There are 10 steps in the co-laboratory methodology represented by the following graphic:

Step (a) is not really a step. It is the complex situation that Structured Dialogue is asked to address. It consists of many interrelated institutions, ideas, cultures, economic constraints, etc. This hodgepodge is investigated with the goal of framing apt triggering questions.

In step (b), the triggering questions frame the context of the dialogue. A sample triggering question might be: "What are the strengths of this organization and what is hindering its progress?"

In response to this question, the participants articulate their ideas in their own words to the full attention of the other participants, step (c). Their words are posted on a wall and everyone agrees not to alter them. In a second round robin, step (d), participants are asked to clarify (not to alter) their ideas, and given the opportunity to respond to questions in order to explain their meaning.

This methodology authenticates each person, irrespective of his or her educational level or position of power. It produces a palpable reduction of tension. People seem surprised as they are heard, perhaps for the first time, as stakeholders in important policy-making matters.

In step (e), the participants collaborate to inductively cluster the observations they have made. Then, in step (f), they agree upon labels for the clusters they have created. These steps build a sense of shared competence in the group.

In step (g), participants individually and collectively rank these clusters according to their relative importance. This step brings into sharp relief the different priorities and values within the group. In the ensuing discussion, parties come to understand their co-participants, which leads to a respectful working relationship based on defined mutual interest.

In step (h), participants explore relationships among the observations and construct a tree of relational influences. In this step, they order these observations in paired comparisons asking whether A really influences B, and vice-versa.

Finally in steps (i) and (j), the stakeholder/designers examine the "tree of meaning" they have constructed, with computer assistance. As a group, they analyze and interpret the cross-impacts existing among the observations they have made. Steps (h), (i) and (j) have received the name, originated in the early days of the Club of Rome, "Problematique."

Co-laboratories conducted along these lines are the engines of 21st Century Agoras.

To see a more detailed slide presentation of this process, click here or go to www.CWALtd.com and then click on 'How We Do It'.

.