Introduction

Building Community & Embracing Diversity

The Art of Compassionate Communication

Facilitation Skills: Decision Making & Conflict Resolution

Personal Empowerment & Leadership Skills

Celebrating Life:
Art & Creativity

Local, Bioregional & Global Outreach

 
2b. Facilitation Skills: Decision Making and Conflict Resolution
The Art of Facilitation How to Make Good Decisions Understanding and Learning from Conflict

Government and Governance

We need to distinguish between “government” and “governance” (see Table below). Regarding governance we should consider not only who decides but, also, how we will decide - and this implies answering the following questions:

  1. Are all decisions equal —in importance, scope, etc...?
  2. Who should decide on what decisions?
  3. Which decision-making method do we want to use for each type of decision?
  4. How often do we want to meet? How long do we want our meetings to be?
  5. Which are our common agreements for meetings?
  6. How are we going to ensure a fair and participatory decision-making process?
  7. How do we handle conflicts arising in the decision-making process?
  8. How are decisions communicated to the whole group?
Government

Is the governing body of a nation, organization or community. In large groups the government is elected among members.
In small groups it may be the whole group.

Governance

Is the action or manner of governing. Governance involves the exercise of power to manage the affairs of a nation, organization or group.

 

Governance

Who decides and how we decide are the most important questions regarding Governance.
Photo Credit: Maxim Malevich