This exercise may be used as part of a community gathering about a social problem or as a stand-alone experience for a group of people who are already informed about the problem and its implications. The purpose of the exercise is to enable people to look at perspectives other than the one that dominates their individual experience. (continue)

The Wisdom Council is a newly invented structural approach to achieving genuine democracy in cities, unions, associations, counties, or nations ... and even in corporations. No matter how many people are in the system, it structures a creative, thoughtful, system-wide conversation about the most pressing issues. It facilitates everyone to form a unanimous "We the People" viewpoint. (continue)

Lisa Heft distributed this meaty two-page handout during her "showcase" session on these processes at the 2006 NCDD conference in San Francisco. 'Samoan' Circles invite participants to share thoughts on complex and even conflicting issues - without feeling that someone will be solving, arguing or debating what they are sharing - and knowing that what they say will be witnessed by others. Inquiry Circles invite deep, rich thinking through the sharing of richly-textured questions, without any cross-dialogue but instead engaging the group in deep listening and weaving a deeper understanding together. Lisa Heft uses the term 'Witness Circles' as an overarching term for these and other similar methods. (continue)

Work Out is a participative problem-solving method created at General Electric under the impetus of Jack Welch's leadership. A high-level sponsor authorizes the gathering of all relevant stakeholders of a particular problem in one place for several days to address and take action on the problem. In the final afternoon, the sponsor and other managers or executives with decision-making authority attend and publicly authorize or veto proposals from working groups. Then over the next 30, 60 or 90 days, short progress reporting meetings are held. It is expected that action will be complete in 90 days and results and cost savings known. (continue)

EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) established the CPS Program in 2003 to assist community-based organizations develop and implement locally-based solutions to environmental and/or public health concerns in collaboration with others. Specifically, the CPS Program provides $100,000 directly to each selected applicant and technical assistance in the use of the CPS Model. The CPS Model offers a flexible, but structured, process that community-based organizations and others can use to establish and maintain partnerships capable of producing meaningful results. (continue)

Juanita Brown and David Isaacs from Whole Systems Associates use the model of the cafe setting to create a warm, inviting environment in which people can converse. Participants gather informally at small tables and are encouraged to map out the ideas generated from conversation onto the paper table cloths covering the tables. (continue)

World Conversations bring travelers, visitors and locals together to talk about topics that matter in their own lives and in the world. These Breakfast Conversations, initiated at San Francisco's Red Victorian Bed and Breakfast and modeled after the Conversation Cafe process, enjoy a popularity which has spread across the continent and around the world. Each informal Breakfast Conversation (4 to 9 people at a table) has a broad theme (local community, global citizenship, travel insights, environment, etc.), and the dialogue involves both round robin and popcorn-style conversation. World Conversations are also held at appointed times in many hotels and cafes; any place where travelers and locals gather. (continue)

The World Urban Cafés are an innovative series of discussion and performance events on urban issues, taking place before and during the World Urban Forum (WUF) and World Youth Forum (WYF) to be held in Vancouver in June 2006. The World Urban Café events unite and engage diverse youth and their communities, while showcasing their ideas, action projects, and culture. As of early 2006, there have been 68 Cafés on 4 continents, with over 20,000 participants. (continue)

A facilitated group process developed by Yellow Wood Associates in St. Albans, Vermont that integrates systems thinking into strategic planning, identifies key leverage indicators and aligns actions to achieve goals. You Get What You Measure® is an inclusive, values-based process. (continue)