Library: How-To Tips: Writing discussion materials
As democratic governance projects become more and more common, it is increasingly apparent that good written materials are critical. No matter what kinds of meetings you organize, some kind of guide or set of handouts can help to structure the sessions, provide discussion questions and background information, and present the main views and policy options. You may be able to use or adapt issue guides published by national organizations such as the Study Circles Resource Center, Public Agenda, or the Kettering Foundation.
You can supplement your written guides or handouts with other ways of communicating the information: email, websites, video, and presentations by speakers or panelists. Also, because different people learn in different ways (for example, by hearing, by seeing, or by talking), it is important to provide information through multiple means whenever possible.
- The background information must be factual and non-controversial. This may be more difficult than it first appears: different groups often have different versions of the "facts." These differences need to be acknowledged in the materials given to citizens.
- The choices, approaches, or arguments you want citizens to consider must be described fairly, and none of the major viewpoints should be omitted.
- Accessibility of the information is especially important for the participation of young people, people with lower levels of education, and people who speak little or no English. (Is it provided in plain, jargon-free language? Will translation into other languages be provided? Are graphics, charts, and other visuals effectively used?)
Equip your facilitators or moderators with written materials, but do not ask them to be "experts" who provide their opinions on the topic. To maintain a neutral arena where all views can be expressed, you need facilitators or moderators who can manage the discussion in an impartial way.
How is this different from other kinds of writing?
Developing these kinds of materials requires a different kind of writing than most writers are accustomed to. Many authors — partly those who write primarily for scholarly audiences — are unused to writing in the kind of plain, jargon-free language needed for democratic governance work. The materials should be written at an 8th to 10th grade level, and you may want to include a glossary that will explain some of the most important terms.
An even more important difference is that democratic governance projects present a range of views on the issue at hand. The materials should ask broad, basic questions, such as "How can we balance our city budget?" or "What do we want our high school graduates to know and be able to do?" Typically, the guide will then list a range of possible answers to the question, reflecting a range of viewpoints. Most authors who write on public issues strive to persuade their readers of a particular point of view, and they may have trouble writing views they don't agree with. Some of the "experts" on a particular issue can have trouble creating materials because it is hard for them to look at the issue from the perspective of ordinary people. For these reasons, you should get feedback on a draft of your materials from a set of people who represent a range of views and backgrounds.
But what if there is a particular conclusion we want people to come to?
Most of the local leaders who are initiating democratic governance projects have strong, well-formed opinions on public issues. They believe that, after taking a hard look at an issue and hearing from other participants, people will emerge from their discussions with ideas and conclusions that aren't too different from the organizers' own. Of course, there is no guarantee that this will happen.
There is one strategy you should not try. Trying to "rig" a project by providing a guide that advocates a particular point of view, or by allowing facilitators to abandon their impartial role, almost always backfires. Participants quickly recognize these kinds of manipulations, and they are likely to become more suspicious of your agenda and of government in general. Belief in democracy means taking a "leap of faith" that reasonable people will come to reasonable conclusions. As an organizer and a writer of materials, you must make it clear that you trust the public and trust your process.
Good written materials should:
- Provide a baseline of information about the issue(s).
- Give people a sense that their experience counts.
- Provide a structure and suggestions for the meeting(s).
- Encourage people to analyze the basic assumptions and values that underlie their views.
- Help people understand each other's views.
- Help people understand different policy options.
- Introduce viewpoints that may not be represented in the group.
- Help people find common ground and explore areas of disagreement.
- Help the organizers gather information.
For the issue(s) you are writing about, it may be useful to come up with a "bedrock assumption," a simple statement that almost everyone in the community can agree with. This sentence can then become the guiding idea — and perhaps the title — of your written materials. For example, a bedrock assumption about schools might be that: "Education is important to our community, and everyone can do something to improve it." Notice that this statement does not place blame for the state of education — whatever the reader assumes that to be — on educators, or on inadequate funding from the community, or on any other cause. Arguments about the responsibility of these different groups are made in the form of views in the guide, but they clearly do not fit as bedrock assumptions. Assigning blame would bias the guide and the project, and prevent one group or another from taking part.
When testing this bedrock assumption, think about how it will be perceived by different groups of people. Will people of color, recent immigrants, or people in poverty resonate with it just as strongly as other people? Does the bedrock assumption somehow imply that racism and bias are essentially things of the past? If so, the project may not attract a sufficiently diverse set of participants. Your frame needs to be broad enough to accommodate the views of very different constituencies.
One more key to writing balanced, impartial materials is to constantly remind the reader that the guide is a tool for citizens — specifically, for the facilitators and participants in the project. Make it clear that you are not claiming to cover every possible view or action idea. Never list a range of views without inserting a discussion question that asks "Is there a view that is missing? What would you add?" Include questions that honor and refer to their discussion, rather than the guide itself: "What did you learn from your discussion?" rather than "What did you learn from this guide?" The guide is not a curriculum in which they must learn every word; it is designed to help them discuss issues, find common ground, and work together on next steps.