JONATHAN BUCKIDENDROS GROUP

WWW.DENDROS.COM

How to Design Stakeholder Engagement and Participatory

Planning Processes

Think of a participatory process as a natural journey, a natural system

Use your understanding of how people and systems work.

1. Willing

Paying attentionObservingUncovering latent vision

3. Thinking

AnalysisSynthesisStrategyReflectiveMeaning Making

2. Feeling

ExperienceEmotionPoeticAutonomicAssociative

4. Enacting

Carrying out decisionsWorking with othersDoing

How we go through life…

1. We take in life.

2. We have an emotional response.

3. We make meaning, reflect.

4. We do something.

1. Willing

Paying attentionObservingUncovering latent vision

3. Thinking

AnalysisSynthesisStrategyReflectiveMeaning Making

2. Feeling

ExperienceEmotionPoeticAutonomicAssociative

4. Enacting

Carrying out decisionsWorking with othersDoing

How we go through life…

And it goes on and on and on…

Willing Thinking

Willing Thinking

Willing Thinking

Feeling Enacting

Feeling Enacting

Feeling Enacting

And sometimes, we take detours and dig a little deeper.

W T W T W T W T

F E F E

F E F E W T E

F E

Consider Participatory Planning as a Scaled Expression of this pattern.

1. Our System takes on a vision for the future.

2. We sometimes get in our own way.

3. We can make strategies to advance our vision.

4. We will do something.

1. Willing

Project start upDetermine Intended ResultsEnvironmental ScanKindling and Uncovering Latent Vision

3. Thinking

Strategy DevelopmentPolicy Development

2. Feeling

Self-assessmentUnderstanding obstacles

4. Enacting

ImplementationWork Plans

Design for Results that Matter

1. How will our system be different because of our planning process?

2. Pay attention to the whole and the parts.

3. Our intended results aren’t necessarily accomplished in a linear fashion, rather are the end-state we wish to generate through planning.

Willing Results

What new collective will and attention will be generated? What new information will we have?

Thinking Results

What new learning, meaning, significance?

Feeling Results

What will be the collective experience?

Enactive Results

What decisions will we advance into action?

Adjust the phases to accomplish your intended results

1. We take in life.

2. We have an emotional response.

3. We make meaning, reflect.

4. We do something.

1. WillingEnvironmental ScanReview previous documentation

Vision Workshop

3. ThinkingReview current strategies

Strategy Development

Attitudes Survey

Map system dynamics

Charter committees

2. Feeling

Self-assessmentUnderstanding Internal Obstacles

4. Enacting

ImplementationWork Plans

Adjust, Rename, Reformat, Timeline…

1. Project Start Up

2. Assessmen

t

3. Strategy

Development

4.Implementatio

n Plans

Project Start up

Enviro Scan

Vision

Planning Team

ProjectCharter Established

External data review

Lit. review

Planning Team Workshop

Ratified by Leadership

Planning Team Workshop: Obstacles

Review by Leadership

Open house

Stakeholder Survey

Leadership Interviews

Planning Team Strategy Workshop

Work Teams Chartered

Milestones Established

Work Plans Approved by Leadership

May Sept Nov Jan Feb May

W

F

TE

W WW

W W

WFTE

WFTE

W

F T E

WFTE

Consider Your Stakeholders

Not everyone makes all decisions.

Stakeholders make different kinds of decisions.

Participation and Consensus building often fail when there are unrealized expectations among stakeholders.

Negotiate decision-making and participation up front, as early as possible, to avoid upset and slow downs.

More Friendly Advice…

Consider building your team’s facilitation capacity

Consider using a small Guiding Team to position the project for success. They focus on process, not content.

Over-communicate.Trust your gut; Fake it till you make it.Planning is not rational. It is more art than

science.The result of planning, is not a plan.

JONATHAN BUCKIDENDROS GROUP

WWW.DENDROS.COMWWW.GOODWORKTOOLS.COM

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How to Design Stakeholder Engagement and Participatory

Planning Processes