citizen Discussion of Possibilities: Part II- Starting the Discussion
In my previous installment on practical tips I looked at recruitment of citizen groups. The who, what, and where of that first step of gathering the bodies exerts considerable influence on how you might want to initiate discussion of policy… Read More »
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