A question of size ;-)

Wed Jun 30 16:40:19 PDT 2010

Hi Irv,

You ask an important question about a key aspect of working with communities!  I find the biggest difference between working in an organization and working with a community is the nature of reaching the people you wish to attend.  

With organizations, you've got a clear sense of who belongs.  Even if you want to reach beyond employees to include other stakeholders - customers, suppliers, community, family, or others -- defining who makes up the system and reaching them is pretty straightforward.

For communities, given your theme, how do you define the whole system?  What roles need to be in the room? For example, do you want public officials?  Or certain types of expertise?  How important are factors like race, class, gender, generation, geography, political perspective, or other dimensions?  

I've done a lot of work over the last 10 years in bringing together increasingly diverse communities.  Inviting is the most important and challenging pre-work of doing an OS on behalf of a whole system.  I consider it vital because of the connection between diversity and innovation.  Change the mix of who's in the conversation and the conversation changes.  The likelihood of original responses to whatever issue you're facing goes way up.

All that said, I am a strong believer that "whoever comes is the right people".  AND I am also deeply committed to being mindful and deliberate in the work of inviting a diverse group when the intention for coming together is served by it.  

BTW, I've never found myself overwhelmed by people from the historically neglected areas showing up.  It's just the opposite: it takes a dedicated effort -- a clear and welcoming invitation -- to attract their participation.

I strongly suggest forming an outreach group reflective of the mix of people you wish to invite.  You see, if the community group who is hosting the event are principally white and middle class, chances are they won't be the best folks to reach those you described as historically neglected.  

One key caveat: inviting folks to join you to help with outreach from different communities also means being open to their influence on framing the theme.  Part of the reason people from the communities you wish to reach don't show up is the purpose you've stated for coming together doesn't attract them.  So find out what does.

Another, perhaps even more important, reason they don't show up is that you don't have a relationship with them.  So cultivate one.  Show up where the people you want to reach hang out.  And listen.  Learn.  Connect.

This isn't one-off work.  It's about cultivating a larger sense of who "we" the community is.  And I've found each time I learn to define the system in a larger way, another aspect of who has been left out shows up.  It's great because it continues to grow the mix of unlikely connections with each subsequent event.

One logistical suggestion: if you're not sure how many people will be coming, you can ask people to register in advance.  You can even give away some sort of thank you gift for people who register as an incentive.  On the day of the event, its important to welcome whoever shows up, but pre-registration gives you some sense of how many to expect.  

best of success,
Peggy

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> 
> 
> On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 12:05 AM, Irv Sheffey <irv.sheffey at sierraclub.org> wrote:
> I’m working with a local community group to organize a one day forum on creating local sustainable neighborhoods, here in the District of Columbia.  We want the forum to be inclusive of a wide range of perspectives from environmental NGOs, local government, civic leaders and most important, folks from the community at large, namely the “grassroots”.  The theme is “Getting from here to there, creating sustainable east of the river communities.” We are targeting people who reside in a part of DC that is geographically separated from the other, two-thirds of the District, by the Anacostia River.  This part of DC is the home of over 140,000 people, many who have been historically neglected socially and politically.  We envision the forum to be a place where their voices can be heard 
> 
>  
> This brings me to my question and I hope someone out in the network has some suggestions.  How do we open space such that we get a good representation of people from these neighborhoods, without overwhelming ourselves?  Whereas it’s relatively easy to work in a context of a given organization, i.e., a company, a school, a profession, since affinity is defined and numbers limited but what do you do when you’re seeking a broad cross section of the public?  We have a modest budget and a venue that could accommodate upwards of 200 people.  How can you be “open” while reasonable as to how many people can be logistically accommodated?
> 
>  
> The forum is scheduled for late October and we will begin outreach efforts over the summer.
> 
>  
> I hope that this doesn’t sound like a “duh” question for you more experience facilitators.  I could truly use your insights. I’ve taken the liberty of copying my co-organizers of this event.  It would be great if you can hit “reply to all” in responding, so that they can be directly informed.
> 
>  
> Thank you,
> 
>  
> Irv
> 
> _________________________________
> 
>  
> Irv Sheffey
> 
> Associate Field Organizer - Washington DC
> 
> Environmental Justice & Community Partnerships Program
> 
> Sierra Club
> 
> 3101 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE  No. 314
> 
> Washington, DC 20020
> 
> tel:   202-575-1469
> 
> cell:  202-299-6503
> 
>  
> e-mail: irv.sheffey at sierraclub.org
> 
>  
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