Several key organizational tensions were identified indirectly throughout the future search workshops. Examples of organizational tensions include rural and urban needs, the claims of agriculture and the needs of other people and communities, and the roles of the organization as an educator and provider of information. Often the tensions appeared to be so basic and intrinsic to the Extension system that participants alluded to them rather than overtly mentioning them when sharing ideas or summarizing a discussion. Members of the strategic framework team listened to the discussions, found a set of recurring themes, and interpreted what was shared. Thus a small team that does not itself actively participate serves a special listening function when several workshops are scheduled over a period of time.
Timing is critical.
In the first future search workshop, the mission and values tasks took place during the first evening, before the participants focused on the present. In subsequent workshops, the mission and values tasks were held in the middle of the second morning, after the focus on the present. Keep participants informed. Documents from earlier future search workshops were available to participants in later workshops but only at the conclusion of the workshop. The extension future search workshops followed this principle, and participants invariably approved of it.