{"id":635,"date":"2020-08-13T18:36:43","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T18:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/?p=635"},"modified":"2024-09-28T02:55:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T02:55:21","slug":"facilitation-a-key-ingredient-to-productive-deliberation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/blogposts\/facilitation-a-key-ingredient-to-productive-deliberation\/","title":{"rendered":"Facilitation \u2013 A Key Ingredient to Productive Deliberation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-948\" src=\"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png\" alt=\"badge\" width=\"409\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png 409w, https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-300x288.png 300w, https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-50x48.png 50w, https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-24x24.png 24w, https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-36x36.png 36w, https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-48x46.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px\" \/>Creating spaces for constructive conversations about contentious topics seems like an overwhelming task.\u00a0 Where should initiatives like the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative begin?\u00a0 Deliberation scholars and practitioners generally agree that one of the most important ingredients for productive public discourse is strong facilitation by someone who is trained in bringing people together and being fair to all participants at the table.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Laurie Mulvey, Executive Director of Penn State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/worldinconversation.org\/\">World in Conversation<\/a> program, which has hosted more than 30,000 dialogues, asserts that just as we need referees when we play a game, \u201cin dialogue we need conversation referees to be able to make the calls for us to help us through the process.\u201d<a href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\">[i]<\/a> And the literature on deliberation emphasizes the role that facilitators can play in introducing unmentioned topics, challenging consensus, and structuring communication in a way that empowers disadvantaged participants.\u201d<a href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\">[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For these reasons, the DCI started with an intensive four-session deliberation facilitation training program this past spring.\u00a0 Each session lasted two hours and were facilitated by practitioners and professors familiar with different models of public discourse.\u00a0 The training program revealed several important insights about creating opportunities for discourse among those disagree on difficult issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It\u2019s a mindset: <\/strong>Both participants and facilitators need to adopt a set of <a href=\"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/deliberative-dispositions\/\">dispositions<\/a> that make productive deliberation possible. These include commitments to modeling egalitarianism, demonstrating openmindedness, and providing either experiential or factual evidence to support one\u2019s claims.\u00a0 To explore these mindsets, participants were asked to complete the <a href=\"https:\/\/openmindplatform.org\/\">OpenMinds<\/a> modules, which discuss the value of engaging with those we disagree, the importance of intellectual humility, and the effects of the irrational mind and our \u201cmoral matrices.\u201d\u00a0 Using this framework, facilitators can help participants embrace a \u201cdeliberative mindset\u201d that will enable them to work together to better understand a problem and generate transcendent solutions to it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It\u2019s a process: <\/strong>Our first two training sessions were led by an experienced facilitator from the <a href=\"https:\/\/leeinstitute.org\/\">Lee Institute<\/a>, Chryrstal Joy, who emphasized the multifaceted nature of the facilitation process. It requires thoughtful preparation beforehand that clearly identifies roles, clarifies goals, and develops mutually accepted ground rules.\u00a0 It also demands proactive moderation that guides, connects, motivates, questions, intervenes, and keeps participants on track during the deliberation itself.\u00a0 We discussed the nuances of each of these steps, each of which have their challenges.\u00a0 But by following a clear process, it becomes easier to practice the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/cpd.colostate.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/01\/carcasson-key-aspects-of-deliberative-democracy.pdf\">passionate impartiality<\/a>\u201d that is necessary to bring everyone into the conversation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It\u2019s a model: <\/strong>Dialogue and deliberation initiatives have proliferated dramatically in the past three decades, and with them the number of models being used to facilitate public discourse have increased as well. In our third and fourth sessions, we learned and practiced two particular approaches that have been used in a wide range of contexts.\u00a0 The first was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nifi.org\/en\">National Issues Forum<\/a> model, which provides Issue Briefs for participants to read in advance and focuses on three distinct responses to the issue in focus.\u00a0 The second was the <a href=\"Living%20Room%20Conversations\">Living Room Conversations<\/a> model, which is more informal and involves three rounds of discussion \u2013 getting to know each other, exploring a topic, and reflecting on the conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Through these sessions, we learned several important insights about deliberation facilitation.\u00a0 <strong><em>By encouraging a deliberative mindset, following a clear process, and using a particular model, facilitators can increase the likelihood that a conversation will be engaging, productive, and rewarding. <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0At the same time, we also realized there is no perfect process or model or mindset, and flexibility and adaptability are important attributes for facilitators and deliberators alike.\u00a0 Along these lines, we came to recognize that facilitation training is never fully complete, but is a lifelong process that occurs through practice, reading, and exposure to new approaches.<\/p>\n<p>The 25 Davidson staff members, tenured and visiting faculty, and first year, sophomore, junior, and senior students who completed the DCI\u2019s inaugural training program have completed a key first step in this journey.\u00a0 They are now ready to help guide conversations on difficult topics, whether they are part of a Deliberative Forum or just between friends or family.\u00a0 If you are interested in learning these skills yourself, sign up for updates below about upcoming DCI training opportunities.<\/p>\n<p><em>Next week we\u2019ll hear from Davidson\u2019s new DCI Coordinator, Clare Magee, about her experience bringing together students with diverse perspectives when she served as the Executive Director of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship. \u00a0Stay tuned\u2026!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">[i]<\/a> Democracy Works, \u201cA Conversation about Conversation,\u201d May 21, 2018, https:\/\/www.democracyworkspodcast.com\/a-conversation-about-conversation\/.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">[ii]<\/a> Archon Fung, \u201cDeliberation\u2019s Darker Side: Six Questions for Iris Marion Young and Jane Mansbridge,\u201d <em>National Civic Review<\/em>, December 25, 2004; Todd Trenel and Seeta Pe\u00f1a Matthias, \u201cFacilitation and Inclusive Deliberation,\u201d in <em>Online Deliberation: Design, Research, and Practice<\/em> (Chicago, IL: CSLI Publications\/University of Chicago Press, 2009), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.13140\/RG.2.1.4040.0883.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creating spaces for constructive conversations about contentious topics seems like an overwhelming task.\u00a0 Where should initiatives like the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative begin?\u00a0 Deliberation scholars and practitioners generally agree that one of the most important ingredients for productive public discourse is strong facilitation by someone who is trained in bringing people together and being fair to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,33],"tags":[8,7],"class_list":["post-635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-blogposts","category-dci-posts","tag-dci","tag-facilitation","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-300x288.png",300,288,true],"large":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false],"mini-thumbnail":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1-75x75.png",75,75,true],"team-member":["https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/FacilitatorCert-1.png",409,392,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Graham Bullock","author_link":"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/author\/grbullock\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/category\/blogposts\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blog Posts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/deliberativecitizenship.org\/category\/dci-posts\/\" rel=\"category tag\">DCI Posts<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Creating spaces for constructive conversations about contentious topics seems like an overwhelming task.\u00a0 Where should initiatives like the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative begin?\u00a0 Deliberation scholars and practitioners generally agree that one of the most important ingredients for productive public discourse is strong facilitation by someone who is trained in bringing people together and being fair 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