The purpose of the dialogues is to allow participants to clarify concerns, raise questions, and discuss issues that have arisen throughout the training in a unstructured format. The dialogues are focused on 5 themes:
Participants have an opportunity to raise issues from all the previous sessions of the Institute that relate to the theme that they have chosen. The dialogues will allow for interchange among various teams and provide clarification and ideas for Unit 5B, which concerns developing a partnership reentry plan.
It will be helpful for facilitators to review the individual questions in the Trainer Manual (see pages 6-10) for the theme of the small group they are facilitating. The list provides space in which facilitators can add their own questions.
Trainer Note: The role of the facilitator in this session is flexible. If the group is able to manage the discussion by itself, your primary role is to keep track of time and to ensure that all participants have an opportunity to be involved in the discussion.
Directions
A. Ask all participants to introduce themselves by name and partnership.
B. Explain that the purpose of the dialogues is to develop a free-flowing discussion around the theme. It is not a workshop, and there will be no presentations.
C. Discuss the theme of the dialogue.
D. Let the participants know that this is a good time to seek clarification or new ideas for the reentry plan each partnership will develop in the next session.
E. Review the following ground rules.
Trainer Note: Each Institute may have set other ground rules that are helpful to repeat here.
Content Points
Members need to hold discussions within this group as confidential.
There are no dumb questions or ideas. The more ideas that are generated, the better opportunity one has for finding the best solution.
It is important to work as a group to include everyone as an equal member.
Trainer Note: It is important that the facilitator keep the discussion focused on the theme for the dialogue session.
A. The following 5 pages list sample questions for each theme group. Each list contains 4 general questions that are repeated in all the dialogues, followed by 5 questions specific to the theme. There is also room for the facilitator to add a few of his or her own questions.
B. Suggestions for eliciting discussion:
Ask each member to think about one question. Write the list on newsprint.
Have the group spend time brainstorming a list of discussion questions or issues.
If necessary, use the list of questions for each theme following this section to spur discussion.
C. It is helpful to give participants a warning when they have 10 minutes left to wrap up the discussion. (The facilitator will have 5 of those 10 minutes at the end for a summary.)
Questions for the Cultural Diversity Dialogue Group
General Questions
What concerns or questions do you have about cultural diversity?
Is there anything related to cultural diversity that you have found confusing? Enlightening?
What questions do you think that the folks back home will have about cultural diversity? How will you answer them?
What, if any, additional information do you feel you need on this subject? How will you get that information?
Specific Questions
How can you find out more about the different cultural groups in your community?
What are some ways that you can gain trust with people of different cultural backgrounds?
How will your partnership operate differently if it is successful in involving members of the unique cultural groups residing in your community?
What are the barriers to developing a multicultural organization?
What are the benefits of developing a multicultural organization?
Facilitator Questions
Questions for the Community Empowerment Dialogue Group
General Questions
What concerns or questions do you have about community empowerment?
Is there anything related to community empowerment that you have found confusing? Enlightening?
What questions do you think that the folks back home will have about community empowerment? How will you answer them?
What, if any, additional information do you feel you need on this subject? How will you get that information?
Specific Questions
What does it mean to "empower" someone?
How do we have to change to increase community empowerment?
What is the difference between projects that authentically empower the community and those that are attempting to co-opt or manipulate members of the community?
What does community empowerment mean for people who currently hold power in the community?
How can a partnership help people who hold power overcome their resistance to community empowerment?
Facilitator Questions
Questions for the Evaluation Dialogue Group
General Questions
What concerns or questions do you have about evaluation?
Is there anything related to evaluation that you have found confusing? Enlightening?
What questions do you think that the folks back home will have about evaluation? How will you answer them?
What, if any, additional information do you feel you need on this subject? How will you get that information?
Specific Questions
What expectations does OSAP have about the kinds of evaluations that partnerships will use?
What kinds of instruments are other partnerships using?
How can we make our evaluation methods sensitive to people from the different cultural groups in our communities?
How can we give evaluation a more positive image in our communities?
How can we include our evaluation teams in the business of the partnership to ensure they understand the unique evaluation needs of the grant?
Facilitator Questions
Questions for the Inclusion Dialogue Group
General Questions
What concerns or questions do you have about inclusion?
Is there anything related to inclusiveness that you have found confusing? Enlightening?
What questions do you think that the folks back home will have about inclusion? How will you answer them?
What, if any, additional information do you feel you need on this subject? How will you get that information?
Specific Questions
What does it mean to include the "whole community" in all the partnership's work?
How do we let people who are not a part of the partnership know that we are serious about inclusiveness?
What are some effective strategies for including people who are not being reached by our current marketing efforts?
What changes will have to occur in our partnership if we want to keep new people involved?
What are the advantages to being more inclusive?
Facilitator Questions
Questions for the Leadership Dialogue Group
General Questions
What concerns or questions do you have about leadership?
Is there anything related to leadership that you have found confusing? Enlightening?
What questions do you think that the folks back home will have about leadership issues? How will you answer them?
What, if any, additional information do you feel you need on this subject? How will you get that information?
Specific Questions
What kind of leadership style do we want for our partnership?
How do we encourage people from the community to take active leadership roles?
What are the roles for staff versus volunteers in our leadership structure?
How do we shift the leadership from staff to volunteers?
What are some strategies for sharing leadership among all the members of the partnership?
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