Community discussion and future workshop to identify future topics

The community talk and the future workshop are two methods that were used in 4 communities in Upper Valais by the SAB and VillageOffice to collect the needs and ideas regarding future issues together with the interested population and to mobilize people to implement ideas.

Two coworking spaces, a ride sharing exchange and the automation of a cable car were developed from the process.

The first thing is to start with a community meeting:
The population is invited to an evening workshop.
- Overview of modules are presented to the participants (see modules)
- Participants prioritize the main topic (important / unimportant) and write comments on posters (see training)
- The 3 most important future topics are discussed at 3 tables (world café).
- At the end, the participants can enter themselves in the track group list of the respective future topic.

One month later we invited all track groups to the future workshop
Methodology future talk, participation with Pro Action Café and a design approach for doing with wisdom and sustainability:
○ 1st round: The Pro Action Café is ideal for getting ideas into action. It's about the participants starting in a large group. There is a check-in and briefing on the method and the process. All concerns and questions are welcome. All track group members who want to discuss a project idea have a table. The others spread around the tables. The first round is about understanding the topic and the question (s) hidden in it more deeply. The main questions are:
■ What is the question behind the project of the subject contributor?
■ Why has this project not been implemented so far?
■ Which aspects or perspectives have been missing so far?
■ What was missing to get into “doing”?
○ Before the second round, the groups swap at the tables. The second round is about exploring the gaps or blind spots in the project together. Central questions can be:
■ What do people in the church not want to see?
■ Which unconscious causes are hidden (fears etc.)?
○ In the third round, the person introducing the topic discusses what he / she has learned from the discussions about the project. Leading questions could be:
■ What did I learn about my project?
■ What are my insights?
■ What are the next steps to implement my project?
○ In a fourth round, an action plan / project canvas (https://www.openpm.info/display/openPM/Ententwicklung+einer+PM-Canvas) is created on large A0 posters. In this template, what has been learned can now be recorded in the track groups per municipality for one or another project. The groups are formed beforehand.

4 mountain communities in Upper Valais

The first step was carried out in all 4 communities, at the end of the future workshop, the track group members (approx. 25 people) from all 4 communities came together. The entire process cost around CHF 27,000.

Good communication in the community regarding the planned activities. The distance between the community meeting and the future workshop must not be too long, otherwise people will have the feeling that the project has fallen asleep.

The first thing is to start with a community meeting:
The population is invited to an evening workshop.
- Overview of modules are presented to the participants (see modules)
- Participants prioritize the main topic (important / unimportant) and write comments on posters (see training)
- The 3 most important future topics are discussed at 3 tables (world café).
- At the end, the participants can enter themselves in the track group list of the respective future topic.

One month later we invited all track groups to the future workshop
Methodology future talk, participation with Pro Action Café and a design approach for doing with wisdom and sustainability:
○ 1st round: The Pro Action Café is ideal for getting ideas into action. It's about the participants starting in a large group. There is a check-in and briefing on the method and the process. All concerns and questions are welcome. All track group members who want to discuss a project idea have a table. The others spread around the tables. The first round is about understanding the topic and the question (s) hidden in it more deeply. The main questions are:
■ What is the question behind the project of the subject contributor?
■ Why has this project not been implemented so far?
■ Which aspects or perspectives have been missing so far?
■ What was missing to get into “doing”?
○ Before the second round, the groups swap at the tables. The second round is about exploring the gaps or blind spots in the project together. Central questions can be:
■ What do people in the church not want to see?
■ Which unconscious causes are hidden (fears etc.)?
○ In the third round, the person introducing the topic discusses what he / she has learned from the discussions about the project. Leading questions could be:
■ What did I learn about my project?
■ What are my insights?
■ What are the next steps to implement my project?
○ In a fourth round, an action plan / project canvas (possible template https://www.openpm.info/display/openPM/Ententwicklung+einer+PM-Canvas) is created on large A0 posters. In this template, what has been learned can now be recorded in the track groups per municipality for one or another project. The groups are formed beforehand.

It was quite easy to inform people and get them to participate in the meeting. However, when it came to working on specific projects and assuming responsibility, the number of participants was significantly lower.