*How Future Search Works

Future Search is a planning meeting that helps people transform their capability for action very quickly. The meeting is task-focused. It is especially helpful in uncertain, fast-changing situations. Participants need no training or expertise.

A future search usually involves a minimum of 32 to 72 people --large enough to include many perspectives and small enough that the full group can be in dialogue at each step in the process. 32 - 64 diverse stakeholders is optimum, 72 is doable. This makes possible a shared picture of the "whole elephant." (For larger groups, conferences may run in parallel or in sequence.)

Future Search brings people from all walks of life into the same conversation - those with resources, expertise, formal authority, information and need. The optimal length is about 16 hours across three days (i.e. "sleep twice"). Two days, even long ones, won’t do as well. It’s not the total hours, but the spacing of learning –-the “soak time”—-that leads us to (a) understand each other’s views, and (b) do new things together. So –-we schedule over 48-50 hours, opening for example, from noon to early evening of Day 1, ending the afternoon of Day 3.

When people stay engaged in a task for that long, they are more likely to make a notable shift in their trust of each other and in their capability for action.

*Future Search Principles

The conference is designed around principles that enable people to work together without having to defend or sell a particular agenda. This opens the door to creative new opportunities.

The Future Search Principles are:

1. "Whole System" in the room
2. All looking at the "same elephant" --global exploration before local action
3. Work "Common Ground" and "Desired Futures"
4. Self-manage discussions/action plans

"Whole System" in the room - means inviting people with a stake in the agenda who don't usually meet, thus enlarging everybody's potential for learning and action.

All looking at the "same elephant" --global exploration before local action - The second principle involves putting the focal issue in global perspective, helping each person to see a bigger picture than the one they usually consider.

Work "Common Ground" and "Desired Futures" - The third principle means treating problems and conflicts as information rather than action items, while searching for common ground and desirable futures.

Self-manage discussions/action plans - The fourth principle invites people to manage their own small groups in discussing and acting on what they learn.

*How Future Search Differs From A Typical Participative Meeting

The Whole System participates--a cross-section of as many interested parties as practical. That means more diversity and less hierarchy than is usual in a working meeting, and a chance for each person to be heard and to learn other ways of looking at the task at hand.

Here's an example for a school district's future search conference:
• Group 1 - Students
• Group 2 - Teachers
• Group 3 - Principals
• Group 4 - Parents
• Group 5 - School Board/Administrators
• Group 6 - Local Government
• Group 7 - Vendors/Employers
• Group 8 – Alumni

Future scenarios--for an organization, community or issue-—are put into historical and global perspective. That means thinking globally together before acting locally--learning about the "whole elephant" before acting on a part. This feature enhances shared understanding and greater commitment to act. It also increases the range of potential actions.

People self-manage their work, and use "dialogue"—not "problem-solving" as the main tool. That means helping each other do the tasks and taking responsibility for our perceptions and actions.

"Common Ground" rather than "conflict management," is the frame of reference. That means honoring our differences rather than having to reconcile them.

Filipina Summit Fees:

• Early bird discounts until Sept. 30
• Register online at http://fwnfuturesearch.mollyguard.com

*Based on the work of Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, Future Search Network, A Program of Resources for

Human Development, Inc.  www.futuresearch.net