A Practical Guide for Consensus-Based Decision Making

A Practical Guide for Consensus-Based Decision Making

What makes some group efforts so much more effective and satisfying than others? Why do some group decisions enjoy strong buy-in and follow through, and produce tangible results, whereas others fall flat right out of the gate?

Commentary from the guide's author, James Madden:

The success of collective impact efforts depend a great deal on the quality and effectiveness of face-to-face meetings -- on the process of convening, engaging, focusing, and harnessing the creative energies of the participants. Over the course of many years of working as a community developer in different settings and contexts I have found in particular, that the collective decision-making process is too often undertaken without clear understanding and deliberate intent by participants, often resulting in frustration and confusion. Having noticed this, I decided to try to write up some concise practical suggestions for consensus building for various groups I was working with. I found it made a substantial difference in terms of satisfaction and group effectiveness to reflect on these guidelines together at the beginning, as an integral part of the process. Over the years I have tweaked my little consensus-building handouts as I have learned from experience.

Back in August [2017], I read Liz Weaver’s paper entitled, Turf, Trust, Co-Creation and Collective Impact which resonated with my experience of consensus building. I was inspired to share my rough consensus-building guide with Liz Weaver. Liz thought other groups might benefit from it, and invited me to share it through Tamarack’s network. So after a little further refining, I offer this Practical Guide to Consensus-Based Decision Making. There are many other resources available to support consensus-building (some of which I refer to), and I suspect many people reading this are very skilled consensus builders. I would invite any comments or suggestions that may help support our common endeavors related to community building and collective impact.

 



Recent posts

WEBINAR | Talking to your Community about Collective Impact - Making it Real
WEBINAR | Talking to your Community about Collective Impact - Overview
WEBINAR | Talking to your Community about Collective Impact - Overview
REPORT | Communities Ending Poverty Impact Report: A Deep Dive into 2022
REPORT | Communities Ending Poverty Impact Report: A Deep Dive into 2022
CASE STUDY | Transforming the Coasts of New Brunswick through Community Engagement
CASE STUDY | Transforming the Coasts of New Brunswick through Community Engagement
REPORT | Communities Ending Poverty Summit for Strength Learnings
REPORT | Communities Ending Poverty Summit for Strength Learnings
MEMBERSHIP | Community Climate Transitions
MEMBERSHIP | Community Climate Transitions
WEBINAR | Mental Health and Poverty: A Systems Change Approach
WEBINAR | Mental Health and Poverty: A Systems Change Approach
WEBINAR | Kim Samuel on Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation
WEBINAR | Kim Samuel on Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation
WEBINAR | Transforming Systems for Continued Poverty Reduction Success
WEBINAR | Transforming Systems for Continued Poverty Reduction Success
WEBINAR | Breakthrough Community Change: Lessons for Changemakers
WEBINAR | Breakthrough Community Change: Lessons for Changemakers
WEBINAR | Bankability / Payday Lending
WEBINAR | Bankability / Payday Lending
WEBINAR | Integrating the SDGs into Your Municipality
WEBINAR | Integrating the SDGs into Your Municipality
WEBINAR | Centring Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation in Organizations and in Community-Wide Change
WEBINAR | Centring Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation in Organizations and in Community-Wide Change
WEBINAR | Young Climate Voices on the Global Stage: Amplifying Local Knowledge
WEBINAR | Young Climate Voices on the Global Stage: Amplifying Local Knowledge
GUIDE | Community Climate Start-Up - Thinking Like an Entrepreneur
GUIDE | Community Climate Start-Up - Thinking Like an Entrepreneur
PAPER | What Is Community?
Reflecting Together: Results and Implications of our 2022 Members Survey
WEBINAR | Getting Equity on the Political Agenda: Strategies at the Local Level
WEBINAR | Getting Equity on the Political Agenda: Strategies at the Local Level
WEBINAR | Transformative Change? It Depends on Your Ambition
WEBINAR | Transformative Change? It Depends on Your Ambition
WEBINAR | Evaluating the Impact of Citizens Sharing Their Gifts – Lessons Learned from Abundant Communities Edmonton
WEBINAR | Evaluating the Impact of Citizens Sharing Their Gifts – Lessons Learned from Abundant Communities Edmonton