The whole process
What actually happens, from start to finish.
If you are thinking about bringing something forward, or about giving up a Wednesday evening, here is everything you need to know so that there are no surprises.
Step 1
Bring the Issue
Who Can Do This: Any Cornwall resident, or an organization on its own behalf.
What You Write Down: The issue, why it matters, what a good outcome would look like, who ought to be there, and how to reach your sponsoring organization. If you already know roughly how many people or how long it needs, tell us. If you do not, that's okay - say so on the form. The application takes about fifteen minutes if you have already been chewing on the problem.
What the Sponsor is Agreeing To: To attach its name to the issue, help bring actors and stakeholders into their Collab, receive the written summary, and carry it forward afterward. Sponsoring costs nothing and commits an organization to no particular answer.
What Happens Next: We write back within three business days. We read what you sent, hold it up against the guidelines on this site, and answer one of three ways: we have a date for you, it needs more work and here's what that is, or we cannot take it on and here is why.
Step 2
Build the Collaboratory
Dates: Issues get dates in the order they arrive, as the theater and the calendar allow. We will run as many Collabs as we can manage.
When We Meet: Wednesday evenings, 6:00 to 8:00. That is the standard, and it is two hours because two focused hours on a weeknight is something a working person can actually give. If an issue needs a half day or a full day, we will schedule that instead, and if Wednesday evening does not work for the people who need to be there, we will agree on another time.
If There Are More Issues Than We Can Handle: A public vote opens so Cornwall can say which of the waiting topics should go first. It sets the order of the line. It never takes a qualifying issue out of it. This would be a good problem to have.
Who Comes: The sponsor and the facilitator work it out together. A good Collab has three kinds of people in it: the ones it affects, the ones who know the subject or hold the data, and the ones who could act on the outcome. Somewhere between twelve and twenty-four people is the working range to conduct a healthy workshop. Depending on the topic being discussed, more participants may be appropriate. At their discretion, the sponsor can also permit the general public to attend workshops as observers.
If You Do Not Know Who to Ask For: Say so on the form. We will set up a call or meeting to work that out as part of this service.
Step 3
Do the Work
Before the Workshop: A brief goes to everyone coming and gets posted here. Same information same starting line, nobody walking in cold.
When It Starts: The goal for the evening, the ground rules, and what we promise each other gets read out loud and agreed to by all collaborators.
The Work: What do people actually need? Where does the trouble really come from? And what is it connected to? What does each choice cost? Including the costs nobody likes saying out loud. What could we do, and will it hold up?
How Long: Two hours is the standard. A half day is four hours and a full day is eight, for issues that genuinely need the time. A Collab is the group and what it is trying to do. A workshop is one working session on the way to achieving the Collab’s goals. Some issues take more than one evening to resolve.
Step 4
Share What We Found
Within ten business days of the last session we write up what the Collab explored, where it agreed, where it did not, what the trade-offs were, and what it proposes. Disagreement also gets written down with the same care as agreement.
Everyone who was there reads it first and can flag anything they think got their words wrong. We fix what was wrong. We do not take out a conclusion because somebody would rather it were not there.
Then it goes up here and it stays up.
And then we step back. The sponsoring organization carries it from there to the boards that hold the authority, to the people who could do the work, and back to the rest of us with what happened. If a sponsor sends an update, we will publish it. We do not chase anyone, and we do not lobby.
Who Brings What
| Cornwall Collaboratory brings (free to Cornwall): | The sponsor brings: |
|---|---|
| The design of the evening and its agenda | Food and coffee, if there is any |
| Professional facilitation | Guest speakers, if any are needed |
| The Storm King Theater | Help getting people there |
| Workshop outcomes and inputs captured | Anything the subject specifically needs |
| The written summary and the proposed plan | Carrying it forward afterward |
| Help arranging recording, if the sponsor wants it | The decision about what gets recorded and shared |