See also Community planning weekends. It is easier to seek forgiveness than to ask permission. How you make things happen within a participation process depends on the style you adopt , the role you play, and what you are trying to achieve. The style needed to run a project or organisation may not be appropriate for someone seeking to help others to understand problems and make decisions. See also Approach , Enabling, Facilitation, Leadership, Role of the practitioner.
Groups are generally necessary to plan and take forward projects.
Well-tried methods of developing and running groups can be more widely useful in participation processes. The most effective longer-term groups are those where people share a common purpose and can provide support for each other, recognising that each person brings different skills, ideas and attitudes. These range from taking stock, developing and sharing a vision, to getting organised and evaluating progress. See also Team building. At its simplest, just ask people to turn to their neighbour and come up with a few questions or ideas around a point you have raised.