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Report on the Building the Community from the Inside Out
Workshops
Bundaberg, Biggenden, Hervey Bay 18-20th May 2009
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Introduction
Three one day workshops were conducted in Bundaberg, Biggenden and Hervey Bay in
May 2009. The aim of the workshops was to give participants practical skills in using
Asset Based Community Development to assist young people in each community. This
one day event consisted of four modules - Demystifying ABCD and Appreciative
Enquiry, World Cafe as a tool for understanding what is happening for young people in
our community, and Open Space - a tool for creating meaningful conversations about
what matters and needs to be done. A process for developing a plan that is relevant and
owned by young people and agencies and individuals who support young people.
Demystifying ABCD
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is based on extensive inquiry into the
characteristics of successful community initiatives in North America and more recently
around the world. In particular, we have explored marginalised and struggling
communities who have successfully raised themselves out of the usual cycles of
disadvantage.
We also inquired into successful efforts where groups of people who were on the edge of
community have become strong contributing members to the success of the community.
ABCD is a way of counteracting the predominant needs-based approach to development
and social inclusion. The needs-based approach, which utilised surveys, analysed
problems, and identified solutions to meet those needs, inadvertently presented a one-
sided negative view, which has often compromised, rather than contributed to,
community capacity building and social inclusion.
If the needs-based approach is the only guide to assist communities and marginalised
young people, the consequences can be extremely negative. One of the main effects is
leadership that denigrates the community. Leaders find that the best way to attract
institutional resources is to play up the severity of problems. Local leadership is judged
on how many resources are attracted to the community, not on how self-reliant the
community has become.
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Often people start to believe what their leaders are saying. They begin to see themselves
as deficient and incapable of taking charge of their lives and of the community. Often
young people become to be seen as intractable problems. Not surprisingly young people
disengage from community; or begin to act like "clients" or consumers of services rather
than active, contributing members of their community.
Inevitably local organisations and leaders begin to deal more with external institutions
than with groups in their own community. This reinforces the notion that "only outside
experts can provide real help" and further weakens neighbour-to-neighbour links.
Funding is made available on the basis of categories of needs rather than for integrated
approaches, which leads to "the much lamented fragmentation of efforts to provide
solutions. Such approaches deny the basic community wisdom and thought that young
people are part of the solution. It does not recognise the fact that community issues are
tightly intertwined, as symptoms in fact of the breakdown of the community's own
problem solving capacities.
ABCD is an alternative answer to the usual problem-based approach.
The process of recognising these capacities begins with the construction of a new lens
through which communities can begin to assemble their strengths into new combinations,
new structures of opportunity, new sources of income and control, and new possibilities
for production and new ways of including everyone in the community.
Communities around the world, including Australia communities have mobilized to take
action for their economic and social development by employing the principles of ABCD..
Where agencies have ‘lead by stepping back’, communities and young people shifted
from being ‘consumers’ of services to ‘designers’ of community programs, and, finally
‘producers’ of community.
Communities that grow strong are internally focused and have built an inventory of their
assets and have come to see value in resources that would otherwise have been ignored,
unrealized, or dismissed.
Such unrealized resources include not only personal attributes and skills, but also the
relationships among people through social, kinship, or associational networks. By
mobilizing these informal networks, formal institutional resources can be activated - such
as local government, formal community-based organisations, and private enterprise. In
fact, the key to ABCD is in the power of local associations to drive the community
development process and to leverage additional support and entitlements. These
associations are the vehicles through which all the community's assets can be identified
and then connected to one another in ways that multiply their power and effectiveness.
Asset Based Community Development rests on the principle that the recognition of
strengths, gifts, talents and assets of individuals and communities is more likely to inspire
positive action for change than an exclusive focus on needs and problems. Seeing the
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glass half-full as well as half empty is not to deny the real problems that a community
faces, but to focus energy on how each and every member (including young people) has
contributed, and can continue to contribute, in meaningful ways to community
development. Young people are seen as engines of community action, and as a source of
power and leadership, these are considered assets of the community.
Accompanying this approach is a set of methods that have been used to inspire a
community to mobilise around a common vision or plan. ABCD's early phases include:
• Collecting stories about community successes and identifying the capacities of
communities that contributed to success.
• Organizing a core group to carry the process forward
• Mapping completely the capacities and assets of individuals, associations, and
local institutions
• Building relationships among local assets for mutually beneficial problem-solving
within the community.
• Mobilizing the community's assets fully for economic development and
information sharing purposes
• Convening as broadly representative a group as possible for the purposes of
building a community vision and plan
• Leveraging activities, investments and resources from outside the community to
support asset-based, locally defined development
Demystifying Appreciative Enquiry
Appreciative inquiry is a process that promotes positive change (in organizations or
communities) by focussing on peak experiences and successes of the past. It relies on
interviews and storytelling that draw out these positive memories, and on a collective
analysis of the elements of success. This analysis becomes the reference point for further
community action. Appreciative inquiry is all about locating the energy for change.
What the appreciative approach seeks to achieve is the transformation of a culture from
one that sees itself in largely negative terms - and therefore is inclined to become locked
in its own negative view of itself - to one that sees itself as having within it the capacity to
enrich and enhance the quality of life of all members of the community.
Just as plants grow towards their energy source, so do communities and organizations
move towards what gives them life and energy. Parents and teachers are familiar with this
principle; research demonstrates extensively that children's performance is shaped by
teachers' and parents' expectations more than it is by children's own innate ability.
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The most important lesson from appreciative inquiry is that people grow in the direction
of the questions they ask. The questions we ask and the way we construct them will focus
us in a particular manner and will greatly affect the outcome of our inquiry. If we ask:
What is wrong and who is to blame? We set up a certain dynamic of problem-solving and
blame assigning.
World Café- a process for holding conversations that matter
As a conversational process, the World Café is an innovative yet simple methodology for
hosting conversations about questions that matter. These conversations link and build on
each other as people move between groups, cross-pollinate ideas, and discover new
insights into the questions or issues that are most important in their life, work, or
community. As a process, the World Café can evoke and make visible the collective
intelligence of any group, thus increasing people’s capacity for effective action in pursuit
of common aims.
The integrated design principles have been distilled over the years as a guide to
intentionally harnessing the power of conversation. When used in combination, they
provide useful guidance for anyone seeking creative ways to foster authentic dialogue in
which the goal is thinking together and creating actionable knowledge.
Set the Context
When you have a clear idea of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of your Café then the ‘how’ becomes
much easier. Here are a few questions to ask yourself and those helping you plan:
• What is the topic or issue we want to address or explore?
• Who needs to be invited to participate in this conversation?
• Who represents both the conventional and the unconventional wisdom?
• How long do we have for the inquiry?
• What line(s) of inquiry do we want to pursue? What themes are most
likely to be meaningful and stimulate creativity?
• What is the best outcome we can envision? How might we design a path
toward that outcome?
Create Hospitable Space
Most meeting places are sterile, cold, and impersonal. Consider choosing warm, inviting
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environments with natural light and comfortable seating. Honour World Café’s long
traditions of human hospitality by offering food and refreshments. Hospitable space also
means "safe" space--where everyone feels free to offer their best thinking.
Hospitable space begins with the invitation to attend a Café. Include the theme or central
question you'll be exploring in your Café in the invitation. State it as an open-ended
exploration, not a problem-solving intervention.
When people are asked where they have experienced their most significant conversations,
nearly everyone recalls sitting around a kitchen or dining room table. There is an easy
intimacy when gathering at a small table, that most of us immediately recognise. When
you walk into a room and see it filled with café tables you know that you are not in for
your usual consultation.
Create an ambiance in which young people can relax and be themselves.
Explore Questions That Matter
Knowledge emerges in response to compelling questions. Find questions that are relevant
to the real-life concerns of the group. Powerful questions that "travel well" help attract
collective energy, insight, and action as they move throughout a system.
A powerful question is:
• Simple and clear
• Thought provoking
• Generates energy
• Focuses inquiry
• Surfaces assumptions
• Opens new possibilities
• Invites deeper reflection
• Seeks what is useful
Encourage Everyone's Contribution
People engage deeply when they feel they are contributing their thinking to questions that
are important to them. Encourage all participants to contribute to the conversation. As
Meg Wheatley says "Intelligence emerges as a system connects to itself in new and
diverse ways." Each participant in the Café represents an aspect of the whole system's
diversity and as each person has the chance to connect in conversation, more of the
intelligence inherent in the group becomes accessible.
Connect Diverse Perspectives
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Ask members to offer their individual perspectives and listen for what is emerging "in the
middle of the table." Use the tablecloths and markers to create a "shared visual space"
through drawing the emerging ideas. Sometimes the co-created pictures can really be
worth a thousand words in showing the relationships between ideas.
Setting up your Café in conversational rounds and asking people to change tables
between rounds allows for a dense web of connections to be woven in a short period of
time. Each time you travel to a new table you are bringing with you the threads of the last
round and interweaving them with those brought by other travellers. As the rounds
progress the conversation moves to deeper levels. People who arrived with fixed
positions often find that they are more open to new and different ideas.
It's very useful to ask one person to remain at a table to act as the table host. This person
will summarize the conversation of the previous round for the newcomers ensuring that
any important points are available for consideration in the upcoming round.
Listening Together and Notice Patterns
Listening is a gift we give to one another. The quality of our listening is perhaps the most
important factor determining the success of a Café. Whole books and courses have been
written about how to listen. One of the most powerful things you can do is help young
people to develop strong listening skills. A few tips for improving our listening:
• Help people to notice that their tendency to plan their response to what is
being said actually detracts from both the speaker and the listener
• Listen as if each person were truly wise, and sharing some truth that you
may have heard before but do not yet fully grasp
• Listen with an openness to be influenced by the speaker
• Listen to support the speaker in fully expressing themselves
• Listen for deeper questions, patterns, insights and emerging perspectives
• Listen for what is not being spoken along with what is being shared
Share Collective Discoveries
Conversations held at one table reflect a pattern of wholeness that connects with the
conversations at the other tables. The last phase of the Café involves making this pattern
of wholeness visible to everyone. To do so, hold a conversation between the individual
tables and the whole group. Ask the table groups to spend a few minutes considering
what has emerged in their Café rounds, which has been most meaningful to them. Distil
these insights, patterns, themes and deeper questions down to the essence and then
provide a way to get them out to the whole room. It can be helpful to cluster this aspect of
the conversation by asking for one thing that was new or surprising and then asking
people to share only those ideas which link and build on that particular aspect. When it is
clear that the group has exhausted this topic ask for another one and repeat the process
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until you have given each table or person the opportunity to speak about what matters to
them. Make sure that you have a way to capture this, either on flip charts, or by having
each table record them on large post-it notes, or even their table cloths which can then be
taped to a wall so that everyone can see them. After each table has had the opportunity to
share their insights, the whole group may wish to take a few minutes of silent reflection
and consider:
• What is emerging here?
• If there was a single voice in the room, what would it be saying?
• What deeper questions are emerging as a result of these conversations?
• Do we notice any patterns and what do those patterns point to, or how do
they inform us?
• What do we now see and know as a result of these conversations?
Adapted with permission from The World Café Community Foundation at www.theworldcafe.com.”
Open Space – Working on what matters
Full edit from here
Open Space is a powerful process for people to come together to explore and plan the
issue that they most care about. As with the World Café approach, there is an over
arching question (‘wicket question’) which is developed by the initiating group.
Open Space is effective when people are passionate about something, there is a wide
variety of perspectives, when there is potential for conflict and or if the issue needs to be
addressed quickly.
The same questions that are used for focusing the World Café Process are useful here.
• What is the topic or issue we want to address or explore?
• Who needs to be invited to participate in this conversation?
• Who represents both the conventional and the unconventional wisdom?
• How long do we have for the inquiry?
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• What line(s) of inquiry do we want to pursue? What themes are most
likely to be meaningful and stimulate creativity?
For this set of workshops the over-arching or wicket question was developed out of what
emerged during the World Café.
Open Space is based on four key principles which are:
1) Whoever comes are the right people.
2) Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
3) Whenever it starts is the right time.
4) When it is over it is over.
Open Space has one key law which is the ‘The Law of Two Feet: "If you find yourself in
a situation where you aren't learning or contributing, go somewhere else."’
It is ok for participants to flitter from one question to another, cross pollinating ideas.
People who do this are often called ‘bumblebees’.
An ideas market is held where participants are able to pose a question that they would
like to discuss. Anyone who has a question is given an opportunity to explain it briefly
and invite others to the conversation. Each question is allocated a space and the person
who posed the question is the facilitator using the four rules and one law of open space.
Building the community from the inside out- Asset Based
Community Development Workshop Bundaberg 18th May 2009
Session 1 - 9.30-11am Demystifying Asset Based Community Development
Key principles and ideas of ABCD explained in the context
of young people.
Session 2 11am -12.30 Demystifying Appreciative Enquiry
Session 3 1.15-3pm World Café A process for holding Conversations that
Matter
This session had the dual aim of exploring what is happening for young people in
Bundaberg and the district.
The follow three questions using the World Café Processes were explored
• What time is it for young people in Bundaberg?
• What works for young people in Bundaberg?
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• When were you most proud of young people in Bundaberg?
Table 1 What time is it for young people in Bundaberg?
• Being molded – positive • Be who you want to be
and negative • To have fun
• Learn values – core • Take a leap of faith
values, capabilities • To explore
• Be independent • To be empowered
• Find boundaries • Stand up and be
• Take risks – less to lose, accountable
the right risks • To lead (positive)
• To ask questions • Enjoy life
• Change your mind • For adults to embrace
• Find your niche new ideas
• Future planning • Express your self
• Be shown options • About responsibility
• Know what’s available • Plan for the future
• Learn • Fly
• Follow own passions • See good from bad
• Make friendships – • Use talents to the fullest
healthy relationships
• For independence
Table 2 What works for young people in Bundaberg?
• Putting plans into action • Encouragement
• Problem solving • Connecting
• Socializing • Being positive
• Constructive criticism • Be non judgmental
• Guidance • Don’t give promises you
• Support can’t keep
• Praise • Respect
• Education & training • Partnerships
• Youth work • Consultation
• Out reach • Laughter
• Having dreams, plans, • Listening
aspirations • Collaboration
• Going to them • Transparency
• Mentoring both ways • Realism
• Let them take risks • Acceptance
• Engaging property • Communication
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• Action • Being available
• Honesty • Being accessible
• Openness • Praising the good
• Empowerment • Social inclusion
• Being open to hear and • Networking
listen • Trustworthy relationships
• Being involved • Education
• Let make own decisions
Table 3 When were you most proud of young people in Bundaberg?
• Asking for help when • Embracing their own
needed heritage and history
• Doing something for (ANZAC day)
nothing • Follow their dreams
• Standing up for others • Sportsmanship
• Happy with life’s • Ability to know who
direction there friends really are
• Protective • Peer learning/sharing
• Accepting of differences • Sustaining links
• Sharing talents • Making the change
• Kind and considerate • Taking ownership – new
• Express beliefs and directions, responsibility
passions, differences • Participating
• Proud of themselves • Choosing change
• When the penny drops • Knowing when to fight
• Volunteering and for what
• How they look in a • Achieving goals
uniform • Choosing to make a
• Honest difference
• Show they love • Advocating
• Taking the initiative • Stepping up
• Consistency • Reflecting
• Using team work • Collaboration
• Doing sport • Breaking stereo types
• Taking the right risks
Key questions for understanding what was emerging
Participants were asked to explore what key ideas were emerging here and then “If there
was a single voice in the room, what would it be saying?”
The following ideas were seen to be very important
• having a go
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• rights and • friendships/ • acceptance
responsibilities teams/ groups
• options/ choices • change
development
Participants agreed that the following emerging principles were ones that they would like
to underpin all their work.
• Planning
• Encouragement
• Knowledge
• Social awareness
• Honesty
• Ownership
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Respect
• Supported
• Identity becoming
Participants were asked what deeper questions were emerging as a result of these
conversations?
The key question was -What are the things we want for young people in our community?
The following ideas were agreed on
• growing
• optimistic
• hope
• belonging
• community
• development
• self - ownership
Open Space - talking about what matters
The ‘Wicket Question that was posed was - How do we help young people to get things
we want for them in our community?
Three questions were developed and discussed using Open Space ideas.
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Group 1 How can we engage young people in a healthy lifestyle?
How do we do this in partnership and in particular how do we build on and use
the resources of the YMCA?
The following ideas were explored
• affordable options to participate in exercise and sporting programs
• advertising
• incentives – competitions, discounts to group members
• school projects
• free days – open days
• awareness info days – non gym options
• AAA programs
• Cross marketing/ advertising at events – life saving, and sporting areas
• Mentor services for youth through other departments
• Outings – promoting to groups
• 50% market in / 50% market out
• Major sporting events to put YMCA on the Map
• Corporate challenges
• Key people in the group agreed to keep talking about celebration of healthy life
styles and the YMCA
Group 2 How can we effectively engage with young people about what’s
positive about your community?
The following ideas were explored and a future meeting to keep talking and planning
was set.
Have young people take photos, stories, poems about what their community/town is
to them.
• engage in their environment
• using technology/media they use – Facebook, blogs, e-mail etc. e.g: photos from
phones
• promote as an opportunity to tell your story
• no prizes, not a competition
• encourage participation by providing disposable cameras,
• upon return and develop pictures
• ask them to provide their story to picture – voice, written and set as display
• have exhibition
• special opening night for young people involved to then do Open Space or World
Café model on the common themes expressed in the pictures, stories etc.
• then continue exhibit to general public for a few weeks
• from the information collected and leaders that are displayed at special opening
see who would like to explore the ideas further (youth working parties)
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• use peer leadership
• what’s in it for them (gift card, money, reward)
• use youth speak – involve young people in design, process, naming
• develop skills and knowledge of young people – methods and processes
Main objective to be achieved if nothing else is that:
“Improving the image of young people, improves the outcomes for young people.”
- Asset Based Community Development Workshop Biggenden 19th
May 2009
Session 1 - 9.30 - 11am Demystifying Asset Based Community Development
Key principles and ideas of ABCD explained in the context
of young people.
Session 2 11am - 12.30 Demystifying Appreciative Enquiry
Session 3 1.15 - 3pm World Café A process for holding Conversations that
Matter
This session had the dual aim of exploring what is happening for young people in
Barnett.
The follow three question using the World Café Processes were explored
• What time is it for young people in Burnett?
• What works for young people in Burnett?
• When were you most proud of young people in Burnett?
Table 1 What time is it for young people in Burnett?
• Time for change
• Time for pride/self respect
• Time to dream/have or find a vision
• Time to be active and involved and accepted in their community
• Time for generations to be connected
• Time to look beyond ourselves/our needs
• Time to break negative cycles
• Time to support young people
• Time to listen to young people
• Time to make young people part of the economic future
• Time to use money wisely
• Time to involve young people – empower
• Time to start planning for the future
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• Time to take control and responsibility for their actions
• Time to break the generational prejudice – accept differences
• Time for ‘real’ assessment (self/external) (virtual economies)
• Time to forgive
• Time to live within one’s means (say no to artificial economies)
• Time for good role models
• Time to realise that a village brings up a child
Table 2 What works for young people in Burnett?
• Sport
• Parental support/encouragement
• Structured activities
• Catering to interest
• Options/variety/choices/programs
• Self motivation
• Self discovery
• Self choice
• Reward and recognition
• Youth friendly facilities (skate park)
• Community support – good relationships
• Physically-based learning/activities
• Empowerment
• Linking services
• Intergenerational support
• Self motivation
• Employment
• Empowerment
• Diversion
• Interests/hobbies
• Career
• Future plans
• Anger management
• Entertainment/social
• Education
• Linking services
• Funding
• Sport
• Travel/public transport
• Camp
• Giving of oneself
• Reward
• Youth group outing
• Support:
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• University
• Clergy
Table 3 When were you most proud of young people in Burnett?
• Identified the need to rise above peer pressure of his group
• Kids being proactive
• Being self motivated/taking leadership
• Mates above self
• Protecting siblings
• Rising above personal circumstances
• Trust
• Own their responsibilities
• 13 year old boy taking care of mother and sisters
• 16 year old (dysfunctional family) mentoring other kids, helping them make wise
choices
• Boy with pot addiction being a big support at Cub Scouts
• After the death of a peer’s family member
• Group of young people painted some walls
• Students helping at breakfast club
• Students making decisions around sex and alcohol
• Prepared not to be a victim
• Keeping friends safe at parties
• Having a go at whatever is happening
• Youth council identified a need and implemented – skate park
• Young people making good decisions
• Young person made a citizen’s arrest
• Young people reaching their potential through sport
• When they acquire new skills and work outside their comfort zone
Key questions for understanding what was emerging
Participants were asked to explore what key ideas were emerging here and then
“If there was a single voice in the room, what would it be saying?”
The following ideas had emerged;
• Possibility for change
• Fresh ideas
• Involve
• Group
• Unity/togetherness/removal of social barriers
• Support
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• Rise above the status quo
• Smart thinking, planning in action
• Control and responsibility of actions
• Acceptance
• Survivors
• Technology
• Sport
• Academic
• Ownership
• Having a say
• Initiative
• Involvement
• Choice
• Need for culture
• Relationships – family/community connection
Participants said if there was one voice in the room this what it would be saying
• Listen to me!
• Relationships are important
• Understanding
• Involve me!
• Communicate with me!
• I have choice
• Support
• Give me a chance – trust me!
Participants were asked what deeper questions are emerging as a result of these
conversations?
The key question was how do we keep momentum going and build on it and follow
through.
Open Space Talking about what matters
The ‘Wicket Question that was posed was - how do we keep momentum going and build
on it and follow through.
Three questions were developed and discussed using open space ideas.
Group 1 How can North and South Burnett Youth Services work more closely
together for the benefit of young people?
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• MOU between youth services in North Burnett – North Burnett workers approach
managers
• Agreement/partnership between North and South Burnett
• Start small – small numbers of students – camps, events, etc.
• Battle of the bands
• Youth Week partnership
The following ideas were explored
Group 2 How can young people using the Youth Hostel be more empowered and
also ensure that chores are completed?
• 10pm / chores
• Ticket system
• Vouchers for movies
• Certain amount
• Some to be cashed in
• Positive – swap tickets for you to do that chore
• You could give a voucher
• Watching dvds – getting dvds, wii games
• tickets towards bonus
• Group barbeque (same level of tokens)
• Choice of Take-away place
• Bus trip
• Over time – theme park
Chores:
• Weekly wash clothes
• Change linen
• Clean lounge room – tidy, sweep
• Do dishes
• Two to three days – pick up in bedroom
• Involved in cooking
There was unanimous agreement for an independently facilitated workshop to be held to
progress collaboration between youth services in the Burnett area.
- Asset Based Community Development Workshop Hervey Bay 20th
May 2009
Session 1 9.30 -11am Demystifying Asset Based Community Development
Key principles and ideas of ABCD explained in the context
of young people.
Session 2 11am -12.30 Demystifying Appreciative Enquiry
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Session 3 1.15 - 3pm World Café A process for holding Conversations that
Matter
This session had the dual aim of exploring what happening for young people in
Bundaberg and the district.
The follow three questions using the World Café Processes were explored
• What time is it for young people in Hervey Bay?
• What works for young people in Hervey Bay?
• When were you most proud of young people in Hervey Bay?
Table 1 What works for young people in Hervey Bay?
• Many things work
• Relationships – the best thing
• Young people-driven initiative
• Asking “what do you want?”
• How can we help you? Achieve
• Helping young people find their good points
• Concentrating on their strengths
• 9 – 5 doesn’t always work – 24/7 services needed
• Love
• Belonging
• How message is delivered
• Fun
• Technology
• Routine
• Schedule
• Boundaries
• Choice
• Consequences
• Attention
• Follow through
• Action learning
• Understanding yourself
• Getting internal motivation going
• Use language that suits situation
• Learn from mistakes
• Forgiveness
• It’s ok to make mistakes
• Use your strengths
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• Admit we all have needs
• Recognising strengths
• Feeling like we can ask for help
• Look for ways to help others
• Support
• Sharing
• Build trust
• Giving kids responsibility “ownership”
• Giving activities they are interested in – sports, bmx, skating, computers, internet,
• Outlet for creativity – multicultural teaching Butchulla
• Giving kids a choice in curriculum – what they love, not what spaces are available
or what they are best at - not just where you get the best grades so it looks good
for school scores
• Interesting/learning programs
• Giving them a say
• Follow through
• Place to belong – Youth Centre
• Survey everyone
Table 2 When were you most proud of young people in Hervey Bay?
• Acceptance
• Tolerance
• Initiative
• Glendyne
• Become good parents
• Triple S
• Young people successfully re-engaging with their family and school
• Planting seeds
• Uni USQ
• Whale festival
• Cultures coming together
• Participants in local community
• Music
• Cultural
• Academic
• Sporting
• Community
Key questions for understanding what was emerging
Participants were asked to explore what key ideas were emerging here and then
“If there was a single voice in the room, what would it be saying?”
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The following ideas emerged as important
• Succeed beyond our expectations
• Move forward together with us
• Choose your solution
• Knowledge of the choices they can make
• Build on what works and be open to change (adaptive change strategy, action
research)
Participants were asked what deeper questions are emerging as a result of these
conversations?
The key question was
Open Space - talking about what matters
The ‘Wicket Question that was posed was - We are doing some good things, how can we
do more of them?
Initially two questions were posed and two groups started to work on them but using the
law of two feet this turned into only one group.
The following ideas were explored
• Get CEOs, Managers and General Managers to change culture so it’s normal to
work with other services
• Youth sector meetings
• Can one person from one organisation go and spend a day at another organisation
to get to know the services? On a rolling roster.
• Choosing projects to work on together – form partnerships
• Come together so we share information and ideas regularly
• Share resources, learning and good ideas
• Share funding submissions
• Phone, emailing, newsletters, meetings, coffee, lunch – create these opportunities
for personal get-togethers – face to face
• Start on a small job together
• Launch of Youth Map – get everyone together from map and take to next step –
how do we work together
Who do we ask to be involved?
• Proactive
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• Reliable
• Commitment
• Find your target group
• Email updated
• Get all agencies involved
• Ask young people who they would like at the meeting
• Communicated and advertised effectively
• Give up all information
• Surveys
• Problem solvers
• Talk to all people (conversations)
There was unanimous agreement for an independently facilitated workshop to be held to
progress collaboration between youth services in the Hervey Bay area.
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