FAQ's
Civic forums appear to be "just talk". Why do you think they're so important?
As a general rule, communities and regions are not particularly good at the skills of "thinking together". Here is a simple thought exercise. As a nation, we are facing a very severe challenge: over 30% of our ninth graders drop out of high school. Where in your community to people come together on a regular basis to address this challenge?
Increasingly, we are coming to recognize that our challenges require collaboration. But collaboration requires conversation. So, in the industrial era, one’s economic and civic life was dominated by large hierarchical organizations, and conversation was viewed as largely a distraction, "just talk".
In the age of networks, conversation creates meaning. More important, through guided conversation, we can align, link and leverage our assets across organizational and political boundaries.
What are the vital skills that people learned during the civic forums?
We cannot gain the power of networks, however, if we do not know how to conduct civil conversations in which we can engage in complex thinking. In the industrial era, complex conversations were carefully managed, often by resorting to rigid rules set forth in detailed agendas or Robert's Rules of Order.
In the network era, in which we are now engaged, we need to guide conversations by setting clear rules of appropriate behavior and learning how to lead conversations by asking questions.
You mention the importance of civic forums to a wide range of groups, including colleges, universities, libraries, economic development organizations, workforce investment boards, and community foundations. Why do you include such a large group?
All of these organizations are entering an era in which they can no longer afford to go it alone. Yet, it is often very difficult to step outside organizational boundaries. Civic forums create a discipline that can be easily followed to build collaborations that organizations need to thrive in the network care.
You talk about a "civic space". What does that mean?
A civic space is both a physical and emotional space. Within every community or region, and there are comfortable spaces to which people will come in order to participate in potentially controversial conversations. They perceive these spaces as "safe". Colleges and universities and libraries often provide these "safe" spaces.
Indeed, colleges, universities and libraries can play a vital role in strengthening the civic networks within a community or region by offering to be a convener of these regular forums.
What is the connection of the civic forums to "Strategic Doing"?
Strategic Doing is a civic discipline that teaches people how to think and act strategically and open networks. We are all familiar with the disciplines of strategic planning. These disciplines were developed in the industrial euro to deal with the complex choices facing hierarchical organizations, like large corporations.
The disciplines of strategic planning do not work in the open networks that characterize community and regional economies. Yet, we need to think and act strategically. Strategic Doing provides the framework
We do not know enough about the Internet. What is the connection of Web 2.0 to the civic forums?
Building networks is a process that integrates face-to-face communication and online collaboration. The Internet is becoming easier and easier if to use. Web 2.0 refers to a set of technologies that enable people to write to the Internet with the same skills needed to write an e-mail. In other words it's very easy.
What is the first step to engaging I-Open in helping us?
Simply connect with Susan Altshuler, Dennis Coughlin or Betsy Merkel by sending an e-mail to info@i-open.org.