Be directional - and use the right tools.

The most detailed map in the world will not be very helpful if the details don't tell you what you need to know. Consider kayaking through the broken group islands (gorgeous!) - if you grabbed an area map from the local gas station - you'd be in big trouble as you try to navigate between Dodd and Turtle islands - and all the rocks in the middle during a turning tide.   On the other hand if you had a navigational chart,  chances are you'd be safe in a kayak but get lost on the car ride home.

Consider the plethora of choices in choosing maps and charts. Knowing what you are going to do with data and information is half the battle - are you driving, hiking, boating, star gazing or drilling for oil?

In a recent survey of workshop participants hoping to increase their knowledge and skills around using data for community planning, a question was asked about HOW they typically used information. The responses described:

1. Making decisions about program priorities and project directions
2. Writing funding applications (justifying the "ask")
3. Seeing trends - how the context in which we work changes
4. Creating an advocacy arsenal in order to effect change with policy makers
5. Informing best practices
6. Celebrating success

Each use is different. Not every piece of information you unearth will be applicable for every purpose.

If information is causing you to be dazed and confused, do a double check. Check your sources. Is it enough?  Sometimes it is a matter of adding additional information to create the whole picture.  Is the information relevant? Other times, you need to be honest and not force a piece of data into a puzzle it doesn't belong in.

Be clear from the start - what are you hoping to do with what you learn?
And..at the risk of getting data obsessed, consider an evaluation process of your data exploration.  Learning from your experiences of what works and what doesn't as you gather, make sense of and apply information can be very useful learning!

Fire-Starters– Ask Well Crafted Questions!

There are different theories, considerations and approaches to how to light a fire; how much kindling, how to pile the wood, when to add certain sized wood, how many matches to use... the many factors all depend on the purpose of the fire. Is it a low burning campfire, a rip roaring bonfire, or a 100 year old birthday cake?

The purpose of the fire, determines the crafting.

The same could be said when crafting questions. Questions are a key component in working together inivitatives.

When crafting questions there are many things to consider including emotion, tone, expected outcome, participants, how open/closed they need to be, the number of questions and what type of questions are really needed.


Let's simplify that by taking a look at the three village raising steps from last weeks blog and consider them through questions.


1. Gathering Questions (exploring awareness)
What are we talking about?
What meaning does that hold for us? What does it mean for our work?
What are we learning? From whom do we want/need to hear?

2. Sorting/Decision Making Questions: (exploring priorities and choices)
Why does this matter?
What’s most important?
What do we value? How will this impact our outcome?

3. Getting to Action Questions: (exploring ideas, goals and strengths)
What are we going to do about it?
What might happen if we...? What’s possible?
What are the next steps?

Be intentional with inquires, in order to inspire the kind of thought you aim to.
Flame on Village Fire-starters!

Village Raising Question: What's one of your favourite Gathering, Decision Making or Action question?

Tackling Mountains of Data

Faced with a mountain of information, one can feel compelled to climb towards the top - seeking clarity of vision at higher elevations. Or, conversely, one can also feel overwhelmed in the shadow of knowledge and sink in a quagmire of muck at the base.

Author Judi Adler wrote;
"Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time. They have no use for helicopters!"

One step at a time. Faced with volumes of information - whether it be statistics, research, evaluation reports or experience - figuring out the first step is often the trickiest.

This is the time to think simple.

Tips to keep it simple during the early forays into making sense of data is the visual presentation of the information.

1. Get to the point - don't hide the key pieces of information with EVERYTHING available!


2. Pick the right format - think about how numbers, columns, pie charts, colours, maps and pictures can make information easier to digest


3. Keep it simple (we said that already!). With complicated information, make the layout or presentation clean and free of extra frills and clutter.

Once the information is shared, take it apart! Deconstructing complex information doesn't "dummy it down," it allows people to get there heads wrapped around it bit by bit. Community change efforts have a lot of variables. Taking it all in at once runs the risk extreme and total confusion.

One visual and fun way to deconstruct and simplify is by separating all the information at hand on post-it notes or index cards. By breaking down the complexity into bite sized pieces, you can clump them in a variety of ways, sort, re-sort, theme and rearrange. By doing so, people engaged in the work can become active in their roles as meaning makers. They can see information along side other concepts that are important for context. They can make connections that weren't obvious to them (or anyone) when the information was kept in it's original package - whether it be a number, chart, map or story. They can also, visually, connect the single units of information and re-construct the information. This time, however, the familiarity with the information will avoid confusion.

Do your group a favour and help them learn and apply new information by sharing it with them in ways that supports their meaning making journey. Simply, take the first step together (and then another)!

Village Raising Question:

What's your first simple step towards understanding your data?

How do you support a groups meaning making journey?

Data Fog

. One of the passages from our book, more than any other, captures the feeling of collaborative inquiry.

Sleeves rolled up, furrowed brows, slumped shoulders, a heaviness in the air…Weighted down with an all-consuming sense of responsibility, everyone involved was focused, intense, and determined to wade through the fog and confusion…. The overwhelming task before them was to make sense of data, agree on key issues and make a plan.

Sound familiar? 

While we know that it is important to make plans and decisions based on good information, it can feel more like a journey through pea-soup fog. Finding a process to guide a group through the murky, complex world of data so that people emerge feeling informed and cohesive is the key.

Data helps us to give issues and opportunities colour and detail and depth. Data enables us to make new connections and informed decisions. In fact, true innovation emerges during this journey, even when what we don’t know still exceeds what we do. The journey demands risk taking, being open to getting it wrong, and a persistent inquisitive spirit.

Raising the Village will be focusing our blogs this month on getting through the data fog.

What are the essential elements of a group process that will lead to clarity (rather than spinning in circles, getting lost and disoriented)?

How can we avoid data becoming something to fear or defend against?

Can we actually have fun doing this too???

Then when we make it through… find clarity and meaning (having a good time along the way) – we stand on a precipice yet again.  This one is the gap between knowing and doing…but we’ll save that for a future set of blog posts.  :)

Take our challenge this month:

Think of an issue or opportunity that you are currently facing. Ask yourself:

What are some predictions you have about the situation?

What are some questions you need to ask?

What are some possibilities for learning that this situation presents?

What kind of data do you currently have access to that might shed some light on the topic?

Gather your answers and be ready to dive into the fog with us!

RTV #52 - The Year of Raising a Village

In search of a way to examine what our blogs have expressed over the last year, it was with great anticipation that we clicked "ok" for the great reveal...

First, let's look back to December 2010. We at Raising the Village were fired up to share! Here is an excerpt from our blog and our commitment to our readers that 2011 would be a Year of Raising the Village:

There are many different ways to Raise a Village so we are taking some of the innovative and timeless ideas we have researched and will be sharing them with you. Yes, a year of ideas that in and of themselves might not sound like a sustainable village effort, but pieced together they sure are impressive! ...  We ask you to consider the year of ideas as a united tapestry – by taking these seemingly separate patchwork activity ideas and weaving them together into an integrated and coordinated strategy that aims at reducing child vulnerability and increasing community engagement and awareness. We encourage you to take your own grass roots approach and adapt and create what works for you and your community.

Fast forward to today... we copied every single blog entry of 2011 into wordle (www.wordle.net) hoping to see what kind of language we chose most often to express our messages.
 

 What fun to have this image materialize - full of the words that resonate with what we do, what we believe in and what we have hoped to share.




The fact that COMMUNITY jumps as the most commonly used word in 12 months of blogs is significant. As community developers, it is our passion to promote how community plays a vital role in supporting positive change.


But take a look at some of the others that made the top 50 word list - IDEAS, FUN, PLAY, CHANGE, PROCESS... just to name a few that tickle our fancy.


It has also been illuminating to look at the wordle using two new lenses - those of the 2 streams of work that we do at Raising the Village. The first focuses on “It takes a Village to Raise a Child” which is our work around building communities that nourish and support their youngest citizens thereby nourishing our future.

As we have written in our book (Raising the Village), "The well-being of children has a complex and interconnected relationship with the well-being of communities...Every person has the capacity to be a community builder. Parents, grandparents, neighbours, child-care providers, health-care workers, educators, politicians, and entrepreneurs - all contribute because the well-being of children touches us all."


The blog words of CHILDREN, TOGETHER, PLAY, SOCIAL, TIME , PEOPLE, LOCAL and FAMILIES emphasize this important focus.


Our other stream of work is around organizational collaboration, team building and strengthened leadership capacity. Here too, the wordle reflects the work we do with organizations who are engaged in supporting the well-being of children.

PROCESS, CHANGE, IDEAS, TIME, BUILDING, QUESTIONS, GROUP and TOGETHER leap out as sparks to social change makers.


So it is with great satisfaction that we end the official Year of Raising the Village and begin 2012 with a validated sense of direction and re-committed purpose to share ideas and inspiration with people. Those who want to make this world a better one for children...and those whose paths are to strengthen collaborative communities.
Happy New Year
from Tracy & Tammy

RTV# 51 Evolve Your Work Streams

A Year of Raising the Village.

Week #51: Evolve Your Work Streams.

Nearing the end of one year and heading into a new. For many of us this seems like a naturally good time to pause, ponder and set new intentions. If you look back to the last blog of December 2010 we set our intention to provide you with 52 community building ideas ( A Year of Raising the Village).

Our notion was to bring a range of ideas from simple relationship building events and activities to larger social and organizational change strategies. We think we’ve done this (but, you tell us!) and in the process we have evolved and become clearer on our “streams” of our Village Raising work.

Why not take this time of year to re-describe and get to know what your current work streams are?

It can help:

- Summarize how you are meeting your goals and intentions
- Focus your scope so that people can easily connect and interact with the messages you offer
- Serve as an evaluation on how you evolve along the way

We’ve become more clear that the work of Raising the Village currently has two streams, one that focuses on “It takes a Village to Raise a Child” which is our work around building communities that nourish and support their youngest citizens thereby nourishing our future. Our other stream of work is around organizational collaboration, team building and strengthened leadership capacity.

To help you easily connect with these two streams we have broken some of our blog titles from the year into the two sections.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child & Early Years Community Development:
RTV #1 - Tumble Down Fences & Throw a Block Party!...
RTV #2 - Double Dipping Allowed! Fondue & Raclette...
Living the African Proverb
RTV #4 - Sharpen Your View! Distribute Cameras to ...
RTV #5 - CREATE a relationship with children and n...
RTV #6 - Welcome to our Community, Little One!
RTV # 7- HAVE IMPACT! Support ART as a catalyst fo...
RTV #8 - Build a Community Play Space
RTV # 13 Plant Seeds! Community Gardens!
RTV #15 Blitz a family friendly business crusade!
RTV# 16 Balance Screen Time!
RTV #17 Unite Families with a Group Garage Sale
RTV # 19 - Got Youth?
RTV #20 - Support and be Supported by a Service Cl...
RTV #25 Creative Give-a-ways!
RTV# 47 Champion the Champions
RTV # 48 Find the bright spots.


Collaboration, Team Building, Change Efforts, Leadership, Group Process:
RTV Week #10 - Talk: Then Put it into Practice!
RTV #11 - Gather and share stories about what com...
RTV #12 - Carpool!
RTV #14 Embrace Change. Spark Change
RTV #18 Chase new friends - using the golden rules...
RTV #21: Who gets the job– the good listener, the ...
RTV #22 - Top 10 little actions
RTV# 23 - MORE little things we can all do
RTV # 24 - Research, go for a variety!
RTV#26 Locate your Playing Field!
RTV # 27 Make A Movement - your way!
RTV #28 The trust building tango.
RTV #29 Are you up for a 30 Day Challenge?
RTV# 30 - Have you tried the chicken-scratch napki...
RTV #31 - Find What Binds You!
RTV - #32 Break the Ice
RTV #33 - Turning Cantankerous into Cooperative!
RTV # 34 - Make the Invisible -- Visible!
RTV# 35 ChargeYour Group B.S. Meter! Oh Yeah!
RTV #36 - 10 Secrets of Sustained Innovation
RTV # 38 - Remembering to Play (with Vince Gowmon...
RTV #39 - Re-energize: 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour...
RTV#40 De-fuzz: Express Clearly!
RTV#41 The Devil's Advocate
RTV #42 - Get it in writing
RTV# 44 One WORD at a time!
RTV # 45 Tips for group toys
RTV #46 - The shared experience of absurdity
http://raisingthevillage.blogspot.com/2011/12/rtv-49-sketch-it-out.html
http://raisingthevillage.blogspot.com/2011/12/rtv50-warm-up-be-climate-setter.html



Let us know what you think.

What do you want more of? Less of?

What else could we provide that would boost your village raising efforts?

How do our streams align with what you are after?

While we have split our work into two sorting sections it is still intertwined. If using the metaphor of "streams" consider two streams that evolve, change and flow into a larger body of water... or in our case into the bigger village that connects us all.

Watch for next week’s blog which will go even deeper into our streams and uncover what we have learned in the Year of Raising the Village.

Village Raising Questions:
What are your work streams? When is it time to re-describe and theme them?

RTV#50 Warm up - Be a Climate Setter!

A Year of Raising the Village, Week #50: Be a Climate Setter!

You are sitting in your weekly team meeting and find yourself...

a) Actively listening and contributing : Warmed up
b) Listening, contributing and checking Facebook: Luke Warm
c) Counting the number of tack holes in the cork board: Cold as Ice

There are likely a slew of reasons that feed into engagement levels (day, time, history, assumptions, things not said, political and funding realities, workload, group process and dynamics etc.). There will also likely be a natural flow between group temperatures... we won‘t all be warm all of the time. However if we are talking about full active engagement let’s assume that we want things in the warmer climate more often.

So, what can be done to engage with others and find out "where they are"? How can we be climate setters?

1. Begin by checking in (often) on your own personal responses and approaches to others. Be clear where you lie on the continuum of group climate possibilities. Ask others where they are.
2. Get clear on the tone you and others would like to see in the group setting. Do you want to change the pace, add some energy or fun, hold respectful safe dialogue space, get to know each other, or stimulate creative thinking (or the lofty answer of all of the above and more than the above)?
3. Pick a process to match the tone and climate you are all after.

Listed below are some fun and easy check-in exercises that we have done (or plan to do) that will help warm group climates.

• Place recycled calendar pictures on a meeting table and ask people to pick the picture that most aligns with... (What they are feeling today, where they are in terms of the group decision, or what they would like to get out of the meeting). Metaphors and images can be a powerful way to encourage free expression.


• Put up a weather barometer and ask people to introduce themselves and where they are in regards to the group issue at hand based on a temperature on the barometer. Bring the barometer back out during “check out” to see if any weather patterns have changed!


• Use quotes as a way for people to share their passions and thoughts around the group (use a variety maybe its leadership quotes, community building, consensus, conflict, etc.) Print the quotes in large font and place around the meeting table. Have each person pick and then read out the quote that reflects where they are or where they want the group to go. (These can be hung around the room and serve as reminder for future meetings). People can piggyback on already chosen quotes.


• Fill up a candy dish with many different jelly beans. Ask each person to pick the colour jelly bean that represents their current mood around the present group condition.


• Find the questions that encourage group exploration: A hope I have is..., A concern I have is..., One thing that made it difficult to come here today is..., One thing that made it easy to be here today is..., I appreciate..., I feel proud of..., I want to know...,
  

Yet another way to Raise the Village within communities and organizations... Be a Climate Setter!

Village Raising Questions:
What’s your group’s current climate? How can you find out?
If you are planning a meeting or event...what kind of tone do you want to set? How will you do that?

Share your Climate check-in exercise ideas with us!