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Message |
Aid Workers Exchange
Guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 08:58 am: | |
Aid Workers Exchange - April 30, 2003
Brainstorming: Structured Group Decision Making
By Phil Bartle
The purpose of a brainstorming session is to work as a group to define a problem, and find, through a participatory intervention, the best group decision for a plan of action to solve it. [read full article]
What is your experience of leading groups to making decisions by consensus? Have you any suggestions or lessons learned to share? |
Karen Medica
Guest
| | Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2003 - 03:40 am: | |
As a group facilitator, working with project stakeholders in South Asia (Pakistan and Sri Lanka), I work from a premise that there are usually an array of different vested interests within a group but that this is OK - I found that groups grow to accept that in developing a consensus there may be some 'winners' and 'losers' - the important principle is to genuinely and respectfully take all views into account but to gain acceptance that the group decision should prevail over the individual decisions.
In general, I found that groups will be more accepting of an outcome which uses a process that is transparent and inclusive as well as realistic (ie acknowledges the diversity as well as the common ground).
A simple tool that works in a group setting is an overhead of a proposed document with clearly marked changes (I use the track changes option in Word). In working with groups they can immediately identify recommendations and proposed changes on documents. The process is very transparent and enbles the facilitator to move through documents in a group setting and accept or reject the changes as they come up - it also provides a record of the doc and the changes.
A good participatory methodology for decision-making is the Multi-stakeholder Process (MSP). The MSP is a tool that evolved during the lead up to the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (refer to UNED, UK). A basic aim of the MSP is to improve decision making, and build understanding, by actively involving individuals and organizations with a stake in the respective project. I used the MSP to gain a better understanding of stakeholder needs for a World Bank funded Higher Education project in Sri Lanka (2002). The information collected during the MSP helped me to prepare a Stakeholder Analysis and Beneficiary Assessment for the project. See www.unedforum.org for more info on the MSP.
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Roberto Benatti
Guest
| | Posted on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 02:41 pm: | |
aime la realité que tu va construire
a bientot
Roberto |
Andrew Cates
Guest
| | Posted on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 01:57 pm: | |
I think consensus as a concept let along a practice varies hugely between cultures. If you do it wrong even when people appear to have bought in fully they backtrack when things get rough. Andrew |
Phil Bartle
Member
Username: Pbartle
Post Number: 2
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 03:55 pm: | |
>Brainstorming can be useful, but not for every situation, and certainly it >must be done with good logic, clear objectives and a manner subjective to >the needs and conditions of the participants. See: >http://www.scn.org/cmp/modules/brn-int.htm
Phil Bartle
http://www.scn.org/cmp/ |
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