—————— © Communication with the media and the public: who is responsible for Broviding public information abou the group ane speaking on behalf of the group; procedures for reviewing and approving public information materials and public statements; opportunities for members of the public and the media to observe and comment at meetings, elc. 2 Access to and use of funding available to the group: sources of fundin, for he group; agreed uses for funding, procedures for using finds, ele Any other issues that group participants fel itis important to address in the ground rules. Once the group has drafted a set of ground rales that all participants can support, the participanés should review the draft ground cules with their organisations/ constituencies. After that review is complete, all of the group's participants should formally agree to the ground rules. Potential new participants should receive and review the ground rules before joining the ‘group. New participants should have the option to ask the grouip to consider changes or additions to the ground rules. Step 3 - Initiate a Joint-Fact Finding Process to Handle Complex Scientific and ‘Technical Questions “This step helps participants agree on the information they need to collect and ov gaps or disagreements among techie sources wil be handed Joint fact finuing is proces tohelp stakeholders bul a shared unclerstanding of technical an scents astes and fis implcations for plicy Ica also help resolveclisputes about scenfficand leciniel methods, dats findings and interpretations Joint fact finding has developed asa response tothe common problem of “ducing expert” in policy making, For example several stakenolder groups international agencies, national NOs, goversinent agences~inay dssgrer about the effectiveness ofa particular approach to deal with a development challenge = for example. rising female school enrolment by providing schools with an incentive payment fr each female enrolled. Exch group brings forward 2 development or edication expert to support is point of view. Each of the experts claims to be neutral anc objective in presenting “the ecientfic evidence” en the impact of the intervention. The expert never eet with each other end thesacholr fre trae ree ni cco fhe viene ier, they appear separately to defend their work and rteize the assumptions, nnethodk and findings of oer experts, The stakeholders wi are not technical experts quickly become frustrate and decide that theres "right ansiver” to ‘he question. he ikaly outcome isa program based! on a political compromise ‘within the “range” of arguments presented by the ducking experts Ina joint fact finding process, the stakeholders work jointly to Phone: 17 92 1814 » Fa617 92 1919 + Webs ww.cbuilding org 209‘a define the scientific/technical questions to be answered; { identify and select qualified resource persons to assist the group; ‘Andi then, in collaboration with the resource persons: ‘refine the questions; {set the terms of reference for scientifc/technicat studies; ‘a monitor (and possibly participate in) the study process; review and interpret the results. I stakeholders are able to accomplish these steps jointly, they can dramatically reduce the amount of time and effort spent on debating Scientific issues; build a shared understanding of the range of uncertainty where there are not definitive factual answers; and create a firm scientific/technical foundation for the standard that they recommend, Step 4- Deliberate ‘This is the stage of a consensus building process where individuals can make ‘major contributions to achieving agreed goals by using the Mutual Gains Approach: preparing effectively, focusing on interests, exploring options without ‘committing, and developing shared criteria to guide decision-making (see separate document on The Mutual Gains Approach to Negatiation). To encourage al participants to use a mutual gains approach, it may be useful to offer a short (1/2 day to 2 day) training in mutual gains negotiation to all participants at the beginning of the process. In addition to individual use of mutual gains strategies, the group ean also make deliberations more productive by using skilled facilitation and single text drafting. ‘Skilled Facilitation: A qualified facilitator is one of the more important resources in consensus building. The facilitator is responsible for creating a climate conducive to joint investigation of issues, productive dialogue, and relationship building among partpants. The most fective fciator are able to work both on the specific tasks of the group and on group dynamics-building a sense of shared purpose, positive working relationships and camaraderie. Facilitators can do more than just run a good meeting, however, if engaged early inthe proces If the Tacltator enters the proces either as the assessor, ora the frcltator of nial stakeholder meetings to dacies the results ofthe assesment and plan the process thers /he can provide substantia help in process design and process management. In the debiberalion phase, faltators can promote the legitimacy and effectiveness ofthe process by 151 Mount Auburn Sreet + Cambridge, MA G2138, USA Phoae:617 492 414 » Fax 617492 1919 » Webs wwevrchullding.org 21012 encouraging effective representation and pasticipation of key stakeholders, by encouraging and assisting all participants to regularly update thelr organisations/constituencies; 1. helping the group meet its agreed goals as efficiently as possible, throug caroful management of the work plan and agendas for individual meetings; 2 identifying resource needs (eg funding for consultants, raining on technical aspect of forest management or certieaton) and helping the group to meet those needs © helping the group with the proces of pint fact-inding, including ‘entiation of information sources and expert, and faclitatng the process cl reaching agreement on questions, methods and interpretation of daa (eee the subsection on joint act finding above), 2 “helping individual participants and the group as whole with essential steps in he negotiation proces inching consideration ofeach pertdpants cove Interests, the cention of options and proposals on specific sues, the evelopment of package greements and the ang of fnal éecisons in light ofagresd goal, principles and citer ©. identifying and helping to resolve colts among partipants acting =n Iinpardal nediator and problem solver. Because faclitation can provide substantial benefits, we recommend using a well- qualified neutral facilitator when resources allow. Three qualifications are essential 13 demonstrated experience and skill in assisting multistakeholder groups to reach agreement on complex isaues; 2 basic understanding ofthe substantive issues involved (e.g. rural evelopment, urban informal settlement); 2 impartiality with regard to the interests ofthe stakeholders involved in the process, anc with regard tothe specific issues to be discussed and negotiated Generally, convenors take responsibility for identifying and contracting with facilitators. [tis advisable for the convenor to confirm that the facilitator is acceptable to all participating stakeholder groups, ane to set up a procedure for participants to raise and address concerns about the fecilitator’s performance and/or impartiality. Single ext drafting: When a group i trying to seach agreement on a complex fet of asus tat wil reqsite organisational commitments and potentially legal. latory and/or policy change, iis very useful to use a single text approsck torrente unified document reflecting the soup’ shared understandings and Sgreements. For example a group working ons comprehensive uban dlevelopment strategy might have a framework document covering housing, infrastructure, commercial and Industral development, envizonment and land tse, Tas document can cover a wide range of estes, and much offre work on 7 131 Mount Acbumn Steet + Cambuidge, MA2IS, USA Phone: 617 4921414 » Fae G17 4921919 » Webs worecbuildingorg 21