Creative Insight Council

URL = http://www.wisedemocracy.org/

Description

"The Creative Insight Council is a recent social invention that is unlike other forms of public participation. The group is random and speaks unanimously. So, it creates a legitimate voice of “the people.” And the special thinking process used in the Council, builds a spirit of community and often generates breakthrough solutions better than what anyone had thought before.

Recently, I witnessed a group of frustrated property owners threatening my County Commissioners with costly lawsuits. The Commissioners are trying to implement a new policy that restricts building within 150 feet of shore. It’s an attempt to protect the environment and assure that we as a society don’t unwittingly destroy our natural resources. But when government tries to impose restrictions on citizens like this, the ordinary form of public involvement often spark a pushback against both the regulations and the politicians. Releasing the anger of these citizens can hold up action on the issue for years, wasting valuable public funds, undermining the protection to the environment, and even unseating the officials.

This is not the best way for communities to be talking about these kinds of issues, in yes/no terms about regulations that are clearly suboptimal. Better would be if all citizens could come together, hold a creative conversation that included each person’s unique viewpoint and determine a shared perspective. The CIC seeks to facilitate this kind of talking in the community, by framing issues in a way that inspires people to think creatively." (http://blog.tobe.net/?p=88)

Example

The same article discusses the experiment in Bregenz, Austria, at http://blog.tobe.net/?p=88