authentic engagement presented by richard c. harwood, president the harwood institute for public...
TRANSCRIPT
Authentic Engagement
presented by
Richard C. Harwood, President
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, all rights reserved © 2007
The Harwood Institute for
Public Innovation
People
in retreat
are
into close knit circles
all rights reserved © 2007
Yearn to return to reconnectand re-engage
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Answer the call
Tap people’s potential to make a difference
Forge a common future
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
What Creates Attachment?
Coherence / Meaning / Sense of Possibility
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Potential Pitfalls
• Activity happy, action deprived• Plug & play• Becoming mechanistic• Customer service mindset• Lack of public purpose
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Three Starting Points
• Start with Community First
• See People as Citizens
• Create New Pathways
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Start with Community First
• Understand community context
• Think about impact
• Be clear on “what space you occupy”
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
See People as Citizens
5 Principles of Authentic Engagement
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Authentic EngagementPrinciple #1
_____________
Pursue civic engagement,not public input
• How are people engaging on the underlying issues they’re working on?
• How am I designingmy initiatives - from the questions we’reasking people, to theways in which they interact?
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
• How will our initiatives ask people to think about the public challenges from a citizen’s standpoint:both holding self-Interests and being able to see beyond them?
• How are we creatingconditions where people take ownership of community?
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Authentic EngagementPrinciple #2
_____________
Engage people as citizens,not consumers
• How am I thinking about who should be engaged and where we can engage them?
• How can we bring people of different perspectives together?
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Authentic EngagementPrinciple #3
_____________
Discover voices,not simply
demographics
• How do I leave roomfor people to engage on the tensions inherent on the publicchallenges they’reworking?
• To what extent do I assume that we shouldnot engage people ontensions if we want them to stay attached?
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Authentic EngagementPrinciple #4
_____________
Seek common ground,not consensus
• Why am I providing information to people,especially when I believe they may not know enough about an issue?
• How am I askingpeople to be citizensin relationship to knowledge, as opposed to consumers of information?
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
Authentic EngagementPrinciple #5
_____________
Provide knowledge, not more information
Create New Pathways
• Imagine how people livetheir lives - the paths theycreate
• Understand the pathways you create
• See how you can connectpeople to other pathways
• Know that people are onan unfolding journey
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
“Relevance and Significance”
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007
More
Harwood Institute
Resources
www.theharwoodinstitute.org
• E-letter and Blog
• Videos• 5 Principles ofAuthentic Engagement
• Public Innovators Lab (Austin, TX)• February 5 - 8, 2008
Contact:
The Harwood Institute
for Public Innovation4915 St. Elmo Ave, Suite 402
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 656-3669 (w)
(301) 656-0533 (f)
www.theharwoodinstitute.org
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovationall rights reserved © 2007