Moderator Training

How to Moderate a Forum

ALA Center for Public Life

Prepared by Nancy Kranich

April 13, 20101

Public Deliberation--Overview People coming together to talk about a community

problem that is important to them. Participants deliberate with one another – eye-to-eye,

face-to-face, exploring options, weighing others’ views and considering costs and consequences of public policy decisions. 

Citizens make choices about how to solve problems because government alone cannot solve them all.

Citizens’ views often differ from those of officeholders. Deliberation may reveal new possibilities for action that

neither citizens nor officeholders saw before.

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Deliberative Forums Forums enrich participants’ thinking on public issues. The process helps people – who use choice work in

their discovery – to see issues from different points of view.

At their best, forums help participants move toward shared, stable, well-informed public judgments based on what is valuable to them about important issues.

Through deliberation, participants move from making individual choices to making choices as a public.

Public Judgement Deliberation tends to change first opinions into more

shared and reflective public judgment about how we should act.

We discover what we share, despite what we don't agree about.

Deliberative forums create public knowledge (a deeper understanding of what people feel they need and why) and a public voice (a shared sense of concern).

Choices Citizens cannot act together until they decide together. By making choices, the public defines what it considers

to be in the public interest and finds common ground for action. 

By offering citizens a framework for deliberative forums, we can help the public take an active role in policy decision-making.

Purpose of Public Deliberation, p. 2 To increase the likelihood of making sound,

well-supported decisions about public issues Explore and test our ideas as we struggle with

hard choices, considering the pros and cons of each option

To deliberate is to WEIGH the consequences of various approaches

What are the costs? What are the benefits?

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Deliberation, p. 13 Matrix

Goal is shared understanding of the issue/problem

Examining costs and consequences of even most favored approaches

Opens possibilities for new solutions Leads to mutual understanding of

differences and ways to act even with those differences

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Common Ground p. 14, Matrix

Action that unites diverse positions into a common direction, even if they don’t agree on specifics

Goal is mutual understanding of differences and how we can act even with those differences

Organic: mutual understanding is uncovered or emerges as people explore what’s important to them

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Why Use an Issue Framework? Identifies what is at issue Authentic to people’s experience Framing cuts across old arguments Approaches are NOT mutually exclusive Elements of each approach appealing Choice requires tradeoffs and consequences Each approach reflects pros and cons, ambiguities No approach is a direct opposite Focuses on getting to underlying values and tensions

Role of the Moderator, pps. 4-5 Welcome participants Present guidelines for the discussion and test for

agreement Open the discussion with a general, broad

question Encourage everyone to participate Ensure balanced participation Remain NEUTRAL on the content of the

discussion

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Role of the Moderator (cont.)

Practice active listening Encourage the expression of different

points of view Help participants to understand each other

and their different perspectives Summarize periodically Record key points Manage time

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Questions

Why? Or Why Not? When someone makes what seems like an obvious and straightforward statement, sometimes it can be very helpful for the purposes of deliberation to ask ‘why?’ or ‘why not?’

 How? This is another question that can be very effective in pushing people to think more deeply.

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General Questions, pps. 6-7

What do like about (pros) the approach? What don’t you like? Pros, cons, tradeoffs, consequences,

costs Why or why not? How? Use questions in Moderator’s Guide

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What is valuable to us? How has this issue affected you personally?

(Usually asked at the beginning.) When you think about this issue, what concerns

you? What is appealing about this option or approach? What makes this approach a good one—or a bad

one? How did they come to hold the views they have?

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Consequences, Costs, and Benefits Associated with the Various Options

What would be the consequences of doing what you are suggesting?

What would be an argument against the option you like best?

Is there a down side to this course of action? Can anyone think of something constructive

that might come from the option, which is receiving so much criticism?

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What are the inherent conflicts that we have to work through?

What do you see as the tension among the options?

What are the "gray areas"? Where is there ambiguity?

Why is this issue so difficult to decide?

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Can we detect any shared sense of direction or common ground for action?

What trade-offs are we willing and unwilling to accept?

What are we willing and unwilling to do as individuals or as a community in order to solve this problem?

If the policy we seem to favor had the negative consequences some fear, would we still favor it?

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Handling Moderator Challenges, pps. 8-10

Participants who dominate Dealing with a difficult participant Handling misinformation Talks too much/Talks too little

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Recording, p. 12

Capture big ideas and themes Use speaker’s words as closely as possible Check to make sure you’ve gotten it right Capture tensions, tradeoffs, and common

ground Summarize forum discussion and common

group and submit as a report to ALA Connect Civic Engagement site

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Moderating a Forum Step-By-Step Guide

1. Welcome

2. Background about the Forum

3. Deliberation and Common Ground

4. Schedule

5. Charge

6. Personal Stake

7. Deliberate 3 approaches

8. Reflections and Common Ground

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Welcome Welcome to a forum: Who Do I Trust to Protect My

Privacy My name is Nancy Kranich and I will moderate the

forum today; Taylor Willingham will serve as recorder. Our bios are posted on ALA Connect Civic Engagement

Site. Everyone participating should have the Participant’s

Guide with background, a 2 page Issue Map, pps. 5-6, and a Post-Forum Questionnaire, p. 10.

We want to thank our sponsors and partners for helping us put together this forum today.

And thank you for participating.

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Background—National Conversation on Privacy In an era of social networks, online databases, and

cloud computing, more and more individuals’ personal information is available online and elsewhere.

The ease of communicating information in the digital age has changed the way we live, learn, work, and govern.

But such instant access to information also presents new challenges to our personal privacy.

We depend more and more on evolving technologies and norms that encourage information disclosure.

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Background--Forum Questions

What are our expectations for privacy in the digital realm?

Is it reasonable to expect that information by and about us remain private?

Who do I trust to protect my privacy?

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National Conversation on Privacy This national conversation on privacy will give people

with different perspectives an opportunity to learn more about the issues, weigh in on choices with fellow citizens, and consider options for action.

Deliberative forums provide an opportunity for the public to have a voice on critical issues by weighing different approaches and considering costs, consequences, and tradeoffs.

Trained moderators help participants listen to and understand the experiences and views of others and seek common ground for addressing this problem.

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The Framework Librarians around the United States developed this

issue framework. They asked people to express their concerns about

privacy. The specific concerns were wide-ranging, but for most

people a common thread was uncertainty about how to go about protecting their privacy.

They are uncertain about who to turn to and how to know what actions are effective.

Thus, we ask: “Who do I trust to protect my privacy?”  

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Purpose of an Issue Framework Provides a framework for the discussion Identifies what is at issue Authentic to people’s experience Framing cuts across old arguments Presents 3 or 4 approaches that are NOT mutually exclusive Elements of each approach are appealing Choice requires tradeoffs and consequences Each approach reflects pros and cons, ambiguities No approach is a direct opposite Focuses on getting to underlying values and tensions

Privacy: Who Do I Trust?3 Approaches (See Issue Map)

1. The marketplace is the source of innovation in security and privacy protection technology and it also has a vested interest in privacy that secures the integrity of financial data.

2. The government has a responsibility to provide for public safety which includes identity protection and to secure the rights necessary to a free society.  

3. I, my self, recognize that privacy values are individual and varied and that no one cares more about my needs than me.  

 

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Purpose of Public Deliberation To increase the likelihood of making sound,

well-supported decisions about public issues Explore and test our ideas as we struggle with

hard choices, considering the pros and cons of each option

To deliberate is to WEIGH the consequences of various approaches

What are the costs? What are the benefits?

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Deliberation

Goal is shared understanding of the issue/problem

Examining costs and consequences of even most favored approaches

Opens possibilities for new solutions Leads to mutual understanding of

differences and ways to act even with those differences

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Common Ground

Action that unites diverse positions into a common direction, even if they don’t agree on specifics

Goal is mutual understanding of differences and how we can act even with those differences

Organic: mutual understanding is uncovered or emerges as people explore what’s important to them

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Schedule (2 hour forum) 15 minutes--Welcome and Overview or Video

(in large group) 5 minutes—People find rooms 20 minutes--Personal Stake 20 minutes--Approach 1 20 minutes--Approach 2 20 minutes--Approach 3 20-30 minutes--Next Steps, Reflections,

Common Ground

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Charge to Forum Participants Charge:

Your work as citizens To make choices about public issues Opportunity for authentic talk/motivations behind

what people are saying Not a debate/nothing to win Deliberate—Deliberation is necessary to solve

problems with competing approaches Discuss all positions/Include perspective of people

who aren’t here. Why aren’t they here? Look for common ground

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Ground Rules (Go over and display if possible) Everyone is encouraged to participate No one or two individuals dominate The discussion will focus on the choices—the

pros, cons, costs, consequences and tradeoffs All the major choices or positions on the issue

are considered An atmosphere for discussion and analysis of the

alternatives is maintained We listen to each other

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Personal Stake

Personal Stake (15-20 min) Go around room Ask questions e.g.

• Name (1st), what brought you to this forum?• Personal experiences with this issue?• What concerns you the most about this issue?

Record Concerns• How does this approach get at concerns?

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Approach 1: The Marketplace

The marketplace is the source of innovation in security and privacy protection technology and it also has a vested interest in privacy that secures the integrity of financial data.  

Deliberate for 20 minutes Use suggested questions, follow up with

comments when necessary

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Approach 2: The Government

The government has a responsibility to provide for public safety which includes identity protection and to secure the rights necessary to a free society.

Deliberate for 20 minutes.   Use suggested questions, follow up with

comments when necessary.

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Approach 3: My Self

I, my self, recognize that privacy values are individual and varied and that no one cares more about my needs than me.

Deliberative for 20 minutes.  Use suggested questions, follow up with

comments when necessary.

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After ApproachesPersonal Reflection

Personal Reflection (2 mins) – Quiet time, How has your thinking about issue

changed? How has your thinking about other

people’s views changed? How has your perspective changed as a

result of what you heard in this forum?

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Group Reflection (15-20 minutes)

Shared sense of direction or purpose, any common ground for action

Tensions What were people really saying? What are we still struggling with as a group?

Trade offs are we or are we not willing to make to move in a shared direction?

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Next Step Reflections What do we still need to talk about? How can we use what we learned about

ourselves in this forum? [or] What are you going to do with what you learned

today? Who would the group like to report for the larger

group? (3 minutes max) Complete Post-Forum Questionnaire, p. 10 of

Participant Guide

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