06/05/2006 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approach 4 2. Approach It is our understanding that the City of Lino Lakes desires to retain a consultant for the purpose of facilitating meetings in connection with the development of a 2030 Community Vision. Further, we understand that the City wishes to use the results of the visioning process to assist the City staff in conducting future phases of the planning process. 1) Recommended Approach — Electronic Facilitation Process Our approach to the visioning project will include the use of Springsted's Electronic Facilitation Process. This approach expands the possibilities of the visioning process by enabling the facilitator and group the opportunity to process significant amounts of information quickly, anonymously and with precision. It combines personal interaction with the style of Powerpoint presentation and the power of computer calculation. The electronic facilitation tool will be used to capture the preferences and opinions of meeting participants. A question is posed, giving several options as answers. Participants will choose their response using keypads similar to a remote control. The keypads transmit participants' responses to the system, which are then immediately tabulated and displayed in graphical form on the screen for the group to review. This tool improves group communications. It helps to address issues about which people feel very strongly, in a focused, logical way. The facilitator will then use the immediate feedback to probe more deeply, modifying or clarifying the question, and then discussing concerns with the group. Depending upon the passion of the group or the sensitivity of the issue, numerous re- polling of the group can be done on the spot. This flexibility enables the process to move quickly, yet yielding to traditional discussion facilitated by the consultant. The electronic voting approach allows participants to respond anonymously with a higher degree of honesty. Because it builds upon the many layers of an issue, audiences find it easier to keep focused, leading to a better level of understanding. Issues may be clarified immediately, the impact of intimidating personalities are minimized, and groups can quickly see where the trends are. Springsted will build a series of questions for the visioning sessions based upon a traditional approach for eliciting information about values, vision, and aspirations. In addition, we will work with City staff to incorporate questions of relevance for each specific area, understanding that the issues will be different and the audiences will have different perspectives. Lino Lakes, Minnesota. Proposal to Provide Visioning Services