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OURVOICE.OURVALUES.OURCONTROVERSY.

Wereknownforourworkwithhighemotion,conflictandcontroversybutwedont

usuallygenerateit!

Dialogue Partners is known for

its good work in public

engagement on complex and

complicated issues.Wespecializeincivicengagementin

situationsofhighemotion,conflictor

controversy.Itsayssorightonourwebsite

itswhatweatDialoguePartnersare

knownforandwhatwedobest.Weve

workedonissuessuchasnuclearwaste,inner-cityschoolclosures,spendingpriorities

formunicipalservicesandbudgets,healing

andreconciliationforInuitpeople,

environmentaljustice,decadeslongconflicts

withthreatsofblockadesandbombingsto

hydrostations,communityconflictin

recoveryfrommassivebushfiresand

flooding,waterasahumanright,time

deferralsforblooddonationbymenwho

havesexwithmenandmore.Thesekindsof

issuestypifytheworkwedohighemotion

andhighstakes.

WevewonawardsfromtheCanadian

AssociationforMunicipalAdministratorsin

innovationforcitizenengagementanda

numberofawardsfromtheInternational

AssociationofPublicParticipation(IAP2)for

ethicalandintegralprojectsthatalignwith

theverybestpublicengagementstandards,

CoreValuesandbestpractices.

Weareoftenbroughtintoaprojectwhenthereisalreadyconflict,controversyand

emotion.Wedontcreateit;wehelpothers

figureouthowtoworkwithinit,honourall

voices,andhelpeveryonefindapath

forward.

So imagine our surprise this

week when we found ourselves

in the middle of an extremely

controversial situationwhich

we played a part in creating.Wearehuman.Quitehumaninfact.And

wevemadesomemistakes.

Werecurrentlyworkinginpartnershipwith

theCityofHamiltononaprojectwherethingshavegonereallywrong,reallyfast.

Wheremistakeshavebeenmade,where

peoplehavequestionedourcredibility,our

competenceandourabilitytodomeaningful

andeffectiveengagement.Andwhere

togetherwevesatbackwithourpartner

andsilentlywatchedthemomentumofitall

buildtothepointofhavingtocallatime-

out.Thisallhappenedfromthemomentof

theprojectlaunch,overaveryshortperiod

oflessthan3days.Alotofnegativethingshavebeensaidabouttheproject,aboutthe

City,aboutthosecitizenswhovetriedto

standupfortheproject,andaboutus

directly.

Wevetriedtobetruetoourvaluesand

whatweknowthatitispossibletotalkto

anyoneaboutanything,eventhingsthatare

highlyemotionalifyoudosowithcalm,

caring,respectandgenerosity.Ourteam

conversationsaboutwhattodobroughtto

mindthesloganofKeepCalmandCarry

On,andthestorybehinditresonatedfor

us.Youcanlearnmoreaboutthestory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXF

RbCI&feature=youtu.be

Wethoughtwedstartwithwhatweve

learned,andthensharethestoryofwhat

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hashappenedsofar.Wewelcomeyour

inputandsuggestionsonthisjourneywere

on.

What lessons have we learned

this week?1. Youneedgroundrulesof

engagement,evenonline,

especiallybeforeyoustarta

conversation.Wevealwaysbeenproponentsofhavingpeoplecreate

theserulesthemselves,andof

believingintheverybestofpeople

andhowtheywillrisetothe

challengeofsupportingeachother

inconversation.Turnsout

sometimesyouneedtostartthe

conversationwithbasicrulesof

engagementlikeEveryonehasa

righttoavoiceItsOKifwehave

differentopinionsandEveryone

hasarighttorespect.Wewould

neverallowparticipantsinaroomto

saysomeofthethingsthatwere

saidonline.Bullyingand

intimidationarenotacceptable,

anywhere.Weareguardiansofthe

processandtheretoensurethevoicesofallcitizensareheard.

2. Theloudestvoicesdonotrepresenteveryone.Itseasyto

losesightofthosewhowantto

participatewhenallyouhearis

negativity,orifthereareveryloud

voicesspeaking.Weknowfrom

experienceitishardertogivevoice

towhatyoudowant,andeasierto

criticizeandsaywhatyoudonotwant.Behindthosefewloudvoices

areactuallyhundredsofother

peoplewhohaveaskedtobesigned

upforthenewsletterandalready

participatedintheonline

opportunities,andtheyaredifferent

voicessayingverydifferentthings

thanmanyofthosewhoaremost

vocal.Wewanttobeclearit

doesntmeantheloudvoicesarent

importantandwedefinitelywantto

hearfromthem.Werespectthe

importantissuestheyhaveraised.

Buttheydontspeakforall

Hamiltonians,andtheloudnessand

disrespectofsomeofthemhave

silencedthevoicesofothers.

3. Silenceisnotgolden.Walkingintotheconversationistheonlyway

tohaveafulldiscussion.Weagreed

withourpartnertositinsilence,but

silenceisnottherightresponsein

thissituation.WerespecttheCityof

Hamilton,andunderstandtheirhesitancytospeak,butwethink

togetherweveseentheharmthat

silencecreates.

4. Balancemomentumwithspeed.Intheflurryofaprojectlaunch,if

therearetoomanycommunications

andengagementpiecesgoingonat

oncethereisagreaterlikelihoodof

errorsbeingmade.Theproject

timelineswerechangedandthetimelinewascondensedthat

meansweconsolidatedmultiple

opportunitiesforinvolvementintoa

3-monthwindow.Thatwasnotour

originalplan.Wethinkweve

learneditsbesttobuildgradually

onmomentumandinterest

generatedfromevents,andallow

longertimelines.

5.Itshardtoconveyrespect,openness,curiosityand

trustworthinessin140

charactersorless.Werestill

figuringoutwhatthismeansforthe

useofTwitterinsituationsof

mistrustandemotion.Weknow

fromexperienceyoucantresolve

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conflictinshortburstsofopinion,

anditrequiresindepth

conversation.Youalsocanthavea

fullandthoughtfulconversationin

soundbites,andyoucantsolve

complexproblemsthatwayeither.

6. Neverunderestimatethepowerofagroup.Wevealwaysknown,respected,andadvocatedforthe

powerofpeoplesvoices.Wethink

Twitterusersaskedimportant

questionsabouttheproject,our

role,ourpayment,andour

knowledge.However,somewherein

thetweetingfrenzyonMondayand

Tuesdaythetonebecameabout

takingdownDialoguePartners

insteadoftalkingaboutCity

services,Cityneeds,orbuildingupa

community.

7. Ameaningful,inclusiveprocessiscritical.TheprocessforOur

Voice.OurHamilton. isinclusive,

focusedonarichandthoughtful

conversationaboutCityservices

designedtogatherinputinways

thatworksforallHamiltonians.Westandbytheprocesswehave

designedandbelieveitistheright

onefortheCity.Weknowagroup

hasorganizedovertheuseofa

differentonlinetoolwerevery

familiarwiththistoolbutweknow

thatonecooltooldoesntreach

everyone,allowforrespectful

discourse,taketheconversation

beyondasurfacelevel,orincrease

understanding.Oneonlinetoolisntareplacementtoameaningful

conversationforallHamiltonians.

8. Publicengagementcanbeemotional,controversialand

doesntflowinastraightline.

Wevealwaysknownthat,and

wevealwaysexpectedtohaveto

adaptandbeflexibleinaprocesssowecanberesponsivetowhat

emergesandpeoplesneeds.Ittakes

couragetoNOTjumptojudgmentor

conclusionwhenvoicesgetloudand

toallowspaceforadiversityof

viewsinafullconversation.

9. Therearereasonstohirefirmsfromoutsidethecommunity

thatdonthaveabias,opinionor

stakeintheconversation.HavingastatedopiniononCityservices,a

viewonCityHall,advocatingfor

yourownservicestoberetained,

belittlingthosewhohavedifferent

viewsthanyoudothesekindsof

thingsimpacttheengagement

processsignificantlyandwouldnot

servetheneedsofallHamiltonians.

Hiringsomeonefromoutsidethe

communitymeanstheyneedto

learnmoreaboutthecommunity,

butitalsomeanstheydonthavea

stakeintheoutcomeofthe

conversation.

10.Wearehumbled.Bythepowerofpeoplesvoice,theiremotionand

passionfortheirCity.Wevealways

saidpeoplecandoanythingifthey

cometogetherwithintentionto

maketheirvoicesheard.Werespect

thepowerandpassionoftheir

voices.

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So what happened?ItstartedwithTwitterandspreadto

Facebook,andforthemostpartstayed

withinthesphereitstarted,andthemedia

coveredthesevoicesandviews.

Inthefirst24hoursweissuedanapologyfor

ourmisstepinaskingwhatwasseenasa

dumbquestion.Wethoughtwewere

facilitatingtheconversationbyaskingfor

clarification,butreallyitwasntthesmartest

questionweveeverasked.Thisquestion

sparkedanoutcrythatwedidntknow

anythingaboutHamilton,thatwewerefrom

outsideofHamilton,andignitedquestions

abouttheprocessandourcredibility.We

apologizedfirstonTwitterwithinhoursof

askingthequestion,thenpubliclyon

Facebookwithin24hoursofprojectlaunch,

wherewealsoansweredsomeofthemain

issuesbeingraisedbytweeters.

ManyTwitterandFacebookusersraised

goodandimportantissuesthatneeded

answerswherewearebased,didweknow

anythingaboutHamilton,howmuchwere

webeingpaidandmore.Theseareallgood

questionsthatdeservedananswer.We

answeredmanyofthemwithin24hours.

Manytweetersalsoparticipatedina

campaignwiththehashtagof

#TellOHeverythingmeaningthatthey

neededtotell@OurHamilton(theproject

Twitteraccount)allsortsofimportant

informationthatwewouldknowabout

Hamiltonifwelivedthere.Thisbrought

manyTwitteruserstogetherandsomany

tweetswereissuedthattheytrended

nationally.Thetweetsincludedthingslike

JacksonSquareisactuallynotverysquare

TheMcMasterMaraudersareafootballteam,notactuallytravelling

pillagers

Don'tmentionacasinoinHamiltonunlessyouhaveatleast9hoursto

argue

#TellOHEverythingisthehashtagengagedcitizensuseonTwitter.Itis

shortforHamilton,Ontario

TheQueendoesnot,infact,liveonQueenStreet.NortheKingforthat

matter.Wedon'thaveamonarchy

Ourteamfoundmanyofthetweets

entertaining,funnyandshowingpassion,

prideandconnectiontotheCity.Ifthe

campaignwasnotgeneratedasaresultof

ourmisstep,wewouldhavebeencheering!

Whathappenedthen?ManyTwitterand

Facebookuserswereunsatisfiedwithour

apologyandresponseandreactedwith

passion,someofthemcallingtoinitiateacampaigntoputusoutofbusinesslets

getthemandletsshutthisdown.A

campaignwaslaunched.Moreallegations,

issuesandchallengeswereraised,which

createdevenmorepassion.

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WheresomeTwitterorFacebookuserstried

tocallahalttothecampaign,toquestionit

ortoadvocatetogivetheconversationa

chance,theywereridiculed,humiliatedor

bulliedbyotherusers.

Itbecameclearthatsilenceisnotgolden.In

discussionswithourpartnerwestoodwith

themintheirsuggestionwestoptalking

aboutthecontroversysothatwecouldfind

answerstowhatwasgoingonandto

understandhowthiswashappening.Aftera

dayofthiswestronglyadviseditwastimeto

starttalking,butwerespectedtheir

hesitancytodoso.

Ontheseconddaythesecurityonthe

projectwebsitewasbreachedandavirusinserted.Questionswereraisedaboutsome

picturespostedtotheprojectPinterest

page,andwearestilltryingtogetanswers

aboutthesourceofthesepictures,including

askingPinteresttoinvestigate.

Onthethirddaysomeparticipantsusedthe

onlinetoolstopromoteinappropriate

and/oroffensivecomments.Onthenightof

thethirddaytheCityaskedustomakethe

websiteinvisible.ThatsamenightwedidunpublishedtheFacebookpage,primarily

becauseanyonewhowastryingtotalk

aboutCityservicesorstandupforthe

conversationwasbeingshouteddownor

treateddisrespectfullybythosewhohad

launchedthecampaign.Wedidntwantto

silencethosewhowereraisingquestionsor

whoweretalkingaboutCityservices,butthe

environmentwasnolongeroneofrespect.

Inbetween,afewsurprisingthingsweresaid

inalltheexcitement.AlocalcableTVshow

hostwhoisaprofessionalcommunicator

declaredthattheDialoguePartnersteam

washidingoutinaTorontohotel,afraidto

cometoHamilton(wewerent).Tweeters

startedacampaignallegingtheuseofsurvey

monkeywascontrarytotheprovincial

privacystandards(itisnot)orthatwehad

postedapictureofabikepathinOttawaon

thewebsite(itwasapictureofHamilton

withtheMayorandaCouncilloronbikes)or

thatwehadmadeupthestoryaboutthe

hackingofthewebsite(wehadnt).Itwas

evenstatedthatDialoguePartnersand

thoseweworkwithwerebasedinNewYork,

notOttawa(itsOttawa).Wewereeven

accusedofcreatingthiscontroversyon

purposeinordertoraiseawarenessofthe

process(nottrue).

Ourphonewasringingoffthehookfor

mediainterviews.Agroupbeganorganizing

tostarttheirownengagementprocessusing

anonlinetool.

Inourworkweknowthatthethingsthathurtyouordontgetresolvedaretheones

youDONTtalkabout,sobeingsilentwas

thewrongwaytodealwiththis.

What were some things that

have not yet been heard?Overthelastweekwehavebeenreceiving

callsandemailsfrompeopleapologizingto

usforhowotherHamiltoniansweretreating

us.PeoplecontactedustosaythiswasaconversationHamiltonbadlyneedstohave,

andmanyofferedtheirsupporttous,tothe

City,totheconversation.Sometweetedan

alternateviewpoint.Somecontactedusto

reportbullyingandintimidationbyothers

whentheyofferedacontraryopinionor

view.Anumberofcommunitygroups

contactedustoaskhowtheycouldget

involvedintheconversation,anxioustohave

discussions.Weheardthingslikethis:

Somehow,weneedtogetbeyondtheImrightsoImrighttonuke

youethicsthatdominatesourtime.

Willthe#tellOHeverythingmessmeanthat#hamontbacksaway

fromauthenticengagement?

#oncebittenWhatnextforcitizens?

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Initsessence,theOHwebsiteisagoodidea.Letshelpthemmakeit

betterinsteadoftearingthemdown

#HamOnt

Isthisreallyhowwewant#HamOnttotrendCanada-wide?Notreallya

pointofpride.

c'mon#HamOntyousoundlikeabunchofjocksganginguponarival

highschoolteam.#mobmentality

Anychancewecanstopplayingtostereotype?Reaction#HamOntwas

prettymuchwhatyou'dexpect.Not

unlikewhenasubstituteteacher

showedupingradeschool(onlythe

AVClubkidsledtherevolt).Yes,we

allknowsomeofyouaresmarter

thaneveryoneelse.Butyoudidn't

winthecontract.Getoverit.We've

lostsightofwhythisexerciseis

happening-hardchoicesarecoming

toHamiltonaroundprograms&

services.

Shameoneveryonewhoparticipatedintherecent,mostuglypublic

lynchingofDialoguePartners.Such

behaviourisnotrepresentativeof

theCityofHamilton.

IwilldowhateverIcantosupportthisconversationitisonethat

reallyneedstohappeninthisCity.

Youneedtocomeherewithyour

teamandparkyourselfinthis

community,talkingtoeveryone

aboutthisissue.Iwilltakeyou

aroundandintroduceyouto

everyoneIknow.

IfthereisawayIcanhelpoutwiththisconversation,orwithwhatis

happeningonline,pleaseletmeknow.

Ivedonesometrainingwiththiscompany.Theyareagoodand

reputablecompany.Letscutthem

someslack.

Whathappenedhereismorethananoverreachofasmalltownecho

chamber.Hereishowthis

'trivialization'gotstartedbyan

individualwithhisexplicitpubliccall

to"swarm"DialoguePartnersvia

twitter.Therewasnothoughttothe

legalconsequencesofincitingsuch

directedpublicaction.Without

allowingDialoguePartnerstimeto

offeranexplanation,theinciter

actedasthearbiterofDP'swebsite

design,andwentontoactasthe

"Judge,JuryandtheExecutioner"of

whomheconsideredhadgrossly

wrongedtheentirecityofHamilton.

Andthemob,maybe50orevenless,

tookthebaitandstartedtheirone-

linerpublicswarmingwithsarcastic

comments,jabs,juvenilecomebacksandre-tweets.Doessuchajuvenile

calltoswarminthemostbrazen

manner,representthebeliefsand

aspirationsoftherestof500,000+

Hamiltonians?Eventhelocalpress

alongwiththethreecouncillors

divedrightintoit,with[deleted]

too...allscreamingfoul.Such

juvenileactsbringmoreridiculeto

thiscitythanthemuch-needed

changewealltalkoff.Tomepeoplewhopromoteandsupportsuch

trivializationofimportantissuesdo

notrepresentthiscityoritspeople,

nomatterhowmanyfollowersthey

areabletogarneronthenewmedia,

orhowmanyopportunistic

politicianstheygettotake

advantageofsuchactsofpublic

swarming.

Justwantedtoapologizeforthelessthanwarmwelcomeyougotfrom

Hamiltonlastnight.#hamonts

prettymuchanechochamberfor

folkswhoarequicktotellyouwhat

theyreagainstbutmorethanalittle

hazyonwhattheyreforandhowto

makeithappen.Theyreamong

thosewhocomplaintheloudestand

longestaboutnotbeingheardor

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takenseriouslybutthenprovethey

havelittletoactuallycontribute.

Alsosuspectsomeoftheringleaders

bidonthecontract.Whateverthe

cityspayingyou,itsnotnearly

enough.Hamiltonneedssome

serioushelpinconstructivecitizen

engagement.Thegoodnewsisthe

majorityoffolksarereasonable,

levelheadedandspendlittleorno

timeon#hamont.

Whyis#HamOntbeingsoroughtothisaccount.TheCityactuallydoes

somethinggood.Encouragethem.

#Disgusted.

Itisnotuncommonforcitiestogooutoftowntocollectdatalikethis.

Relax

Thereisoutrage.Everythingthecitydoesismetwithhostility.

Welcometo#hamontwherethemottoforsomeofussadlyseemsto

be"we'renothappyuntilyou'renot

happy"

Bringaflakjackettothecommunityconsults.

Goodapology.Thechoicesfacingourcityaretooimportanttoletan

honestmistakesidetrackthismuchneededdebate

Therewereblogswrittenandpostedabout

thecontroversy,andaboutthepublic

engagement.Asamplingoftheseinclude:

Hamiltonsplansforboldengagement

derailedbutnotdiminished

http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/news/ha

miltons-plans-for-bold-engagement-project-

derailed-but-not-diminished/#.UPAztzVsYiY.twitter

Governingbyhashtagcanhaveserious

consequences

http://www.900chml.com/Blogs/BillKellysBl

og/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10487828

Haveasayabouthowyourtaxesarespent

http://www.900chml.com/Blogs/BillKellysBl

og/Home.aspx

ThesilverliningsofaPRFiasco

http://www.daveheidebrecht.com/the-

silver-linings-of-a-pr-fiasco/

Duringthosefirst3days,despiteorperhaps

becauseofthecontroversy,hundredsof

peopleactuallyparticipatedinthe

substantive(online)conversationaboutCity

services,providingthoughtful,considered

andrespectfulinputonCityservicesthat

makeadifferenceintheirlives,andthelives

andofothers.Inthreedays(beforethe

websitewentsilent)weheardamazing,

interestingandconstructiveinputfrompassionateHamiltonianswithrealideas

abouttheirCityservices.Imaginewhatthe

conversationcouldturnintoifitlastedmore

than3days!

Sometimesthemediareportedthe

allegationsorinaccuraciesasfact,

sometimestheycoveredtheoutrageand

missteps.Someprovidedbalancedcoverage

withadiversityofviews,andsomejust

coveredoneside.Wewerentansweringquestionsfromthemediasoweknowitwas

hardtocoverourperspective.

So where are we today?Wehavenodoubtwevecreatedawareness

abouttheproject.Justnotthetypeof

awarenesswewanted!

Wevedecidedthetimeforsilenceisover.

Whetherwecontinuewiththisconversation

inpartnershipwiththeCityofHamiltonornot,wewanttospeakupandhonourthe

voicesofallofthoseweveheardfrom.We

thinkitstimetohaveafullconversationin

morethan140characters.

WethinkthediscussionaboutCityservices,

infrastructureandfundingisareally

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importantconversationforallmunicipalities

tohave.Wethinktherearehardchoicesto

makeaboutCityservicesandinfrastructure

andsimplisticsolutionslikeaskingother

levelsofgovernmentformorefundingwont

solvethechallengesourcitiesface.

Wewanttoacknowledgethechallenges

weveexperiencedsofar,andwedlikethe

chancetoearnbackthetrustof

Hamiltonians.Wedogoodworkincreating

reallymeaningfulengagementprocesses

whereallvoicesarerespectedandvalued.

Westandbyourprocessofengagement.

Itssound,itsbasedonyearsofexperience

anditsimportantworkthatwereallywant

tobeabletodo.

Wevedecidedtoofferourvoiceintothe

mixbyspeakingtoCouncil,bywritinga

lettertothecitizensofHamilton,bysetting

someoftherecordstraight.

Learningandreflectioniskeytotheworkwe

dointernallyasateamatDialoguePartners.

Capacitybuildingofourclientsissomething

wetryandbuildintoeveryproject,evenif

werenotaskedto.Andso,wewanttoopenourdoorstoyouandletyou

experienceourjourneythroughthisnew

conversation.Wedontknowwherethiswill

enduporwhattheoutcomewillbe,but

werecurious,thoughtfulandhopeful.

Weregoingtodotheonlythingweknow

howtodowereembracingit,and

connectingwiththepeople,andwalkinginto

thisconversation,nomatterwhatthe

outcome.

Dealingwithconflictiswhatwedobest.We

didntrealizewereactuallyequallyasgreat

atcreatingittoo.Ourextensiveexperience

andreputationforethicalpracticehas

allowedustoworkonsomereallyimportant

andinfluentialprojects.Weprideourselves

onthetrustthatwehavewithourclients

andthetrustthatwehelpbuildbetweenour

clientsandtheirpublic.Participantsinour

engagementprocessesoftensaythatwhile

theymaynotagreewiththefinaldecision

theyfeelthattheyvebeenlistenedto,

valuedandheardandthattheyunderstand

whythatdecisionisbeingmade.

Wehopethatlearningfromthiswillbeour

lasttimethatwecreatethisforothers,and

thatbysharingthisjourneyotherswilllearn

fromourlessons.

Andwealsohopethatthecitizensof

Hamiltonwillhavetheopportunitytohave

thisconversation,andwellhavethe

privilegeofgatheringtheirviews.

Withhumilityandhope,

TheteamatDialoguePartners