Building Consensus Is Essential

A successful community project requires expert facilitation. It takes skill to effectively listen and engage stakeholders in a solution-oriented and collaborative process that builds a stronger, unified vision.

Here's what I have learned...

• Value the input.  Almost every community project has some component of community/citizen participation in the decision making process.

• Inspire and empower. Engaging key community members is a powerful opportunity to create an environment that fosters creative thinking and welcomes input.

• Cultivate understanding.  Speak plainly and lose the jargon...everyone needs to understand the discussion.

• Understand the issues. Stakeholders have varied backgrounds and perspectives that contribute to understanding the opportunities and successfully resolving the challenges.

• Listen carefully. Hear and acknowledge what people are saying. Try to identify a "Touchstone" or "Oracle"... someone who is very familiar with community concerns and can articulate their issues surrounding the project.

• Benefit the whole. Consensus building always strives for common ground.  In the best case scenario, solutions are balanced among all the participants for the benefit of the whole.

• Own the solution. The consensus building process creates an invaluable sense of group ownership and investment. It's ours, we designed it.

• Celebrate the outcome.  Unity, ownership and civic pride are the hallmarks of a project built on community consensus.

John Jones, AIA
Managing Principal