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10. OBTAINING CONSENSUS <br />HAPTER 10 OBTAINING CONSENSUS <br />Some issues are so divisive that even when opportunities have been <br />provided for everybody to be heard, the only thing that's clear is that the <br />community is still badly divided. On occasion, politicians will go ahead <br />under these conditions and make a decision, often by a divided vote. But <br />these decisions are often challenged in court, or become the basis for the <br />next election. Some issues hang around for years, going away -- if ever -- <br />only because external events make them seem irrelevant. <br />If you are designing a public participation process for such an issue, you <br />may want to design your process with the explicit goal of building a <br />consensus. This can be a very different kind of public participation <br />process than one where your goal is simply to make sure everybody is <br />listened to before the decision is made. When you are building a <br />consensus, you are attempting to find a solution to which everyone will <br />agree (or at least a solution no major party objects to violently). <br />In recent years there has been considerable research and <br />experimentation with collaborative problem solving approaches which <br />build consensus prior to formal decision making by an elected body. This <br />chapter discusses some of the lessons learned. <br />Winners and Losers <br />Many people approach politics as if it were a contest, with winners and <br />losers. (Perhaps you've heard the saying, "Politics is the original contact <br />sport. ") Given this assumption, the important thing is to be a winner. But <br />this creates an adversarial climate -- "all's fair in sex, war and politics" -- <br />which makes it virtually impossible to achieve consensus decisions. <br />Here are some of the key attitudes that need to change before you'll be <br />effective at building consensus decisions: <br />-- 62 <br />J• <br />