SUSTAINED DIALOGUE

1
SUSTAINED DIALOGUE

• A sustained dialogue approach to community issues
  NZCOSS Conference
• October 18, 2006

Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgment to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
2
Sustained community dialogue

• Independent of government
• Sets its own time-frame
•  
• Issues selected by the community

3
Sustained community dialogue

• An educational approach is not enough.
•  
• Value of a systematic process as a guide.
•  
• Importance of connections beyond the dialogue
  room.
•  
• Going beyond a legal solution.

4
What are we talking about when we say "Sustained
Dialogue"?

• A process that focuses not only on addressing
  individual problems but also on changing
  relationships
• An opportunity for stakeholders to reinterpret
  their environment and the roles they play in
  creating it
• A process that continues over an extended period
  of time, enabling participants to examine the
  issues and their own experiences of them at a
  deeper level
• A process owned and designed by participants
• A process informed by two conceptual frameworks
• Five stages through which dialogue evolves over
  time
• A definition of relationships that provides a
  tool for analysing and developing strategies to
  change group dynamics

Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
5
These elements inform efforts to change
relationships in a wide range of settings

• Reconciliation and race/ethnic relations
  including settlement of refugees (New Zealand and
  South Africa)

• Local government conflict management and
  community development (South Africa and New
  Zealand)

• Community level violence prevention and peace
  committees (projects in Zimbabwe)
• Community and institutional relations between
  mental health consumers, families and clinicians
  (New Zealand)

Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
6
Local governance dialogues build consensus about
roles and collective interests

• Relationship elements explored to
• Show how current patterns of interaction damage
  collective interests
• Develop common agenda that recognises community
  interdependence
• Build consensus about individual roles and powers
  for each actor

• Character of the dialogues
• Share and interpret conditions and policies that
  create existing dynamics
• Recognise limitations on actors responsible
• Define roles each stakeholder can play to achieve
  common goals

Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
7
Key elements to a dialogue's terms of engagement

• A statement of the objectives of the
  dialoguewhat it is meant to address and achieve

Objectives

• A clear and concise definition of the commitment
  participants make by joining the process

Commitment

• How the dialogue meetings will be run and how
  participants will behave at meetings

Meeting Rules

• A consensus on what will be said about the
  dialogue outside the room and how the group will
  interact with the public

Communication

• An agreement on how the terms of engagement will
  be enforced, and who will be responsible for
  doing so

Enforcement
8
SD is conceptualised in five stages
Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
9
Researching and framing the dialogue involves
three key steps
Identify the dialogue purpose and stakeholders
Determine the most effective level for the
dialogue to take place
Analyze relationships at that level and develop a
strategy for engaging stakeholders
10
We need to design a dialogue that will help the
situation for example

• What would be the purpose of a dialogue on
  diversity issues in Auckland?
• Who are the major stakeholders that should be
  engaged in this process?
• At what level should this dialogue take place?

11
We need to design a strategy to engage these
people

• Who are the key stakeholders in the community?
• What are the key elements of the relationship
  that must be changed?
• What should be the strategy for engaging the
  stakeholders?

12
What do we hope the dialogue events will address?

• What key problems should the event address?
• What groups would you like to include in this
  event?
• Given these answers, what specific topics for
  these events would both engage the groups you
  want, and raise key issues to be addressed?
• How can we ensure that these events are
  complementary, rather than overlapping?

13
What is our plan for implementing these events?

• What key steps/tasks are necessary to launch each
  event?
• What timeline is realistic for implementing these
  steps?
• What contributions will be necessary from
  participating organizations to make these events
  take place?

14
Our working definition of a relationship has five
dimensions
Identity
-how groups and individuals define themselves,
whether through shared experiences, common
values, physical characteristics, languages, etc.
Interests
-what people care about, or feel they need
Power
-the capacity to control others and the course of
events, whether through material strength or
softer influence
Perceptions, Misperceptions, Stereotypes
-how groups and individuals view one another and
what they assume about the others identity,
interests, and power
Patterns of interaction
-how groups and individuals interact with one
another, whether positively, negatively, or not
at all
Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
15
Conclusions

• Relationship focused dialogue processes can have
  a meaningful impact on a range of public problems
• The key question is generally not whether a
  dialogue would be useful, but rather how
• The next question is whether that impact is worth
  the effort
• Processes with a clear direction are not just
  talk but rather a progression of exposing and
  solving small and often unrecognised problems
  that get in the way of the big ones
• None of this is useful if applied directly in a
  cook-book fashion. Like any framework,
  Sustained Dialogue must be adapted to the
  specific challenges of a specific setting

Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission
16
To navigate the process moderators use a range of
concepts, tools, and skills

• Create the overarching vision for how the process
  unfolds and what changes should occur
• Determine when to use analytical tools
• Include
• Five stages
• Five elements of relationships

Conceptual frameworks

• Provide a basis for evaluating specific steps the
  group will pass through
• May provide activities for the dialogue group
• Measure where the group is in the process
• Determine the types of skills used

Analytical tools

• Include the basic techniques and approaches the
  moderator uses to guide the group through the
  process
• Often provide ways to read group progress

Moderating skills
Prepared by David Robinson (davidjrobinson_at_xtra.co
.nz) with acknowledgement to Teddy Nemeroff
(tnemeroff_at_idasa.org.za) Please do not reproduce
without prior permission