- Understanding of mission, vision, and goals
- Formulate a vision for addressing the problem or issue
- Participate in discourse on concerns, barriers, and opportunities (CBOs)
- CBOs categorized into groups and prioritized
- Deliberative discussion about groups
- Development of recommendations for achieving the vision
- Collect additional information and data regarding each recommendation and share with others
- Develop a set of action statements or action plan
In-depth Look
The CCPL Think Tank Model uses the deliberative discourse protocol for collecting, analyzing, and communicating the various aspects of an identified problem or issue. The process begins with an understanding of the mission and goals of the roundtable discussions. These are usually formulated by conveners of the roundtable in collaboration with a representation of the major stakeholders. It is the first step in identifying the problem or issue with outcomes and expectations from the roundtable.
The CCPL Think Tank Model begins its discussion with the formulation of a vision for addressing a problem or issue. That is, after identifying the problem, what would be the ideal solution or hope for solving the problem. This then leads to the discourse on what are the concerns, barriers, and opportunities (CBOs) that are available in reaching the vision or solution. The CBOs are then categorized or grouped, naming the various groups. The groups are then prioritized so as to give the roundtable participants, within their time limitations, an opportunity to address each group or category. As the participants move through the deliberative discussion about each group, a set of recommendations is developed for consideration by the whole group. By the end of the discussion, the participants have listed a reasonable set of recommendations for achieving the vision or solution to a problem or issue.
The next step is to collect additional input and data regarding each recommendation. The input can come from a variety of sources including surveys, interviews, focus group meetings, forums, etc. This information is then shared with the roundtable participants to develop a set of action statements or an action plan. For example, the action plan might include the formulation of a policy statement that will facilitate further discussion by policy and decision makers. It could involve the seeking of funding from private or governmental sources to implement or study a particular section of CCPL research.
The idea of the CCPL Think Tank Model is to promote discussion of an issue or problem using deliberative dialogue which will lead to consensus about a set of recommendations and actions. Once a set of recommendations is created, public participation and comment are valuable in validating the participants’ ideas. These data collection steps that include input from the public, interest groups, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies serve as summary for or against a proposed recommendation or action. The decision maker will be looking for this input before taking a recommendation to the next level. For the CCPL Think Tank Model to be effective in achieving a particular vision, mission, and goals, a document with the key concerns, opportunities, recommendations, proposed actions, and analysis of public comments is critical.
