How to Write Ground Rules
Ground rules are the culmination of the planning and organizing phases. The following discussion of ground rules includes the broader definitions of "charters" or "protocols" which cover the structure and organization of the process, the make-up of the group, as well as the procedural guidelines and the decision rule. The process for establishing the ground rules is important; the more distrust and controversy that exists, the more open and participatory development of the ground rules should be.
The facilitator usually is responsible for drafting the ground rules after completing the assessment interviews and planning steps. The facilitator then shows the proposed ground rules to the participants and discusses them with the full group at the first meeting.
Primary elements to include in ground rules
In general, ground rules should address the following:
- Purpose and scope
- Decision-making
- Representation, roles, and responsibilities
- Procedural requirements, sunshine laws, and confidentiality
- Behavioral guidelines
- Organization and conduct of the process
- Time frame and schedule
- Communications with the public and the media
- Facilitator's roles and responsibilities
- Funding issues
Purpose and scope — What is the purpose of the process?
The purpose or mission of a consensus process is a threshold provision in the ground rules. It includes framing and legitimizing the issues that the parties will address. These should be written in terms that everyone can accept and understand.
The purpose statement should describe the kind of decision the group is empowered to make, such as whether the final product will be advisory, a set of formal recommendations, or actual decisions. Ground rules must address how the consensus process relates to official decision making bodies or traditional decision making procedures.
Ground rules also should lay out the scope of issues to be discussed and clearly identify which issues are inside or outside that scope. The parties may wish to describe these in detail, or they may prefer to be more general, addressing the specifics during their substantive discussions.
What format will the agreement take? The ground rules should describe the expected format of the agreement, including which government entities it will be delivered to for official public review and how that process will occur. These considerations may change depending on the discussions and terms of the agreement. However, the parties should consider from the outset how an agreement will become an official government decision and which format is best suited to that process.
How will members agree to act in support of the consensus agreement? The ground rules may also specify how members will support and advocate for consensus within their own constituencies as well as with official decision makers and the public through the formal adoption and implementation phases.
Decision-Making
The ground rules should establish how the group will make decisions. They should define what consensus means in a way that enables the group to know what is required to reach agreement. Consensus can be defined positively (an agreement everyone can live with) or negatively (an agreement around which there is no dissent).
What will be the status of the initial agreements? It is important to decide whether agreements will be tentative until accepted by constituencies or until the parties review them as part of a total package. Viewing initial agreements as tentative until the whole package is acceptable has the advantage of allowing constituents to play a more active role in the agreement. Ground rules should specify how constituencies will ratify tentative agreements and review components of those agreements during the process. Parties often have different ways of making decisions within their separate constituencies.
What will happen if the group cannot reach consensus? This possibility should be clearly addressed in the ground rules. If the parties agree on some, but not all, of the issues, they may wish to specify in their tentative agreement those that were resolved, then agree on a way to frame or revisit those that are unresolved.
Representation, Roles, and Responsibilities
Who are the participants and whom do they represent? The ground rules should list the interests to be represented in the process. There may be more than one representative for each interest. Sometimes a number of parties with similar interests will form a caucus and choose a representative. In other cases, a single representative for each interest comes to the table, with a designated alternate in case s/he is absent. The ground rules list all participants and who they represent.
Ground rules often establish the participants' responsibilities. Continuity of participation is important, so ground rules may state that all members will attend all meetings, specifying what happens if a member is unable to be present. They may provide that alternates must also attend meetings and the role they will play when the principal is absent.
In some cases, ground rules include provisions to bring in new parties after the substantive discussions have begun. It is important for participants to accept new parties that may emerge during the discussions.
What role will the sponsor's staff play in the discussions? The sponsoring agency may have a representative who will be negotiating along with the other participants. In addition, staff may be called on to provide technical expertise or to explain the range of solutions that fall within the agency's mandate. Some agency representatives limit their participation to these tasks, while others participate fully in the process. The ground rules should be explicit about the role of the sponsoring agency and its staff.
Will there be observers? Most consensus processes for public issues are held in open meetings that anyone may attend. The ground rules may state that observers should be seated separately from the members and are not permitted to interrupt the discussions. Observers often are permitted to address the session at designated times. In some cases, laws or mandates may require this kind of public involvement, and these should be specified in the ground rules.
How will participants communicate with their constituencies? Ground rules should address whether and how representatives will check back with their constituencies. If there are additional parties to be kept informed, whose job will that be?
What happens if a participant withdraws from the process? Since the participants represent the necessary interests, the process should theoretically stop if one or more of them decide to leave the table. However, if a participant has no objection to the other parties continuing to try to reach consensus, the other parties must decide whether the effort should move forward without the absent party. Ground rules such as those in the Canadian Round Table model suggest that a party who wants to withdraw be required to explain their reasons to the others and convince at least one other participant that the process should end.
Procedural requirements, sunshine laws, and confidentiality
Consensus processes may be subject to procedural requirements, which may be embodied in laws or regulations. Administrative procedure acts often specify requirements for public notice, review, and comment. At the federal level, a consensus-building group is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. At the state or local level, open meetings or public records provisions may be applicable. If the process is subject to these kinds of requirements, the ground rules should address how those requirements will be met.
Ground rules should address how to handle confidentiality and should strike a balance between the need for confidentiality and the need for openness. If there is confidential information that could assist the discussions, ground rules should define how that information will be used yet still be kept confidential. For example, copies of the information might be distributed at the beginning of the discussion and returned at the end. Or a fact-finder could use confidential information to prepare reports that will be distributed to all participants.
Ground rules often make provisions for caucusing at the request of either the participants or the facilitator. Especially when the meetings are open, it is important to provide people with an opportunity to confer informally and off the record.
Behavioral Guidelines
Often, and especially where past history among the parties has been acrimonious, ground rules set out how discussions will be conducted and establish certain behavioral guidelines. These might include such rules as:
- Only one person will speak at a time and no one will interrupt when another person is speaking.
- Each person will express his or her own views rather than speaking for others.
- Each person will make an effort to listen carefully and to remain open minded.
- No one will make personal attacks or issue statements attributing positions or statements to other participants.
- Everyone will make an effort to stay on track and avoid grandstanding.
Sometimes ground rules address the kinds of activities that participants or their constituents should avoid during the process, such as lobbying the legislature or making statements to the media.
Organization and Conduct of the Process
How will meetings be organized and conducted? Parties may want to specify in the ground rules how and when meetings will be conducted and how a work plan and meeting agendas will be developed. For example, a good time to set an agenda for the next meeting is at the conclusion of the last. The parties may also wish to specify how changes will be made to the agenda between meetings and how time or agenda changes will be communicated prior to meetings.
How will records of the meetings be kept? Consensus processes are not usually mechanically recorded, nor are detailed minutes written that keep track of who says what. It is essential, however, to provide a written report of each meeting, stating progress as well as next steps and tasks. The ground rules may include provisions for this, specifying who will prepare the records and how they will be distributed and reviewed.
How will the group manage information? Many complex public conflicts involve technical or scientific information. Ground rules sometimes state that all parties will be ensured access to this information, with enough time to comprehend it and prepare for meetings. Ground rules may also cover how documents will be drafted, circulated, and revised.
Working groups may be established to undertake more in-depth discussions or to develop proposals for consideration by the full group. The ground rules usually specify that the make-up, roles, and responsibilities of the working groups will be determined by the full membership. Sometimes ground rules provide for inclusion of resource people or others who are not designated representatives to the process.
Time Frame and Schedule
A timetable for the process must be included in the ground rules. The time allotted to complete the process should be based on actual schedules and events. Deadlines are helpful, but they must be realistic. It may be useful to specify interim checkpoints for measuring progress. If a process is not working, such interim points may make it easier to change or re-evaluate deadlines.
Communications with the Public and the Media
If meetings are required to be open to the public and the media, ground rules should specify how sunshine law requirements will be met. They may also cover whether or not there will be press conferences, press releases, or a spokesperson for the group. Alternatively, some groups decide that all members can make statements as long as they do not speak for the group as a whole or attribute statements to others.
Facilitator's Roles and Responsibilities
Ground rules should describe the role the facilitator will play. These may include such items as formulating agendas, preparing meeting reports, ensuring compliance with ground rules, serving as a confidential channel for participants' concerns between meetings, keeping formal decision makers informed of progress, or remaining impartial with regard to the outcome of the deliberations.
Ground rules should also include a provision that the facilitator will serve at the discretion of the group and may be dismissed by the members. The provision may include how a replacement will be selected in the event of a dismissal.
Funding Issues
A clause explaining how the facilitator will be paid may be included in the ground rules. If participants are concerned that the facilitator is under contract to one party, such as the sponsoring agency, the ground rules may provide for a subcommittee to oversee the contract.
If financial support is being provided to some or all participants to attend meetings or for other purposes, the ground rules should acknowledge this and specify how these arrangements are being handled.
In addition to these general elements, the ground rules should include any other issues important to the stakeholders. The Practical Guide to Consensus contains several useful examples of ground rules that were written for actual cases.