**Problem Addressing Session #2:**

**Participation and Engagement in Our Council's Work**

**Tuesday, June 3 11:00 AM-12:30 PM**

(Bob Lovan)

Participants at the Session stated that they would like to address the
following in this session:

-   We would like to engage and participate with new people

-   We are trying to restart our council

-   We are looking for something fresh as we are saturated on other
    topics

**Bob Lovan:**

-   We are focusing on corporation, coordination and collaboration in
    state council effectiveness. We will spend some time defining what
    those three terms are and the challenges to implement changes. We
    will talk about civil societies and what is necessary for
    implementing public decisions. This is where we learn networking in
    action.

-   You need to focus on your needs as a council leader for this
    session. You need to think about the needs of the other person. You
    must be sensitive to the others. Look at the purpose of why you are
    doing what you are doing.

-   An objective is a measurable strategy that leads to an outcome. What
    are the big things your council is trying to get done? This is your
    purpose.

-   Which of Michael Winer's three C's capture your preferred style? We
    will look at the environment in which you will carry out the purpose
    or this networking. We will then cover the different networking
    techniques. We may construct a fictitious model if we may have time.

-   Things happen because of an actor---someone is acting with intent.

-   The three C's are frequently interchangeable, but each has its own
    subtleties which reflect variations in mutual relationships and
    goals, jointly developed structures and shared responsibility,
    mutual authority and accountability for success, and the sharing of
    resources and rewards.

-   **Cooperation** represents a sharing of ideas but neither work nor
    resources. This involves low risks for the partners and possibly few
    benefits for the target objective. You do not have to give up
    authority for your organization and the risk to all parties is very
    low.

-   **Coordination** represents a desire to partner but not to share
    resources to achieve a common objective. This is often based on the
    belief that one partner has a larger role or holds a larger
    resource. There are high risks for the partners and possibly low
    benefits for the target objective.

-   **Collaboration** represents a desire to work together by sharing
    resources to achieve a common objective. There are high risks for
    the partners but high benefits for the target objectives. Purpose
    and mission are defined, but the structure is much more formal.
    There is a juggling of shared resources. You must share the products
    and the outcomes.

**Question:** I'm confused about the part where you talk about the
partner sharing some of your role. Are you saying you need to be clearer
about how things are organized going in so you can eliminate some
confusion with your partner?

**Answer:** If you don't clarify, you don't end up with
collaboration---you end up with coordination. Now that's OK, but just be
aware that that is what you're getting.

-   There is no simple definition of collaboration. There are several
    pieces to this. There are the sectors, the actors, and the actions
    involved. I want to suggest there are three parts to decision-making
    in a civil society. Typically in the community sector it is a
    semi-closed activity (government, which has a nonpartisan political
    purpose). Second, there is the Associational sector. This is
    relatively new in civil society. Third, there is the business
    sector. This is a closed system; you can't walk in and get involved.
    What you see in the associational sector is very open, and this
    sometimes makes it more of a challenge. You don't have the authority
    of the public or business sector; instead you have a social system
    with its own unique values that must dictate how you must go about
    doing things.

-   There is a divide between the policy and the technical levels. There
    are actors who make the changes happen. The public sector includes
    the public executive arena, the elected officials, the appointed
    officials, and the career arena. Looking at the business side, there
    are the business representatives, financial markets, regulatory
    mechanisms, and enterprises. The media cuts across all these
    sectors, as do the individuals. The special interest groups can
    choose what issues they wish to be involved. Faith based groups are
    often left out, but they are present in the grass roots
    organizations. Of course, community groups on the local level are
    very present and important,

-   The next component of the Civil Society is action. There is the
    operation structure and the actors, but if nothing is done about it,
    it is useless. This is where people affect change. The problems here
    are that each actor has a different expectation as to the desired
    outcomes. The business sector is driven by the economy whereas the
    policy makers may be driven by politics. This problem requires the 3
    C's in order to achieve a desired outcome for everyone. The
    government sector and the business sector operate in very different
    ways. Because of this, there are huge differences in the outcomes.
    There is no right or wrong approach in this, so the decision making
    process is difficult and slow going. The right people must be
    involved in order to make progress.

-   The next component is conflict. Usually, things in the civil society
    do not go smoothly. Negotiation is attempted, but often, coercion is
    necessary. The business way of making decisions is so vastly
    different from the others and vice versa, that the people involved
    must be willing to understand the conflict and work with it in a way
    to have it resolved. This can be done through talking it out first,
    then moving to mediation. If it is a serious dispute, then a third
    party can mediate for the involved parties. Adjudication is the last
    resort, which is going to court in order to resolve the conflicts.
    This system gives you an opportunity to see how these issues can be
    resolved.

-   The third thing I want to discuss is participation. A good website
    for handouts is
    [www.ppimk.com/people-networking-skills.htm](http://www.ppimk.com/people-networking-skills.htm).
    It offers a quick review of what I have given you as well as more
    in-depth information on these issues.

-   On the website, there are lists of skills that were compiled through
    leadership training that the writer attended. Some of the skills are
    empathy, energy to inspire others, friendly relationships and the
    ability to maintain them. Being a good listener is important in
    sustaining relationships. You must be aware and in control of
    yourself in order to be a good listener. It is the ability to
    understand the other's point of view. Other qualities are to be
    genuine, sincere, and kind. Open mindedness is an important quality,
    but also a difficult one. An eye for detail is important as well as
    body language. Intuition is another quality that can be useful for
    the process. If there is one thing you need to keep in mind, it is
    intuition.