<div dir="ltr">Hello Harold-<div><br></div><div>You have quite a memory!</div><div><br></div><div>I appreciate you honing in on a claim that certainly has exceptions: government not being a credible or competent convener.</div><div><br></div><div>In terms of credibility, I find the public-facing side of government is designed to be deliberative, i.e. focused on decision-making ("Let's decide where we are going to eat tonight.") This is opposed to a dialogic or brainstorming function ("Let's discuss what our favorites restaurants are and why, and what other restaurants there could be.") Most brainstorming happens within staff, in non-public settings. Thus, government convening Open Space, or any other effort to simply 1) invite creativity from a diverse audience or 2) promise The People an experience of authentic listening, is seen as suspect. Whether it's true or not, government process is often perceived to be one to move along a somewhat pre-determined path. Lastly, government is often a stakeholder with an extreme power differential, which can make it less credible as a convener.</div><div><br></div><div>Competency has a harsher connotation than I mean, but it's the right word. Overloaded job descriptions and meager budgets create a bunker mentality, and open process is frequently seen as threat because change is perceived to have costs. Heck, even dreaming could lead to more costs, so that ought to be avoided. Rarely are there in-house facilitation skill sets in staff. Long-time staff members can be jaded by dealing with a largely un- and/or misinformed public, and the 45-second sensational TV "news" that attempts to highlight suspected incompetence or wasteful spending is not helpful either. (Local media isn't as interested all the moments government successfully provides the services we take for granted). Government staff is, quite frankly, just not of the mindset or skill set to say, "Come together and have at it." But the reason is understandable: they are doing yeoman's work keeping water running, people safe, cars moving, sewage treated, kids educated, etc. - and being suspected and under appreciated along the way. </div><div><br></div><div>Of course, there are many moments government has blind spots, debilitating inertia, and no vision. That's where We The People have a role: to inform, to push, to dream. </div><div><br></div><div>I found great difficulty getting politically diverse attendance to Open Space events while a candidate - people avoid partisan politics and/or don't want to tacitly support a candidate by attending and/or mistakenly fear their nonprofit job keeps them from participating. However, once elected as mayor, I had convening ability - but I was convening the events as mayor, they were explicitly not city-sponsored events. I can sell, but getting my colleagues on city council to say yes to OS is not one. They hear: "Hey, how about we approve funds for an event where anyone can say anything about anything the city is doing and propose a bunch of expensive things that won't solve problems but that they will be mad at us for not doing." This is easier: "Hey, I'm hosting an event, open to anyone. There are 75 community organizations participating. You're invited, it's free with food." </div><div><br></div><div>Hosting as mayor, 350 people showed to a Harrisonburg Intercultural/Interfaith Summit, held in OS. 200 for a Sustainability Summit. 150 for Health and Wellness. Outcomes and relationships aplenty. Cost to city: zero. Actions that required city involvement: few. Actions the people who attended could implement on their own: most.</div><div><br></div><div>But, not all of us are mayors, and I'm not anymore. Thus, We The People need to host the OS ourselves because we know how to do it, no one else will, and we believe such events can create the working community relationships we are so sorely missing.</div><div><br></div><div>Thus, The Listening Corps.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks for listening!</div><div><br></div><div>Kai </div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 1:39 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Hi Kai,<br>
<br>
Clicking on your link from your first post, I realized - yes - you
were a bit of a legend here in the past for your work opening civic
discourse as an elected official in the U.S.<br>
<br>
I know that many of us are passionate about bringing more open space
into civic dialog, and I'm extremely grateful for you showing a
successful model of doing this.<br>
<br>
I'm responding mostly out of enthusiasm for your posting this
offering to the OSList, but I'd love to hear more from you.<br>
<br>
Would you say more about "Government is not the most credible or
competent convener", and how you sense "We The People" could do the
job? I really thought that's what our Government in the U.S. was
supposed to be. We The People, as stated in the U.S. Constitution.
Surely you must have some special insights doing this convening work
from inside Government?<br>
<br>
Thanks!<br>
Harold<div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<div class="m_-3908443340296451686moz-cite-prefix">On 1/8/17 10:40 PM, Kai Degner via
OSList wrote:<br>
</div>
</div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="h5">
<div dir="ltr">Greetings-
<div><br>
</div>
<div>How about 1,000 community OS's?<br>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I know too few of you, but am a fellow OS convener and am
happy to be back on the OSlist. I just finished 8 years on
a local city council (Harrisonburg, VA, USA) and five months
running for congress (VA6). More importantly, I've convened
over 25 community summits using OS in that time. And I had
lunch with Harrison on Tuesday (see photo, I'm on the left,
Bruce on the right).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Briefly, I believe the dialogue, democracy, facilitation,
leadership, business, and communications worlds frequently
promote people taking turns talking as sufficiently useful
for quality discourse. We often underemphasize and take for
granted individual and group listening skills, and there
could be value in focusing on how to "let people feel
listened to" rather than just "let people talk."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>My time in elected office let me see the opportunity for
OS to contribute to what I'm calling "civic listening
infrastructure." How can/does a community listen to
itself? Where are its open spaces?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Government is not the most credible or competent
convener, neither is a candidate, nor is an elected
official. We The People could convene We The People, with a
little help from the people who know OS. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The way the Peace Corps or Army Corps builds
infrastructure, I am starting <a href="http://www.listeningcorps.com" target="_blank">The Listening Corps</a>
in hopes of inspiring and/or supporting people committed to
honing individual listening skills and then facilitating
group listening. OS is a power tool on the group listening
tool belt.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I'm hosting a webinar at three times this week to teach
some simple listening skills and invite participation in The
Listening Corps. <b>You are cordially invited. <a href="https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/6047065842932730372" target="_blank">Link</a></b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>For discussion purposes, I'm curious how the connection
between OS and civic listening lands with this group. Does
sparking community OS's on locally-chosen topics seem like a
useful way to address the political, class, and cultural
divides ? What could be possible if we joined to create
1,000 such events in our communities?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks for listening -</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Kai</div>
<div><br>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><img src="cid:part3.C98FAEAB.E5E3E991@shinsato.com" height="341" width="454"><br>
<br>
<br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<div class="m_-3908443340296451686gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div><i>Thanks for listening! - </i><span style="font-size:12.8px">Kai Degner</span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Blogging, teaching, and musing at<a href="http://www.KaiDegner.com" target="_blank"> www.KaiDegner.com</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
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</font></span></blockquote><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
<br>
<div class="m_-3908443340296451686moz-signature">-- <br>
Harold Shinsato<br>
<a href="mailto:harold@shinsato.com" target="_blank">harold@shinsato.com</a><br>
<a href="http://shinsato.com" target="_blank">http://shinsato.com</a><br>
twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/hajush" target="_blank">@hajush</a></div>
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