How to be a Participant in a Collaborative Process

How participants conduct themselves before, during, and after the process, can heighten the effectiveness of the process. The following stages of a consensus process are important steps that participants should follow.

Before the Discussions Begin:

  1. Decide whether or not to participate
  2. Prepare for the process

Decide whether or not to participate

At the beginning, parties assess whether or not to use a consensus-based approach to decision making. During this assessment a facilitator interviews the sponsor and all stakeholders. A major incentive for participating in a consensus process is having a direct role in making decisions. However, participating in good faith means everyone must make decisions by consensus. It is therefore in each party's interest not only to try to meet their own needs, but also to try to help meet the needs of the others.

At this stage, you should:

  • Be willing to meet with the interviewer. Refer to "Assessment Questions for Stakeholders" on page 25 to prepare for your interview.
  • During the interview, share your view of the issue and learn about how the process works. Ask questions so that you fully understand the consensus option. Then, you and your associates can compare the consensus process with other options for meeting your interests.
  • Be frank with the interviewer about whether you are interested in participating in a consensus process.

You may need to meet with the interviewer more than once before deciding to participate. For example, you may request that an issue be placed on the agenda which another party objects to, or vice versa. The interviewer may shuttle between you and the other parties until an issue is resolved, or may suggest that the parties discuss it directly. You will not be asked to commit to a process until all your questions have been answered to your satisfaction. In this way you continue to evaluate your options until you and the other parties produce a set of ground rules that you can accept.

Prepare for the process

This step begins when you and the other parties tell the interviewers you are willing to consider a consensus approach. During this phase you work with other parties and the facilitator to plan the process. Depending on the circumstances, the facilitator may meet separately with each party or suggest an organizational meeting or orientation workshop.

At this stage, you should:

  • Express all your concerns about who, what, where, when, why and how. It is important at this point to be forthcoming about any reservations you may have regarding a consensus approach.
  • Listen to the concerns of other parties.
  • Work together to design a structure and write ground rules (see Chapter 8).
  • Keep your colleagues advised of the discussions and submit any draft ground rules to them for their review and approval.
  • Select someone to represent your interests. In some processes, several organizations form caucuses. In that case not every organization in the caucus will have one of its members directly participating in the discussions. If that happens, make sure you are comfortable with the person or persons representing your caucus. Establish clear understandings about reporting back and instruct your representative before each session. Clarify your caucus' procedures for making decisions, especially decisions to approve components of an agreement.
  • If your concerns are addressed, commit to using consensus and following the ground rules. When all parties have made this commitment, the process can begin. But if you are not satisfied after drafting the ground rules, you may decide not to proceed. All parties must approve the process for it to move to the next phase—discussions.

During the Discussions

As a participant in the discussions, you should:

  • Explain your interests and concerns during meetings and try to understand the interests and concerns of others.
  • Listen carefully to the interests and concerns of the other parties.
  • Work with all parties to develop creative solutions that everyone can accept.
  • Share information that can contribute to better solutions. If some information must be kept confidential, consider ways to share the relevant parts safely.
  • Seek ways to jointly gather information so it is credible for all stakeholders.
  • Abide by the ground rules and be willing to ask the facilitator to enforce them when you think they are being broken.
  • Keep constituents informed. Take back tentative agreements for their review. The better informed they are, the more likely they are to support agreements as they develop. Make sure other parties understand how your group makes decisions and how much time you need for that to happen.
  • The facilitator can act as a go-between and broker discussions to help parties move beyond impasses.
  • View the overall outcome as a package you can support, even if some components are not what you wanted.
  • Indicate your support by signing the final written agreement.

After the Process Ends:

Implementation involves two steps:

  1. Transforming the informal consensus agreement into an official decision
  2. Putting the decision into effect

While the agreement is being translated into an official decision, you should:

  • Support the agreement package through the official public review process. Attend public hearings to explain the agreement and answer questions.
  • If a legislative body needs to make any decision regarding the agreement, lobby legislators and testify at hearings.
  • If appropriate, hold unofficial public meetings or meet with editorial boards to explain the proposal.
  • Be prepared to meet again with other stakeholders if the agency finds that some public comments are significant and could justify modifying the agreement.

When the agreement is being implemented, you should:

  • Take the necessary steps to uphold your part of the agreement. Such steps could include helping others understand how to comply with terms of the decision.
  • Serve on oversight committees for monitoring the agreement.