10-1 “What”: Defining the Group’s Purpose

In Blog Posts 6 to 6- 3 we explored the importance of framing the issue to include the interests of all participants.  In the organizing stage, the group builds on how the issue has been framed to make sure they are all in agreement that the purpose of the group is to resolve the defined (framed) issue. A group’s purpose should spell out what they are going to do and the outcome the group is seeking.

Here are some actual examples of different groups’ purposes:

“The purpose of the Non-Roadway Work Group is to develop recommendations for sustainable funding of non-roadway transportation, including rail, marine, aviation, transit, and on and off-road bicycle and pedestrian paths.”

“The purpose of this core group is to better understand and define the key issues surrounding population forecasting for urban growth planning and develop recommendations for addressing those issues.”

“This task force is to develop recommendations to the Eugene City Council for addressing the needs and impacts for the unhoused in the community.”

A group purpose defines what general issue a group is resolving and what outcome they are seeking to achieve. The group may well break the general issue into many parts as it goes along.  It could even decide that some of the parts are NOT within the scope of its work.  It continually clarifies the issues it is solving, but it is important that there is general agreement on what is to be solved at the outset.  This serves to give the group clear direction and focus as well as defining the outcomes it seeks to accomplish to measure its success.

Recall the range of framing possibilities suggested for the Mt. Winhootchy issue in Blog Post 6-2.  Now apply that to your project and, based on your assumed assessment of the stakeholders, and using the guidelines below, develop a framing of the issue to be solved and the potential outcome (product) desired as a result.

Post the framing of your project as a statement of purpose for the collaborative group in the 10-1 Student blog assignments.  Reply below with any questions or comments about framing the issues and creating a purpose statement for a collaborative group.