Convene Stakeholders & Commit to a Share Purpose

400 East Eighth Street,Traverse City MI 49686

15 March, 2023

Description

The Systems Change On-Ramp is back! Are you curious about the four phases of systems change or wanting to deepen your systems change practice? We know we can’t solve complex community problems alone, but how do we bring changemakers together around a common purpose? Once people come together, how do we agree on a process to work together? How do we make decisions in a way that aligns with our common values and our purpose? How do we make sure we’re creating welcoming spaces that are inclusive of critical voices and opinions different from ours? How do we clarify goals and roles and hold each other accountable? This workshop will include case studies for our region and hands-on activities to deepen your practice. Join us for part 1 of our Systems Change On-Ramp to learn tools and techniques for convening stakeholders, including those with lived experience, and frameworks that promote effective decision-making and collaboration. This workshop is designed for new and experienced conveners and collaborators to help deepen systems change knowledge and approaches to collaboration while making new connections with others. In this session you will: Explore mindsets and assumptions that can make or break collaborative workLearn some different decision-making structures and collaborative approaches and agreements you might want to try outHear practical examples of how to effectively engage those who have lived experiences with your targeted problemReflect on your own collaborative endeavors and where you might want to put more attention and make new connections with othersAbout the Systems Change On-Ramp Series: Some problems persist despite decades of effort and huge investments – health disparities, food insecurity, homelessness, climate change. No one individual or organization can solve any of these problems on their own because they arise from a complex system of many interconnected factors. Changemakers in our region, and all over the world, have been experimenting with new ways of working together on the factors that are causing complex problems. A systems change approach offers new promise for making durable progress on our most intractable community problems. However, we know that working together toward systems change can be difficult. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. There is not a reliable road map. Results are not immediate. The Systems Change On-Ramp series will help equip new and experienced changemakers accelerate their systems change work. It will highlight the common phases most groups return to again and again as they experiment with systems change in an iterative way. These interactive learning sessions will explore tools and case studies featured in our recent publication Stories of Change, and workshop real challenges from participants. On-Ramp Part II: Explore Upstream Causes - May 2023, date TBAOn-Ramp Part III: Design & Implement Actions - Fall 2023On-Ramp Part IV: Lear & Adapt - Fall 2023