H OW TO C ONDUCT A D OTMOCRACY *Putting dots and democracy together = Magic* Presentation By: Milad Parpouchi Have you been in a meeting involving decision- making? Do you remember a meeting where everyone was frustrated and unable to reach a consensus? The solution is Dotmocracy!! O UTLINE 1. Introduction to Dotmocracy 2. Components of the Dotmocracy process 3. In-class exercise 4. Strengths/weaknesses 5. Summary 6. Useful resources 7. Question(s) / discussion W HAT IS D OTMOCRACY ? A decision-making tool and process by which a large number of people in a group reach an agreement on a specific topic. Participants write their ideas on sheets of paper called Dotmocracy sheets and then all participants fill in a dot pertaining to their level of agreement with each idea. One dot is made on a five-point likert scale (using a pen/pencil) The result is a graph like visual representation of the groups collective opinion 1 1 = Diceman, 2010, p. 1 T HE D OTMOCRACY S HEET Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 43 W HERE DID D OTMOCRACY COME FROM ? Dotmocracy in its current form was made in 2004 by Jason Diceman. Inspired by a cumulative voting system i.e. Multi-voting S ETTINGS D OTMOCRACY CAN BE A PPLIED Meetings Large meetings/conferences/forums Outside the context of a meeting Lunchroom/hallway/public building 3 M AIN D OTMOCRACY R OLES Host(s): Representatives from the organization seeking input and will take action using the results can also be a participant Participants: People in the room who partake in the process by providing input (ideas) and fill in dots on the dotmocracy sheet Facilitator(s): Trained individuals who plan, prepare, and manage the dotmocracy process, while remaining neutral on the content 1 Can have co-facilitators to help 1 = Diceman, 2010, p. 11 COMPONENTS OF THE DOTMOCRACY SHEET Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 6 C OMPONENT D ETAILS OF THE D OTMOCRACY S HEET 1. In this space, one concise idea is to be written on each Dotmocracy sheet 2. This likert scale makes the degree of agreement/disagreement and any confusion obvious 3. One signature is to be written per dot to prevent fraudulent dotting 4. This open ended section allows for comments regarding strengths/opportunities or weaknesses/concerns of the idea on the sheet 5. This space is for sheet ID purposes to be able to reference/organize the sheets 6. Creative Commons License 7 S TEPS OF THE D OTMOCRACY P ROCESS 1. Learn about the issue 2. Present the issue and question(s) 3. Discuss potential answers 4. Write ideas on Dotmocracy sheets 5. Fill in dots to record opinions. Write comments. *repeat steps 3 through 5* 6. Report the results 7. Formulate and announce a decision Steps adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 12 O FFICIAL D OTMOCRACY R ULES 1. The official Dotmocracy facilitator(s) are authoritative and responsible for the Dotmocracy process, but maintain neutral opinions on the sessions content. 2. Each participant may only fill one dot per Dotmocracy sheet. 3. Participants must sign each sheet that they dot. 4. Participants may dot as many or as few sheets as they please during the session. Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 15 Official Dotmocracy Rules cont 5. There are no changes to an ideas text inside the idea box once dotting has started on that sheet. 6. Participants have the right to keep their dotting choices secret and their comments anonymous. 7. A Dotmocracy sheet should only be removed from the dotting process by the official facilitator(s). S HORT V IDEO T IME ! M ORE ON THE R ESULTS It is all about WHERE the dots are placed as opposed to the quantity of dots (see examples on next several slides) Open-ended input should also be examined and taken into consideration U NITED STRONG AGREEMENT Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 V ARIOUS LEVELS OF AGREEMENT & ACCEPTANCE Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 W EAK AGREEMENT & ACCEPTANCE Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 S TRONG DISAGREEMENT Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 C ONFLICTING OPINIONS Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 H IGH CONFUSION & WEAK CONFLICTING OPINIONS Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 14 D ECISION -M AKING ON R ESULTS An individual (i.e. politician) or group (i.e. committee) is usually the decision-makers that will decide on the outcomes and impacts of the Dotmocracy session and announce next steps 1 An outcome format should be determined (i.e. a policy or creating goals) Decision-makers should be open to the results/conclusions of the Dotmocracy session even if results are unexpected Decision-Making on Results cont A decision does not have to necessarily follow only the most popular idea Ultimate decision regarding feasibility of ideas (popular or not) are up to decision-makers. It is important for decision-makers to be transparent about the development of an action-plan E XTRA C ONSIDERATIONS FOR C HOOSING P ARTICIPANTS Participants may be a sample of a larger group, but careful consideration should be given to selection criteria i.e. people from different departments of an organization i.e. demographic variables (ethnicity, age, gender, etc.) Different colored pens can be used for different stakeholder groups to differentiate responses for analysis of consensus or disagreement I N - CLASS E XERCISE Q UESTION How can we improve the environment of Blusson Hall to make it more comfortable for students and staff (including facilities, IT, classrooms, etc.) S TRENGTHS OF D OTMOCRACY Best of both worlds (surveys and open discussion) Quantified the degree of agreement like a survey and allows open-ended input like an open discussion. Quick and easy to learn, including for children. Results can easily be compared within a group across different dates or across groups. Gives a voice to ALL participants and not only the more vocal ones. Eliminates the need to speak in front of everyone Strengths of Dotmocracy cont Relatively quick, cheap, and efficient means of prioritizing input from participants. Participants can themselves create options. Adaptable to a wide-range of settings. P OTENTIAL W EAKNESSES OF D OTMOCRACY Needs to be planned ahead of time with agreement from hosts to organize. Systematic bias People dotting where the largest number of dots are Unskilled facilitators may affect results Host organization ultimately decides and develops the action plan Weaknesses cont Time-limitations on the process Participants may not find the issue/question/preamble important Participants may not fully understand the Dotmocracy process D OTMOCRACY R ECAP Agenda 1. Welcome and Opening Remarks (5min) 2. Presentation on [Topic of Meeting] (20min) 3. Presentation of Preamble and Questions to be Addressed (5min) 4. Small Group Discussions and Drafting of Ideas (30min) 5. Dotting, Discussing and Drafting or More Ideas (40min) 6. Close Dotting and Sort Results (5min) 7. Announce and Discuss Preliminary Results (10min) 8. Next Steps and Closing Remarks (5min) Adapted from Diceman, 2010, p. 45 R EFERENCES / R ESOURCES Diceman, J. (2010 March). Dotmocracy handbook: A simple tool to help large groups find agreement (version 2.2). Retrieved fromfiles/dotmocracy_handbook_2-02_lowrez.pdf Diceman, J. (n.d.) Dotmocracy. Retrieved fromDiceman, J. (2009, April 03). How to set-up a Dotmocracy wall [Video file]. Retrieved fromHroPI&list=UUD4mQrDQ9feyGp- Td44fMNA&index=3 I MAGE S OURCES People in meeting (slide 2) Woods, J. (2011, June 07). Kentucky: Proposed Sandhill crane hunting season to become a reality. Retrieved fromproposed-sandhill-crane-hunting-season-to-become-a-reality/ Ball on seventh step (slide 12) SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. (2013, February 05). Johns Hopkins SAIS Bologna Admissions Journal. Retrieved fromadmissions.html Official rules (slide 13) Downey Junior Athletic Association. (2013). Forms/rules. Retrieved fromDecision-making sign (slide 24) Dean, A. (2012, August 09). Craigslist back off an exclusive rights to user posts. Retrieved fromrights-to-user-posts/ T HANK YOU ! Q UESTION ( S )?