awakening our civic imagination using a civic governance framework an overview lynne kolze watershed...
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AWAKENING OUR CIVIC IMAGINATION USING A CIVIC GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
An Overview
Lynne KolzeWatershed Division
MN’s Journey with Civic Engagement (CE)
• 2009 – MN Clean Water Council makes CE recommendations to all agencies
• 2009 – MPCA Division Director issues own CE goals:
earlier, more diverse and more robust public involvement in watershed projects
• 2010 – MPCA staff embark on journey of discovery, beginning with an assessment of the problem
• There are many missed opportunities to engage• Don’t know how to get people to the table
and keep them there (only hear from usual suspects)• Processes fail to create space for meaningful public
dialogue • Technical work and people work seen as
separate• Lack of big-picture view/coordination across
organizations – confuses public• We don’t know how to do it (we can’t walk the talk)
Persistent Problems With Civic Engagement:
Analysis Showed Systemic Problems With Current Approach
So doing more of the same is probably not the answer!
Concerted Effort Made to Find Innovative Approaches that Might Last
• Literature review• Working with mentors, experts, etc.• Searching for innovations to move
us beyond business as usual• Project-based learning
(experimentation and adaptations)
In Our Search, Simon Sinek Provided a Key Insight:
Key point: Attempts by leaders to motivate people to do something have often been misguided
Sinek says that there are two ways to influence human behavior -– you can manipulate people or you can inspire them
These 2 Approaches Get Very Different ResultsIf you manipulate, you often:
• get transactions (think BMPs, practices)
• Have to
1) Use fear, or
2) Provide incentives (ex. cost share),or
3) Offer a good price, or
4) Peddle something aspirational
• only get short-term results (ex.
contracts)
If you inspire, you often:
• encourage a personal transformation
• surface leaders• create the environment in which
great ideas can happen• encourage long-term loyalty to a
cause
Explaining WHY you do something can inspire people more than telling
them What and How you do what you do
Adapted from Start With Why, Simon Sinek, 2009
So we asked…
If we want long-term loyalty to water quality protection,
is a “transactional” approach the only approach we want to use?
What can we do to inspire more civic leaders?
However, there were two important issues hindering our ability to do this:
1. Lack of Civic Leadership Development Programs
and
2. Existing Models of Water Governance
We Decided to Try One New Approach We Thought Might Help:
Civic Governance
What is Governance?
The policies, procedures and programs that determine who has power, who makes decisions, how other players’ voices are heard and how account is rendered (within a watershed context).
“Our policy is process!”
1st and foremost, the Civic Governance
framework provides a new lens through which we see
our work
It fosters a citizen-centered, not program-centered
approach
Governance is One Critical Piece of the Watershed Puzzle
3. Determine Desired Project
Outcomes/ Goals
1. Determine Engagement Aim
2. How will you Govern?
4. Select data collection and
analysis methods
5. Develop team work plan
6. Develop project specific
measures
7. Assign roles and
responsibilities
8. Track outcomes/
adapt
Civic Governance Addresses Missing Links
• Develops capacity of citizens to lead, inspire, participate.
• Organizes the capacities among all citizens to define/solve water quality problems.
• Leverages existing resources already out there.
• Instills a desire to co-govern with others in light of a higher purpose.
Civic Governance Addresses Missing Links
• Promotes idea of active citizenship and governing for the common good.
“We are all policymakers.”
• Provides a standardized framework for strategic planning and accountability.
• Sustains and expands a regional base of civic leaders and institutions.
Identity Statement
To produce the civic infrastructure (programs, policies, procedures) needed to govern for the common good and sustain democracy as a just system of governance.
The Framework’s Components
Disciplines
Political Skills
Civic Standards
Civic Principles
Civic Principles
A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system
Examples:
1. Human Capacity to Govern for the Common Good
2. Democracy – rule “by the people” is the best form of governance, requiring citizens to govern for the common good
Civic Standards
Used as a basis for judging our own actions and those of other civic leaders.
• Must constantly judge own actions against these standards to ensure alignment with what we say we believe in (civic principles).
Political Skills
Skills that help us to be more mature and effective civic leaders
Examples:
• Asking open-ended questions• Using critical thinking• Suspending judgment• Fostering constructive tension• Not bringing private affairs into public space
Disciplines – Very Important
• Not “tools and techniques” • Require commitment, time and intentionality• If used well, you will be encouraging a new approach to
policy making called, civic policy making
Examples: • Being accountable to self and peer group (in a cohort)• Gap analysis and work planning • Principle-driven calendar • 1-1 meetings
Pilots Currently Using this Framework
Minnesota Active
Citizenship Initiative
Como Active Citizen
Network
St. Croix
Interstate
Watonwan River
Civic Governance
Demo
Janna Caywood, Angie Sechler
Kanabec Co., Mille Lacs Co., Ann Lake Watershed Alliance, Snake River, Corn Growers
WI DNR, UWEX, Lake Assn., 2 County Land and Water Organizations
Peg Michels, Lynne Kolze, Janna Caywood, Jeff Forester, Judy Corrigan
Middle St. Croix
NEW: 2 MN Watershed Districts
NEW: SWCD, University, MPCA
Why a New Approach Needed• Watersheds/water issues are complex
• Simple, quick solutions are not compatible with complex problems!
• A new kind of leadership is needed for managing complex problems.
Kind of Problem
Leadership/Management Approach
Tools
Complex (ex. watershed manage-ment)
1. Leave time and space for the team. 2. Encourage self-governance. 3. Improve communication.4. Empower.
1.Experiment in projects. Adapt.2. Dialogue. 3. Networked leadership. 4. Self- organization.
People Are Waiting for the Right Moment to Be Part of the Solution
“I have become increasingly troubled about what is not working in our society. Civic organizing/governance provides a path for systemic civic renewal. Through the civic business initiative, I learned…that I could renew democracy from within.”
--Mary Kowalski, Owner, Kowalski’s Markets and member of Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative
