Pursuing the Greater Good – P2 for a Changing World

As part of IAP2 Australasia’s focus on ways to reinvest in the practice scholarships were presented to an IAP2 Ambassador, an IAP2 trainer and two members to attend the IAP2 North American Conference in Denver, Colorado, in September and participate in global discussions there about the future of IAP2 at an international level.

Vivien Twyford, IAP2 Ambassador, Rachael Edington, IAP2 trainer, Liz Pope and Kate Vallence attended “Pursuing the Greater Good – P2 for a Changing World” in Denver, Colorado, 6-8 September this year.

They shared their highlights with us.

Vivien Twyford

For many practitioners, as well as working for, or contracting to, a client organisation who wants to engage their stakeholders and publics in decision-making, public participation is also about “pursuing the greater good”. 20 years later, the three IAP2 Pillars (the Spectrum, the Core Values and the Code of Ethics) are still valuable and valued by practitioners, communities and decision-makers. Thanks to the internet and 21st Century technology, there are many new tools available to P2 practitioners, from online engagement, through virtual meetings and virtual sticky walls, and many more. These extend the possibilities for engagement with large numbers and across huge geographic areas. However, when there is little clarity on the problem, many different ideas on what should or should not be done, and serious disagreement about the ‘right’ answer, it seemed to me that practitioners have to be selective about the technology they use and focus on ways to take stakeholders on a learning journey together.

“We need to talk but we’re stuck” by Mary Gelinas [was a highlight]. Mary talked about how to have better conversations. She suggested triggers for fear and anger and how to respond to them. She believes that conversations are important and that with our current national and international conversations, we are busy creating a future that none of us want. She talked about mindfulness and the need for all of us to become more self-aware and able to master our own ability to have positive and productive conversations, even with people with whom we violently disagree.

For me [another highlight] was meeting up with old friends from the years I was very active in IAP2 – from 1997 through to about 2009 or 2010. Having conversations with them about everything and anything, personal and professional, was a great joy. Of course I also enjoyed the Core Values Gala at the Colorado Museum; I learned a lot about Colorado history, and was inspired by the stories of the Core Values Awards winners.

Kate Vallence

I applied for the scholarship because I saw it as an opportunity to learn from our counterparts in North America as well as meet and share stories of our own IAP2 experiences. I also saw the opportunity as a chance to provide feedback and aspirations to the global IAP2 community on the future of IAP2 and how we can continue to grow and strengthen this amazing concept of empowering communities to make decisions they value and expect.

Some of the main ideas I took away from the conference were that we are not that different from our global colleagues. We all share the same ‘wicked’ problems and we are all looking for ways to improve the opportunities for our communities and stakeholders to participate.

One idea I really took away from the conference was the opportunity to engage a graphic artist to illustrate conference participant feedback through clear words or images. I liked this idea because a picture can ‘paint a thousand words’ and our communities can often find pictures or illustrations a more suitable way of understanding complicated data.

The session where I learnt the most was ‘When a melting pot of cultures in the middle of the Pacific Ocean becomes a boiling pot for public issues’. Mahina Martin was a wonderful and engaging speaker. Mahina shared some terrific learnings from Hawaii where there has been opposition to large scale commercialisation of the island and unprecedented levels of distrust. I felt this session resonated with communities I have worked within and gave some great tools on how to manage these types of scenarios. In particular, I found Mahina’s idea of trust and that it is earned and experience thought provoking. She likened trust as a textual element, in that if it ‘rubs you the wrong way’, then what you are proposing to do is abrasive. When putting forward proposals we need to consider thoughts of what makes us warm and comfortable and ensure the way we are proposing a project or initiative is presented with this in mind. Mahina’s final take home thought for the participants was ‘A lei hulu’ – if not crafted carefully and correctly, it will fall apart; words for us IAP2 professionals to live by.

I had two favourite extracurricular activities! The first would have to be attending my first ever Major League Baseball match (Colorado Rockies versus San Francisco Giants) and being lucky enough to secure a foul ball! It was the bottom of the 9th inning and the Rockies were not fairing too well against the Giants, when all of a sudden a foul ball came hurtling towards our stand, the ball landed in my row and I scrambled to collect it! My second favourite activity would have to be the road trip myself, Liz Pope, Leanne Hartill, Mandi Davidson and Kylie Cochrane took to the Rocky Mountain National Park. With our trusty guide (and driver) Noreen Rude (retiring IAP2 Canada Board Member), we took the long journey to the ‘top of the world’. The scenery was breathtaking and nothing like I’ve ever seen – truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Rachael Edgington

IAP2 is a movement. An exciting, inspirational, patient revolution that has helped decision makers across the globe to be more inclusive, and given a voice to people that were previously not heard. IAP2 is an organisation that was founded in 1990 by a small group of passionate practitioners who created nuggets like the Spectrum and the Core Values, and set us on a path to better engage communities in a world where organised and passionate publics were demanding involvement in decisions that impacted them. In just 27 years the IAP2 has grown to several thousand members worldwide in more than 26 countries. We are well on our way to global domination.

It has been an honour to be part of that momentum, and for a short while in Denver, to have been immersed within the knowledge, energy and goodwill that is the international community representing the IAP2. The opportunity to meet and brainstorm and bond with these incredible practitioners was a highlight for me. I learnt that we all experience similar goals and barriers, and share an insatiable thirst to learn and grow as practitioners. I learnt that we are all striving for a better world in our own way, in our own communities, and that we have already begun using IAP2 for the greater good in our various projects worldwide. I have come away from Denver invigorated to be a part of such a quietly powerful and positive global community.

The future looks brilliant for IAP2, but there is so much more to do. For that we need to further grow the professionalism of the practice; increase practitioner unity across the globe; and attract a youthful, passionate community to pass the baton to. It was extraordinary to see the amount of young, upcoming practitioners at the Denver Conference, bringing new ideas, innovation and questioning and challenging the status quo for the better.

The most valuable session for me was “Community Engagement Therapy: Lessons from the Fiasco File” by Dave Biggs. This session encouraged me to release my past “engagement traumas” and helped me to realise that it is OK not to be perfect as an IAP2 practitioner. I learnt that we all have experiences in engagement that could have gone better – that left us feeling like we have failed, or that we should have/could have done something more. It can be difficult to talk about our projects that don’t go well as we tend to take it personally. Because we care so much!

As engagement practitioners we are looked upon as having the methodology – and therefore the answers. We are often directed to manage challenging issues and problems and, therefore, can become owners of any unsuccessful outcomes. There are so many different variables in the equation of good engagement – and many of these are not in our control. We need to be kind to ourselves, and understand the nuggets of gold that we take from every outcome – whether award winning, or disappointing.

We also workshopped a lessons learnt paper at this session, offering our three greatest learnings/tips from our biggest disappointments! I am looking forward to seeing this final paper from Dave.

There were so many nuggets from Denver! It is hard to sift through them. However, some techniques and learnings that will enrich my professional practice include:

Eric Bergman’s “Managing Polarisation” Session

• Working with organisations to do the “ask me anything” test from Eric Bergman’s presentation, to understand their level of transparency in any given project. But taking it one step further: as it should not be up to the public to ask for transparency. It should be up to the organisation to reveal before the question is asked. I will challenge transparency using the “ask me anything” concept.
• Applying the polarisation theory from Eric Bergman’s presentation. There are three general responses to an issue – positive, neutral or negative. Bergman presented a simple way to look at how engagement should approach these audiences. You can reinforce a positive opinion, neutralise a negative opinion (sometimes even shift it) and aim to educate and shift neutral opinion.
• Bergman also talked about the need to answer questions effectively using the PAS (Pause, Answer, Stop). Pause if it needed to find the best answer to the question. Answer the question that was asked. Stop talking when you’ve answered it! Don’t over think, or over talk the answer. Give people the truthful nugget and let them process.

The Power of If Not, Why Not, Lara Tierney and Kristy Neill

• If not, why not? The importance of closing the loop is critical to ensure communities know they have been heard. This session reinforced for me the importance of actively explaining to participants why their input was not included in a final outcome. The session brainstormed ways in which this can be done better. I will be looking for more opportunities to let people know they have been heard, even when their feedback has not made it to a final outcome.

“Our Community could blow up – Do we have time for some quick participation?” Kirsty Parker Celico.

• I gathered some extra techniques to manage participation during a crisis situation from this session. The case study was incredible and involved a community that could be ‘blown up’ at any time by millions of pounds of illegally disposed of explosives. As a corporate communication specialist I have managed communication for many crisis situations, but is is usually a one-way process. This session demonstrated how to use engagement to get “consensus in a hurry” using high intensity methods to bring about community and stakeholder agreement – even when literally, under fire. In particular it highlighted how accessing community participation can bring about super fast, powerful outcomes. Lesson learnt: Make time to access the power of community thinking during a crisis.

The Core Values Awards Dinner was my favourite extracurricular activity. Firstly because I was able to see some incredibly worthy and innovative case studies. Secondly because the Australian contingent was strong – and the last to leave. But what happens Denver, stays in Denver.

Liz Pope

I think it’s important for people at any stage in their carer to keep learning and finding avenues to expand experiences and knowledge. I would say to anyone that comes across great opportunities like this to throw your hat in the ring even if self-doubt or circumstance tells you that you have a slim chance in being successful. As my mum always says, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

As there was just a huge amount of presentations to choose from I tended to gravitate towards conference sessions that had a practical element to them or what looked like had an in-depth story-telling quality to them.

Overall I came away with two key impressions from listening to a variety of topics. The first was that whilst there are tried-and-true engagement methodology that we all use there seems to be a thirst for developing new tools and technique. This is particularly prevalent in regards to reaching community and stakeholder online, engaging projects teams in a meaningful way and taking a deeper dive into understanding a variety of perspectives.

The second aspect that came through both during presentations and my conversations with some of the seasoned practitioners was that there will inevitably be times when the best laid plans do not guarantee successful outcomes. In the community engagement there are so many intricate, unexpected “people factors” that we as practitioners need to be able to navigate and change tack as projects progress, and that every failure becomes a learning opportunity. To me, this was a valuable realisation as it makes the learning curve more palatable as my career progresses.

One presentation that struck a chord with me was “Breaking Down Walls: Creating a United Front through Self-reflection” by Gemma Puddy. Gemma explored the idea with the group about understanding the labels we place upon ourselves and how we bring that energy into a room each time we engage. Being so early in my engagement career I find myself reflective of what kind of practitioner I want to be and whether my assumptions about the project or people involved ultimately affects the final outcome and data collected from the community. Understanding and acknowledging our ‘self- truths’ helps us to engage with our communities in an open, balanced and authentic manner.

I want to continue conversations with the Australiasian (WA) affiliate of how we can identify gaps in our grassroots level, particularly how we can be better in engaging young professionals beyond the Certificate training whether it be mentoring, affordable tailored events or just generally understanding what new professionals need more of from IAP2. My impression is that there is a wealth of knowledge, people willing to share that knowledge and new practitioners eager to be supported and to have a go or even just a sounding board for ideas.

Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet a large group of people from across the globe who share a lot of the same ideals about the value of community engagement. This was actually my first time meeting a group of Australasian affiliates and I’m grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with them post conference. The gala night was a fun night to frock up and relax with new friends and get inspired by all the fantastic projects. I also particularly enjoyed the optional ‘Cocktails and Crafts Night’ planned by conference organisers and met some super nice people from the states.

Our optional trip to the Dahlia Campus for Health and Wellbeing was also a fantastic expereince to see such an innovative and welcoming space that actually delivers what the community need and want.