Transition Accelerator Tool #1 - Consensus & Local Governance Re-Skilling (Video Prototype). Community Alchemy #9 Willi Paul 4-9-2012

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VISION

Transition Accelerator Tool #1. Consensus & Local Governance Re-Skilling (Prototype)

A teaching / collaborative web site that does the following:

1. Offers several process models for generating consensus & local governance, including new ideas from Jenny Pell & PermOccupy

2. Features a searchable database of local issues & initiatives at the intersection of local citizen action and their government

3. Welcomes citizen groups and government to collaborate at the neighborhood, district, city and county-levels

4. Includes an online tool kit for virtual participation beyond the local community group

5. Maintains a member supported initiative calendar and news feed

CONSENSUS MODELS

As a decision-making process, consensus decision-making aims to be:

* Agreement Seeking
* Collaborative
* Cooperative
* Egalitarian
* Inclusive
* Participatory

Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making:

* Framing the topic
* Open Discussion
* Identifying Underlying Concerns
* Choosing a Direction
* Synthesizing a Final Proposal
* Closure

Sociocratic Model (Holland):

* Dynamic Self Governance
* Project Groups
* Members look after sphere of Influence
* Streamlined, action-based
* Beyond consensus

- Jenny Pell, small farm incubator, WA


PermOccupy Consensus Process:

* Work Groups to General Assembly
* Walkable Communities
* Horizontal Decision Making
*Reversing the delegation of authority
* Validate all voices

- Killian O'Brien

Good Local Governance:

* Citizen participation
* Partnerships among local actors
* Multiple flows of information
* Institutions of accountability
* Pro-poor orientation

WEB SITE INTEGRATION

Key Data Fields include:

* Project Name
* Leaders (contact)
* Summary of Issues / Goals
* Consensus Model Adopted
* Requests for Participation

Potential Issues for Transition Accelerator:

* Access to Public Land (community gardens)
* Funds for Education
* Re-Use of Abandoned Buildings
* New economic systems (barter, co-ops)

In Summary:

* Site allows anyone to join and select a consensus process
* Sharing issues / lessons learned (acceleration)
* Work with government to vision new solutions in the Transition
* Grassroots collaboration

* * * * * * *

"The current governance model is inherently unsustainable, so whatever is going to challenge it must either catalyze a startlingly pervasive and massive transformation within government, or become the new governance."

- Killian O'Brien