The Boise Commons: Our First Year

Transcription

1 The Boise Commons: Our First Year Annual Report 2016

2 Definition The Boise Commons is a system of projects, spaces, events, campaigns, processes and tools whose purpose is to foster an inclusive and empowering civic life among the citizenry of Boise and the greater Treasure Valley through community-building, the development of civic capacities, and the creation of opportunities for participatory governance. Mission The Boise Commons fosters an inclusive and empowering civic life among the citizenry of Boise and the greater Treasure Valley. Organization The Boise Commons, Inc. is an Idaho nonprofit corporation and recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 public charity by the IRS. 2

3 Dear Friends, We talk about 2016 as the first year in the life of this exciting new institution that we call The Boise Commons. The truth is that we began two years earlier, having organized a modest round of The Neighborhood Game in the fall of 2014 that drew perhaps 25 participants. Back then, we went by the somewhat awkward name of "The Social Planetarium of Boise/Treasure Valley". The Neighborhood Game was but a foreshadowing of what would emerge in 2016, following the completion of a long design journey. We had to define the "what" and the "how" before we could really begin in earnest. This first annual report describes what was done, in earnest. As the original catalyst for this social enterprise, and as "chief volunteer", I had a particularly large stake in making our first full year of activity a productive one, hopefully a successful one and, above all, a demonstrative one. In fact, we considered 2016 to be the first part of a Demonstration Phase. We knew that our chosen activities would need to be modest in scale, scope, and ambition, yet illustrate what The Boise Commons is all about. On top of that, we had to be making some positive contribution to the community. I believe we met this goal, and I believe we exceeded it. I want to recognize and thank Jerome Mapp and Dean Gunderson for their service as founding members of the board of directors. With the kind of start we've had, and with the great need for The Boise Commons in these challenging times, I think we can look forward to many others joining with us in guiding and supporting the organization and its work. I'm looking forward to working with you in our second year. Matthew Shapiro Founder & Board Member, The Boise Commons 3

4 Accomplishments in 2016 In 2016, we achieved our overall goal for the first full "Demonstration Phase" year by designing and implementing a variety of projects that exemplified the mission of The Boise Commons, made a positive impact, and built important relationships, name recognition and credibility all with a few volunteers and very limited funding. Accomplishments include the following: Designed, conducted, and reported on a State of Boise's Neighborhood Associations survey of the city's neighborhood association board members, with a participation level of 78 citywide. The illuminating results went into a report that was lauded by the city's neighborhoods liaison. Convened and facilitated a summit of neighborhood association leaders to begin the design of an effective and sustainable framework for collaboration. Designed, conducted, and reported upon a Survey of Youngest Voting-Age Citizens, which was conducted among nearly all of Boise's high school seniors through their American Government classes. 1,305 students completed the survey, which stimulated reflection among students and provided valuable insight for both educators and the broader community. Organized a second round of The Neighborhood Game, a fun and engaging community-building activity. Received our first grant: $350 from the North End Neighborhood Association to help support our booth at the Hyde Park Street Fair. Designed and staffed a highly interactive booth at the Hyde Park Street Fair. Presented a workshop on dealing with complexity in public issues, attended by 18 planners and others, at the annual conference of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association. Applied for and received recognition from the IRS as an exempt public charity under 501(c)3. Launched Meeting the Other, a potentially very powerful project for overcoming polarization that will be a priority for growth in

5 The State of Boise's Neighborhood Associations We saw a need in the community for a better picture of the strengths, weaknesses, desires and needs of neighborhood associations the most grassroots, geographically-based organizations in Boise. To produce that picture, The Boise Commons designed and carried out a survey of neighborhood association board members. The participation rate was excellent, with 78 of an estimated 200 board members (from 23 of the 31 associations) participating. Your survey provided us with some very introspective discussion. Dick Menz, West Valley Neighborhood Association Results were analyzed and reported to the neighborhood associations and to the City of Boise in the State of Boise's Neighborhood Associations report, which can be found on our website. Impressive analysis! The Boise Commons survey is a great resource for the Energize Our Neighborhoods initiative. Kathleen Lacey Comprehensive Planner & Neighborhood Coordinator City of Boise The survey revealed a wide variation in perceived strength, sustainability, and effectiveness among the associations, with a distinct geographic pattern. Some common needs and desires were apparent, perhaps most universal being the desire for greater collaboration among the associations. This desire led to The Boise Commons convening a "collaboration summit" to begin the design of a collaboration framework. 5

6 Boise Commons cofounder Matthew Shapiro receives a Good Neighbor award from Boise mayor David Bieter for work on the neighborhood surveys and report. Facilitating the Design of a Collaboration Framework Among Neighborhood Associations In early November, The Boise Commons hosted the first of a series of "collaboration summits" for neighborhood associations. This first meeting was attended by representatives of 10 of the city's 31 associations. Participants began to define the nature and types of collaboration that associations want, and all wanted to continue the process. The next meeting will continue that exploration of the "what" and begin to move into the "how" i.e., defining the kinds of structures and processes that would be needed to make that collaboration effective and sustainable. Meeting the Other Meeting the Other is a nascent project that is intended to bring the unlike minded together in one-on-one meetings, over coffee or a meal. The goal is to increase understanding of different perspectives and increase interpersonal respect regardless of disagreement, even polarization, on particular issues. Meetings will be supported by a "conversation assistant." The Boise Commons has created an online survey/registration form for potential participants, and ten people have signed up so far. This project will ramp up early in

7 Survey of Youngest Voting-Age (and Near Voting Age) Citizens in Boise The Boise Commons' largest undertaking this year came in the final quarter. Six months after first approaching the Boise School District about conducting a survey among high school seniors regarding their views on voting and civic participation, the District's research committee approved the proposal and we began direct outreach to the schools. All five high schools agreed to participate. The purpose for the survey was multifold. It would stimulate reflection among the next generation of voters (particularly given the timing vis à vis the 2016 election), and get them thinking about other forms of participation, while also providing the community with insight into why this age group tends to have a low voter turnout. Based on the initiative of the District, the survey was distributed through the American Government classes, where educators knew it could stimulate thought and discussion relative to their curriculum. 1,305 paper surveys were collected, representing approximately 70% of all seniors in the District. Results were compiled, analyzed, and then reported back to the individual schools and to the District. The Idaho Statesman ran an article on the survey, and the report has been posted permanently on the Boise Commons website. Highlights of the survey included: Overall, students see voting as important to their lives, community, and society, and felt some sense of duty to vote. 7

8 In the context of the recent election season, the single greatest reason given for desire or intent to vote was a feeling of strong opposition to one or more candidates. Candidate debates were rated by students as the single greatest source of information about candidates and election issues. Reform of the Electoral College system was the most popular among theoretical changes to the electoral system presented in the survey for students' opinions. Voting-age students who intended to vote were more than twice as likely to believe that their friends and parents would be voting as well, as compared with voting-age who did not intend to vote. Students generally rated national elections as being higher in importance that state elections, and state elections higher than local elections. However, a significant percentage of students rated all three highly. Students indicated strong support for wanting to vote directly on issues in many cases rating this more important than voting for candidates. Students rated several other forms of civic participation as highly as, if not higher than, voting. These included "Going out of your way to learn about different perspectives, beliefs, values, and opinions" and "Choosing a job or career that makes a positive difference in society." The Boise Commons plans to follow up on this project early in 2017 with a proposal to the Boise School District to help facilitate the design of a comprehensive civic education curriculum. The approach would be highly participatory and the result could serve as a model for other districts in Idaho and beyond. 8

9 Dealing with Complexity in the Public Arena In October, The Boise Commons presented a workshop called Dealing with Complexity in the Public Arena at the 2016 annual conference of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association. This presentation and interactive session introduced 18 attendees to the history and science behind Structured Dialogic Design (SDD) a powerful process that incorporates a number of the principles (democratic collaboration) and goals (helping people deal with complexity) of The Boise Commons. Commons co-founder Matthew Shapiro had prior experience with SDD and stays in touch with its developers and practitioners, and we were provided with access to the software that is a key support tool for the process. Stages in the Definition Phase of Structured Dialogic Design Other activities along this theme, which will continue into 2017, include preparation for an SDD demonstration workshop focusing on factors contributing to dependence on the automobile in the Treasure Valley. Other issues may be the subject of SDD workshops in the coming year. We would ultimately like to see SDD capacity permanently established in Idaho, which would entail funding, training, and most importantly integration of its core principles into organizational cultures. 9

10 The Empty Chair Project The Empty Chair Project is a simple, inexpensive campaign inspired by a practice witnessed by one of the Commons' co-founders at a conference series many years ago. The practice is to set aside a chair to represent future generations (or those whose voices may not ordinarily be heard), in any gathering where people meet to consider issues that may affect the world around them. The empty chair serves as a reminder for people to think long-term and consider the broader implications of their decisions. To encourage the practice, the Boise Commons designed a laminated placard and a means to easily affix it. The first local organization to adopt the placard was the North End Neighborhood Association (see photo). In 2017, we will resume outreach to public governing bodies, corporate boards, non-profit boards, and other groups where the placard and empty chair might serve as a helpful reminder. The Neighborhood Game The Neighborhood Game was the first activity ever organized by The Boise Commons, and it was actually first held in the fall of people in five different neighborhoods participated. 10

11 Above: Players from the South Boise Village neighborhood march in a spontaneous parade. Left: High school kids recruited to design a flag for their neighborhood, using sidewalk chalk The game is something like a scavenger hunt, but the activities involve more than just finding things. Activities call for interacting with neighbors, and strangers, creating things, and discovering things about your neighborhood. Nineteen locally-owned businesses donated prizes for the game. A second city-wide game was played in the spring of Participation was modest in both cases, but participants found it to be a very rewarding experience. Following the 2016 game, we posted the game's activity sheet permanently on our website, with an invitation for anyone to play at any time. The Boise Commons at the Hyde Park Street Fair The Boise Commons constructed and staffed a booth at the annual Hyde Park Street Fair, which draws tens of thousands of people every September. The organizer of the Fair the North End Neighborhood Association awarded us a grant for $350 to cover the cost of the booth and some of its supplies. Activities engaging visitors at the booth included the following: 11

12 A "Bicentennial Boise" board, inviting visitors to share their ideas about what the Boise of 2063 (its bicentennial year) should keep, leave behind, and add, as compared with today. This activity was designed to encourage idealization and long-term thinking. "It's All Connected": This activity invited users to find connections between different facets of society, such as "Transportation" and "Environment". Users used rubber bands to represent the connections, and affixed descriptions of the relationships on post-it notes. The activity board was invented specifically to support the Boise Commons function of promoting systemic & holistic thinking. An activity to encourage visitors to think about "what drives what" in a complex issue. Visitors had to decide on the order in which to stack boxes, each of which was labeled with a factor influencing the issue. The most powerful factor was to be go on the bottom, and least powerful on the top. In this case, we used "dependency on the automobile" as the topic. 12

13 Looking Ahead to 2017 In 2017, we will continue the Demonstration Phase and build upon the successes and lessons of While we remain flexible regarding the full year's program, the following are planned activities and high priorities: Continue to work with Boise's neighborhood associations by facilitating the design of an effective and sustainable city-wide collaboration framework. Propose to the Boise School District that we co-facilitate the participatory design of a comprehensive civic education curriculum, one that fits the needs of our times, and follow up with collaboration based on response. Actively reach out to residents with diverse perspectives to participate in Meeting the Other, and support encounters arranged through that project. Continue to demonstrate the usefulness of structured dialogue, and the Structured Dialogic Design process in particular, for addressing complex issues. Actively promote adoption of The Empty Chair placard. Refine the design of the "It's All Connected" (systems thinking) board and introduce it to area schools as an educational tool. In cooperation with other community organizations and institutions, pilot the use of new tools that can improve online idea generation and deliberation on issues of common interest. Seek technical support and funding for development of a mobile app that helps create positive feedback for socially and environmentally conscious acts. Bring in new volunteers to help with the full range of projects. Expand and deepen our board of directors. Improve our communication practices and use of social media tools. Seek and secure our first foundation and/or corporate grants for projects in 2017 and beyond. Continue to build our name recognition and relationships with other organizations and institutions. 13

14 How You Can Help We can't sustain and grow the Boise Commons alone. There are at least three ways in which you join us in this important effort and make a difference today: (1) Volunteer to help with one or more of our activities. You can find out more about these by contacting us directly, requesting to be added to our mailing list, or watching our website or Facebook page (see information below). Our need for volunteers will only grow as we become better established. (2) Make a tax-deductible contribution. We made a lot happen with very little funding in 2016, but every bit helps and we need to expand our base of public support. The Boise Commons is a 501(c)3 recognized organization, so your contribution is tax-deductible. (3) Help spread the word and make connections. We will only succeed through relationships. Tell your friends and colleagues about The Boise Commons. They may want to get involved as well! Contact web Facebook boisecommons.org facebook.com/boisecommons mshapiro@boisecommons.org Mail: P.O. Box 2024, Boise, ID Telephone: (208)

15 Founding Board of Directors Matthew Shapiro is the founder and lead director of The Boise Commons. Matthew is a social entrepreneur and self-described "process activist" with an aptitude for very diverse disciplines. The common thread for most of his adult life has been work on grassroots participatory democracy and systems design for positive change in society. His early efforts in this arena included Coevolution Southern Idaho ( ), the Idaho Systems Institute ( ), the Mary Parker Follett Foundation ( ) and The North End Agora ( ). Matthew ran for mayor of Boise in 1997 and for City Council in 2001, his campaigns emphasizing citizen involvement. Shifting from an early career in renewable energy into education, Matthew co-founded the Garden City Community School, an innovative K-8 charter school, where he taught the middle school group for two years. Matthew later entered the doctoral program in curriculum and instruction at Boise State University. In 2009, Matthew returned to the field of renewable energy by launching Gridflex Energy, a firm specializing in the development of large-scale energy storage projects. Matthew has authored independent research studies, journal articles, workbooks, and book chapters related to participatory democracy and design, philosophy, and the interaction between the individual and society. Jerome Mapp has over 42 years experience in land use planning and public policy in the public and private sector. Jerome served for 14 years on the Boise City Council, including service as council president in 2003 and He is a founding member of Valley Regional Transit, on whose board he served for seven years, and was president of the Idaho Planning Association (now APA Idaho) from 1996 to Jerome's knowledge, experience, and positive relationships with appointed and elected officials in Federal, State and Local government have led to many successes in collaborative development. Jerome's deep concern with processes of equitable public engagement inspired his original involvement in The Boise Commons. Dean Gunderson is an Urban Designer with over 25 year's experience working with communities and private clients throughout the Intermountain Region. He has served on committees for the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, as a Director for the Valley Regional Transit Authority, and as the Associate Director for the Idaho Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He has also received regional and national recognition for his architectural, urban design and sculptural work. He is committed to improving the quality of life within his community through livable design, with a special emphasis in New Urbanism. Dean recently completed a Masters of Community and Regional Planning from Boise State University and currently works for an Engineering and Planning firm performing work throughout the United States. 15

16 Appendix: Core Functions of The Boise Commons as incorporated into our strategic design document 1. The Boise Commons should support people in becoming more comfortable with and competent in dialogue. 2. The Boise Commons helps people see and use conflict as an opportunity to create something better. 3. The Boise Commons should encourage and support idealization (imagining "what should be"). 4. The Boise Commons should help everyone find a voice. 5. The Boise Commons should help us overcome polarization in our public life. 6. The Boise Commons helps to surface the assumptions that are often implicit (hidden) in our community's social systems/institutions. 7. The Boise Commons creates feedback loops that help people observe the effects (positive or negative) that their individual acts have on the whole. 8. The Boise Commons turns data into information, information into shared knowledge, and shared knowledge into collective wisdom. 9. The Boise Commons helps people deal with the complexity of public issues. 10. The Boise Commons fosters long-term thinking and acting. 11. The Boise Commons helps people recognize and work with the interrelatedness among all issues and solutions. 12. The Boise Commons reminds people that they wear many hats at once. 13. The Boise Commons helps people separate the conflict of ideas (constructive) from the conflict of people (destructive). 14. The Boise Commons helps people understand the continuum of change in the Treasure Valley from past to present to possible futures. 15. The Boise Commons offers to advocacy groups and movements a "lens" that focuses on getting to roots, thinking systemically, and working inclusively. 16. The Boise Commons encourages exploration of the nature and development of "leadership". 17. The Boise Commons fosters literacy in, competence in, and readiness for the participatory design of social systems. 18. The Boise Commons helps people express divergent viewpoints and develop convergent solutions. 19. The Boise Commons provides a window, and a doorway, into public policy and decisionmaking. 20. The Boise Commons helps the community shift from reactive to proactive approaches. 16

17 21. The Boise Commons recognizes and celebrates political/public courage without "politicizing" it. 22. The Boise Commons opens channels for effective individual action. 23. The Boise Commons supports the re-weaving of community at the ultralocal level. 24. The Boise Commons helps open up the funds of knowledge that are inherent in the community. 25. The Boise Commons helps people find their uniqueness AND how it fits into the whole. 26. The Boise Commons helps people define and express their core values and core ideas about life, community, and society. 27. The Boise Commons fosters and supports communication between the generations. 28. The Boise Commons raises awareness of the influences of our technologies on the nature and quality of our lives together. 17