8.1 Exploring Interests

Parties can often get so locked in to their positions, that they “forget” or may even be unaware of the interests they are trying to satisfy.  Solving a problem collaboratively involves helping parties explore their positions to better understand each other’s underlying interests so that together, a solution can be developed that satisfies the interests of all parties.

Sometimes we find that parties with conflicting positions may actually share a common interest. Meanwhile differing interests allow for trade offs. The next section (8.2) discusses how to uncover these interests.

Questions or comments?

8.0 Understanding Interests: The Key to Collaboration

Understanding how to identify and work with interests is at the heart of collaboration. At the start of an agreement seeking process, most stakeholders will advocate for their position, a position is typically an expression of their idea of an acceptable solution to the problem.

Different “sides” are often stuck battling between their positions or their ideas about how to solve a problem. Interests, on the other hand, are the broad needs, hopes, desires that underlie those positions.

It is possible to have interests around the people, substance or process related to an issue.  All of which can be the sources of conflict and/or the sources for resolution.  Remember the Conflict Triangle!  Questions or comments?  Post below.  

7-2 Completing and Analyzing the Internal Assessment

Now that you have identified the internal stakeholders and have decided what you would need to ask them, complete the task.  For purposes of this course, you can “imagine” the interviews and the responses.  Use the following worksheet to record the various perspectives you would discover, and post it in the student blog assignment 7-2.

          Once you have completed the information gathering part, look it over, and do the initial screening analysis.  Basically, you want to determine whether, from the organization’s perspective:

• the issues appear to be ripe for resolution,
• the necessary people within the organization are ready and willing to participate in a shared decision-making process (they have not already determined the outcome), and
• the parameters make it doable.  (I.e., there are enough resources to support a process, there is time to work together, there are no legal or practical constraints to reaching an agreement and there would be an implementation mechanism.)

Remember, this is a preliminary assessment.  You will not know all the answers, but you may identify some stumbling blocks.  You can then further explore the stumbling blocks to determine if they can be overcome.

Following is a “score sheet” tool that might help you.  In spite of the fact it gives a rating, there is no formula that can determine the outcome of an assessment.  It is truly a judgment call, and a part of the building of “buy-in” to the process with the potential participants.  If participants buy in and see the process as one with potential and one to which they will give their energy, it has a much higher chance of success.

Post the results of both your Internal Assessment Summary Worksheet and your Analysis in the student blog assignment 7-2.

Post any comments, questions or insights from this exercise as replies below.

 

7-1 Conducting The Internal Assessment

Identify who the initiating organization (or one considering suggesting collaboration)  would be in the problem you are working with (your project).  Typically, this would be your organization, but if you are using an issue in your community as your project, assume you are a member of one of the potential initiating organizations, and that you personally are suggesting the consideration of collaboration to address the issues.  In that role, begin by identifying the stakeholders within the organization, using the worksheet below.  Some sample questions that could be used to interview those stakeholders follow.

Complete the worksheet to identify stakeholders and post the responses in the student blog as Blog Assignment 7-1.  Review the sample questions, then suggest which of those and any additional questions you might ask your stakeholders.

7- 0 Collaborative Decision-making Step 1: Assessment and Planning

Now that you have practiced framing an issue for collaboration with the role play, we are ready to begin working through the steps of Collaborative Decision-Making in relation to your own project.

We are assuming you have decided that your project warrants an exploration of using collaboration, perhaps along with other processes for involving the public. So, we will start moving down the “Collaborate” road.

Once a manager or other party involved in a project starts thinking about the need to collaborate with others to address a particular issue or problem, often the first response is to call some people together and start meeting about it.  BUT WAIT…there is more to it than that!

We need to start at the Convening Phase of the Collaborative Decision-making process, where we begin with Step 1, Assessment and Planning:

The first step on the collaborate road is to conduct an assessment.  An assessment is:

an analysis of a situation or conflict made by gathering information and talking with others to get their perspectives.

Many people might say, “Why not just get the people together?  We know who they are and what the problem is.  We know what they need to do together to solve this problem.”  On the other hand, we know there are many barriers to the success of collaboration.  Have you encountered any barriers in trying to collaborate?  What might some of the barriers be?

Think back about the Winhootchy Role Play scenario you looked at earlier.  If you were the Park Service Manager trying to call people together to collaborate, what might be some of the barriers you would face in either getting them together in the first place, or in getting a real collaborative solution?  Post some thoughts and discuss.

6-2 Considerations for Framing

Considerations for finding the right frame:

1: Ask yourself these questions to guide your thinking:

• What is the problem that needs solving?
• Who is concerned or affected by this problem?
• What other perspectives need to be understood to solve this problem?
• What statement of the problem would incorporate these perspectives and interests?

2. Begin with a “working frame” of the issue.

Framing is iterative.  It will change through the process as more understanding and clarity is developed. Consider starting with an initial frame that is then refined through the assessment and during the collaborative process. Ultimately, the goal is to get the right stakeholders in the room to agree on the right framing for the situation. Be ready to let the “next right frame” emerge!

3. Apply these guidelines:

• Use broad neutral terms
• Use “how” instead of “should”
• Avoid imbedding solutions
• Broaden or narrow the frame to fit

Practice: Review the Mt. Winhootchy National Park role play General Information.  Then suggest the potential frames for the problem to be solved in a collaborative process.

6-2 Mt Winhootchy General Scenario_Junction of public processes

Respond: Let’s brainstorm all the possible ways to frame this issue. Respond with your suggestions:

Course Outline Now Posted

Hello all you brave Beta testers for this course.  We want you to know that we have finally posted an outline for the course in the Course Objectives and Plan section.  Sorry this was not posted in the beginning, so you could better track the course.  We hope this will help you follow the structure of the course.  You will notice that the activities/time component for the blog posts from 7 and above are not listed.  We will update those as we get them actually attached to certain posts.

We have also created an Announcements section on the blog.  This announcement and others that we may need to use to alert you to changes or updates will be posted there.  Please let us know how things are or are not working for you as you go along.

Thanks again for being the testers to help us learn how to make this work and how to get the bugs out of our system.

The Instructors

6-1 The Art of Framing

The art of framing involves defining the problem or issue in a way that considers the various perspectives and directs efforts toward an outcome or solution that meets the interests of all stakeholders.

This video clip from “Everyday Creativity” by Star Throwers Distributions is one of our favorites for illustrating the impact of how framing affects a situation. It is about 5 minutes and well worth the time to watch.

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What stands out for you from this video? 

6-Framing an Issue for Collaboration

Framing an Issue for Collaboration

One of the critical elements to consider when convening a group for collaborative agreement seeking is that of “framing”.

Framing

Consider these two questions

What do you see as the main difference between these two questions?

How would each affect you if you were were pro-growth or pro-environment?

What do you conclude you need to consider in framing an issue?

5-3 Junction of Public Processes Analysis

Now that you have a better understanding of the Collaborate Road, along with your understanding of the other public involvement roads, look again at your completed Junction of Public Policies Worksheet from blog post 4-4.  Using the the analysis tool below,  complete your analysis of which “road” to pursue in involving the public as you address your public problem.

Junction of Public Processes Analysis

Post your analysis.  Say which process you believe would be the most helpful and appropriate and why.  Remember the Levels of Stakeholder Involvement pyramid with all the processes from blog post 3-5.  It is possible to involve different people in different ways on the same project.  This is just a preliminary analysis.  There will be more steps to a final determination and a design of the process.