Collaborate
These participation exercises take a partnership approach to the process and to any decisions arising from the exercise. This can include defining the issues, generating alternative ideas and agreeing potential solutions.
Why Do This?
- To value the advice and ideas of participants in generating solutions
- To incorporate this into any recommendations, decisions and change, as far as possible.
When to Collaborate?
Collaboration is about sharing power to inform decision-making. A collaborative approach is particularly useful when there is uncertainty around how best to proceed, or when there are multiple possible solutions.
Collaboration can be a useful approach when the final decision has the potential to impact different people in different way; this approach allows participants to understand the potential impacts against a wider common good.
Some examples include:
- Providing a deep understanding of the problem or problems by gathering information from people with different experiences
- Developing solutions with those who experience the issues, first hand
- Finding common ground
- Understanding the intended and unintended impacts of possible solutions or activity.
What Methods Can I Use?
Many methods are the same as for those when involving. The difference is in how they are used and what level of influence is offered to participants. Some examples of effective collaboration methods include:
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Deliberative Workshops
- Roundtables
- Citizen Research
