Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Workshop
Session Title
Decision-Making by Consent: How to Replace Consensus and Majority Rule Strategies with Inclusive Collaborative Governance
Session Abstract or Summary
People often assume there are only two choices for how groups make decisions: majority voting or consensus. Most people don’t realize that circles of decision-makers have a third option that can be preferable to either of these - decision-making by Consent.
Using consent as the basis for decisions was instrumental in the Appalachian Foodshed Project (AFP), a five-year collaborative effort to address community food security in parts of central Appalachia. We found that addressing large-scale systemic issues meant leveraging the power of networks -- optimizing the activities, relationships, and interactions among all the parts of our unique, Appalachian food systems.
Networks are complex arenas, and unanimous agreement is unlikely. Still, networks need decision-making that aligns the voices of those potentially affected by decisions and those responsible for carrying them out. The principle of Consent allows networks to integrate diversity, the way healthy ecosystems self-organize in nature.
Circle Forward is a system of collaborative governance that includes the principle of consent. When the AFP adopted Circle Forward, they were able to more quickly make decisions that reflected a diversity of voices, while remaining open and adaptive to complex, changing conditions. It enabled both:
-
non-majority perspectives to have an equal voice in decision-making, and
-
the participants to try new ideas more quickly, even when the outcomes were not predictable.
Join us for a fun experience where you’ll get the chance to learn and practice some tools for decision-making by consent, and to experience how it is different from both majority rule and consensus decision-making.
Presentation #1 Title
Why Not Consensus or Majority Rule? Leverage the Power of Networks with Decision-making by Consent
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
People often assume there are only two choices for how groups make decisions: majority voting or consensus. Most people don’t realize that circles of decision-makers have a third option that can be preferable to either of these - decision-making by Consent.
Using consent as the basis for decisions was instrumental in the Appalachian Foodshed Project (AFP), a five-year collaborative effort to address community food security in parts of central Appalachia. We found that addressing large-scale systemic issues meant leveraging the power of networks -- optimizing the activities, relationships, and interactions among all the parts of our unique, Appalachian food systems.
Networks are complex arenas, and unanimous agreement is unlikely. Still, networks need decision-making that aligns the voices of those potentially affected by decisions and those responsible for carrying them out. The principle of Consent allows networks to integrate diversity, the way healthy ecosystems self-organize in nature.
Circle Forward is a system of collaborative governance that includes the principle of consent. When the AFP adopted Circle Forward, they were able to more quickly make decisions that reflected a diversity of voices, while remaining open and adaptive to complex, changing conditions. It enabled both:
-
non-majority perspectives to have an equal voice in decision-making, and
-
the participants to try new ideas more quickly, even when the outcomes were not predictable.
Join us for a fun experience where you’ll get the chance to learn and practice some tools for decision-making by consent, and to experience how it is different from both majority rule and consensus decision-making.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Tracy Kunkler, MSW, is a Principal at Social Profit Strategies and co-founder of Circle Forward, a system for collaborative governance that is being used by cross-sector networks at the local, regional, and multi-state levels. Her passion for the local food movement has attracted a wide variety of organizations and network clients focused on large-scale systems change; Tracy provides expert facilitation, training in adaptive governance methods, and strategic and emergent planning services.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Michelle Smith is a Principal at Social Profit Strategies and co-founder of Circle Forward. For more than two decades she has worked with for-profit and non-profit businesses that are contributing to a vision of prosperity, vitality and peace for the whole community. Michelle trains, coaches and facilitates groups in collaborative governance. She helps social profit organizations and businesses develop systems and strategies for fundraising, communications, marketing, and volunteer and donor relations.
Why Not Consensus or Majority Rule? Leverage the Power of Networks with Decision-making by Consent
People often assume there are only two choices for how groups make decisions: majority voting or consensus. Most people don’t realize that circles of decision-makers have a third option that can be preferable to either of these - decision-making by Consent.
Using consent as the basis for decisions was instrumental in the Appalachian Foodshed Project (AFP), a five-year collaborative effort to address community food security in parts of central Appalachia. We found that addressing large-scale systemic issues meant leveraging the power of networks -- optimizing the activities, relationships, and interactions among all the parts of our unique, Appalachian food systems.
Networks are complex arenas, and unanimous agreement is unlikely. Still, networks need decision-making that aligns the voices of those potentially affected by decisions and those responsible for carrying them out. The principle of Consent allows networks to integrate diversity, the way healthy ecosystems self-organize in nature.
Circle Forward is a system of collaborative governance that includes the principle of consent. When the AFP adopted Circle Forward, they were able to more quickly make decisions that reflected a diversity of voices, while remaining open and adaptive to complex, changing conditions. It enabled both:
-
non-majority perspectives to have an equal voice in decision-making, and
-
the participants to try new ideas more quickly, even when the outcomes were not predictable.
Join us for a fun experience where you’ll get the chance to learn and practice some tools for decision-making by consent, and to experience how it is different from both majority rule and consensus decision-making.
