COM 0495.009 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The group wondered if it were possible to change the way community and government interact and work together. The term "living plan" describes the group's idea of a planning process that adapts to change and remains alive and relevant through continuing input from the community. Implementation, measuring progress, evaluation and revision are vital components of a living plan. Instead of a linear process that moves from idea to action to completion, the living plan would take on a more circular and ongoing process. The intent was to make community planning an important part of civic life. There is power in a collaborative community/government planning process. One of the common complaints heard at that initial community workshop was that there was too much talk and not enough action. The group knew that afollow-up workshop must be organized quickly to capitalize on the momentum from the first workshop. No one felt up to the task of facilitating a community workshop, however, and the committee realized that they needed professional help. They called on the local, dynamic facilitation team of Gail Clarke and Diane Gentry of Learning Unlimited for help. After their first strategy session with Diane, the group discovered that they could not precisely articulate what they were trying to accomplish. It had seemed clear to them that the goal was acommunity-based plan for Downtown Hilo, yet they could not describe what the content of the next workshop should be. Both Gail and Diane made the group back up, slow down, and really consider their plan: What is the plan? What is the vision? Who are the stakeholders? What are the next steps? The group soldiered on in preparation for a second community workshop. They realized that ~ they needed more community input before they could draft a vision. Keeping their living plan theory as a platform, they wanted to start the community thinking about actual implementation. To ensure buy-in, the community must be implementation partners with government and other agencies. Therefore, the second workshop was designed to accomplish both visioning and the beginning steps of action planning. Workshop #2 Open Space Technology is an approach to conferences developed in the mid-1980s. The second community visioning workshop was held on May I<ey Frmcipals. 24, 2004, in two 2'/z hour sessions. This participatory workshop ^Everyone who comes to an Open Space conference must be passionate about the on community visioning asked the question, What do we want topic and willing to take some responsibility Downtown Hilo to look like in one, five, or even fifteen years? far creating rhmgs our of that passion. Diane Gentry and Gail Clarke led both sessions using Open-Space Whoever comes is fhe right people, Technology techniques. Participants brainstormed possible categories, or focus areas, for the hundreds of vision ideas generated Whatever happens is the anythmgmat at this and the previous workshop. They then divided themselves into `°uld h°ve. small groups by these new categories. Some of the focus areas that Whenever it srarls is (he right time. were identified included: when a s aver a is over.° Beautification -wires, open Wailuku River, sidewalks Hilo as a cultural gem `vrr • Cruise ships -welcome, crafts, cafes, town squares