Harvesting what we already know about collaborative experiences and empowering groups to create collaborative guidelines Dear collaborative discussion friends, Welcome to the Collaborative Discussion Project Newsletter. In our first newsletter, we highlighted two...
Pre-program surveys Dear collaborative discussion friends, We are kicking off the new year with our first Collaborative Discussion Newsletter, highlighting a new Collaborative Discussion Toolkit activity each week. We have heard your feedback! Our open source...
At least four interactive aspects are critical to useful public discussion of IF’s Citizens Discussion Reports. 1. Facilitation is critical in public discussions of IF Citizens Staff Work Reports. There is nothing “magical” about IF facilitators. They are,...
As our catalogue of “Perspectives” grows, it’s probably useful to reconsider from time to time some of the basics of the IF process. That’s what I want to do here, all the while recognizing that the process is in some ways quite complex and is under continuous...
One of the most important features of Interactivity Foundation discussion projects is the emphasis on exploring contrasting perspectives and developing contrasting policy possibilities. Along the way to doing this, panelists need to practice being open to...
What are IF public discussions like and how do they differ from other type of policy discussions? IF typically organizes a discussion series—usually 3 or 4 meetings—for small groups of people to explore the possibilities in our reports. The possibilities in our reports emanate from the different concerns, beliefs, values, goals, and interests that Americans might have about an area of concern. They thus present contrasting possibilities that emanate from conceptual differences. We ask our participants to try to consider the possibility from the perspective of someone who might propose it before they begin to assess it from their own perspective.
Thanks, Michael, for your postings. I read them and enjoyed them, and have decided to follow your lead. I had my first IF discussion session last Wednesday. My class is a Freshman Seminar with 24 students. I met them two weeks ago, but decided to wait before I...
So in my IF-supported class this week, Art: I Know it When I See It, we continued our class discussion focusing on possible responses to the question "What is art?". Last week they came up with two potential responses (note that I'm avoiding the word "answers" - I...
Picture for a moment two very different kinds of citizen “discussions” that took place this summer. Both were focused on issues surrounding health and healthcare in our society. For the first, you might think of any of a number of the so-called “town hall”...