Formal Consensus Facilitation October 4, 2008

Join Nathaniel White for a workshop on Formal Consensus facilitation on October 4th!

Formal Consensus is a clear formal decision-making structure, simpler than the parliamentary procedure of Robert's Rules of Order, and better for bringing together the group's best creative thinking. (Do adversarial politics and a majority-rule vote capture our best thinking? I don't think so). Want to combine clear agreements and decision-making processes with deep democracy and participatory governance? Want to bring out the best in your team mates and your self? Learn Formal Consensus!

Formal Consensus emerged from the US anti-nuclear movement as a way of quickly making good decisions among a group of hundreds of loosely affiliated individuals, some of whom might be government agents provocateurs (An organizational nightmare...). It has been successfully adopted by businesses, intentional communities, and the global activist group Food Not Bombs.

Nathaniel White trained with the author of the Formal Consensus manual, C.T. Butler, in 1997. Nathaniel uses the method in his paid and voluntary work, and contributed to the most recent version of the manual. This class will also be co-taught by Gavin White, an experienced activist, business man and (semi-)retired politician. Gavin edited the most recent version of the Formal Consensus Manual and has employed a range of consensus decision-making approaches in various organisations. Gavin is visiting from the United States for a short time, making this rare opportunity possible.

The training will go from 11am to 5pm, and focus on the structure of a Formal Consensus meeting and on the facilitation skills useful for generating high-quality collaborative decisions. The training will be downstairs at The Werks, 45 Church Road, Hove BN3 2BE.

This training is targeted to serve four groups: Transition Town Brighton and Hove, TT Lewes, the Source Village ecovillage development group, and the Pioneers of Change (London) hosting team. First priority will be reserved for members of those groups, but other members of the public are welcome. To reserve a place, contact Nathaniel White (white {at} magicatechne.com) and put Formal Consensus in the Subject line.