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Centre for Health and Social Justice,
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National Institute of Health and Family Welfare
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Global Health Leadership Program - University of Washington
LEADERSHIP & SOCIAL CHANGE FOR HEALTH
New Delhi, India
July 17-21,2009
Day 1: Friday, July 17
8:30-9:00
Registration
9:00 -10:30
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Welcome
Program Overview
Introduction of the Training Faculty and Participants
Workshop Norms:
Creating a Classroom Learning Community
Instructor: Anita Verna Crofts
10:30-11'00
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Tea Break
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11:00 -1:00
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Session 1: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: Case Method
Instructors: Abhijit Das and Peter House
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1:00 - 2:00
Lunch Break
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2:00 - 3:00
Session 2: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: Lecture
Instructors: Abhijit Das
3:00 - 3:30
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Tea Break
3:30 - 4:45
Session 3: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: Small Group & Report
Instructors: Abhijit Das and Peter House
4:45 - 5:00
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Daily Evaluation
Day 2: Saturday, July 18
9:00-10:30
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Review and Preview
Session 4: MEANING AND VALUE OF COMMUNITY
Instructor: Jim Diers
10:30-11-00
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Tea Break
11:00 -1:00
Session 5: COLLECTIVE LEADI
Across Cultures
Instructor: Anita Verna Crofts
^nity
1:00 - 2:00
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Lunch Break
SOCHARA
Community Health
Library and Information Centre (CLIC)
Community Health Cell
85/2,1st Main, Maruthi Nagar,
Madiwala, Bengaluru - 560 068.
Tel: 080-25531518
email: clic@sochara.org / chc@sochara.org
www.sochara.org
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2:00-3:00
Session 6 : COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION AND POWER
Instructor: Jim Diers
3:00-3:30
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Tea Break
3:30-4:45
Session 7: COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION AND POWER, continued
Instructor: Jim Diers
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Daily Evaluation
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DAY THREE: SUNDAY, JULY 19
10:30
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Review and Preview
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Session 8: AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP FOR MAKING CHANGE
Instructor: Anita Verna Crofts
10:30 - 11:00
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Tea Break
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11:00-1:00
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Session 9: AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP FOR MAKING CHANGE, Continued
Instructor: Anita Verna Crofts
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1:00-2:00
Lunch Break
2:00-3:00
Session 10: ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN HEALTH DECISION
MAKING
Instructor: Peter House and Abhijit Das
3:00-3:30
Tea Break
3:30-4:45
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Session 11: ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN HEALTH DECISION
MAKING, continued
Instructor: Peter House and Abhijit Das
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Daily Evaluation
DAY FOUR: MONDAY, JULY 20
9:00-10:30
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Review and Preview
Session 12: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEEN THE GOVERNMENT THE
COMMUNI1% AND NONPROFITS
Instructors: Abhijit Das, Jim Diers, Anita Verna Crofts, and Peter House
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Tea Break
11:00-
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Report Back
Session 13: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEEN THE GOVERNMENT THE
COMMUNITY, AND NONPROFITS
Instructors: Abhijit Das, Jim Diers, Anita Verna Crofts, and Peter House
12:00-1:00
Session 14: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Instructor: Neera Dhar
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1:00-2:00
Lunch Break
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2:00 -3:00
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Session 15: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION, continued
Instructor: Neera Dhar
3:00-3:30
Tea Break
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3:30-4:45
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Session 16: NEGOTIATING POLICITCS AND HEALTH
Instructor: Deoki Nandan
4:45 - 5:00
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Daily Evaluation
DAYFIVE: TUESDAY, JULY21
9:00 -10:30
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Review and Preview
Session 17: INDIVIDUAL ROLE OF A CHANGE AGENT
Instructor: Jim Diers
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10:30 -11:00
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Tea Break
11:00-1:00
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Session 18; World Cafe Wrap Up
Writing of letters to be sent four months into the future
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1:00-2:00
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Lunch Break
2:30 - 3:00
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Daily and Final Evaluation
3:00-3:30
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Certificates & Tea Break
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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
To Improve Effectivity, Accountability,
& Communitisation of Health System
Participant Reading List
Day 1 - Friday, July 17, 2009
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The Argumentative Indian - A. Sen
Globalization and Health - R. Labonte, T. Schrecker
Pathologies of Power - P. Farmer
Day 2 - Saturday, July 18,2009
■ Politicizing Health Care - J. McKnight
■ Six degrees of Lois Weisberg - M. Gladwell
■ Six degrees of Lois Weisberg Glossary
■ The Relational Meeting - E. T. Chambers
■ Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City - B. Obama
■ Developing a strategy - K. Bobo, J. Kendall, S. Max
■ God created the world, and we created Conjunto Palmeira - R. A.
Newmann, A. Mathie, J. Linzey
■ Building communities from inside out - J.P. Kretzmann, J.L. McKnight
Day 3 - Sunday, July 19, 2009
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Behaviour Styles Information Sheet
Behaviour Styles Rating Form
"What's your story?" A life-stories approach to authentic leadership
development - B. Shamir, G. Eilam
Definitions and Significance of Leadership
Nominal Group Technique: A User's Guide - R. Dunham
Open Space Technology: A User's Guide - H. Owen
Day 4 - Monday, July 20, 2009
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Moving Towards Partnership
Healthy Cities: A Model for Community Improvement - D. Clark
Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way - J. Diers
Leadership Development Programme
To Improve Effectivity, Accountability and Communitisation of Health System
17-21 July, NIHFW, New Delhi
Resource Team
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Anita Verna Crofts believes that strong communication skills help build strong leaders.
Anita works with professionals to identify communication competencies and strategies
that allow for successful visioning, planning, and results.
As Director of Communication and Outreach for the Population Leadership Program and
the Global Health Leadership Program at the University of Washington, Anita designs
and delivers curriculums on professional communication strategies, storytelling as a
leadership and evidence tool, digital media adoption in resource-poor environments,
and cross-cultural communication techniques for an international development setting.
She also oversees both the documentation and promotion of continuing partnerships
with 78 international PLP Fellows in more than 20 countries worldwide. Her most recent
co-authored article appeared in the book Global Leadership: Portraits of the Past, vision
for the Future, and is entitled, "Vision for Change: Partnering with Public Health Leaders
Globally."
She has taught as a lecturer at the UW's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and most
recently at the Department of Global Health. Prior to her affiliation with the Population
Leadership Program, she served as Executive Director of the Foundation for
International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS) on the University of Washington
campus. Along with her work at the University of Washington, Anita is an award-winning
journalist and writes and photographs articles on the intersection of culture, food, and
identity.
Anita holds a Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College in Anthropology and East Asian
Studies, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington with
an area focus on leadership and nonprofit management.
Abhijit Das is a doctor with training in obstetrics, paediatrics and public health and has
over twenty years experience in grassroots work, training, research and policy advocacy.
He is founder member of the alliance on men and gender equality MASVAW, and the
reproductive health and rights network Health watch Forum. He has been working on
population and reproductive health issues in India as a consultant to United Nations
Population Fund for a number of years. Currently he is Director of the Center for Health
and Social Justice (CHSJ), a health policy resource organization which is hosting the
national secretariat for ICPD +15 in India : A Civil Society Review. He is among the
leading public health educators and advocates on issues related to coercive population
policies. Abhijit has been a Fellow of the Population Leadership Program of the
University of Washington and is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the UW
Department of Global Health.
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Jim Diers has a passion for getting people more involved in their community and in the
decisions that affect their lives. Since moving to Seattle in 1976, he put that passion to
work for an Alinsky-style community organization, a community development
corporation, a community foundation, and for Group Health Cooperative. He was
appointed the first director of Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods in 1988 where he
served under three mayors over the next 14 years. Currently, Jim works for the
University of Washington where he teaches courses in community organizing and
development and directs the Seattle-UW Community Partnership Program. Jim also
serves on the faculty of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute and works
with other cities to develop programs of community empowerment.
Jim received a BA and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College. His work in the
Department of Neighborhoods was recognized with an Innovations Award from the
Kennedy School of Government, a Full Inclusion Award from the American Association
on Developmental Disabilities, and the Public Employee of the Year Award from the
Municipal League of King County. Jim's book, Neighbor Power: Building Community the
Seattle Way, is available through the University of Washington Press.
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Peter House cares about communities and public sector organizations and he works
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with them on planning, governance, and decision-making. Peter is a Clinical Associate
Professor at the University of Washington where he teaches community development
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for health courses in the School of Public Health and a course in rural health in the
School of Medicine. Mr. House serves as associate director of the WWAMI Area Health
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Education Center where he works to support the University of Washington School of
Medicine's regional mission to improve the distribution of health professionals. He is a
former member of the board of directors of the Washington Rural Health Association, a
group that recognized Peter with its "Outstanding Contribution to Rural Health Award"
in 1999. Peter has applied his professional expertise to active engagements with
Seattle's public schools and with political organizing in the state of Washington.
Peter graduated from the University of Michigan with a master's degree in health
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administration in 1974. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Lawrence
University (Appleton, Wisconsin) in 1968. Peter has wide experience in strategic
planning, program evaluation, meeting facilitation, community assessments, and
community development. Peter has worked with over 50 rural communities to
strengthen and expand their health systems, and he has made numerous presentations
to professional meetings in the US and abroad.
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lational Institute of Healtl
nons Causa-Odessa State i
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MVIS, FIAPSM, FIPHA,
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Prof. Deoki Nandan, Doctor Honoris Causa-Odessa State Medical University, MD, FAMS,
FIAPSM, FIPHA, FISCD, is Director of National Institute of Health & Family Welfare, New
Delhi. He has worked as Principal/Dean & Chief of Hospital, S N Medical College, Agra.
He has been actively working in the field of public Health for more than 30 years and
during this period he has been an adviser and have provided consultancy to many
international Organizations e.g. WHO-SEARO, UNICEF, CARE-lndia, EPOS, Population
Council, MOST-lndia and USAID. He is also member of many state level committees and
National Technical Expert Committees specifically for AIDS, IMNCI and Child Health.
He has also been identified as National Trainer for ICDS, CSSM, RCH, RTI/STD, HIV/AIDS
and IMNCI. He has successfully undertaken more than 45 community based
studies/research/projects on issues related to EPI, RCH, RTI/STD, and HIV/AIDS, in
collaboration with national and international agencies, and has numerous research
papers published in national and international scientific journals. Besides Public Health
Dr Deoki Nandan has also presented excellent performance academics and has teaching
experience of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students. He is Technical
member of PSC selection boards of Govt, of MP, UP and Uttarakhand; Academic Council
member for Agra, Aligarh and Gwalior Universities; Member Governing Council of State
Medical Faculty, UP and examiner for MBBS/MD examinations for more than 30
universities. He had also been nominated by Govt, of UP for Human Rights and has also
been invited as an expert in international meets/workshops.
Dr. Neera Dhar has been involved in designing, coordinating training courses & acting as
a resource person in various training programmes conducted at NIHFW She has also
been engaged in research activities of the Institute in the area of Health SFamily
Welfare. Involved in the teaching and field activities of M.D.(CHA/DHA) Programme
She also acts as a Faculty Guide for M.D (CHA/ DHA) Seminars and Dissertation at the
nstitute. Dr. Neera has been a Guest speaker to various organizations and sister
Institutions for sessions on "Stress Management", "Organizational Behaviour" and
Interpersonal Communication" and Training Technology" As part of larger
organizational responsibilities she also been working as the "Managing Editor" of the
Institutes' quarterly Newsletter since March 2008.
She has in her credit a book on Stress Management titled: "STRESS: LEARN TO MANAGE
IT. SOME COPING TECHNIQUES TO MAKE LIFE EASIER TO LIVE"
She selected as a "Rotary Scholar"from India by the "Rotary International" to work
towards projecting Indian Culture in USA(1989). She was also granted Fellowship by the
Rotary International" to pursue Post Doctoral Studies in USA(1989).
Participant Reading List
DAY 1 - Friday, July 17, 2009
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The Argumentative Indian - A. Sen
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Globalization and Health - R. Labonte, T. Schrecker
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Pathologies of Power - P. Farmer
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AMARTYA SEN
‘The winner of the 1998 Nobel prize in economics is a star in|India...
he deserves the recognition...shows that the argumentative gene is
not just a part of India’s make-up that can easily be wished) away’
Economist
lKn introduction as good as any to matters Indological’
Chandrahas Choudhury, Scotland on Sunday
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The Argumentative Indian
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Writings on Indian History,
Culture and Identity
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about the author
Amartya Sen is Lamont University Professor at Harvard. He ivon the
Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and was Master of Trinity follege,
Cambridge, 1998-2004. His most recent books are Development as
Freedom and Rationality and Freedom. His books have been translated
into more than thirty languages.
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CLASS IN INDIA
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Diverse Disparities
Class in India*
In his speech on the ‘tryst with destiny’ delivered on 14 August 1947,
with which the last essay began, Jawaharlal Nehru talked not just
about freedom from British rule, but also about his grand vision of
independent India.f Nehru was particularly determined to remove the
barriers of class stratification and their far-reaching effects oh inequal
ity and deprivation in economic, political and social spheres. It was
was aa
thrilling image that could rival Alfred Tennyson’s eloquence:
‘For I
dipt into the future, far as human
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# could
_______
eye
see,, / ______
Saw the (Vision of
the world, and all the wonder that would be.’ It was good for free
India to be told, at the defining moment of its birth, about ihe possi
bility of‘all the wonder that would be’.1
Nehru s vision was not fulfilled during his own lifetime.! There is
nothing surprising in that, since the vision was ambitious. iWhat is,
however, more distressing is the slowness of our progress in the direc
tion to which Jawaharlal Nehru so firmly pointed. But that is not all.
There is disturbing evidence that the battle against class divisions has
very substantially weakened in India. In fact, there are clear indif
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31 at d,^ere”t levels Economic, social and political policy,
the debilitating role of class inequality now receives remarkably litth
attention. Furthermore, support for consolidation of class barriei
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comes not only from old vested interests, but also from new sources
of privilege, and this makes the task much harder.
This essay is based on my Nehru Lecture, given in New Delhi on rj Nov. iooi.
• i 4W]har,a ^Chru’s spcech’ def,v®"d at the Constituent Assembly, Ne^ Delhi, is
included in/.i^^rZa/ Nehru: An Anthology, ed. Sarvepalli Gopal (Oxford and DelhiOxford University Press, 1983 J.
This is a difficult Subject to deal with, for two distinct reasons. First,
class is not the ohly
source of inequality,
and interest
in class
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______________} as a
source of
< disparity has to be placed within a bigger picture that
includes other div sive influences: gender caste, region, community
and so on. For example, inequality between women and men is also a
major contributor to inequity. This source of inequality used to be
fairly comprehensively neglected in India even a few decades ago, and
in this neglect the single-minded concern with class did play a role.
Indeed, about threi decades ago, in the early 1970s, when I first tried
to work on gendefl inequality in India, I was struck by the fact that
even those who welfe extremely sympathetic to the plight of the under
dogs of society wefe reluctant to take a serious interest in the evil of
gender discrimination. This was to a great extent because of the firmly
established tradition of concentrating almost entirely on class divi
sions as a source of inequality. That single-mindedness is no longer
dominant, and thejfe is increasing recognition of the importance of
causes of disparity other than class divisions, including inequality
between women and men. Even though gender and other contributors
to inequality still require, I would argue, more systematic attention,
nevertheless there has been a considerable enrichment of the versa
tility and reach of public discussion in India.
There is, howeVer, an interesting issue that goes beyond the
‘whether’ questionj to rhe ‘how’ question. Should these different
sources of inequality be seen as primarily ‘additive’ to each other
(there is class and then there is also gender, and furthermore, caste,
and so on’), or shoiUld they instead be treated together, making more
explicit room for their extensive interdependences? These different
sources of vulnerabljlity are each significant, but no less importantly,
we must see that they can strengthen the impact of each other because
of their complemenl
complementarity.
Class, in particuldi;
particulii; has a very special role in the establishment and
reach of social inequality, and it can make the influence of other sources
of disparity (such as gender inequality) much sharper. The intellectual
gain in broadening oUr comprehension of other types of inequity has to
THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
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CLASS IN INDIA
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be followed with a more integrated understanding of the functioning of
class in alliance with other causes of injustice. Oi; to put it differently,
class is not only important on its own, it can also magnify the impact of
other contributors to inequality, enlarging the penalties imposed by
them. The integration of class in a consolidated understariding of injus
tice is. of paramount importance given the need to address, simultane
ously, different sources of inequality, related to class, gender,
community, caste and so on, and given the overwhelming role of class
in the working of each of the other contributors to inequality.
A second source of complexity lies in the fact that some of the new
social barriers reinforcing rather than weakening rhe [hold of class
divisions come - as it were - from the ‘friendly’ side or the dividing
line; they can, in fact, be rooted in institutional devices that are
intended to be among the remedial features against clas^ division. For
example, public programmes of intervention can protect vulnerable
interests and thus serve as a good instrument in the battle against
class-based inequality. However, they can also have regressive con
sequences if the battle lines are wrongly drawn, or if the remedies are
wrongly devised.
In fact, what the armed forces call ‘friendly fire’ - whereby an army
is hit by its own firing rather than by enemy shelling - is a concept that
may have relevance not just in the military spheres but In social fields
as well. The actual impact of supportive public institutions and public
policies has to be constantly scrutinized. The operative impact of
institutions and programmes that have been instituted as anti
inequality devices requires probing investigation in an open-minded rather than in a fixed, formulaic - way.
I shall take up these two issues in turn: first, the need for an integ
rated understanding of the contribution of class in the combined
impact of diverse sources of inequality; and second, the possibility of
‘friendly fire’, which requires us to rethink the old battle lines against
inequality. In particular, the relevance of new barriers strongly
suggests the need to re-examine the ways and means bf confronting
class inequality.
In this essay, I shall try to identify two specific issues to examine in
trying to understand the far-reaching relevance of class in India: first,
rhe ‘integration issue’ (to see the influence of class as not merely
additive,
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—n as transformational), and second, the ‘institutional
issue’, in particular the role of institutional features - new and old in reinforcing and even strengthening class barriers.
CZflSji, Gendet) Caste and Community
The significant presence of non-class sources of inequality is an impor
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tant recognition that can be combined with the acknowledgement that
there is hardly any aspect of our lives that stays quite untouched by
our place in the dass stratification. Class does not act alone in creat
ing and reinforcing inequality, and yet no other source of inequality is
fully independent of class.1
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Consider gender. South Asian countries have a terrible record in
gender inequality which is manifest in the unusual morbidity and
mortality rates of women, compared with what is seen in regions that
do not neglect women’s health care and
nutrition so badly. At the
----- ----------same time, women from the upper classes are often more prominent
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“ South Asia
than elsewhere.
Indeed,
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh
and
—m
.uvuu, Mium,
raxisian,
Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka have al had, or currently have, 1women Prime Ministers something that th^
t^e United States (along with Trance, Italy, Gr
Germany
and Japan) has nejyer
never had and does not seem poised to have in th
the near
future (if I am any judge).
Belonging to k privileged
„ classs can help women to overcome
barriers that obstruct women from
_______
___ classes. Gender is cerless thriving
tainly• an additiodkl
contributor
to
societal
inequality, but it d<
i------------ uxzwAviax ixxwjumiLy, uui 11 does not
act independently
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of class. Indeed, a congruence of class deprivation
and gender discrimination can blight the lives of poorer women very
severely indeed. It is the interactive presence of these two features of
deprivation - being low class and being female - that can massively
impoverish women from the less privileged classes.
Similarly, turnling to caste, even though being lower caste is
undoubtedly a separate cause of disparity, its impact is all the greater
when the lower-calste families also happen to be very poor. The blight
ing of the lives of Dalits or people from other disadvantaged castes, or
of members of the Scheduled Tribes, is particularly severe when the
caste or tribal adversities are further magnified by abject penury. Even
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THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
the Violence associated with caste-related conflicts tends tjo involve a
great deal more than just caste.
For example, the Ranveer Sena in Bihar may be a privat
army that
draws its sustenance ffrom the upper (in this case, BhJmihar and
Rajput) castes, and the victims of brutality may typically bje low-caste
Dalits, yer the predicament of the potential victims cam
inot be adequately grasped if we do not take note of the poverty and landlessnes;
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of Dalits, or place the conflicts in a broad social and economic background. This recognition does not suggest that caste is unimportant
(quite the contrary), but it does make it necessary to place casterelated violence in a broader context in which class, inter alia,
belongs. The basic issue is complementarity and interrelation rather
than the independent functioning of different disparities that work in
seclusion (like ships passing at night). Given the wide reach and
generic relevance of class, related to poverty and wealth,!ownership
and indigence, work and employment, and so on, it is not surprising
that it tends to rear iits ugly
' head
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in a great many conflicts that have
other identifications
and
correlates.
ms and correlates.
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In fact, there is ialso considerable evidence
_
that affirmative action in- z
favour of lower castes has tended to do much
— ------ 1 more for the econo
mically less strained members of those c_____ 1____ _
afC
castes than for thojse who are
weighed down by the combined burden of e^eme^pove^andVwness of caste. For example, ‘reserved’ posts often go to relaiively afflu
ent members of disadvantaged castes. No policy of affirmative action
aimed at caste disadvantage can be adequately effective without taking
account of the class background of members of the lower icastes. The
impact of caste, like that of gender, is substantially swayed [by class.
Or consider the deprivation that is generated by tommunal
vio ence. Members of a minority community can indeed hlave reason
or fear even when they come from a prosperous class. Yet the raw
danger to which targeted communities are exposed is Immensely
magnified when the persons involved not only belong to those com
munities, but also come from poorer and less privileged families. This
is brought out by the class distribution of victims of Hindu-Muslim
riots around the time of independence and rhe partition of) India. The
easiest to kill among rhe members of a targeted community are those
o that group who have to go out unprotected to work, who live in
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slums, and who It
CLASS IN INDIA
jpad, in one way or another, a thoroughly vulnerable
life. Not surprisL,
thgly, they provide the overwhelming proportion of
the victims in communal riots.
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My own first Exposure to murder ar
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his last words tofme were that he knew he was tiking a heavy risk in
hone^Ta3 arg<l'y|H;ndu region of the dty. but he had to do it in the
hope of earning a little money from some work (he was on his way
thelTd
dT
ed)' Kad" labourer;
Mia diedlooking
aS 3 V1Ctimizcd
Mus1for^a
but he also died
4 mi unemployed
desperately
bit of work and r
This was in i, '44- The riots today are not any different in this
respect. In the Hikdu-Muslim riots in the
nnnr^. .
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I94°S’ Hil,du
billed
the i“verZd
U”S’ n
MUSlim thuSS assass“ated the
impoverished
perished Hirijdu
Hiridu victims. Even though th
the community identity of
extermtnate^ preys was qquite different (Hindu and Mushm
the exterminated
respectively), theft
uieir class
Class identitiridentities were often extremely similar. The
ckss dimension if sectarian violence tends to receive inXu«e
attention, even. inrr*
—"------- accounts, because of unifocal reporting
newspaper
that concentrated
on the divide
communal identity of the ‘victimZ
. I
\ 5 77~’communal identity of the victims
rather than on ttnejir
ki:----1*-J •
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vicums
identity.
n**- unified
'?**“**•“ class lucnm
This remark would apply also to the
Muslim^
fhU°Wing Indira Gandhi’S assassination- ^e anti-
Aaf accompanied the terrible days that foil.
, , and so on. Class is an ever-present
feature of commu lai and sectarian violence.
What we need, therefore, is some kind of a dual recognition of the
role and reach of : ass that takes into account its non-uniqueness as
well as its transfo ^national function. Wt
;—t—. ”Tc have to recognize, simultaneously, that
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diere are many sources of disparity other than class: we must avoid the
presumption thkt class
encompasses all sources of disadvantage and
handicap; and
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THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
(z) nevertheless, class disparities are not only important on dleir own. But
they also tend to intensify the disadvantages related to the other forms of
disparity.
Class is neither the only concern, nor an adequate proxy for other
forms of inequality, and yet we do need class analysis to see the work
ing and reach of other forms of inequality and differentiation.
Inequality, Concurrence and the Underdogs
Aside from the variety of factors that contribute to inequality, there is
also the important issue of the form that inequality may ta ke. Here, it
may be thought, class speaks in many voices, with much discordance.
There is truth in this recognition, but once again this may loot weaken
the overwhelming relevance of pre-eminent class divisions in under
standing the plight of the underdogs of society. We have tb see simul
taneously the distinctions as well as the interconnections.
There are imany different forms of deprivation: economic poverty,
illiteracy, political disempowerment,
ofand
health
care
,
t absence
- -------so on.
These distinct dimensions of inequality are not entirely congruent in
their incidence. Indeed, they can yield very different socia rankings.3
The tendency to see deprivation simply in terms of income poverty is
often strong and can be quite misleading. And yet there arte also pow
erfully uniting features in the manifestation of severe deprivation. This
is partly because different types of handicap reinforce eac^i other, but
also because they often tend to go together at the extreme tends, divid
ing the general ‘haves’ from the comprehensive ‘have-nots’. The
absence of a conceptual congruence between different types of depri
vation does not preclude their empirical proximity along a big dividing
line, which is a central feature of classical class analysis.
Some Indians are rich; most are not. Some are very well educated;
others are illiterate. Some lead easy lives of luxury; others toil hard for
little reward. Some are politically powerful; others cannot influence
anything. Some have great opportunities for advancement in life;
others lack them altogether. Some are treated with respect by the
police; others are treated like dirt. These are different kinds of
CLASS IN INDIA
inequality, andleach of them requl...
ancntlon
us is the central issue in the centrality of cl;
P0°r m inCOme and wealth> suffer from illiteracy, work hard for little remuneration,
,
> are uninfluential in politics,
lack social and economic
’ opportunities, and are treated with brutal
callousness by tje police. The dividing line of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots'
is not just a rhetorical cliche, but also an important part of dragnostic
analysis, pomtinfe us towards a pre-eminent division that can deeply
inform our social,
sodial, economic and political understanding. This
PWatlOn adds t0 the ’’''“arching relevance of class
as a source of inltquality and disparity.
tt*—**-/
uiapcuicy.
When I come to
to discuss the issue of what I called ‘friendly fire', the
role of such manifest
ifest concurrence in the lives of the extreme underdogs'
underdogs
of soaety will beiome
particularly
relevant.
Many
of
the
distributional
come particularly relevant. Many of the distributional
institutions that Jxist in India and elsewhere are designed to defend the
interests of groups with some deprivation (or some vulnerability) but
who are not by foy means the absolute underdogs of society. There is
an understandable rationale for seeing them as ‘friendly1 institutions in
the battle against class divisions. Yet if they also have the effect of
worsening the deal that the real underdogs get, at the bottom layers of
society, the overall impact may be to strengthen class divisions rather
Th'S ‘S the SenSE ‘n Which their effects can be
non^S firC ’ t1 T afraid there 15 3
deal °f this Pbenomenon in Indian public policy as it stands.
It is extremely mportant to study the issue of ‘friendly fire', though
not because it isjjthe largest contributor to class divisions in India’
traditional factors, such as massive inequality of wealth and
assets,
immense gaps in location and other social opportunities and
so on,
remain central to our understanding of the brute force of clas'
:s
sions.
^upptementea by divinew
sions. Yet
Yet these
these traditional
trud;„„... ' features
’
are now supplemented by
barriers, some oj which were created precisely to overcome the
influence of class,, but-■ end up having the opposite effect.
I can illustrate the
I point with a great many examples. LI shall, however, concentrate iln this essay on exactly two paradigmatic illustranons, dealing respectively with food policy and elementary schooling,
both of which have a major bearing on the lives of the most deprived
among the Indian beoole. that is. the hunerv and rhe illiterate
i.
THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
CLASS IN INDIA
gets, When it ge^ any at all, is so badly divided.’
Food Policy and Hunger
I
India’s record in countering hunger and famine is s
strangely mixed.
The rapid elimination of famine since independence is
-3 an acme
---------levement
of great importance (the last real famine occurred in 1943
>ur years
before-independence), and this is especially so in contrast tJ the fail
t01 prevent
ure of many other countries - most notably China - to
to prevent
famine. Whenever a famine has threatened, the safeguards of
lr a. dem
j.
ocratic process have come into operation, with rapidly arranged
pro
•aiiged protective policies, including temporary public employment,
w’hich give
.1 I
•
y*
the threatened destitutes the money to buy food. The mech'anism
of
famine prevention in IIndia has been discussed in my joint bOok with
Jean Dreze, Hunger and Public Action/
—-4 It is a record, we (argue, of
considerable achievement.
And yet India’s overall record in <'
_ ________
eliminating
hunger___
and undernutrition is quite terrible. Not only is there pe«isten7rec
■rence of
severe hunger m particular regions, but there is also a dreadful pr<
revalence of endemic hunger across much of India. Indeed, Irjidia does
worse in this respect than even sub-Saharan Africa.5 Calcu ations of
general undernourishment - what is sometimes called ‘protJin-enlrgy
malnutrition’ - show that it is nearly twice as high in India ks in subSaharan Africa on the average. It is astonishing that despite,'the inter
mittent occurrence of famine there, Africa still manages tq‘ ensure a
higher level of regular nourishment than does India. Judged in terms
of the usual standards of retardation in weight for age, the proportion
o undernourished children in Africa is 20 to 40 per cent, wAereas the
percentage of undernourished Indian children is a gigantic 40 to 60
per cent. About half of all Indian children are, it appears, Ironically
undernourished, and more than half of all adult women stiffer from
anaemia. In maternal undernourishment as well as the incidence of
underweight babies, and also in the frequency of cardiovascular
disease in later life (to which adults are particularly proni if nutri
tionally deprived in the womb), India’s record is among the very worst
in the world.7
I
A striking feature of the persistence of this dreadful situation is not
i".»repe;,ion ZXfsSS”
■ng to hear persistent u
managed the cha lenge
Iphop of hunger
k
is based on a
is a simple achieyti
ment 1
worse than nearh
con tex
tinued to amass e
.
De
* that
has
inc stock was
ItT r t r 7 tOnneS ’ C1°Se to the
‘buffer
stock’ norms.
ly surpassing
62. million tonn<
Lecture in :
J'“ D,i“1 ^aph,t ‘■““’d”-1< >« *"
sacks of grain
—»n k,te„J X ”
.
»»»«
grain for every fXy below the poye^
°“ tonne of food
presumption of mere insensiti v!w-it lolk
eXplauI ir by the
ity. What could
the perceived t
m°re and more ^ke insanexplain the simulLeourXnceTh 6
COU,d
and the largest uniised food stork ■ k ' W°rSt undernourishnlent
constantly augmented at extremelytavyTos^^
ofstoc^SZtteV5 nOt>hard tO find- The —'-on
support prices for Ud grain -Z"wheat
minimum
d nce ln Papula* But a
regime of high pri tes in ™
m general (despite a gap between procurement
prices and consumers’ retail
?_nCeSf kotk exPands procurement
and depresses demand. The bonanza
“1 for food producers and sellers
is matched by the privation of food c
consumers. Since the biological
|l
’We discuss the role Ipfinadequa.
'ey of public discussion in the formulation and perSen’
o'r/o <tn’ M‘a:
l.wU r,,,h|ir aftenrion it
I
THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
I
need for food is not the same thing as the economic entitlement to
food (what people can afford to buy given their economic
circumstances and the prices), the large stocks procured are hard to
get rid of, despite rampant undernourishment across the Icountry. The
very price system that generated a massive supply kept the hands and the mouths - of the poorer consumers away from food.
But does not the government automatically remedy this problem
through subsidizing food prices compared with the procurement
prices - surely that should keep food prices low to consumers? Not
quite. The issues involved are discussed more fully in my joint book
with Jean Drfeze, India: Development and Participation^ (2002), but
one big part of the story is simply the fact that much of the subsidy
does in fact go to pay for the cost of maintaining a massively large
stock of food grain, with a mammoth and unwieldy foot} administra
tion (including the Food Corporation of India). Also, since the cutting
edge of the price subsidy is to subsidize farmers to produce more and
earn more, rather than to sell existing stocks to consumfers at lower
prices (that happens too, but only to a limited extent and to restricted
groups), the overall effect of the subsidy is more spectacular in trans
ferring money to medium and large farmers with food to sell, than in
giving food to the undernourished consumers.
If there were ever a case for radical class analysis, in which ‘the left’
could take ‘the right’ to the cleaners, one would have thought that this
would be it. To some extent, we do see such criticism, bujt not nearly
enough. The dog that does not bark is the expectable howl of criticism
from the perspective of class analysis.
Why? This is where the diagnosis of ‘friendly fire’ becomes rele
vant. When1 the policy of food procurement was introduced and the
case for purchasing food from farmers at high prices was lestablished,
various benefits were foreseen, and they were not altogether pointless,
nor without some claim to equity. First, building up stocks up to a
certain point is useful for food security - necessary even for the pre
vention of famines. That would make it a good thing to have a large
stock up to some limit - in today’s conditions, perhaps even a stock of
20 million tonnes or so. The idea that since it is good to build up
stocks as needed, it must be even better to build up even more stocks,
is not only mistaken, but also leads to shooting oneself in the foot.
I
I1
i
■
£
,F
■L
• |
CLASS IN INDIA
I must also examine a second line of reasoning in defence of high
il • also comes in as a good idea and then turns
food prices, which
counterproductive. Those who suffer from low food prices include
some who are not•t affluent - the small farmer or peasant who sells a
part of his crop|J The interests of this group are mixed up with those
of big farmers, ^nd this produces a lethal confusion of food politics.
While the power ful lobby of privileged farmers presses for higher pro
curement prices| and pushes for public funds to be spent to keep them
high, the interests of poorer farmers, who also benefit from the high
prices, is championed by political groups that represent these non
affluent beneficiaries. Stories of hardship among these people play a
powerful part not only in the rhetoric in defence of high food prices,
but also in the genuine conviction of many equity-oriented activists
that this would help some very badly off people. And so it would, but
of course it woujd help the rich farmers much more, and cater to their
pressure groups while the interests of the much larger number of
people who buy! food rather than sell it would be badly sacrificed.
There is a nedi for more explicit analysis of the effects of these poli
cies on the diffei ent classes, and in particular on the extreme under
dogs of society | who, along with their other deprivations (already
discussed), are also remarkably underfed and undernourished. For
casual labourers, slum dwellers, poor urban employees, migrant
workers, rural artisans, rural non-farm workers, even farm workers
who are paid cash wages, high food prices bite into what they can eat.
The overall effect of high food prices is to hit many of the worst-off
members of society extremely hard. And while they do help some of
the farm-based pjoor, the net effect is quite regressive on distribution.
There is, of course, relentless political pressure in the direction of high
food prices com|jng from farmers’ lobbies, and the slightly muddied
picture of benefiting some farm-based poor makes the policy issues
sufficiently befuddled to allow the confusion that high food prices are
a pro-poor stance, when in overall effect they are very far from that.
It is said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So unfortunately
is a little bit of equity when its championing coincides with massive
injustice to vast numbers of people. It is, again, a case of ‘friendly fire*,
even though the involvement of the rich farmers’ pressure groups
thickens the plotjj
■‘is-
.
the
•I
ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN
»•
W---'
Elementary Education
■■
ta<
• The paucity of financial
w
-‘w are (not enough
------- .1 very
well. A major diffi-
several other problems
culty hes in the weak institutional
, ---- 1 are (
inequity of schooling —
®V
system of primary education?
I have had th<
sample of the problems
lect by the Pratichi
999 with the) help of the
,Ih0
!».r
V"up ” t * -T-a num-<
■i
I
West Bengal initially 1 , ,dThc overall picture
saKumune
_/tlh^khan
that
p"“"
T„ch„
1
„„„ „„. "fl"d
A
M
‘ :o“
• b■
lays we visited them
very much greate ’ in schools
------- Jaste o r Scheduled
nbe families; indeed, 75 per cent of those schooJs
our 1 st had seri-
•*- *» i-
■
■
proponion al cbe children rely ™ 'T V3nM8e‘I
A very Inge
what they get from the schnnk
a ^nVate tultIon as a supplement to
L
vented from doing so becausey pre
satisfied with the teaching rhe rh N
rat^er
becaijse of being
j
pupil.» a.„,'
" 8J ‘
«■"
Amrita SengupSworki^^
findings from the first part of the studv- Th. n
West Bengal (New Delhi:
‘‘‘ “ *
1.M o< a!
*- *
RRn3’ AbdurlRafi^e and
pres<ius 1116 main
OfrMK Edu^
!i
- CLASS IN INDIA
Effective elementary education has in practice ceased to be free in
substantial parts of the country, which of course is a violation of a basic
nght. AU this seeds to be reinforced by a sharp cfass division between
teachers and the poorer families. Yet the teachers’ unions - related to
the respective parties - sometimes vie with each other in championing
the immunity of dachers from discipline. The parents from disadvan
taged families have little voice in the running of schools, and the offi
cial inspectors seqm too scared to discipline the delinquent teachers,
especially when thfe parents come from the bottom layer of society. The
teachers’ unions hive, of course, had quite a positive role in the past in
defending the inteiests of teachers, when they used to be paid very little
and
"" were thoroii]
‘■hTrz jghly exploited. The teachers’ unions then served as an
important part ofi the institutional support in favour of more justice.
Now, however, thdse institutions of justice seem to work largely against
justice through thkir inaction - or worse - when faced with teacher
absenteeism and dther irresponsibilities.
The problem isj in some ways, compounded by the fact that school
teachers are now Comparatively well paid - no longer the recipients of
miserably exploitative wages. The recent boost in the salary of public
servants in Indd (leaving far behind those who are served by the
public servants, sfrch as agricultural and industrial labourers) has led
to a very substantial rise in the. remuneration of school teachers (as
pubhc servants), ill over India. The primary school teachers in West
Bengal, where oifr study was conducted, now tend to get between Rs.
5,000 and 10,006 per month, in the form of salary and allowances,
which comparesjwith the total salary of teachers in the alternative
schools - called Sflshu Siksha Kendras - of Rs. 1,000 per month.
The salary of rtachers in regular schools has gone up dramatically
over recent years even in real terms, that is, after correcting for price
changes This is an obvious cause for celebration at one level (indeed,
I remember beinfe personally involved, as
as aa scudent
student at Presidency
College fifty years ago, in agitations to raise the despe:
_ irately low pre
vailing salaries df school teachers).
1
'
' But
"___the
_ situation is now very
different. The big salary increases in recent years have
ula
5 not only made
school education! vastly more expensive (making ft much harder to
offer regular schobl education to those who are still excluded from it)
but have also tentied to draw the school teachers as a group further
1
t
i
J
ii
THE akgumentative Indian |
CLASS IN INDIA
f
7 eauMtlon to the
urst-ott members of society is now furrk
X Con^ding Remark
d“
J- ■
social------progress of the cnimt-r,, economic,
.
barriers to progress coxne not only from owl"?5'
Th'
------ ic
from new ones. Sometimes thr
?
d hiding lines, but also
iat M ere created to
act is reactionary
fB
positive hopes of equi^o J t
^mp,e °f re
administration of primary education, though making room for effec
tive parent-teacher committees for individual schools, with legal
authority. With the help of the countervailing power of the interest
group most directly involved - that is, parents - the role of teachers’
unions can be mlade more constructive. Similarly, on the former
problem, the food mountains can be turned into assets rather than
liabilities, with an appropriate focus on the interests of the worst-off
members of the society (for example through use in school meals).*
These and other policy changes call for urgent action and consid
eration. That process can be facilitated by clear analysis of the exact
effects of actual and possible public policies. It is important to prevent
‘friendly fire’ as |Well as to press for policies that can make a real
difference to the ihequalities of class division in India. It is crucial to
scrutinize the benefits to be obtained and the losses to be sustained by
the different classes and occupation groups, resulting from each policy
proposal. The ubiquitous role of class divisions influences social
arrangements in t imarkably diverse ways and deserves a fuller recognition than it has tended to get in the making of Indian public policy.
There is something serious to argue about here.
payment of subsidies have to 3 ™
t?POrt price of fo°d and
considerable T'
extent,’ 4
tekded
r- Pr°'
duce exactly the opposite effect Anothl"
ded C0
tutional features of delivery of nrim
Xa.mple re,at“ » theinsti-
inter^estheneglect^^X^
barriers
teachers from the tmpoverished
Ther<!is eviden«
the
I
of pessimism.
the two cases considered, possible li Y
Jdentlfied decencies.lagIn
?
!
On the latteg the report of the P ar k 7
n0‘ H to
see.
>cy suggestions, which includt emnh^ rUStumakes a nu4" Pol-
i
m school management. This would rec '
erprl''lleged sections,
would requtre a restructuring of the
*The recent initiative
of ---theLUIndian
government (in late 13.004.) to help provide
---- 11
iicip proviac
cooked midday meals
sals, jin schools across the country is a very positive move that has
emerged since the Nehru
Lecture----was es'
given
initiative, nmui
which it
followed
i|---- ----------------’-** in 1001. This
Aino mjuuurv,
________
directly from the Indian Supreme Court’s visionary decision to cover this right
w r among
the entitlements of children,
Idren, has favourable potential in simultaneously addressing the
twin problems of child undernourishment and school absenteeism. It has had much
success in states (such as Tamil Nadu) where it has been in use for many years, and it
is beginning to have pc sitive effects where it is just being introduced. Investigations by
the Pradchi Trust team in West Bengal record higher school attendance and a high level
of satisfaction from th j poorer families
o
Central
Globalization and Health
Open Access
Globalization and social determinants of health: Introduction and
methodological background (part I of 3)
Ronald Labonte and Ted Schrecker*
Canada
Email Ronald Labontf - rlabonte@uottawa.ca; Ted Schreckef - uehrecker@rympalico.ca
‘ Corresponding author
Received: 24 July 2006
Accepted. 19 June 2007
Published: 19 June 2007
Globalization and Health 2007. 3:5
doi: 10.1186/1744-8603-3-5
This article is available from: http://www.globalizationandhealth.eom/content/3/l/5
© 2007 Labonte and Schrecker, licensee BioMed Central Ltd
Cw...-^5 Attribution License
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
>y medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproducuon in an)
healthy lives.
Social Determinants of Health and in the Commissions specific concern w,th health equrt
We
health outcomes.
~~
)
)
)
)
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------------
Background: health equity and the social
determinants of health
This article is the first in a series of three that together
describe research strategies to address the relation
between contemporary globalization and the social deter
minants of health (SDH) through an 'equity lens, and
invite dialogue and debate about preliminary findings.
The global commitment to health equity is not new; m
1978 the landmark United Nations conference in AlmaAta declared the goal of heMth for all by theyear 2000 [IJ_
Yet in 2007, despite progress toward that goal, millions o
people die or are disabled each year from causes that are
easily preventable or treatable |2], Recent reviews [3,4] of
------------
research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, commu
nicable diseases that together account for almost six mil
lion deaths per year, identify poverty, gender inequality,
development policy and health sector ’reforms tha
involve user fees and reduced access to care as contribu
tors More than 10 million children under the age of five
die each year, "almost all in low-income countnes or poor
areas of middle-income countries" [5](p. 65; see also (6])
and from causes of death that are rare in the industnabzed
world Undernutrition - an unequivocally economic phe
nomenon, resulting from inadequate access to the
lesources for producing food or the income for Purchas
ing it - is an underlying cause of roughly half these deaths
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5
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to transport all contribute to the social gradient. Further
[6], and lack of access to safe water and sanitation contrib
confusing the issue is the inclusion of stress and addic
utes to 1.5 million |7]. An expanding body of literature
tion, with the former arguably a pathway through which
describes a similarly unequal distribution of many nonSDH affect physiology and the latter a response to characcommunicable diseases and injuries, with incidence and
vulnerability-often_directly-related-tO-poverty,_economic----- teristics of the-SOcial environment. Einally,-some of the
discussion is primarily relevant to high-income countries,
insecurity or economic marginalization |8-15|. Three dec
rather than to the majority of the world’s population.
ades of rapid global market integration have occurred in
Nevertheless, the extent to which items in the WHO
parallel with these trends; these articles address the rela
Europe list are related to an individual’s economic situa
tion between these two patterns.
tion and the way in which a society organizes the provi
sion and distribution of economic resources is
Our work follows a trajectory of inquiry initiated by the
informative.
World Health Organization (WHO). In 2001, the WHO
Commission on Macroeconomics and Health turned
Both for this reason and because of the preceding discus
much conventional wisdom on its head by demonstrating
sion of how global patterns of illness and death are related
that health is not only a benefit of development, but also
to economic factors, we do not distinguish between ’eco
is indispensable to development |16j. Illness all too often
nomic* and 'social' determinants of health. In addition,
leads to “medical poverty traps" [17], creating a vicious
we consider health systems as a SDH, for two reasons.
circle of poor nutrition, forgone education, and still more
Although the entire rationale for a policy focus on SDH is
illness - all of which undermine the economic growth
that health is affected by much more than access to health
that is necessary, although not sufficient, for widespread
care,
access to care is nevertheless crucial in determining
improvements in health status. Like the earlier Alma-Ata
health outcomes and often reflects the same distributions
commitment to health for all, most of the Commission’s
of (dis)advantage that characterize other SDH - a point
recommendations, which it estimated could have saved
made eloquently in the context of developing and transi
millions of lives each year by the end of the current dec
tion
economies oy Paul Farmer [20]. Further, how health
ade, have not been translated into policy. Further, the
care is financed functions as a SDH. As noted earlier lack
Commission did not inquire into how the economic and
of access to publicly funded care can create destructive
geopolitical dynamics of a changing international envi
downward spirals in terms of other SDH when house
ronment (’globalization1) support and undermine health,
holds have to pay large amounts out of pocket for essen
or how these dynamics can be channelled to improve
tial services, lose earnings as a result of illness, or both.
population health.
The importance of this dynamic in a number of Asian
countries is emphasized in recent work by van Doorslaer
In 2005, WHO established the Commission on Social
and colleagues [21].
Determinants of Health (CSDH), on the premise that
action on SDH is the fairest and most effective way to
We start from the premise that the processes comprising
improve health for all people and reduce inequalities.
globalization affect access to SDH by way of multiple
Central to the Commission’s remit is the promotion of
pathways, which we describe in the second article in the
health equity, which is defined in the literature as "the
series. Because of our focus on health equity (or reducing
absence of disparities in health (and in its key social deter
health inequities) and the fact that the effects of globalizaminants) that are systematically associated with social
mi- ^ tioirTnFSDFFinF^lmost-nev^^
ildvantage/disadvantage^[Tg]Xp^25&)^Socral^TOr
’
across populations, our focus in these articles is on how
nants of health, broadly stated, are the conditions in
globalization affects disparities in access to SDH. The
which people live and work that affect their opportunities
’equity lens’ also informs our concentration on what
to lead healthy lives. Good medical care is vital, but unless
might be described as negative effects of globalization: we
the root social causes that undermine people's health are
presume that disparities in access to SDH lead to deterio
addressed, the opportunity for well being will not be
ration in the health status of those adversely affected, and
achieved.
that when the result is to inaease health inequity that
deterioration is unacceptable even if offset by positive
Beyond this general statement; no simple authoritative
impacts (e.g. improved health for the well-off) elsewhere
definition or list of SDH exists. The European Office of
in the economy or the society. Stated another way, we
WHO [ 19] enumerates SDH under topic headings includ
regard as prima facie undesirable changes in access to SDH
ing the social gradient of (dis)advantage, early childhood
that are likely to increase the socioeconomic gradients in
environment, social exclusion, social support work,
health that are observable in all countries, rich and poor
unemployment, food and transport. Although the scope
of this inventory is impressive, it mixes categories: for
alike [22].
example working conditions, unemployment and access
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5
I
I
The outline of this series is as follows. The remainder of
this article identifies and defends a definition of globali
zation and describes key strategic and methodological
issues, emphasizing how and why lire special characteris
tics of globalization as a focus of research on health equity
and SDH demand a distinctive perspective and approach.
The second article describes a number of key ’dusters' of
pathways leading from globalization to equity-relevant
changes in SDH. Building on this identification of path
ways, the third article provides a generic inventory of
potential interventions, based in part on an ongoing pro
gram of research on how policies pursued by the G7/G8
countries affect population health outside their borders
123-29]. It then concludes with a few observations about
the need for fundamental change in the values tlial guide
industrialized countries' policies toward the much larger,
and much poorer, majority of the world’s population liv
ing outside their borders.
)
expand profits and markets), even as it contributes to the
"global production of diet" {38] and resulting rapid
increases in obesity and its health consequences in much
of the developing world.
The definition of globalization we adopt does not ignore
global transmission of ideas and information that are not
commercially produced - but here again, reasons exist to
focus on economic issues and on the interplay of ideas
and interests. Perhaps the most conspicuous illustration
of this point is the embrace of 'free' markets and global
integration as the only appropriate bases for national
macroeconomic policy - a phenomenon that leads us to
examine some of the key drivers of globalization, as dis
tinct from the manifestations of globalization processes
themselves. To provide historical context, Polanyi s [39]
research on the development of markets at the national
level showed that markets are not ‘natural,’ but depend on
the creation and maintenance of a complicated infrastruc
ture of laws and institutions. This insight is even more
Globalization and the global marketplace
salient at the international level: "It is a dangerous delu
Globalization is a term with multiple, contested defini
sion to think of the global economy as some sort of ’nat
tions and meanings [30]. Here we adopt a definition of
ural’ system with a logic of its own: It is, and always has____
___ globalization as “a process of greater integration within
been, the outcome of a complex interplay of economic
the world economy through movements of goods and
and political relations" [40](p. 3-4). The connection
services, capital, technology and (to a lesser extent)
between ideas and economic interests is supplied by the
labour, which lead increasingly to economic decisions
fact that that contemporary globalization has been pro
being influenced by global conditions’ [31](p. 1) - in
moted, facilitated and (sometimes) enforced by political
other words, to the emergence of a global marketplace. This
choices about such matters as trade liberalization, finan
definition does not assume away such phenomena as the
cial (de)regulation; provision of support for domestically
increased speed with which information about new treat
headquartered corporations [42]; and the conditions
ments, technologies and strategies for health promotion
under which development assistance is provided. We
can be diffused, or the opportunities for enhanced politi
regard contemporary globalization as having emerged in
cal participation and social inclusion that are offered by
roughly 1973 with the start of the first oil supply crisis, the
new, potentially widely accessible forms of electronic com
resulting impacts on industrialized economies, and the
munication. However, in contrast to simply descriptive
investment of ’petrodollars’ in high-risk Ioans to develop
accounts of globalization that do not attempt to identify
ing countries that contributed to the early stages of the
connections among superficially unrelated elements or to
developing world's debt crises. However, identifying a
assign causal priority to a specific set of drivers (e gprecise starting point is less important than recognizing
132,331), we adopt the view of Woodward and colleagues
fores-th-atsometimrtii the ^ly1770sthewoTld^conornicynrf
lfiar’_[e]conorhic g
geopolitical environment changed decisively, so that (for
behind the overall process of globalization over the last
instance) by 1975 the Trilateral Commission was warning
two decades" [34](p. 876). This view is supported by evi
of a "Crisis of Democracy" in the industrialized world
dence that many dimensions apd manifestations of glo
[41]. By the mid-1990s, a consortium of social scientists .
balization that are not at first glance economic in nature
convened
to assess the prospects for "sustainable democ
are nevertheless best explained with reference to their con
racy" noted that key Western governments have promoted
nections to the global marketplace and to the interests of
an "intellectual blueprint ... based on a belief about the
particular powerful actors in that marketplace. For exam
virtues
of markets and private ownership " with the conse
ple, the globalization of culture is inseparable from, and
quence that: "For the first time in history, capitalism is
in many instances driven by, the emergence of a network
being adopted as an application of a doctrine, rather than
of transnational mass media corporations that dominate
evolving as a historical process of trial and error"[43](p.
not only distribution but also content provision through
viii).
the allied sports, cultural and consumer product indus
tries [35-37]. Belatedly, global promotion of brands such
The blueprint has been promoted and implemented by
as Coca-Cola and McDonald s is a cultural phenomenon
national governments both individually and through
but also an economic one (driven by the opportunity to
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5
multilateral institutions like the World Bank, the Interna
tional Monetary Fund (IMF) and more recently the World
Trade Organization [43-46]. Within these institutions, the
distribution of power is highly unequal: The G8 nations
(the G7 group of industrialized economies plus Russia)
"account for 48% of the global economy and 49% of glo
bal trade, hold four of the United Nations’ five permanent
Security Council seats, and boast majority shareholder
control over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank" [47]; their influence on World Bank and
IMF policies is magnified because some decisions require
supermajorities [48] (p. 27-8). Networks of academic and
professional elites, often with connections to industrial
ized country governments and institutions like the World
Bank and IMF, have likewise played an important role in
the outward diffusion of market-oriented ideas about pol
icy design, as shown e g. by the work of Babb [49] on aca
demic economists in Mexico, Lee & Goodman [50] on the
World Bank’s role in promoting health sector ’reform’,
and Brooks |51|(p. 54-65) and Mesa-Lago and Muller
[ 52] (p. 709-712) on the Bank's role in promoting priva
tization of public pension systems, especially in Latin
America.___________________ _____________________
http://www.globalizationandhealth.eom/content/3/1/5
protection has created barriers to access to essential med
icines J59],
Some women's health movements, as another example,
have become "transnationalized," partly within, and
shaping the agenda of, the institutional framework pro
vided by the UN system [60]. CSOs have also been impor
tant actors in the admittedly uneven and incomplete
international diffusion of human rights norms in the dec
ades following the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights - norms to which we return in the third article as a
potential challenge to the current organization of the glo
bal marketplace. Thus, although we insist on the primacy
of the economic dimensions of globalization, and on the
economic elements of SDH, our view is not narrowly
deterministic, and allows for the possibility of effective
challenges to the interests that dominate today's global
economic and political order.
Globalization and social determinants of health:
Recent conceptual milestones
To be sure, the diffusion of ideas as an element of globali
zation involves more than just ideas about markets, and
some aspects of the process function as an important
counterbalance. Notably, civil society organizations
(CSOs) in various policy fields have taken advantage of
opportunities for rapid transnational information sharing
opened up by advances in computing and telecommuni
cations - the indispensable technological infrastructure of
globalization, which cannot be understood in isolation
from the needs of its corporate users [53] yet is amenable
to use for quite different purposes. Perhaps the bestknown illustration of the political influence of CSOs as
they relate to health and globalization is their role in chal
lenging the primacy of economic interests as defended by
multilateral institutions. In the 1990s, CSO activity con-
As background to a discussion of research methods and
strategies, it is worthwhile to provide a selective overview
of previous conceptual milestones that have contributed
to understanding the influences on SDH. A 1987 UNICEF
publication on Adjustment with a Human Face [61]
reported early and important findings on how what we
would now call globalization was affecting SDH. The
study involved 10 countries (Botswana, Brazil, Chile,
Ghana, Jamaica, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, Zimbabwe) that had adopted policies of domestic
economic adjustment in response to economic crises that
led them to rely on loans from the IMF L a dynamic that
is described in the second article of the series. In many
cases the policies adopted had resulted in deterioration in
key indicators of child health (e.g. infant mortality, child
survival, malnutrition, educational status) and in access to
SDH (e.g. availability and use of food and social services),
with reductions in government expenditure on basic serv-
eral Agreement on Investment by the French government,
and their subsequent abandonment by the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development [54]; in the
early 2000s, it resulted in an interpretation of the Agree
ment on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property
(TRIPs) that allows health concerns, under some circum-,
stances, to ’trump’ the harmonized patent protection that
was actively promoted by pharmaceutical firms during the
negotiations that led to the establishment of the WTO
[55-58]. However, concerns remain about the practical
effect of this interpretation because of informal pressures
from the pharmaceutical industry and industrialized
country governments and TRIPs-plus’ provisions in bilat
eral trade agreements, and one academic observer is scep
tical ^about the extent to which intellectual property
uated these national cases within an analytical framework
that linked changes in government policies (e.g. expendi
tures on education, food subsidies, health, water, sewage,
housing and child care services) with selected economic
determinants of health at the household level (e.g. food
prices, household income, mothers’ time) and selected
indicators of child welfare f 62 J. Based on that analysis, the
study identified a generic package of policies that would
minimize the negative effects of economic adjustment by
protecting the basic incomes, living standards, health and
nutrition of the poor or otherwise vulnerable [63] — prior
ities that have similarly been stressed in subsequent policy
analyses. However, in the context of globalization an
important limitation is that only the final chapter of the
UNICEF study [64] addressed elements of the intema-
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Globalization and Health: Simplified Pathways and Elements. Source: [66].
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tional policy environment that might facilitate implemen
tation of "adjustment with a human face* in some
countries while obstructing it in others, and the study as a
whole did not directly address the comparative merits of
"compensating for adjustment" |65] in health policies
and programs and rethinking the adjustment process
itself.
^lnwdrlcfbrVv^f07Wobdward^aniH:oIieagu^s[54]xd^sT^
an explanatory model that focused on "five key linkages
from globalization to health," three direct and two indi
rect. Direct effects included impacts on health systems,
health policies, and exposure to certain kinds of hazards
such as infectious disease and tobacco marketing; indirect
effects were those "operating through the national econ
omy on the health sector (e.g. effects of trade liberaliza
tion and financial flows on the availability of resources for
public expenditure on health, and on the cost of inputs);
and on population risks (particularly the effects on nutri
tion and living conditions resulting from impacts on
household income)." Here, again, we see an emphasis on
the economic aspects both of globalization and of SDH.
This model has the advantage of focusing on the range of
policy choices (by both governmental and private actors)
that operate at the supranational level to affect health,
while being limited in its focus primarily on health sys
tems relative to other SDH. A subsequent WHO-sup
ported systematic review examined numerous models of
the relations between globalization and health, generat
ing a diagrammatic synthesis hierarchically organized
around various levels of analysis ranging from the supra
national to the household [66,67] (Figure 1). Key
8
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Figure 2
Globalization and Health: A Framework for Analysis.
Source; Modified from [68] by the authors.
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3.5
strengths of this synthesis are its recognition of the impor
tance of environmental pathways (reflected in the discus
sion of this topic in the second article in the series); its
attention to how globalization influences the context
within which national and subnational govenmments
make and implement policy; and its acknowledgment of
the role of political systems and processes and pre-existing
endowments (natural resources, geographic location, lev
els of education) as mediators of that influence. Con
versely, a limitation is a lack of focus on the specific
pathways that lead to changes in individual and popula
tion health status by way of SDH.
In a conceptual framework developed specifically for ana
lyzing those pathways. Diderichsen and colleagues
[68{(p. 14) identify "four main mechanisms - social strat
ification, differential exposure, differential susceptibility,
and differential consequences - that play a role in gener
ating health inequities." Globalization can affect health
outcomes by way of each of these mechanisms, and the
authors’ reference to the influence on stratification of
"those central engines in society that generate and distrib
ute power, wealth and risks" [68|(p. 16) is especially
■apposite in this context. A variant ofthis model was provisional!/ adopted as an organizing framework in a con
cept paper for the.Commission on Social Determinants of
Health {69], and has been further modified for purposes
of the Globalization Knowledge Network (Figure 2
presents the model in simplified form).
A stylized example shows the model’s relevance. Import
Liberalization may reduce the incomes of some workers in
sectors serving the domestic market, or shift them into the
informal economy, thereby affecting social stratification,
differential exposure (e.g. as workers are exposed to new
hazards) and differential vulnerability (e.g. as income loss
means adequate nutrition or essential health care become
harder to afford, or in the extreme cases in which women
are driven to reliance on “survival sex" {70,71 ]). Increased
vulnerabilitymayalsomagnifytl'iernegativ&consequencesof ill health by reducing the resources available to house
holds to pay for health care or absorb earnings losses,
increasing the chance of falling into "poverty traps’
(hence the feedback loop to social stratification). Import
liberalization may also reduce tariff revenues (and there
fore funds available for public expenditures on income
support or health care) in advance of any offsetting
increases from income and consumption taxes. In coun
tries with high levels of external debt, the need to conserve
funds for repaying external creditors, perhaps by initiating
or increasing user fees for health and education, may cre
http://www.globalizationandhealth.eom/content/3/1/5
groups, such as women working in export processing
zones, who are thereby empowered to escape patriarchal
social stmetures (social stratification) and reduce their
economic vulnerability.
Methodological issues
Despite the sense of simplicity created by diagrammatic
representations, no single such representation will be ade
quate to capture the complexities of globalization and its
influences in more than a limited number of situations.
Globalization comprises multiple, interacting policy
dynamics or processes the effects of which may be difficult
if not impossible to separate. Pathways from globaliza
tion to changes in SDH are not always linear, do not oper
ate in isolation from one another, and may involve
multiple stages and feedback loops. Similarities exist with
the task of analyzing causal links between environmental
change and human health, which ’are complex because
often they are indirect, displaced in space and time, and
dependent on a number of modifying forces," in the
words of WHO’s synthesis of the health implications of
the findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
project J72] (p. 2).
It is therefore necessary to rely on evidence generated by
multiple disciplines, research designs and methodologies
- the approach now widely described as transdisciplinary
[73] - comprising both qualitative and quantitative find
ings. Issues of scale are also relevant: for example, research
that situates data from local-scale survey research in the
context of structural adjustment in Zimbabwe [74,75] and
that identifies globalization-related influences on health
in South Africa [76] demonstrates the need to integrate
work using different units of analysis (e.g. the household,
the region, the national economy) in order to describe rel
evant mechanisms of action in sufficient detail, and to
reflect intra-national disparities (e.g. by region, class and
gender) that are not apparent from national level data
[77-79].
The evidence base for assessing globalization’s effects on
SDH and identifying opportunities for intervention is
therefore different from; and more heterogeneous than,
the body of research that is available with respect to clini
cal and (many) public health interventions. Notably,
qualitative research provides information about differen
tial impacts (e.g. by region, gender, kind of employment)
that are not rev&aled by standard indicators, and about
such matters as the problems created by tire imposition of
user charges and cost recovery in water and sanitation sys
tems [80]. Within the ethnographic literature, Schoepf
ate a further constraint. (The rationale for including
181-84] demonstrates the value of qualitative evidence
health systems as a separate element of the diagram now
becomes apparent.) Conversely, if import liberalization is
matched by improved access to export markets, new
employment opportunities may be created for specific
about the relations between micro-level outcomes and
such macro-level factors as falling commodity prices,
domestic austerity policies that involved cuts in public
sector employment and in subsidized access to health
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5
care, and migration driven by economic desperation. For
further illustrations of the value of qualitative research see
e.g. the World Bank's Voices of the Poor study (85,86); the
report of the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review
International Network [87]; and a summary of studies of
sources of livelihood in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa by
Lund [88].
Policy-relevant linkages between globalization and SDH
are therefore best described, and the strength of evidence
evaluated, by way of syntheses that incorporate several
elements, including (but not limited to): (a) description
of the national and international policy context and its
history; (b) country- or region-specific studies that
describe changes in determinants of health, such as the
level and composition of household income, labour mar
ket changes, access to education and health services; (c)
evidence from clinical and epidemiological studies that
relates to demonstrated or probable changes in health
outcomes arising from those impacts; (d) ethnographic
research, field observations, and other first-hand accounts
of experience ’on the ground'. This choice of elements is
not random; it recognizes the need for study at the various
levels identified in Figure 1, and the need not only to con
nect contextual factors with changes in SDH and their dis
tribution, but also to demonstrate where feasible a
relation between changes in SDH and changes in health
outcomes.
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At the same time, the complexity of the evidence base and
the relevant causal chains means that rarely will it be pos
sible to state conclusions with the degree of conclusive
ness that may be possible in a laboratory situation or even
in many epidemiological study designs, where almost all
variables can be controlled. In the words of social epide
miologist Michael Marmot, who now chairs the CSDH:
“The further upstream we go in our search for causes," and
globalization is the quintessential upstream variable, the
greater the need to rely on "observational evidence and
jud^eWf mTormulOngpoIi?ies to reduce incquctlifies iri
health" [89](p. 308). The choice and defence of a stand
ard of proof - how much evidence is enough - is also
important. As in the context of national public health and
regulatory policy [90,91 ], the decision must be made with
explicit reference to the underlying, potentially competing
values. Excessive concern with avoiding false positive
findings (Type I errors, or the incorrect rejection of the
null hypothesis) can supply, as in other contexts, a credi
ble and convenient rationale for doing noticing. This is the
“tobacco industry standard of proof" [92](pp. 66-67) so demanding that there is always room to claim that evi
dence is less than conclusive. In the environmental policy
context. Page [90] has convincingly demonstrated the
negative heith outcomes that may result when standards
of proof are set without explicit reference to the possible
http://www.globalizationandhealth.eom/content/3/1/5
consequences of being wrong in different kinds of ways.
On this point, it cannot be emphasized too strongly that
the choice of a standard of proof is inescapably valuedriven, and is not always a choice with respect to which
scientific researchers have any special competence.
In a study that illustrates application of the preceding
insights about explanation. De Vogli and Birbeck [93]
identify five multi-step pathways that lead from globaliza
tion to increased vulnerability to HIV infection and its
consequences among women and children in sub-Saha
ran Africa byway of: currency devaluations, privatization,
financial and trade liberalization, implementation of user
charges for health services and implementation of user
charges for education. The first two pathways operate by
way of reducing women's access to basic needs, either
because of rising prices or reduced opportunities for
waged employment. The third operates by way of increas
ing migration to urban areas, which simultaneously may
reduce women's access to basic needs and increase their
exposure to risky consensual sex. The fourth pathway
(health user fees) reduces both women's and youth's
access to HIV-related services, and the fifth (education
user fees) increases vulnerability to risky consensual sex,
commercial sex and sexual abuse by reducing access to
education. The explanatory approach adopted is congru
ent with recent reviews of research on HIV/AIDS, tubercu
losis and malaria [3,4] which concluded that vulnerability
to all three diseases is closely linked; that poverty, gender
inequality, development policy and health sector
'reforms’ that involve user fees and reduced access to care
are important determinants of vulnerability; and that "
[cjomplicated interactions between these factors, many of
which lie outside the health sector, make unravelling of
their individual roles and therefore appropriate targeting
of interventions difficult" [4](p. 268).
A choice must also be made about the time frame of con
cern. In the long run wealthier societies are healthier,
al^elrmth^Tcle variationsln KeaTth status at a givenTevel
of income per capita [94,95]. It can be argued that the
optimal, or at least most realistic, approach to improving
SDH is the one that will maximize economic growth in
the countries or regions of concern, even at the cost of
substantial short-term deteriorations in health status or
increases in health disparities. This argument is implicit in
a widely cited article claiming that "Globalization is good
for your health, mostly," [96] and was stated explicitly by
a team of World Bank economists with respect to the tran
sition economies of the former Soviet bloc [97]. However,
the empirical uncertainties associated with this position
lead Angus Deaton, one of the leading researchers on the
relations between economic growth and health, to warn
flatly that "economic growth, by itself, will not be enough
to improve population health, at least in any acceptable
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Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5
time." 198) The issue of acceptable time raises the ethical
question of how long is too long. As suggested by Deaton,
diffusion of the benefits of economic growth in ways that
lead to widespread improvements in population health is
neither automatic nor rapid: it took more than SOyears in
the industrial cities of nineteenth-century England, for
example [99-101]. Given the frequency with which glo
balization has resulted in deterioration in SDH for sub
stantial segments of national populations, despite
impressive economic growth as measured by national
indicators, this is not just an academic point. We return to
it in the third article in the series.
Black R, Morris S, Bryce J: Where and why are 10 million children
dying every year? Lancet 2003, 361 (93 76):2226-2234.
Road Traffic Injuries and Health Equity (special issue). Injury
Control and Safety Promotion 2003, 10(1 -2):.
Peden M. McGee K. Sharma G: The Injury Chart Book: A graphical over
view of the global burden of injuries Geneva: World Health Organization:
'8.
9.
2002
Krug EG, Dahlberg LL, Mercy IA Zwi AB. Lozano R: World Report on
Violence and Health Geneva: World Health Organization: 2003.
Uauy R, Albala C, Kain J: Obesity trends in Latin America: tran
siting from under- to overweight. J Nutr 2001. 131:893S-899S.
Monteiro C. Conde W, Popkin B: Obesity and inequities in health
in the developing world. International journal of Obesity 2004.
10.
11.
‘
12.
13.
14.
Competing interests
The author(s) declare that they have no competing inter
ests.
15.
16.
Authors' contributions
The authors contributed equally to the conception and
design of the study; acquisition, analysis and interpreta
tion of data; and drafting of the manuscript. Both authors
have read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
A much earlier version of this series of articles was prepared in Spring,
2005, as part of the process of selecting the Knowledge Networks that sup
port the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. The
authors are, respectively, chair and "Hub" coordinator for the Globalization
Knowledge Network. Comments from members of that Network partici
pants in the World Institute for Development Economics Research confer
ence on Advancing Health Equity in September, 2006, and a total of nine
external reviewers have substantially improved this series of articles. Initial
research funding was provided through a contract with the World Health
Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and subse
Health Organization
Whitehead M, Dahlgren G, Evans T: Equity and health sector
reforms: can low-income countries escape the medical pov
erty trap? Lancet 2001, 358(9284):833-836.
18. Braveman P, Gruskin S: Defining equity in health. J Epidemiol Com
munity Health 2003, 57(4):254-258.
19. Wilkinson R, Marmot M. eds; SociaLDs^erminants^f-tleaah^Ihe Solid---------------Facts Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2003.
20. Farmer P: Pathologies of Power. Health, Human Rights and the New War
on the Poor Berkeley: University of California Press; 2003.
21. van Doorslaer E, O’Donnell O, Rannan-Eliya RP, Somanathan A,
Adhikari SR, Garg CC. Harbianto D, Herrin AN, Huq MN, Ibragimova
S: Effect of payments for health care on poverty estimates in
11 countries in Asia: an analysis of household survey data. Lan
cet 2006, 368(9544): 1357-1364.
22. Marmot M Sir. Health in an unequal world. The Lancet 2006,
368(9552):208l-2094.
14.u
Schrecker T. Labonte R: What’s politics got to do with it? Health,
23.
the G8 and the global economy. In Globalisation and Health Edited
by: Kawachi 1. Wamala S. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2007.
24. Labonte R, Schrecker T, Sanders D, Meeus W: Fatal Indifference: The
G8, Africa and Global Health Cape Town: University of Cape Town
Ottawa and the International Affairs Directorate of Health Canada. How
25.
ever, all views expressed are exclusively those of the authors. The articles
26.
are not a policy statement by the Knowledge Network and do not repre
sent a position of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, the
the collection of data or the inten>rgcitfon of res.ults. ■
---------
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• i
17.
quent funding through a contribution agreement between the University of
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What next: con j rumic neuiui avw, t \
__________ —-. -—
— ........
_TSB^trKT^fr^l^TrTh^C^Africo^dr/obarHeaftfirAPIalfbrm'^H. »_
M—--—t--------- tl. - z*o--/TfxKAi
A Pf/rfform fnr
LaDonce is,
i. mpc
----------- - —>
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(
r4
!
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(
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r
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PATHOLOGIES OF POWER
CALIFORNIA SERIES IN PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
The California Series in Public Anthropology emphasizes the anthropologist’s
role as an engaged intellectual. It continues anthropology’s commitment to being
an ethnographic witness, to describing, in human terms, how life is lived beyond
the borders of many readers’ experiences. But it also adds a comrr itment,
through ethnography, to reframing the terms of public debate—transforming re
ceived, accepted understandings of social issues with new insights, new framings.
'
HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE NEW WAR ON THE POOR
with a new preface by the author
SERIES EDITOR: Robert Borofsky (Hawaii Pacific University)
contributing editors: Philippe Bourgois (UC San Francisco), Paul Farmer
(Partners in Health), Rayna Rapp (I<Jew York University), and Nancy SoheperHughes (UC Berkeley)
PAUL FARMER
university of California press editor: Naomi Schneider
WITH A FOREWORD BY AMARTYA SEN
i. Ttvice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death,
by Margaret Lock
z. Birthing the Nation: Strategies of Palestinian Women in Israel,
by Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh (with a foreword by Hanan Ashrawi)
Annihilating
Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide,
3edited by Alexander Laban Hinton (with a foreword by Kenneth Roth)
4- Pathologies of Power-. Health, Human Rights, and the New War on |
the Poor, by Paul Farmer (with a foreword by Amartya Sen)
5- Buddha Is Hiding: Refugees, Citizenship, the New America, by
Aihwa Ong
6. Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society, by Valery Tishkov (with a
'foreword by Mikhail S. Gorbachev)
7. Total Confinement: Madness and Reason in the Maximum Security
Prison, by Lorna A. Rhodes
8. Paradise in Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror,
and Hope, by Bearriz Manz (with a foreword by Aryeh Neier)
9- Laughter Out of Place: Race, Class, Violence, and Sexuality in a
Rio Shantytown, by Donna M. Goldstein
io. Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in
the Twenty-First Century, by Carolyn Nordstrom
n. Why Did They Kill? Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide,
by Alexander Laban Hinton
12. Yanomani: The Fierce Controversy and What We Might Learn from It,
by Robert Borofsky
13- Why America’s Top Pundits Are Wrong: Anthropologists Talk Back,
edited by Catherine Besteman and Hugh Gusrerson
1
!
i
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley ■ Los Angeles ■ London
I
!l
B-
2.11
One Physician’s Persi
I
B-
a
■3 B'RETHINKING i
es ion far more powerful forces who are only too happy to
e the system to the substantial disadvantage of the poor.
he concept of human rights may at times be brandished as
be brandished
_
purpose and “universal” tonic, but it wastimes
'
d SS
developed
to protect
protect the
tl
'vai
ucveioped
to
nerable. The true value of the human 1rights movement’s central do^
ments is revealed only when th<
■ey serve to protect the rights of those!
are most likely to have their rights violated. The proper beneficiaiOl
the Universal Declaration
i
!•
I
^.'■CHAPTER 9
i-
health
and human rights
time for a paradigm snip
.. I
empowered. The true value of the Iavi3
tock statement is
arena of health care. Since the burden of disc;
;ase is borne by the
and otherwise marginalized, we are offered a chance,
template the lot of most of humanity and to ask , once again, to coni'S
simply enough, If by/|||
everybody” we truly mean everybody
t" J"™’".”:'””' .'ht h“w 0/ dgta .1
n;l|i
-
I
II
I
.
1
■ .
.
As the global market economy pulverized traditional1 societies
Lnd-----moralities and drew eyery corner of the planet into a
an
single economic machine, mman rights emerged as the secu
lar creed that the new global middle class needed in order to
justify their domination of the new cosmopolitan order
Kenneth Andlj■rson, formerly of Human Rights Watch
From the perspective of a! preferential option for the poor, the
right to health care, housing, decent work, protection against
hunger, and other economic, social, and cultural necessities
are as important as civil ind political rights or more so.
i Leigh Binford, The El Mozote Massacre
w
■S
'V
Medicine and its allie<:d health sciences have for too long been only peripherally involved in. jv<
^vork on human rights. Fifty years ago, the door
to greater involvementl was opened by Article 25 of ihe
the Universal Declaration of Human Riffits, which unZerlinedsocial and economic rights;
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for tfieTealth
""and well-being of himselfand his family, inchTding food, clothing, hous_______ care
__ Afrnd necessary social services, andthe right to seing, and medical
curity inith
__________
______ _ yment-, sickness, disability, widowhood,
e event of _unemplo
;
t ,l!ii?» T- i • —■------- :—r
1— — h •
7T. I n“I
'old age orother lack pfi livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
* But the intervening decades have seen little progress in the efforts to
secure social and economic rights, even though we can point with some
pride to gains in civil! or political rights. These distinctions are crucial,
as a visit to a Russian prison makes clear.
In the cramped, crammed detention centers where hundreds of thou
sands of Russian detainees await due process, many fall ill with tubercu
prisoners who are diagnosed with tuberculosis are sent
losis. Convicted
<
to one of more than fifty “TB colonies,” several of which I’ve described
in earlier chanters I bring up these colonies a^ain in ord**r to dlustr0^
-■
•
i
214
:|
‘
:]
’
,
’
gg'
^Rethinking Health a,md Human Rights
One Physician’s Persp^l
1
v-B
the difference between civil rights and social and economic rights, b
ine a Siberian prison in which the cells are as cramped as cattle cars,
fetid air thick with tubercle bacilli. Imagine a cel) in which most of ji
prisoners are coughing and all are said to have active tuberculosis. E
the mean age of rhe inmates be less than thirty years. Finally, imagine
many of these young men are receiving ineffective treatment for their
ease-:—which, given drug toxicity, is worse than receiving a placebo—
though they are the beneficiaries of directly observed therapy with f
line antituberculous agents, delivered (however ambivalently) by Etir^
pean humanitarian organizations and their Russian colleagues.
If this seems hard to imagine, it shouldn’t be; I have seen this
tion in several prisons. As this book goes to press, most of these prison^
ers are still
; receiving directly observed doses of medications that cannogSgl
cure them. For many of these prisoners, the therapy is ineffective because?^
the strains of tuberculosis that are epidemic within the prisons are resistant co the drugs being administered. Various observers, including
some from international human rights organizations, aver that these pris
oners have “untreatable forms” of tuberculosis, and few challenge this,
claim, even though treatment based on the standard of care used else
where in Europe and North America can in fact cure the great majority
of such cases? “Untreatable,” in these debates, really means “expensive
to treat.” For this and other reasons, tuberculosis has again become the
leading cause of death among Russian prisoners, even among those re
ceiving treatment. One can find similar situations throughout the fonher
Soviet Union.
Are human rights violated in this dismal scenario? Conventional views
of human rights would lead one to focus on a single violation: prolonged
pre-trial detention. As Chapter 4 noted, those arrested are routinely de
tained for up to a year before making a court appearance. In many doc
umented cases, young detainees have died of prison-acquired tubercu
losis before their cases ever went to trial. Such detention clearly violates
not only Russian law but also several human rights charters to which
the country is signatory. Russian and international human rights activists
have focused on this problem, demanding that all detainees be rapidly
brought to trial. But an impasse is quickly reached when the underfunded
Russian courts wearily respond that they are working as fast as they can.
The Ministry of Justice agrees with the human rights activists and is in
terested in amnesty for prisoners and alternatives to imprisonment. These
measures may prove helpful, but they will not save those who are al
ready sick.
S'
r
f
I
'I
1
■fl
1
/■,
-hat of other, complementary approaches, those invoking the
Oners’ Has agitatil for shorter pre-trial detentton, in the fornT
lf
^dilate to solve the problem of
of p isoners. nas &
0, „„„ ..a
p
'
-
hu,
priso'1
U
1
the law is sufficient to pro:
s that the answers to both these questtons ts
this book presents sugges^ ective of the poor-and most of these prtsonn0 In fact, from the persri _____ --ational human rights approaches
ers are poor-neither legil nor conveni
understand the nature of the problem.
have even begun to ■ tuberculosis in Russian prisons as a quest‘on of
Let us reconsider
han exercise yields a far longer list of vio
cial and economic rights. Such
list of possible interventions First, pre-trial
lations—but also a longer L:‘
detention is illegally prolonged and condl*°nS are deplorable. The di
• The head of the fedtectors of the former gulag do not dispute this point.
Amnesty International, describe
Some of
eral penitentiary system, speaking to
the prisoners as living A^^'^s^mind their critics that the disthe more astute prison
sharp rise in petty crime—
mantling of the Soviet e4>not^
jn the words of One official4—which
“People now have to steal or
,
“economic restructuring,”
has swamped the prison system even
Xs has gutted budgets
planned with the help of Western economic advisers,
gu
ment on the part or |i
effective treatment.
providing truly effect!
assistance commumtyUo providmg
e
med_
Third, the prisoners re denied not onmedical sta£f in
ical care. Again
find them distraught about the funding cuts
these prisons, and you win nn
rniiaDSe of the Russian econh... followed .he
om,. In the wool, of one
I l“'"P;“'hoQgh we eon.pl.lned
omy.
~
itw “'fJX
- -.d 1. d-ew
Now it’s a daily stru;
electricity.”6
dying of ineffectively treated multidrug-resistant
Fourth, prisoners are of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
tuberculosis. Article 27
’
21 6
One Physician’s PerspLr^^MK
S'
.
ns able to lobby for lower prices for these drugs, we were aMet. ' ^-^T7
tional groir
I.
j
Kv more than oo nercenr in
to droj
i
which insists that everyone has a right “to share in scientific advanc^^8
ment and its benefits,” leads us to raise questions of why representativ^^S
of wealthy donor nations—relief workers—are giving prisoners drugs
which their infecting tuberculosis strains have documented resistanccffijja|
Thus the rights of prisoners are violated by the logic of cost-effectivenes^^g
which argues that the appropriate drugs are too expensive for use in “th§||g
developing world” to which post-perestroika Russia has been dem
All the prison rights activism in the world will come to naught if pt
Pt soa^^g
ers are guaranteed the right to treatment but given the wrong prescrip-Xw
tions. All the penal reform in the world will come to naught if prisoneriJW
• "W
with tuberculosis are granted amnesty only to find the civilian TB se‘L’•vice-tO
victO
../.-a®
demolished in the name of “health care reform.” In short, conventional-^
legal and human rights views on recrudescent tuberculosis in Russian;, S
prisons fail to recognize the true dimensions of the problem.
.'1
QUESTIONING "IMMODEST CLAIMS OF CAUSALITY"
This picture is further complicated by the competing explanations offered
by various actors on the scene. Some international health experts insist
that the heart of the problem lies with Russian physicians, who have failed
to adopt modern approaches to tuberculosis control.7 Others, basing ijheir
arguments on technical considerations or issues of cost-effectiveness,
argue that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) is untreatable in
such settings. Experts from the international public health community
have argued that it is not necessary to treat MDRTB—the “untreatable
form” in question—-in this region, contending that all patients should be
treated with identical doses of the same drugs and that MDRTB will
somehow disappear if such strategies are adopted.8 Other experts, Ijoth
Russian and international, claim that the fault for poor treatment out
comes lies with the prisoners, who are said to refuse treatment.9
How many of these claims are true? First, it seems absurd to lay the
blame for a burgeoning tuberculosis epidemic on Russia’s hapless tuber
culosis specialists, given that economic restructuring (and not ill-advised
clinical management strategies) has brought the nation’s public health in
frastructure to its knees. Second, cost-efficacy arguments against treating
drug-resistant tuberculosis almost always fail to note that most of rhe
drugs necessary for such treatment have been off-patent for years. As to
assertions that MDRTB is untreatable, they are simply not true. Partners
In Health has done work in Peru and Haiti showing that MDRTB can be
cured in resource-poor settings.10 By constituting a coalition of interna-
^thinking Health and Human Rights
s
-I
5
L, and thence on to the.public hosr can
ims mau iuw'-vji, - ----------------‘ P Lnate the problem
:m Xe
ate thus dangerously incorrect.12
C There is reason
15On to
to sipect
sXpect. that
that the
the other
other assertion,
assertion, that
that prisoners
P^0"^s
false. How mto-ht
might this claim be assessed. One op. ■ •is also
i__ Ju-.
fuse treatment,■’to ask rje concerned parties. During vlSits to Siberia,
tion would be to — ■d prisoners with tuberculosis, “How many of you want
have often asked prisor
. trcatcuI ’ All haJs go up. “Why, then, isit so widely rumore.that
to be treated?” i
refuse treatment?^ “Hearsay,” according to some. Just not true
you 1----jL we want treatment that will cure us. In prison
another will remark, “t
Jne story. That conventional therapy was failing
after prison, it’s the sa
Ivious to the prisoners as it was to the
to cure them was as ol
1 '
technologists who, dicing
eacl:h month of treatment, documented the
of tubercle bdLilii in the prisoners’ sputum.
presence
* •
’ * a matter as compliClearly, the veracid1 of competing claims
about
as enidemic MH^RTB cannot be assessed by a show of hands.
MDRTB in Russian prisons is an example of a compiex.human ng ts
\e application of epidemiology, subspecialty clin
problem that requires i
tical sociology of knowledge. Social science can
teal medicine, and a c
hardly honorable) p'oHelief work-that is, a critical look at how hupolitical economy c
: conducted in the global, inegahtarian era.
manitarian work is i
But what, more specifically, does a focus on health bring to the strug.
ale for human rights? this book has argued that a narrow legal approach
fo health and human rights can obscure the natuiyof V1°la"°X;cutypnfeeblina our best responses to them. Castmg prison-based tubercu o
sis epidemics in ternJof social and economic rights offers an entree for
nubfic health and meline, an important step in the process that could
halt these epidemics. Inversely, failure to consider social and economic
;onve:
ivvi
r_______
)ns
socia^ sc*ences
rights can prevent thC allied health professio:
comribution to the struggle for human rights.
from making their ful est c..1
................
1 acOne of the central] points of this book is that public
health
at
least
as
cess to medical care le social and economic rights; they are
•I
•I
218
r
fe-
critical as civil rights. An irony of this global era is that while pufc^g
health has increasingly sacrificed equity for efficiency, the poor hav<! b|g|
come well-informed enough to reject separate standards of care. In o^|
01
professional journals, these subaltern voices have been well-nigh bld3g
It is we who are sick; it is therefore we who take the responsibility to de-X^
clare our suffering, our misery, and our pain, as well as our hope. We h:<
__
'■aw
many poignant statements about our circumstances, but feel compelled to
say something clearer and more resounding than what we’ve heard from
others.
[We] are fortunate to have access to medications and health care evei
though we do not have money to buy them. Many of our health problems
have been resolved with [antiretroviral] medications. Given how dire our
situation was prior to treatment, we have benefited greatly. But while ws
feel fortunate to have access to these services, we feel great sadness for
others who don’t receive the same treatment we do.
And in addition to our health problems, we have other tribulations.
Although less preoccupied with our illness, we still have problems paying
for housing. We have trouble finding employment. We remain concerned
about sending our children to school. Each day we face the distressing
reality that we cannot find the means to support them. Not being able to
feed our children is the greatest challenge faced by mothers and fathers
across the country of Haiti. We have learned that such calamities also occur
in other countries. As we reflect on all these tragedies we must ask: is every
human being.not a person?
Yes, all human beings are people. It is we, the afflicted, who speak new.
We have come together...to discuss rhe great difficulties facing the sick.
We’ve also brought some ideas of our own in our knapsacks; we would like
to share them with you, the authorities, in the hope that you might do ,
something to help resolve the health problems of the poor.
When we the sick, living with AIDS, speak to the subject of “health and
human rights,” we are aware of two rights that ought to be indivisible a id
inalienable. Those who are sick should have the right to health care. We
who are already infected believe in prevention too. But prevention will not
save those who are already ill. All people need treatment when we are sick,
but for the poor there are no clinics, no doctors, no nurses, no health caie.
k
1
rkA mpdllcations now available are too expensive. ForHIW^^g^iS
Furthermore
d£
ncwspapers th t treatment costs W*
[reatrnent, for example, wcountries]. Although that is what !s
H‘”' ”
rnore than twice that mdth
SIXS -
ted out. But we heard snatches of their rebuke recently with regard4'^
access to antiretroviral therapy for HIV disease. For over a deca<
those living with both poverty and HIV (they are tens of millions str Jnggi
even if they have no acronym) have been demanding access to effeitiv®
therapy. In the past several years, these demands have become incieas^S
•
1
•C
T
■
I ■
•
_
' .L T TTT 7
_ J _
!
•'■J.W
ingly
ofe rural1 THaitians
living
with
HIV made
clear-L^
ingly specific,
specihc, as
as aa group
1
in a declaration made public in August 2001. The patients trace:
traced
links between the right to treatment and other social and econtamic
rights:
Health and Hunian
.n Rights
F
st
One Physician’s Perspi
•i
Everyone has a right to live. If we
would
-
not be in this predicament today.^.
f(jr aU those able to
" '“■'I ‘ T.“S.is ta
U"1'feb™8-
*
I
Whether or not we conjinue
rights a real-
’^°r'
nventy-first century.
creasingly clear on one point, mak g
gig
w
'‘0
dignity are not to be -^pted mereiy b«aus^ \
geology or longstandirig tradition. But ant
4*11
1
^oiosici .»a
1
ses oi _
rights tends to obscure
textualizing disciplines
1
- J
1
■
in common wlth
P _*Jllows us to place in
*.
<-i »*“
broader contexts both hum:
:e. Furthermore, these disciphnes
US “
responses) they generate,
nd our understanumg of
V1O^1°Jew of human
ground our understanc ing
«=SEssssk
equalities u<*»cw v***—t
all—social class are title motor force
i”divi'tad’ “
«oi
y
”S^TdlXi-- - “T ''T“
„gta,T™»U
> »< * toA 1 fc" dn’l
lick in settings such as Haiti and Chiapas
perience serv.ng the destitute sicK ir‘ Jaiiy concern (even if
and Russia, where huLan rights vioiaviuuo
vt
(
—-------- - human rights issue). I cite this
.,ral ™i». >. 1«
experience not to mafce ov
”,h
around a theoretical discussion in
«" 1‘""h “d“
K*
zzo
One Physician’s Persi
p?
R-, -
of these Situations calls for us not only to recognize the relationsh
x rrral ?jence and human rights -‘-i-Sxt
£<• ■
p etnent what we have termed pragmatic solidarity: the rapid de^
ment of our tools and resources to improve the health and well-being
|
those who suffer this violence.
8
£
Rather than examining in detail the covenants and coi
'•■Kg
nventions that^
of ZtUh
key d°CUments of the human rights movement, thelgoak'W
of th s chapter are to raise, and to answer, some questions relevlm/ W
health and human rights; to explore the promise of pragmat.c solid
3
as a response to structural violence; and to identify promising dire£o W
for future work in this field. These, I believe, areihe most iZ^Wi
-
to.
sues raised by the preceding chapters, and the conclusions that
'
are the most .mportant challenges before those who concern themL
With health and human rights.
'nemselves
How Par Has the Human Rights Movement Come^
The field of health and human rights, i
most would
agree, is in its
infancy,
SomXing M define 3 neW fie,d 1S n’ecessaril
y a treacherous
enterprise'
’cessarilv a treachArr»iie
Sometimes we appear to step on the toes f '
P
of those who have long been
at work when we mean instead to stand on
their shoulders. Human lights
law, which focuses on <'
. ..J political rights, is much older than hi___
civil and
—„ .luinian
rights
medicine.
bv
length
k.-ki-And if
" vigor is assessed in the typical academic stlde-=Zm I^^f_blblilography-human rights law is also the more
field. That legal documents and scholarship Tmi/ate th/human
i rights
literature is not surprising, note Henry Steiner ar 1
"
nd Philip Alston, given
cha' the h”/ian r‘ghtS m°Vement has “struggled
to assume so lawuke a
w
w
Rethinking Health and Human Rights
Although few could) argue against Neier’s dour assessment^
few years have been marked by a certain amount of human rights
umphalism. The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration has
to many celebrations bfut to few careful assessments of current realities;/
For some, including many in the liberation theology movement, human
rights discourse is at times so divorced from reality that an “alternative
language” is necessary'jif we are to speak of the “rights of the poor,” as
Gustavo Gutierrez puts it. The basic problem, in his view, is that “liberal
doctrines” about human rights presuppose “that our society enjoys an
equality that in fact does not exist.”20 Jon Sobrino agrees that this lack
of connection to reality is one of the reasons that liberal human rights dis
courses are sometimes^egarded with suspicion by advocates of the poor:
A major characterization of our era is the formulation and doctrine of
human rights. And itltts of no small merit for our age to have succeeded in
conceptualizing and universalizing such rights—-to have come to be able to
speak of the right to life, to liberty, to dignity, and to so many other bless
ings accompanying these. But this accomplishment does not yet bring us
down to basics. Realty is, after all, antecedent to doctrine, and to the
philosophical or theological founding of doctrine. The concrete is
antecedent to the universal.21
■■||
I
1
But even in legal terms, the international human righ
ts movement is
essentially a modern phenomenon, beginning,
some
argue,
with the
Nuremberg trials.17 It is this
movement that has led, most roc
— to
recently,
the creation of international
tribunals to judge war crimes in the Balt
and in Rwanda.18 ;fcT6.6 7 yearS after tbe Universal Declarati^kans
'n of
Human Rights, and fifty ye,
j A i. ~
J 2’ars a^er
four Geneva Conventions
vhat
tom
emberg to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel fobman or Degrading Treatment or P^hulcn. •
Iph
Punishment, he concluded, “NaJions
have honored these obligations largely in rhe
_ ,
--breach.”15
r
1
Even those within the legal community acknowledge that it would be
difficult to correlate a steep rise in the publication of human rights doc
uments with a statistically significant drop in the number of human rights
abuses. Rosalyn Higgins says pointedly:
No one doubts thatljthere exists a norm prohibiting torture. No state denies
the existence of such a norm; and, indeed, it is widely recognized as a cus
tomary rule of international law by national courts. But it is equally clear
from, for example, the reports of Amnesty International, that the great
majority of states systematically engage in torture. If one takes the view
that noncompliancd is relevant to the retention of normative quality, are we
to conclude that the re is not really any prohibition of torture under cus
ternary international law?22
Whether these lawsj are binding or largely hortatory constitutes a sub
stantial debate in thd legal literature, but such debates seem academic in
the face of overwhelming evidence of persistent abuses.
When we expand the concept of rights to include social and economic
rights, the gap betw jen ideal and reality is even wider. Local and global
inequalities mean that the fruits of medical and scientific advances are
stockpiled for some and denied to others. The dimensions of this inequality
T
I
f
•
Z
•
•
•««
•<«
a
®
'^9
12.2.
One Physician’s Persi
'S F
K
are staggering, and the trends are L_.
bad. To cite just a few
1995, the total wealth of the top 3 58 global billionaires”example
equaled
“
combined income of the world’s
2.3 billion poorest people.23 In
Michael Jordan earned from Nike th,
- —
- ».ie equivalent of 60,000 years’
for an Indonesian footwear assembly worker. Haitian
fact,
----- .^^jory woriter^^n
most of them women, make z8 cents per hour sewing Pocahontas!,
mas, whilc_ Olney’s (J.5.-based chief executive officer makes $97,0!'
K
'
|
1^9
each hour he toils.24
y z’ °r
Although the pathogenic effects of such inequality per se areL
L
many 8°,Vernments’ includin8 that of the United Stated
IL
Httle
httle to redress inequahties in health, while others are largely powiess£
are m
largely powdrl
to address such inequity.^ The reasons for failure are
’ * Css3
'
r
are
many
and
vaHed^
but even optimists allow that human rights charters and
- —.J c
—•
covenantshave
not brought an end to—and
may nor even have slowed—egreiuus,abuses, however they are i*defined. States large and small—but espediallv >
f.
--y
large ones, since their reach is transnationalt—violate civil, economic and
social rights; and inequahty boih’prom^Tnd e.vc, tneSe vio.
I covers these violat OHS. «
here are, of course, exceptions; victories have been declared ]
------------ Bu..not
many of them are? 1very
— encouraging
on close scrutiny. Haiti, the cji!
know best, offers a humbling example. In that co’un!y,\h7stmgg!ise I
—00-ifor
’______ 1 j___ 1a
.
social and economic• rights—. 4.food,
medical vaiG,
care, CUU
education, housini de. .
cent jobs
j ' —has
'
’been dealt crippling blows. Such bai
g blows. Such basic entitlement^ the
1 in
«
.
centerpiece of the popular
movement that
4,
------------- • ’•***v*4L UI4CXI. Ill ll
1990 brought the country’s
hrst democratically elected president to power,' i
’
ah av_r i_
,
t
r
-j were
-- buried under
uouvi a.
alanche of
human irights
violations after the military coup of 1991.
. And
although human rights
--------•"k- grc
~oups
were among those credited with hewing
a
to restore constitutional rule in Haiti, this
u J was accomplished, to a large
extent, by sacrificing the *struggle
‘ for
' social and economic rights.27 In re
cent years, it has sometimes seemed as if the i----•
movement to ’bring
toj just'ceth0^ responsible for the murder and mayhem that- have
made
—•—
liiaiti
such a difficult place to live has simply run out of steam. Despite J few
notable exceptions—such as the sentencing of military officials rest
responsible for the 1994 civilian massacre at Raboteau-both the legal ani
^econom.c campaigns are slowed almost to a standstill^^Alt’hlgh
cmeconormc campaigns are slowed almost to a <
_
. „„
.
f.
.
7
3
are
advanced
to
explain
how
this
strugglj
st
73nt
°neS 3re adVanCed t0 exP‘ain
strugglJ hhas
been stymied,
styrmed, it
tt is important to underscore rhe
the ongoing sabotage cl
bT -the
i
most powerful Most of the most
as noted
in Chapter
are
most powerful,
powerful, as
noted in
Chapter
not to be found within the borders of Haiti.
Or take Argentina, a ffar less
‘____
dependent and immiserated countX by
all accounts. The gruesome details of th
------- ..ie dirty war” are familUr to
j
f
1
I
I
— -k_
Rethinking Health and H,uman Rights
what Neier has chillingly termed “a better mousetrap
many.r.29 Seeking
•
»» . I
.1
•
• > •.
.1
ci I •
.
of repression,” the Argentine military government beg;;an disappearing’*
(as Latin Americans said
aid in the special syntax crafted for the occasion)
oeople
people itit identified
identified as
as leftists?
leftists?00 Many
Many people
people know,
know, now,
now, about
about the
the death
death
flights that took place every Wednesday for two years. Thousands of citizens the government
it (deemed
aeemed subversive, many of them students and
most of them having bjarely survived torture, were flown from a military
installation out over the Atlantic, stripped, and shoved out of the plane.
A better mousetrap, indeed.
What happened next in Argentina is well documented, although it is
a classic instance of the half-empty, half-full glass. Those who say the
glass is half-full note (that an elected civilian government subsequently
tried and convicted high-ranking military figures, including the generals
who shared, in the faihion of runners in a relay, the presidential office.
Those who say the glass is half-empty note that the prompt pardoning
and release of the criiyinals meant that, once again, no one has been held
accountable for thousands of murders.31 Similar stories abound in
Guatemala, El Salvador, the state of Chiapas in Mexico, and elsewhere
in Latin America, as II have tried to show in these pages.32 •
These painful experiences are, of course, no reason to declare legal
proceedings ineffective. On the contrary, they remind us that some of
what was previously hidden away is now out in the open. Disclosure is
often the first step injthe struggle against impunity, and human rights or
ganizations—almos Jail of them nongovernmental—have at times forced
unwilling governments to acknowledge what really happened. These ef
forts should serve as a rallying cry for those who now look to constitute
international crimirial tribunals.
Still, the results to date suggest that we would be unwise to place all
our hopes on an approach that emphasizes legal battles. Complemen
tary strategies and new openings are critically needed. The health and
human rights “angle” can provide new opportunities and new strategies
at the same time that it lends strength and purpose to a movement sorely
in need of buttressing. Pragmatic solidarity with those who seem to have
suffered human rights abuses—or with those most likely to suffer—is
one such strategy, 3s discussed later in this chapter.
Can One Merely S itdy Human Rights Abuses?
A few years ago, the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and his colleagues
pulled together a compendium of testimonies from those the French term
' 1
11*
T—.
— —-
--------
l
224
One Physician’s Ptrspecti^
Rethinking Health and Jluman Rights
jI
“the excluded ” in order to bring into relief la, '
'
^eredumonde. Bou^ie^
crash course.35 It is possible, usually, to drown out the voices
l'°f scholarship in address,
scrutiny the mechanisms which render life!
demanding that we stop studying them, even when
<*
’
they
go to greMSO
-„iscientists
--------- ------------lengths to make sure we get the message. But social
with, more,
acute hearing have documented a rich trove of graffiti, Songs, demonstrations, tracts, and [broadsides on the subject. A hit record album in
Haiti called International Organizations has a title cut that includes the
^x:aii2ethet";tobringto,i^kl
«n.
15 Precisely such humility th at i/l
needed and rarely exhibited, inn academic
academic commentary on human rights. '1
IS lack of humility is even more
"Xi"?11®17 absent witWn officialdom, J
following lines: “International organizations are not on our side. They’re
there to help the thieves rob and devour.... International health stays on
the sidelines of our struggle.”36
In the context of longstanding international support for sundry Haitian
lack oi hu-
>ervade the
tied closely to power:
ac-
ever more frequently bur
HSSEBEsS -
mpenalisni just as ruthless and just as sdUece' "X ‘’nBl,a8e of a
Of /yesteryear.
...
self-deceived as the colonial hubris
—J va;, . , ,
From being the insurgi
L _ -
-
1
multilateral lending institution:
institution^ L into
the WoX/
the policy framework °
off States
mulnlateraljendmg
nons itself. The foreign noliev rh,^
r “ B k’ and the United NJrepeats the
mantra tha"
onahX
WeSKrn liberal
liberal sta
«s now
states
repeats
the mantra
that na
national
"merest: m°St Western
be balanced by du.
“
‘-'"“db*’ d“'
addinonai nem m the^hcy pS^f’smtes
1rm3n
.J
0
juuu -u
rights values put interests in
1 taken seriously, humJn
It
a nation’s defense industry, fOj -- 1 as sustaining a lafge
1
I
«_
Turkey forX I 1 Is O D •• a *|«. .'—
the
tJnited
St*'«:ample. It becomes inci- *'
------------- vzwC&LUC
to condemn Indonesia or
rights performance while
or rv1 * “"£=d
--ng their
“le repression of civilian
1
-- ...i .<
comes a contradiction in terms.34
“dX” ‘T h:
difficult merely to study human
that
rights
d... n
ete are being abused at
than endure, these abuses is a reminder that
roiun.
*.
Ye. i is
- certainty
we can study, rather
I'"”'"'’ “ “ m-
Ivory-tower engagement with heakh and^ 355311 “ °n d‘gnltyto seminar-room warriors Ar w„
r'ghts can red^J
that our critics in many parts of the w iTk
Anthropologists have long been famX
•**>
Ii
us
reVCa,ed as tile hypocrites
tO L'aI11us.
(Sts
aa
I
dictatorships, one could readily see the gripe with international organiza
tions in general. But international health? The international community’s
extraordinary largesse to the Duvalier regime has certainly been well
documented.37 Subsequent patterns of giving, addressed as they were to the
various Duvalierist military juntas, did nothing to improve the reputation
of U.S. foreign aid orjthe international organizations; such “aid” helped to
arm murderous bands and line the pockets of their leaders. Haitians saw
international health I “aid” either as originating from within institutions
such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or as part
of the same bureaucijacy that shored up dictators. Now that there is at long
last a democratically elected government, however; the U.S. government
has decided to pass its aid (and influence) through nongovernmental chan
nels. The Bush administration has exercised its authority to veto already
approved aid loans from the Inter-American Development Bank. Although
few outside Haiti seltm to be paying attention—notably, human rights or
ganizations have had nothing to say about the hypocrisy and disregard for
rights apparent in such decisions—there is widespread awareness within
Haiti of what it me^ns to be so generous to dictators and military'juntos
and to subsequently block a series of loans for clean water, education, and
health care. Such criltiques are not specific to Haiti, although Haitians have
pronounced them With exceptional frankness and richness of detail. Their
accusations have be«n echoed and amplified throughout what some are be
ginning to call the global geoculture.38 A full decade before the recent de
bates over AIDS research in poor countries, it was possible to collect a
bookful of such commentary.39
It is in this coniext of globalization, growing inequality, and perva
sive transnational media influence (which both exposes and exacerbates
such inequality) that the new field of health and human rights emerges.
Context is particularly salient when we think about social and economic
rights, as Steiner and Alston point out: “An examination of the concept
ll
iz6
One Physician’s Pers]
of the right to development and its implications in the 1990s dann^fi
avoid consideration of the effects of the globalization of the ecdnomg|
eccnom^
•
and the consequences of the near-universal embrace of the niarkd||l
:s ourg
economy.”40 This context defines our research agenda and direc
direct
ou«
praxis. We are leaving behind the terra firma of double-blinded, pls cebosf
x
... "J—w '-3
t
controlled studies, of cost-effectiveness, and of sustainability. Indeed/^
many of these concepts end up looking more like strategies for manag.-:^
ing, rather than challenging, inequality.
^What,
First World university, |of re- _
V
, then, should be the role of the
‘
searchers
care rprofessionals?
should be the role of stu- J^
□v-xvxavao and
..... ..........health
.............................
------------------------------- What
----------------------dents and others lucky enough to be among the “winners” in the global
era? We can agree,
perhaps, that these centers are fine places
from
which
|
.
.
,
1
conduct research, to document, and to teach. A university dots not
have the same entanglements or constraints as an international institu
such as Amnesty Intion such as the United Nations or an organization
(
ternational or Physicians for Human Rights. Universities could, in the
•‘Swi
ory, provide a unique and privileged space for conducting research and
-J®
engaging in critical assessment.
In human rights work, however, research and critical assessment are
insufficient. No more adequate, for all their virtues, are denunciation
and exhortation, whether in the form of press conferences or reports or
harangues directed at students. To confront, as an observer, onj(going
abuses of human rights is to be faced with a moral dilemma: does lone’s
action help the sufferers or does it not? As Chapter 8 argued, the in
creasingly baroque codes of research ethics generated by institutional re
view boards will not help us out of this dilemma, nor will medical eihics,
so often restricted to the quandary ethics of the individual. But certain
models of engagement are relevant. If the university-based human nights
worker is in a peculiar position, it is not entirely unlike that of the cli
nician researcher. Both study suffering; both are bound to relieve it neither is in possession of a tried-and-true remedy. Both the human r ights
specialist and the clinician researcher have blind spots, too.
To push the analogy further, one could argue that both lines of work
carry obligations regarding the standard of care. What if we are in pos
session of tried-and-true remedies? Returning again to the treatment of
AIDS and drug-resistant tuberculosis, we already have a great dehl of
knowledge regarding how best to manage both diseases. Once a reasonably effective intervention has been identified, it—and nbt: a
placebo—is considered the standard against which‘1 a new remedy must
be tested. In the global era, is it wise to set, as policy goals, double dtan-
■LT-J
Rights
Rethinking Health an<xl ii-Iuman
Bl
. nch
L »ilzi
and the
dards for the
Id^and
the DOOt
po world, when we know thatthe»^.'
3re not different wojld but n ac
I
9
II
4
“d
pushing for relaxedjethtcal pratth<.oiogy. This voice does not
Ponce again hear the otce from1
call for equally goojl treatmen of the p
preferenUal
,
treatment for the
movement was once headed in
one would swear thjat the human ttgh
vuinerable, over
same direction: Uting tc, proe t he n h.cT
and above the rights of the P°^>”
enK Vnse. Many factors
standards for the v rims 5 op he authors of the Universal
might limit feasibility, but that didn t_stop
■
srxri?- - £
ih;-4 •s»s»“ b»
'* : argued throughout this book,
the afflicted is one obvious form of in' ■ ■ social and economic rights
FoTheilth
and
human
But the spirit in which
from the campai^ for health and human rights.
rig
of equality and justice mi -- r—” - The Duvalier dictatorship was
Which began in
of
al fi n
then in power, seemingly immovable. hs
isa s».. -
aid WaS the k-----.
.
inrai
many of them osjnsibly chantab
that if Haiti
i was unUSAID at the
.
^i-rsi
tbe time
ti4 had often e p
The World
developed, on^ could find the causes
leveiopeu, viiH
-M
Fund seem(:d to be part of the same
and —--aid
Banlk
lx. fc*A***
l|
, | organizations that Haitians associated, ac
giant blur of international aid org:
curately enough, With U’S ..^^transnational institutions was at its
Popular
tl, and that 1S why
ipular cynicism
cynicisi regarding t
peak when
my
colleagues
and
S
o
it
^
baS
ed organizations and
when mV coll
we chose to worlj: thro
"•for a (
ddp““"d
“4
E./
■
zz8
Rethinking Health and Human Rights
One Physician’s Perspcct&|a!
a hydroelectric dam. Although we conducted research and published
research did not figure on the wish list of the people we were trying
serve. Services were what they asked for, and as people who had been
displaced by political and economic violence, they regarded these
vices as a rightful remedy for what they had suffered. In other wcird^ ’l
the Haitian poor themselves believed that social and economic rights
were central to the struggle for human rights. As the struggle agains'i the
dictatorship gathered strength in the mid-1980s, the language was
plicitly couched in broad human rights terms. Pa gen tape nan tet 4 i pa •
gen lape nan vant (there can be no peace of mind if there is no peacfe in
the belly). Health and education figured high on the list of demancs as .
the Haitian popular movement began to swell.
The same has been true of the struggle in Chiapas. The Zapatisti rebellion was launched on the day the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, and the initial statement of the rebellion’s leaders put
their demands in terms of social and economic rights:
refuse to use governmei
, In some f autonomous zones,” the Mexican army has enthe same story------’ and 'destroyed local health records and what meager
tered
villages ai
teT these
TmXnX
had been developed.^ To quote one health
ir‘depen
Jnt uses health services against us. They perse-
be.,,
At best, [Mexican] G(j
Government counterinsurgency
to
themselves components of r®?re^1
and to penalize and demoralize 11
I
“
DUlated to reward supporters
’
In eithCr case, Government
■ acory exacerbate political divisions,
■
'll
-■3
■•W
ose of us fortunate enough to have ties to umIt’s not acceptable fpr
th<
:source-rich
” institutions to throw up our hands
versities and other
i1
/
rt-
complexity. Underlying this complexity.
'
ian rights, as the
be primarily to the pp<
tms cuHuiun**'-*** —» j
«
In settings such as these, we are afforded a rare clarity about choices
that are in fact choices for all of us, everywhere. There’s little doubt that
discernment is a daily struggle. We must decide how health profession
als (from providers to researchers) might best make common cause with
the destitute sick, whose rights are violated daily. Helping governments
shore up failing public health systems may or may not be wise. Prag
matic solidarity on behalf of Russian prisoners with tuberculosis, for exa.mple, includes working with their jailers. But sometimes we are warned
against consorting with governments. In Haiti in the 1980s, it made all
the difference that we formed our own nongovernmental organization
far from the reach of the governments of both Haiti and the Uni:ed
States. In 1991, after Haiti’s first-ever democratic elections brought to
power the leader of the country’s popular movement, we immediately
began to work with the Ministry of Health. But seven months late/, a
military coup brought an abrupt end to that collaboration, a divorce that
was to last for three long years. In Chiap;ias, the situation was even more
■
worker: “The govern^
f think we are on the side of the rebels.” Our own mvesucute us if theybeen
thinkamp
we y confirmed by others, mcludmg Phystctans for
gations have 1----.
Human Rights:
ex’ 1111
We have been denied rhe most elemental education so that others can use
us as cannon fodder and pillage the wealth of our country. They don’t care
that we have nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a roof over our heads,
no land, no work, no health care, no food, and no education. Nor;are we
able freely and democratically to elect our political representatives,, nor
-- ts
there independence from foreigners, nor is there peace or justice for our- ...
selves and our children.42
■
'<
T T
•
-J
“^1
X
•>« If
called to work with governments.
Th.3Tb..tP in
loyalties to
interlocutor: this
[ or local church) permits us more flexibility n
a university (or hospital
[L a gift that we should not squander by mindlessly
&
__ -I zvrnoni7annns.
mimicking the choL
II
Close al
sible to merely stud^
is bringing td light the real story.
darity is
, in Human Rights Work, between Analysis
What Is the Difference.,
I
and Strategy^
'
think both theoretically and instrumentally, we
If we accept thedifference,
net d to thiin human rights work, between analysis and
find there is a
230
One Physician’s Pers]
I
K' Rethinking Health and Hhman Rights
strategy. Failure to recognize this difference has often hobbled inters
tions designed to prevent or allay human rights violations. In this ajre]
analysis means bringing out the truth, no matter how clumsy or
rassing or inexpedient. It means documenting, as Neier recently
“Who did what to whom, and when?”45 Strategy asks a different quei^K
nality as an epidemiologist or as a social scientist one
equality as
p
restoring the history and political
corn the context
T
g Thcrc is considerable overlap betwea»\$M^
of these precarto
|
Qr othe ; abused,
r-
I
am So likely to | in the AIDS risk group composed of the poor
and the defenseJesSa L should be declared universal, but the risk of
Human rights can ata
„n:versal Moreover, not every offense
tion:’What is to be done?
What is to be done? It’s the oldest question around. Sometimes
posed in a way calculated to discourage discussion, the subtext l’e’ngV||R
that misery and unfairness are so ubiquitous
biquitous that only hopeless r0
ro'na
naa*^
^^™
tics would discern opportunities for effective intervention. But even norA||||
often the question is asked by people of good will. I know, for example,
that students often seek opportunities to play a part in diminishing struc* -^®
tural violence or its symptoms. Too often, their contributions are diluted
when they become ensnarled in institutions—-foundations, aid ager .cies, /^
government-affiliated groups, universities, political parties, even orga- g
nized labor—that pur sharp limits on activism.
— On
2.. the
1'— other side/of
. 7 7 the
ledger
are
the
purists,
who
recognize
the
fundamentally
conservative
na1---- O---------X.
w
j.
ture of such institutions and see themselves as too good, really, to rub
■U
shoulders with those who are engaged in providing services.
How can we build an agenda for action that moves beyond good
nalysis? If solidarity is among the most noble of human sentiments, dien _|||||
surely its more tangible forms are better still. Adding the materia|l di
'.I
mension to the equation—pragmatic solidarity—responds to the needs
expressed by the people and communities who are living, and often djfing,
on the edge. When we move beyond sentiments to action, we of cohrse
incur risks, and these deter many. But it is possible, clearly, to link lofty
ideals to sound analysis.
This linkage does not always occur in human rights work, in part be
cause of a reluctance to examine the political economy of suffering and
brutality.
For example, high-minded charters are utopian strategies that may become laws to be flouted or obeyed; they are not analysis. The notion hat
everyone shares the risk of having his or her rights violated is reminiscent of
< catchy public health slogans such as “AIDS is for everyoAe.”
These slogans may be useful for social marketing, but they are redo ent
of the most soft-headed chinking. The distribution of AIDS is strikingly
localized and nonrandom; so-is that of human rights abuses. Both HIV
transmission and human rights abuses are social processes and are embedded, most often, in the inegalitarian social structures I have ca ”ledi
structural violence. Whether one examines these steep grades of in-
h„»g .....
“hi. Hgta .»!.»»■
should be automattcaliyc Lass.fieda
stones, we know,
-d
eMirely true
uJSe to take verbal viola-
that “names will neverj hurt me,
tions as seriously as bddily' onesextcnd the
Identity politics inf"Un
litics have remained parochial
reach of rights langu#. But idem ty p
and national (indeed slubnationa )
g struggle into a bitter comaffluent as our own, Vr“ng
[8 j the erasure of many linked
petition for a bigger |ceoHte pea
for
s
to our affluence. It m&es sense to is; 1 g
cess t0 p0Wet—breaking t^
transnational
gOod such as pri-
corporations, say-add st gg
mary health care, especia! y
COrp0rations that reluctantly
^/minorities are involved in
open their boardrooms to
rich and poor. Should the fren-
Si
■ ‘Wi
i
-■-.■I
■> -1
th; harm done by six lashes for vandalism-a
J out to a U.S. citizen abroad, to
- --—and the harm done to millions by
judge by inehe. °< <!=”W“
‘ is
‘ »lot to declare the lat. Ilfatae .1
we can compels us to
...pt of rights to cover every possible case
inerisKui&cxv
( ~
o .
ri3M. —n-
1
is that (obscene
petty complaint.47
r, .;. _u
. ...m be drnwne
drowned in a rising tide or
coinparative analysis gtves us a sense of
232
One Physician’s Per;
^33
B'
Rethinking Health and jj-iuman Rights
I-"
■
rights groups in the United States and Haiti have filed suit against
human rights groups ii the United States
the'uS government ik order to force the return of more than one hun
dred’thousand
tho^sand pages of documents (taken away during the U.S. invasion
of Haiti in the fall of iir994) revealing links between Washington
Washington and
an thee
paramilitary groups lut
ikat held sway in Haiti between 19^1
1991 and 1994^
r994.
Elsewhere, too thd mechanisms
of
human
rights
violations
have
been
isms l. .
masked. In El Salvador, the massacres of entire villages cou not m go
sked. In El Salvador, the massacres
conscience be considered unrelated to U.S. foreign policy, smee th V .
conscience be considered "•
ernvemment was4
scale; only careful analysis brings causal mechanisms into the li|
have seen brisk debate about a hierarchy of human rights abui :s ands
about whether it makes sense to consider some rights “fundam jntal^^H
—
The struggle for recognition of social and economic rights has
dered even more acrimony.48 But this debate has been legal in nature—
centered in and destined toward law, where it is customary to speak of
inalienable rights and to wait decades or centuries to see them vindicated.’
Merely telling the truth, of course, often calls for exhaustive researchi5.3
lockl and
In the current era, human rights violations are usually both local
global. Telling who did what to whom and when becomes a comp, icated
affair. Take the case of Chouchou Louis, rhe young man tortured tc death W
in Haiti in early 1992. I told his story in more detail in Chapter here
I will merely state that I was called to see him after he was cast □Ut of
police headquarters to die in the dirt. He did just that. I was too late, too
unequipped, medically, to save his life. Documenting what had happened | E
co him was the least I could do.
Was I to document only the “distal” events? Although all present were '■W
terrified, it was possible—in fact, quite easy—to obtain the names of
those who had arrested and tortured Chouchou Louis. But the chain of
complicity, I learned, kept reaching higher. At rhe time, U.S. officialdom’s
'3^
explanation of human rights abuses in Haiti, including rhe torture and
murder of people like Chouchou Louis, focused almost exclusively on
local actors and local factors. One heard of the “culture of violence” that
rendered this and other similarly grisly deaths comprehensible. Such
official analyses, constructed by conflating structural violence and cul
tural difference, were distancing tactics.
Innumerable immodest claims of causality—such as attributing a sud
den upsurge in persons tortured while in police custody to longstanding
local custom—play into the convenient alibi that refuses to follow the
chain of events to their source, that keeps all the trouble local. Such ali
bis obscure the fact that the modern Haitian military was created ny an
act of the U.S. Congress during the twenty-year U.S. occupation of Haiti,
■ -a
from 1915 to 1934. Most official analyses around the time of Chouchou’s
death did not discuss generous U.S. assistance to the post-Duvalier mili
tary: more than $200 million in aid passed through the hands of the Hai
tian military in the eighteen months after Jean-Claude Duvalier left Haiti
on a U.S. cargo plane in 1986. Bush administration statements, and their
faithful echoes in the establishment press, failed to mention that many of
the commanders who issued the orders to detain and torture civilians^were
trained by the U.S. military in Fort Benning, Georgia.49 At this wr ting,
1
1
M^D^XnSZthXh^ of every man woman
and child in one vill ge, concluded: “Of the two hundred and forty-five
andchddinone^g^
b|K one frotn Amencan Mr6
cartridge cases that
d discernable headstamps, identifying the ammunition as
rifles
—r* 184 hac.
navmK
.....mfketured
for the United States Government at Lake
having been mam
City Missouri.’ ”52 rhe fiction of local struggles (“ethnic, religiou ,
City, Missouri.
expioded by any honest attempt
“historical,” or otherwise picturesque) is
makes clear, paramilitary groups linked
ro understand. As Chapter 3 rr.al;cc
: were and are responsible for the
riehtlv with the Mexican government
illages
a, of
Violoneo in *. vilh
So. of
- Chiapas.53 But federal authorities havZ insisted that such violence results from heal inter
community and interparty tension” or ethnic rivalries.
«
Similarly inaccurate
ite were
were claims that the U.S. fnilitary ase on u
tanamo had become ““an
an <oasis” for Haitian refugees
eady^990
al Cuba
vouvao
.anatoriums were “prison camps, mmodest
and that
’s A[ps sanatoriums
of causality Ire not always so flagrantly self-serving as those prof
claims i—
plain Hditi’s agony, the violence in El Salvador or Chiapas o
fered to exi
- dramas on the island of Cuba. But only carefu
the contrasting AIDS dramas
• ’ 1 -but them with any confidence. We cannot merely
analysis allows us to rel—
srudy.human rightil abuses, but we must not fad to study them.
What Can a Focus on Health Bring to the Struggle
for Human Rights*
Medicine and pub ic health, and also the social sciences relevant to these
ha’, th ..
bates on human r .ghts. But what might be
our greatest contribution?
134
Health and Human Rights
Re'Rethinking
.
irefl fe.
One Physician’s Persi
RujdolphVirchow saw doctors as “the natural attorneys of the pojj^
A health angle” can promote a broader human rights agenda in
ways. In fact, the health part of the formula may prove critical to i
success ('•••-■
of the human rights movement. The esteem in which pub^RI ?
health and medicine are held affords us openings—again, a spjce
I
privilege—enjoyed by few other professions. For example, it is unti
I
that my colleagues and I would have been welcomed so warmly in^
Russian prisons if we had presented ourselves as social scientists
human rights investigators. We went, instead, as TB
’___specialists, witl^M I
the expectation that a visiting group of doctors might be able
more for the rights of these prisoners than a delegation from a 0
co h
ventional human rights organization. It is important to get the storylB
j
__
o
7
__
1,
straight: the leading cause of death amon[
.g young Russian detainfees
tuberculosis, not torture or starvation. Prison officials were opening
'PfnirigiO
their facilities to us and asking for pragmatic solidarity. (In Haiti ancrfl
Chiapas, by contrast, we were asked to leave when we openly espouscdAw
the cause of the oppressed.)
/ *
•''Lffla
Medicine and public health benefit from an extraordinary symbolic M
capital that is, so fan sadly underutilized in human rights work. Nione' W
rk;c point more cieariy anj persistently than the late Jonathan 'O
made this
Mann. In an tessay written with Daniel Tarantola, Mann noted that AIDS
“has helped catalyze the modern health and human rights; movement,
which leads far beyond AIDS, for it considers that promoting; an^ protecting health and promoting and protecting human rights are inlxtricably connected.”56
■-3
' : J?
But have we gone far beyond AIDS? Is it not a human
1
rights issue that
Russian prisoners are exposed, often during illegally prolonged pre-trial •-W
Jil
detention, to epidemic MDRTB and then denied effective treatment? Is
it not a human
inr#*rrtan*nn^l expert opinion k-has _mis
n
numan rights
rignts issue that international
takenly informed Russian prison officials that treatment with secondline drugs is not cost-effective or is just plain unnecessary? Is it not a
human rights issue that in relatively wealthy South Africa (where a glossy
program reminded participants in the thirteenth annual AIDS meetines
meetings
«
. .I« •
...
......
1
&
■7
that “medical care is readily available in South Africa”) the antiretroviral therapy that could prolong millions of (black) lives is declared “cost
ineffective”? Is it not a human rights issue that villagers in Chiapas lack
access to rhe most basic medical services, even as government medical
facilities stand idly by? Is it nor a human rights issue that rhousan Js of
Haitian peasants displaced by a hydroelectric dam end up sick withjHIV
disease after working as servants in Port-au-Prince?
1
1 ^8
W
w
w
I
I
■ • >•'
Standing on the shoulders of giants—from the authors of
sal Declaration to Jonathan Mann—we can recognize the human
abuses in each of these situations, including epidemic tuberculosis within ‘
prisons. But what, precisely, is to be done? Russian penal codes already
nrohibit overcrowding^ long pre-trial detention, and undue risk from
prohibit
.
................................
•
fr
■
t
i
i
malnutrition and comniunicable disease. Prison officials already regard
the tuberculosis nrnhleAi
probleii as
as aa ton
top orioritv:
priority; that’’ss why
why they
they let TB
TB spespu
cialists in. In a 1998 interview, as noted, one high-ranking prison official
told me that the ministry saw their chief problems as lack of resources,
overcrowding, and tuberculosis.57 And the piece de resistance might be
that Boris Yeltsin had already declared 1998 ^the year of human rights.”
Passing more human! rights legislation is not a sufficient response to
these human rights challenges, because those in charge already disregard
many of those (clearlyj nonbinding) instruments. The Haitian military
coup leaders were beyond the pale. But how about Chiapas? Instruments
to which Mexico is already signatory include the Geneva Conventions
of 1949; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the In
ternational Labor Organization Convention 169; the American Con
vention on Human Rights; the Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention on the Elim
ination of All Forms if Discrimination Against Women. Each one of
these is flouted every dlay in Chiapas.
As
the Haitians saylj
“Laws are made of paper; bayonets are made of
i
--1
nit up to the task of relieving such immense suffer
steel.” Law alone is n<
ing. Louis Henkin has reminded us that international law is fundamen
tally
tally aa set
set of
of rules
rules and
and norms designed to protect the interests of states,
not their citizens. “Until recently,” he observed in 1989, “international
law took no note of individual human beings.”58 And states, as we have
seen, honor human rights law largely in the breach—sometimes inten
tionally and sometimes through sheer impotence. This chief irony of
human rights work—that states will not or cannot obey the treaties they
sign—can lead to despair or to cynicism, if all of one’s eggs are in the
r *■
■
—
i
international-law basket.
Laws are not science; they are normative ideology and are thus tightly
tied to power.59 Biomedicine and public health, though also vulnerable
to being deformed byiideology, serve different imperatives, ask different
questions. They do not ask whether an event or a process violates an ex
isting rule; they ask Whether that event or process has ill effects on a pa
tient or a population.!] They ask whether such events can be prevented or
i
■
1
URethinking Health and Human Rights
.:S
236
One Physician’s Per
. 41
remediated. A change of approach in that direction wo'tuld have, Tm
lieve, a salutary effect on many human rights debates. And whcr ni(3
cine and public health are explicitly placed at the service of the p<
1I
provides even greater insurance against their perversion.
To return to the case of prisoners with MDRTB, the best way :o
o pjSj
pl
tect their rights is to cure them of their disease. And the best way :o
p^
opi
a
this book goes to press, all this could change: through the.nwi^^g
A
nnd to £t AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the
1S na> vudsed Hal 1 significant funds for HIV prevennon and
Rations
na other
p
-e and
groups based in reg.ons where poverty and HIV are the
I
XX-Xa^cEt^he—
i-' ra], ask hard questions of ourselves ^ ^0 of hose
’
r
t0
p:
tect the rights of other prisoners, and those who take care of then, is
prevent transmission by treating the sick. Thus, after years of heinm
and hawing, all parties involved are being forced to admit that the ri|
thing to do in Russia’s prisons is also the human rights thing to
variety of strategies, from human rights arguments to epidemiologic^^^
scare tactics, have been used to make headway in raising the funds nec^|!|||
essary to treat these and other prisoners. In rhe end, then, the health
angle on human rights may prove more pragmatic than approaching the:^^^
use.
problem as one of penal reform alone. Previously closed institutions have
opened their doors to international collaboration designed to halt ^risonR'^O
rs. /4o r-v-> t
r 'I •
•“»
•• Z“V «*«
I*
I « J -• >«.*
.
2
— -— J
. -J •
epidemics.
This approach
—pragmatic Asolidarity
—
is,2 inA. I-the
end,1 . Ieading:
;\^^‘ *
to penal reform as well. Similarly pragmatic approaches to addressing?^®
pro'.-----
a
a
<
—
_________ - *.i____ ___ _ _
1
••
treatment and prevention
ofC T-ITt
HIV7 also
promise to__ reverse
the scandalous
r
inequalities of risk and access documented throughout this book.
In 1998, working in central Haiti, Partners In Health launched the
community. Instead, we encountered the argument that such projects were
neither cost-effective nor feasible in a setting of such profound poverty.
long-Overdue ir^e®tm® JL tubePrculosis, and malaria was not
not merely
merely to
to
suffering cause,
'almsearch projects, already strugglingI whh semil
rious ethical dilemmas, Jj>ut rather to
a
,
Embracing this goal, and
~ - ^'the question, What is the purpose of the research
work, helps us to ai----- -
□ss•- «-*
afflicted rather than tot^e privileged. The purpose
,b of bringing the fruits of science and public health o
funds is also to help
w
“HIV Equity Initiative” in order to complement prevention effort^ with
antiretroviral treatment for those for whom prevention had failec. The
care component includes an uninterrupted supply of antiretroviral
agents, but only modest lab infrastructure. Use of these drugs is fupervised, preferably by community-based health workers, called acccmpagnateurs, who visit patients each day. Between io and 12 percent—too
small a proportion—of the more than 2,000 HIV-positive patients fol
lowed in the affiliated clinic receive such therapy. A clinical algorithm,
described elsewhere, is used to identify those patients in greatest nied.60
This project has been limited by an inability to find significant donor
support for an integrated HIV-prevenrion-and-care project in a setting as
poor as rural Haiti. Though we felt we had no choice but to move forward—years ago, HIV surpassed tuberculosis as the leading infectious zause
of adult death in Haiti—we had to rely on private donations, support from
patients in the United States, and the largesse of a major donor who has
long supponed our work in Hairi. In short, we would have much me re to
report in 2002 if we had been able to find pragmatic solidarity in the donor
.
Aswe
•W
•w
■.-wl
the long list of maladi4 transmitted by
making commonicause with community health workers and others
mean making
"uSp^o'f should lie on the shoulders
Inst making the elimination of inequalities of
J
CLAIM nv******"" —C2
.
’
1
asgenda
ppLoach
to human
human righwt
rights that
that regards
regards research
i^— -- as an
sumption that any a;
pitfalls—moral, strategic, and analytic.
end in itself contains many 1
;;¥
|
A NEW AGENDA FOR HE. LTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS
, we have a long way to C
go3 in the struggle for
As I1 ’ve
thus
far,-J
VC argued V*.
— -ITidy
Ith and human rights. We cannot merely stu< . this topic without
healv.A-------and pragmatic interventions; but to succeed, we
proposing meaningfu
One Physician’s Peripec^
238
must distinguish between our best analyses and our best strategies. T£|
focus on health offers a critical new dimension to human rights
and is a largely untapped vein of resources, passion, and good vrilL ^
Is it grandiose to seek to define a new agenda? When one rej ds tE
powerfully worded statutes, conventions, treaties, and charters steinmin
from international revulsion over the crimes of the Third Reich, it mig^^|
seem pointless to call for better instruments of this sort. Yet events in thi
rebuke to undu^®
former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda serve as a powerful
j
confidence in these approaches: “That it should nevertheless be possiblgl
for Nazi-like crimes to be repeated half a century later in full view of the||
the||
•whole world,” ----------------------------remarks Neier,
“points up. the weakness of that system— ;,^S2
--------and the need for fresh approaches.”62 Steiner and Alston, similar y, calhg
for “heightened attention to the problems of implementation and en*<J
forcement of the new ideal norms. The old techniques,’ they conclude;:;^
«
TV
«
1
•
•«
1
C< -- — i
"V ▼ . '
VT
J
r
!»•*
-
PM** AM*
Rethinking Health and Hdman Right.*:s
j.;
tir^e, enga
F ».e«h.
c‘±5»< 1
■!>' “d'“1 i rfe —
“ >“■
'h'
J
-Wi^S
_____
E
i
.
’
4.
ment, we still have endless wor to
ibie level of health for
the slightest headway ifi ensuring
g
Pal-lties m health outcomes
all. In fact, several stu leshuman rights perspective ad-
•j
.
>
«
«
■
contrary, what we acK^
. ■ human rights work, broadly conforts to engage health pro es
initiative adOne of *0.. nd
« J““
„r,„„.„on!,
v.„„d b,
<« H“™ R‘Bdb“
“simply won’t work.”63
A corollary question is whether a coherent agenda springs from the
critique inherent ________________
in the answers to the_ questions
______ x. presented here. Il so, isthis agenda com}ipatible with existing approaches and documents, in^.'W
eluding the Universal...........................................
Declaration of Human Rights?
To those
'
’ ■' whe
-\°believe that social and economic rights must be central to the health
heajtn and -JS
human rights agenda, the answers to these questions are yes. This agenda, *
inspired by the notion of a preferential option for the poor, is cohirent,
pragmatic, and informed by careful scholarship. Largely because it focuses on social and economic rights, this agenda, though novel, builds on
five decades of work within the traditional human rights framework: Ar
ticles 25 and 27 of the Universal Declaration inspire the vision of this
emerging agenda, which could rely on tighter links between universities,
medical providers, and both nongovernmental and community-based organizations. The truly novel part of these alliances comes in subjugating
these networks to the aspirations of oppressed and abused people.
How might we proceed with this effort, if most reviews of the effects
of international laws and treaties designed to protect human rights raise
..serious questions of efficacy (to say the least)? What can we do to ad
vance a new agenda of health and human rights? In concluding, I Dffer
six suggestions, which are intended to complement ongoing efforts.
.
*
i
t
•
▼
I
I- .
_ _
darity with the destitute sick.
-___
............................
w
sw
li
1
Make Health and Healing the Symbolic Core of the Agenda
If health and healing are the symbolic core of our new agenda, w< tap
into something truly universal—concern for the sick—and, at the < ime
I
Make Provision of Services? Central to the Agenda
i sick and abused and to those most likely to have
We need to listen to the
whether they are nearby or far away, we know,
their rights violated. J
^y are. The abused offer, to those willing; to listen,
often enough, who the
not asking
new centers
;;;uZf7r"s
’ha;Per than
thaj, my
myowm
newfor
studies
of their
critiques
far sharper
own. ^Xioned
They are
of study and reflection They have not comi...
in addition to the tradisuffering. That meanslwe
f
meankwe need "ew
imr---- . or
oooal ventures
vemu«s of a uwversicr
« •a
tional
university
c^nn\s have clinics, and
and so
so
rdrences,
“S"
”; promoting
“0“ odnS health
hd* and Ihuman
— nghts should
do medicalschools. Programs r
Ua/aif-h nmres1 .b“‘l1 . __
h'*' p
;
have not (
__ jot medical center, referral
• • •help
’ • tql
1 establish, in every major
sionals should
»• ji
clinics for those subjected
to torture and other human rights abuses as
classically defined.
pragmatic solidarity. We need pro
calls for our
But a far larger gr<•d up
mediate inequalities of access to services that can
em«
- L-3 a right to
where are our pragmatic
share in scientific advancement and its benefits, v --
■
,d Huri .an Rights
i
gethink*ng Health
riCd"-“ an<
“
One Physician’s Perspte
140
-
aiblic health
—aretonot
merely misguidedI Oce approaches
respond
widespread
demands
^onalefficady.
Such
projects
r«ponu..
I,, quests for personaleffica^
research in the Third World
efforts to improve the spread of these advances? Such efforts exist J
again, the widening outcome gap stands as the sharpest rebuke to?
F
health and human rights community. Even as our biomedical intetud
I
tions become more effective, our capacity to distribute them equitail^
further eroded. The world’s poor and otherwise marginalized pcopkS
itly constitute
a vast control’ ,group
rentl,
.
T of the untreated, and even cursd^
examination of the annual rally of victims reminds us that this sector
constitutes the group most likely to have their rights violated.
How can we make the rapid deployment of services to imp
health—pragmatic solidarity—central to the work of health and htma^
rights programs? Our own group, Partners In Health, has worked largef®
t
with community-based
community-based organizations in Haiti and Peru and Mfxicjs^ra
with
whose expressed goal has been to remediate inequalities of access. Thi^
community
of providers
providers and
and scholars
scholars believes
believes that
that ““the
the vitality
vitality of
of ]>r^«
]>rac$|
ity of
rice” lends
a
corrective
strength
to
our
research
and
writing.
66
The
pos^|
____________ — w
sibilities for programmatic collaboration range, we have learned, frorn^
Russian prison officials to peasant collectives in the autonomous zones^S
zones^^||||
. r/'L'
—.-1 collaborations oftkic
r wp
of
Chiapas. xt
Novel
thiscfirt
sort arp
arererf^inlv
certainlynecessary
necessary 1 if
weare to address the increasing inequalities of access here in wealthy, ine- •
galitarian countries such as the United States. Relying exclusively on
nation-states’ compliance with a social justice agenda is naive at bes:
the same time, it is important to respect the sovereignty of states, fot
perience shows that states, not “Western” human rights groups, are1'
placed to protect the basic social and economic rights of population’ liv
ing in poverty. Ignatieff emphasizes precisely this point. “We are redis- .
covering,” he notes, “the necessity of state order as a guarantee of rights.
It can be said with certainty that the liberties of citizens are better srotected by their own institutions than by the well-meaning intervent ons
of outsiders.... State failure cannot be rectified by human rights actinism
on the part of NGOs.
iNLrOS. ”67 We
we will
wm not be excused from discernment.
These questions of new collaborations are raised at a time that is f lied
with contradiction: despite increasing globalization, our action agenda has
remained 4parochial. We lag_ behind trade and finance, since we are still at
remaini
the first steps in the press for universal rights while the Masters of the Uni
-.I?’?-';
verse are already “harmonizing” their own sstandards and practices. Fif* t our
teen years of work in the most difficult field conditions have taught
group that it is hard, perhaps impossible, to meet the highest standards of •
'•7;
health care in every situation. But it is imperative that we try to do so. Pro
jects striving for excellence and inclusiveness—rather than, say, cost
effectiveness” or “sustainability,” which are often at odds with social us-w-— — --
--j-
y
A
1
I-
t
. |low standards
reject
standards as official pol-
for eQ1^ in health care. Th
Thai such
h"S
*“■
-
Establish New Resea ;
demv for serious scholarly
scholarly worx
work onuon the^
need
to
make
room
th
t
e
aca
on
che
hea
l
t
h
effects
need to maKc ium,
riKhts, on the heaitn enc^ of
multiple
Lultiple dynamics of hialt *a
and on the pathogenic effects of
war and politicai-economic d srup
,
,
and the growing
social inequalities, lr’cl’f inSR^at’®echaniSms do such noxious events
sk““
“
research explicitly focused on d*cr
tions posed earlier, we
tion health is in its infancy.
To answer th q
so.
require a new level of “^^“^mmloX we need a new sociology of
cial anthropology to mijlecuhr ep^Jj^f commentary and scholariaims and disclaimers of officialdom;
knowledge that can pic apa
-J
—“*> are asking us to
!rch in the arena of health
1
Imperiled populations
and violence. Public health research on
__________ v cniard
ss.
that careful documentation is no
I
because of its link to
Jp;
One Physician’s PeiS
2.41
Assume a Broader Educational Mandate
^38
.|||
Human rights work usually has a suasive component. If the
objective is to set things right, education is central to our task
educational mandate should not make two conventional mistakll
must not limit ourselves to teaching only a select group of sJI
who have an avowed interest in health and human rights nor »
we fows on trying to teach lessons to recalcitrant governments^
ternational financial institutions. Jonathan Mann signaled the liJ
lions of the latter approach: “Support for human rights-based'H
to promote health...at the level of declarations and speeches
come, and useful in some ways, but the limits of official organiza^
support for the call for societal transformation inherent in JI
rights promotion must be recognized.”71 A broader educationalsS
date would mean engaging students from all faculties—but affll
gaging the members of these faculties. Beyond the university andfe!
10US governmental bodies lies the broader public within affll
societies, for whom the connections between health and humafi
have not even been traced. It is doubtful that the destitute sic^l
much to learn from us about health and human rights, but there®
tie doubt that, as their students, we can learn to better convey theO
plexity and historicity of their messages.
Achieve Independence from Powerful
Governments and Bureaucracies
■1
j
We need to be untrammeled by obligations to powerful states ai
burfau7acies- A central irony of human rights law is^
it consists largely of appeals to the perpetrators. After all, most crim®|
against humanity are committed by powerful states, not by rogue
tions 0P pgangs
ortrvf' or cults or .terrorists. MMt
1
That makes it difficult for in^
tutions accountable to states to take their constftuents'trtask'^^
in
the
7 1994
'" ’United
’----- :Nati:--ions created the post of High Commissi^
or Human Rights, the $700,000 annual budget was paltry eveitW
the standards of a nongovernmental organization. The results s^erjl
predictable: “With denunciation of those responsible for abusesjfhl
only means available for carrying out his mission,” the firstconun^S
_____
sioner “managed to go through his first year in his post without
icly criticizing a single government anywhere in the world.”72 It is
merely a problem of budgetary constraints. Many
Many of
of the
the chief
chief d^i
dcJnosS
’
thinking Health and Human Rights
nation5 are themselves major violators of one or another of the intersjed here. The United States and China are
Kte'jjarionai covenants discussed
i^'’the world leaders in capital punishment.t, and the United States is imK' placably
lacably opposed, it would seem, to the creation of the International
Criminal Court.- The United States, Great Britain, and France are all
major manufacturers of tike weapons used to commit human rights
Kj a|)Uses. And what about Mexico, partner with Canada and the United
Statess in the world’s largest
larger “free trade” agreement? In Chiapas, nunitrous observers have documented the displacement and massacre of
ilfe
by paramilitary groups tightly tied to
fe' presumed
presumed Zapatista
Zapatista supporters
supppi
the
government:
“
State
ajnd
federal
authorities have permitted these
iV- .••'fhe
ani
fc; groups to act with impunity, and state Public Security Police have not
only failed to protect victims, but have sometimes participated in the
Ik'' evictions.”73
" None of this is to say i hat international organizations have little to
||k offer to those seeking to prevent or assuage human rights abuses. It is •
rather to reminu
remind'us
that iincn
ltheir auppuacu.
supposed “neutrality
” comes at a great
Fj’ ratner
us inai
u
■ cost, and that cost is usually paid by people who are not represented by
fc.. rsmhaQsadors
ambassadors in nlaces
places like New York, Paris.
Paris, Geneva, Washington, London, or Tokyo. Along wife nongovernmental organizations, university||E and hospital-based programs have the potential to be independent, wellE?’ designed, pragmatic, and^feasible. The imprimatur of medicine and pub
lic health would afford elven more weight and independence. And only
a failure of imagination lias led us to ignore the potential bf collaboraL
tion with commumty-baised organizations and with communities in resistance to ongoing violations of human rights.
b
■1
L
"J
T-Wi
I
f
M3.-
I’
Secure More Resources for Health and Human Rights
In our own era, “growth is wildly uneven, inequality is immense, anxi
ety is endemic,” says Tdldd Gitlin. “The state, as a result, is continually
urged to do more but deprived of the means to do so.”?4 The halting but
ineluctable spread of the global economy is linked to an evolving human
rights irony: states becbme less able to help their citizens attain social
and economic rights, eyen though they often retain their ability to vio
late human rights. Even! where reforms have led to the enjoyment of basic
political rights, the implementation of neoliberal economic policies can
erode the right to freed
freedbm
Dm from want. This is particularly true of many
developing countries, as Steiner and Alston note:
J
Z44
P
One Physician’s Perspe, •“Jis
Civil and political rights have been greatly strengthened
in many cor ntrieWi§
“S’ T
contf:mPorary phenomena-i.
'
■including
privatization,.
be- 3
°f inCen7M5 to
1 entrepreneurial
‘
---------- --froim
I
international financial institutions^^^ams and rclated -pressures
nomic and social rights.75
Of course, it’s easy to demand t--------more resources; what’s hard is to proj3
duce them. But if social and economic rights
its are acknowledged as such^i
then foundations, governments, business*
-s, and international finkncialM
institutions—many of them now awash in resources—may be calied on O
to pnontize human rights endeavors that ,
reflect the paradigm shift ad^
vocated here.
important implications foj
m rights. As states w<
to discern an increasing role for r-------------weaken, it easy
nongovernmental institution^, in. .
*
—a
the basic business of prbv'ding
III
—i
Our ^ich
independert
g±XXrte qU‘te dlfferent
have innonLsic“e 7aniZatIOn5 -‘‘"-ng the «ate of its duty to prdv
of its duty to provide
of neoliberal policiTsILVdeclare0””8 W1"ing
UnWitt‘nS ab+'
,Lrors
Hwucics mat declare every
service
and
l:___t|o
every
service
and
every .thing
for sale.
---o y be
live up to the challenge
S
it
•A
f
demands complementary services. These services nee^to he^ro
»-d»r1 •4-
x „»ev. nxs
11
■X
“..b“ r
Unmerited suffering” is what we
I
,h'
be
Rethinking Health and Human Rights
2-45
prevented oi; at the very least, alleviated. But if we lack ambition, we
should expect the next fifty years to yield a harvest of shame.
The experience of! Partners In Health suggests that ambitious goals
can be met even without a large springboard. Over thejpast decade and
against a steady curi^nt of nay-saying, we have channeled significant
stiltui sick in Haiti, Peru, Mexico, and Boston. We
resources to the destitute
he eni°yment of ^co-•-/I
’
I
didn’t argue that it was “cost-effective,” nor did we promise that such
,1k We argued that it was the right thing to do.
efforts would be replicable.
huma:
It was- also
Z’__ the
-_____
ail rights thing to do.
Some of the problems born of structural violence are so large that
they have paralyzed many who want to do the right thing. But we can
find more resources,! and we can find them without sacrificing our independence and discernment. We will not do this by adopting defen
sive postures that are tantamount to simply managing inequality with
the latest tools from economists and technocrats. Utopian ideals are the
bedrock of human rights. By arguing that we must set standards high,
we must also argue for redistribution of some of the world’s vast
wealth.
Claims that we live in an era of limited resources fail to mention that
these resources happen to be less Limited now than ever before in human
history. Arguing thatiEt is too expensive to treat MDRTB among prison
ers in Russia, say, sounds nothing short of ludicrous when this world con
tains individuals wortn more than $100 billion.77 Arguments against treat
ing HIV disease in precisely those areas in which it exacts its greatest toll
warn us that misguided notions of cost-effectiveness have already trumped
equity. Arguing that nominal civil and political rights are the best we can
hope for means that' members of the healing professions will have their.
hands’ tied, forced to! stand by as the rights and dignity of the poor and
marginalized undergo further sustained and deadly assault in what is
essentially
essentially an
an undeclared
undedared war on the poor. Because it is undeclared,
we need to declare kgainst whom, for whose benefit, and how it is
being waged. Naturally, prosecuting such a stealthy war requires a con
siderable investment jin propaganda and “psy ops.” Passivity and shortsightedness are invaljtable to those who would keep the war undeclared.
To argue that huma: rights abuses occurring in Haiti, Guatemala, or
Rwanda are unrelated to our surfeit in the rich world requires that we
erase history and turn a blind eye to the pathologies of power that tran
scend all borders. Perpetuating such fictions requires dishonest, desocialized analyses thaj mask—whether through naivete; or fccklessness or
;
’
I
I-
•
246
‘I
One Physician’s Persp ectil
complicity—the origins and consequences of structural violence. The arS
gument of this book has been that it is time to take health rights is se|3
riously as other human rights, and that intellectual recognition is only
necessary first step toward pragmatic solidarity, that is, toward taking
stand by the side of those who suffer most from an increasingly harsfel
afterword
“new world order.”
t
the earth is a satellite of the moon
Apollo 2 cost more 4 an Apollo I
Apollo 1 cost plenty.
1
Apollo 3 cost more ttan Apollo 2
Apollo 2 cost more than Apollo I
Apollo 1 cost plenty. I
Apollo 4 cost more than Apollo 3
Apollo 3 cost more than Apollo 2
Apollo 2 cost more than Apollo 1
Apollo 1 cost plenty.;
’IS
Tf
Apollo 8 cost a fortune,, but no one minded
Lbecause the
' astronauts were Protestant
they read the Bible from
frort} the moon
astounding and delighting every Christian
and on their return
return Pope
Pop* Paul VI gave them his blessing.
Apollo 9 cost more than) all these put together
including Apollo 1 which cost plenty.
w
I
Ii
1
•A#
The great-grandparents of the people of Acahaulinca were less
hungry than the grandparents.
The great-grandparentsipied of hunger.
The grandparents of thdpeople of Acahaulinca were less
hungry than the parejnts.
The grandparents died of hunger.
The parents of the people of Acahaulinca were less
hungry than the children of the people there.
The parents died of hunger.
The people of Acahaulinca are less hungry than the children
of the people there. ■
The children of the people of Acahaulinca, because of hunger,
are not born
they hunger to be born,1 only to die of hunger.
Blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the moon.
Leonel Rugama, Sandinista, 1949“70
■
'■h
247
Participant Reading List
DAY 2 - Saturday, July 18, 2009
Politicizing Health Care - J. McKnight
Six degrees of Lois Weisberg M. Gladwell
Six degrees of Lois Weisberg Glossary
The Relational Meeting - E. T. Chambers
Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City - B. Obama
Developing a strategy - K. Bobo, J. Kendall, S. Max
God created the world, and we created Conjunto Palmeira - R. A.
Newmann, A. Mathie, J. Linzey
Building communities from inside out - J.P. Kretzmann, J.L. McKnight
Politicizing Health Care • 81
/ z.
Politicizing Health Care
*
j;
»
t
t
-
gi?
ih
I
i
1
!■
1
i
Is it possible that out of the contradictions of medicine one can
develop the possibilities of politics? The example I want to de
scribe is not going to create a new social order. It is,.however,
the beginn ing of an effort to free people from medical clieix
hood, so that they can perceive the possibility of being citizens
engaged in political action.
The example involves a communiw of about 60,000 people
on the West Side of Chicago. The people are poor and blac c,
and the majority are dependent on welfare payments. Th<y
have a voluntary community organization that encompasses ah
area in which there are two hospitals.
The neighborhood was originally all white. During the six
ties it went through a racial transition and over a period of a
few years, it became largely populated with black people.
The two hospitals continued to serve the. white people who
had lived in the neighborhood, before the transition, leaving
the black people struggling to gain access to the hospitals’ ser
vices.
This became a political struggle and the community organi
zation finally “captured” the two hospitals. The boards of
directors of the hospitals then accepted people from the neigh
borhood, employed black people on their staffs, and.treated
members of the neighborhood rather than the previous white
clients.
I
After several years, the community organization felt that it
was time to stand back and look at the health status of their
community. As a result of their analysis, they found that al
though they had “captured” the hospitals, there was no signifi
cant evidence that the health of the people had changed since
they had gained control of the medical services.
The organization then contacted rhe Center for Urban Af
fairs, where I work. They asked its to assist in finding out why,
it the people controlled the two hospitals, their health was not
any better.
It was agreed that the Center would do a study of the hospi
tals medical records to see why people were receiving medical
care. VVe took a sample of the emergency room medical
records to determine the frequency of the various problems
that brought the people into the hospitals.
We found that the seven most common reasons for hospitalization, in order of frequency, were:
1. automobile accidents.
2. interpersonal attacks.
3. accidents (non-auto).
■1. bronchial ailments.
>. alcoholism.
6. drug-related problems (medically administered and
nonmedically administered).
7. dog bites.
I
I
■I
The people fi-onif the organization were startled by these
findings. The language of medicine is focused upon disease,
yet the problems we identified have very little to do with dis
ease. The mcdicaiization of health had led them to believe chat
“disease” was the problem that hospitals were, addressing, but
they discovered instead that the hospitals were dealing7 with
many problems that were not diseases. It was an important step
in increasing consciousness to recognize that modem medical
systems are usually dealing with maladies—social problems—
--------- __._l---------
'p'h
82 • Medicine
Politicizing Health Care • 83
■<r:
rather than disease. Maladies and social problems are the do
main of citizens and their community organizations.
ii
JiIB
■
I'
■y
K
I
wfc;
i-’-
ti-
iK
J
A Strategy for Health
Having seen the list of maladies, the people from the organiza
tion considered what they ought to do, or could do, apout
them. First of all, as good political strategists, they decided to
tackle a problem that they felt they could win. They d dn’t
want to start out and immediately lose. So they went dowr the
list an<.d picked dog bites, which caused about 4 percent or the
emergency room visits at an average hospital cost of $185,
How could this problem best be approached? It interested
me to see the people in the organization thinking about that
problem. The city government has employees who are paid to
be “dog-catchers,” but the organization did not choose to contact the city. Instead, they said: “Let us see what we can do our
selves.” They decided to take a small part of their money and
use it for “dog bounties.” Through their block clubs they let it
be known that for a period of one month; in an area of abznit a
square mile, they would pay a bounty of five dollars for every
stray dog that was brought in to the organization or had is lo
cation identified so that organizational representatives could
go and capture it.
There were packs of wild dogs in the neighborhood that had
frightened many people. The children of the neighborhood,
on the other hand, thought that catching dogs was a woncerful
idea, so they helped to identify them. In one month, 1 50 of
these dogs were captured and cases of dog bites brought to the
hospitals decreased.
Two things happened as a result of this success. The people
began to learn that their action, rather than the hospitals, de
termines their health. They were also building their organiza
tion by involving the children as community activists.
The second course of action was to deal with something
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more difficult—automobile accidents. “How can we do any
thing if we don’t understand where these accidents are taking
place?
the rpeop.
---- ” —
w^pje said. They asked us to try to get informa
tion that would help to deal with the accident problem, but
we found it extr< mely difficult to find information regarding
when, where, anc how an accident took place.
We considered going back to the hospitals and looking at
the medical records to determine the nature of the accident
that brought each injured person to the hospital. If medicine
was thought of as a system that was related to the possibilities
of community action, it should have been possible. It was not.
The medical record did not say, “This person has a malady bi>6cause she was hit by an automobile at six o’clock in the evening
on January 3rd at t*the corner of Madison and Kedzie.” Sometimes the record did
—1 not even say that the cause was an automobile accident .Instead, the record simply tells you that th
person has a “broken tibia?” ’It is
’ a record system that obscures
the community na ture of the problem, by focusing on the ther
apeutic to the exclusion of the primary cause.
We began, therefore, a search of the data systems of macroplanners. Finally we found one macroplanning group that
had data regarding the nature of auto accidents in the city. It
was data on a complex, computerized system, to be used in
macroplanning to| facilitate automobile traffic! We persuaded
the planners to de
d< a printout that could be used by the neigh
borhood people fdr their own action purposes. This had never
occurred to them as a use for their information.
The printouts were so complex, however, th!at the organiza
tion could not comprehend them. So we took the numbers and
transposed them onto a neighborhood map showing where acdents took place. Where people were injured, we put a blue
X. Where people were killed, we put a red X.
We did this for all accidents for a period of three months.
There are 60,000 Residents living in the neighborhood. In that
area, in three months, there were more than 1,000 accidents.
From
T_
— the
Tc map the people could see, for example, that within
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three months six people had been injured and one person
killed in an area 60 feet wide. They immediately identified tiis
place as the entrance to a parking lot for a department store.
They were then ready to act, rather than be treated, by dealing
with the store owner, because information had been “liber
ated” from its medical and macroplanning captivity.
The experience with the map had wo consequences. Om, it
was an opportunity to invent a way to define a health problem
so that the community could understand it. The commurity
organization could then negotiate with the department store
owner and force a change in its entrance.
Two, it became very clear that there were accident problems
that the community organization could not handle directly, or
example, one of the main reasons for many of the accidents was
the fact that higher authorities had decided to make several of
the streets through the neighborhood major thruways for auto
mobiles going from the heart of the city out to the affluent sub
urbs. Those who made this trip were a primary cause of in ury
to the local people. Dealing with this problem is not within the
control of people at the neighborhood level, but they under
stood the necessity of getting other community organizations
involved in a similar process, so that together they could assem
ble enough power to force the authorities to change the pol.cies
t-krtf serve the
rhp interests
intprpQn; of
nf those who use the neighborhoods as
that
their freeway.
The third community action activity developed when the
problems.” They learned that
people focused on “‘bronchial
1
good nutrition was a factor in these problems, and concluded
that
they did not have enough fresh fruit and vegetables for
t
................................
good nutrition. In the city, particularly
in the winter,, these
fruit and
foods were too expensive. So could they grow fresh 1vegetables themselves? They looked around, but it seemed dif
ficult in the heart of the city. Then several people pointed out
* ‘
that most of their houses are two-story apartments with flat
roofs. “Supposing we could build a greenhouse on the roof,
couldn’t we grow our own fruit and vegetables."” So they built
r
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Politicizing Health Care • 85
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a greenhouse on fine of the roofs as an experiment. Then a fas
cinating thing began to happen.
Originally, the greenhouse was built to deal with a health
problem inadec uate nutrition. The greenhouse was a tool,
appropriate to tHe environment, that people could make and
use to improve health. Quickly, however, people began to see
that the greenhouse was also an economic development tool. It
increased their income
intome because they now produced a commodcommod
ity to use and also to sell.
Then another use for the greenhouse appeared. In the
United States, energy costs are extremely high and are a great
burden for poor people. One of the main places where people
lose (waste) energy is from the rooftops of their houses—so the
greenhouse on tcjp of the roof converted the energy loss into
an asset. The energy that escaped from the house went into the
greenhouse, where heat was needed. The greenhouse, there
fore, was an energy conservation tool.
Another use f^r the greenhouse developed by chance. The
community organization owned a retirement home, and one
day one of the elderly people discovered the greenhouse. She
went to work there and told the other old people, and they
started coming tojthe greenhouse every day to help care for the
plants. The administrator of the old people’s home noticed
that the attitude of the older people changed. They were ex
cited. They had round a function. The greenhouse became a
tool to empower older people—to allow discarded people to be
productive.
Multility vs. Unitility
The people begai to see something about technology that
they had not realised before. Here was a simple tool—•aa green
green-
house. It could be built locally and used locally,
and
among
its
■
a its
outputs” were health, economic development, energy conserv;'ation, and enabling older .people
. ; to be productive. A simple
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tool requiring minimum “inputs” produced multiple “outputs”
with few negative side effects. We called the greenhouse a
“multility.”
Most tools in a modernized consumer-oriented society are
the reverse of the greenhouse. They are systems requiring a
complex organization with multiple inputs that produce only a
single output. Let me give you an example. If you get bauxite
from Jamaica, copper from Chile, rubber from Indonesia, oil
from Saudi Arabia, lumber from Canada, and labor from all
these countries and process these resources in an American
corporation that uses American labor and professional skills to
manufacture a commodity, you can produce an electric tooth
brush. This tool is what we call a “unitility.” It has multiple
inputs and one output. However, if a tool is basically a laborsaving device, then the electric toothbrush is an antitool. If you
added up all the labor put into producing it, its sum is infinitely
more than the labor saved by its use.
The electric toothbrush and the systems for its production
are the essence of the technological mistake. The greenhouse
is the essence of the technological possibility. The toothbrush
(unitility) is a tool that disables capacity and maximizes ex
ploitation. The greenhouse (multility) is a tool that minimizes
exploitation and enables community action.
Similarly, the greenhouse is a health tool that creates citizen
action and improves health. The hospitalized focus on health
disables community’ capacity by concentrating on therapeutic
tools and techniques requiring tremendous inputs, with lim
ited outputs in terms of standard health measures.
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Conclusions
Let me draw several conclusions from the health work of the
community organization.
First, out of all this activity, it is most important that the
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Politicizing Health Care • 87
health action process has strengthened a community organiza
tion. Health is a poll deal issue. To convert a medical problem
into a political issue is central to health improvement. As our
action has developed the organization’s vitality and power, we
have begun the critical health development. Health action
must lead away from dependence on professional tools and
techniques, toward community-building and citizen action.
Effective health action must convert a professional-technical
problem into a political, communal issue.
Second, effective health action identifies what you can do at
the local level with Ideal resources. It must also identify those
external authorities and structures that control the limits of the
community to act in the interest of its health.
Third, health action develops tools for the people’s use,
under their own control. To develop these tools may require us
to diminish the resources consumed by the medical system. xAs
the community organization’s health activity becomes more ef
fective, the swollen balloon of medicine should shrink. For example, after the dogs were captured, the hospital lost clients,
Nonetheless, we cannot expect that this action will stop the
medical balloon from growing. The medical system will make
new claims for resouices and power, but our action will inten
sify the contradiction ; of medicalized definitions of health. We
can now see people saying: “Look, we may have saved $185 in
hospital care for many of the 160 dogs that will not now bite
people. That’s a lot of money! But it still stays with that hospitai. We want our Si8 >! We want to begin to trade in an economy in which you don’t exchange our action for more medical
service. We need income, not therapy. If we are to act in our
health interest, we will need the resources medicine claims for
its therapeutic purposes in order to diminish our therapeutic
need.”
These three principles of community health action suggest
that improved health is basically about moving away from
being “medical consul ners.”
The experience I have described suggests that the sickness
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88 • Medicine
1
that we face is the captivity of tools, resources, power, and con
sciousness by medical “unitilities” that create consumers.
Health is a political question. It requires citizens and com
munities. The health action process can enable “another
health development” by translating medically defined prob
lems and resources into politically actionable community
problems.
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Human Service Systems
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Dear Participants:
Here are some terms and their definitions from the reading "Six Degrees of Lois
Weisberg" by Malcolm Gladwell that I think will help you understand the overall
meaning of the article:
3
3
3
3
3
Salon = a gathering of artists and intellectuals for discussions, sometimes music, and an
exchange of ideas
Harold Washington = Former mayor of Chicago and the first black mayor
String bags = A grocery bag that is made of string and associated with little old ladies or
homeless people
Nicotine = The chemical agent in cigarettes
Flea Market = A large open-air market selling used items like clothes, furniture, and
3
jewelry
)
"...out of Dickens" = Like a Charles Dickens novel character: young, poor, woeful,
)
unkempt; hungry
)■
Salvation Army = a charitable thrift store like Goodwill or Value Village
)
)
Richard J. Daley and Richard M. Daley = Father and son who both served as Chicago
mayor
Star Trek = Famous US television series from the 1960s that still to this day has a cult
following
"Magnificent Mile" = The road that runs along Chicago’s waterfront on Lake Michigan
with expensive real estate and amazing views
"zero in common" = "nothing in common"
Lenny Bruce = US comedian from the 1960/70s who was notorious for his drug use
Carltons = A brand of cigarette
If you have any other questions or words you don't know, do not hesitate to ask at
avcrofts@u.washington.edu.
(
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from The New Yorker
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January 11,1999
ANNALS OF SOCIETY
c
Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg
(.
C
She's a grandmother, she lives in a
big house in Chicago, and you've never
heard of her. Does she run the world?
(
(,
by Malcolm Gladwell
i.
Everyone who knows Lois
Weisberg has a story about
meeting Lois Weisberg, and
although she has done
thousands of things in her
life and met thousands of
people, all the stories are
pretty much the same. Lois
(everyone calls her Lois) is
invariably
smoking
a
cigarette and drinking one of
her dozen or so daily cups of
coffee. She will have been up
until two or three the
previous morning, and up
again at seven or seven
thirty, because she hardly
seems to sleep. In some
accounts — particularly if
the meeting took place in
the winter — shell be
wearing her white, furtopped Dr. Zhivago boots
with gold tights; but she may
have on her platform tennis
shoes, or the leather jacket
with the little studs on it, or
maybe an outrageous piece
of costume jewelry, and,
always,
those
huge,
rhinestone-studded
glasses
that make her big eyes look
positively enormous. "I have
no idea why I asked you to
come here, I have no job for
you," Lois told Wendy
Willrich when Willrich went
to Lois's office in downtown
Chicago a few years ago for an
interview. But by the end of
the interview Lois did have a
job for her, because for Lois
meeting someone is never just
about meeting someone. If
she likes you, she wants to
recruit you into one of her
grand schemes -- to sweep you
up into her world. A while
back, Lois called up Helen
Doria, who was then working
for someone on Chicago’s city
council, and said, "I don’t
have a job for you. Well, I
might have a little job. I need
someone to come over and
help me clean up my office.”
By this, she meant that she
had a big job for Helen but
just didn’t know what it was
yet. Helen came, and, sure
enough, Lois got her a big job.
Cindy Mitchell first met Lois
twenty-three years ago,
when she bundled up her
baby and ran outside into
one of those frigid Chicago
winter mornings because
some people from the
Chicago Park District were
about to cart away a
beautiful sculpture of Carl
von Linne from the park
across the street. Lois
happened to be driving by at
the time, and, seeing all the
commotion, she slammed on
her brakes, charged out of
her car — all five feet of her - and began asking Cindy
questions,
rat-a-tat-tat:
"Who are you? What’s going
on here? Why do you care?"
By the next morning, Lois
had persuaded two Chicago
Tribune
reporters
to
interview Cindy and turn the
whole incident into a cause
celebre, and she had
recruited Cindy to join an
organization
she'd just
started called Friends of the
Parks, and then, when she
found out that Cindy was a
I,
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young mother at home who
was too new in town to have
many friends, she told her,
Tve found a friend for you.
Her name is Helen, and she
has a little boy your kid’s
age, and you will meet her
next week and the two of
you will be best friends."
That’s
exactly
what
happened, and, what’s more,
Cindy went on to spend ten
years as president of Friends
of the
Park.
"Almost
everything that I do today
and eighty to ninety per cent
of my friends came about
because of her, because of
that one little chance
meeting,"
Cindy
says.
"That’s a scary thing. Try to
imagine what would have
happened if she had come
by five minutes earlier."
It could be argued, of
course, that even if Cindy
hadn’t met Lois on the street
twenty-three years ago she
would
have
met
her
somewhere else, maybe a
year later or two years later
or ten years later, or, at
least, she would have met
someone who knew Lois or
would have met someone
who knew someone who
knew Lois, since Lois
Weisberg is connected, by a
very short chain, to nearly
everyone. Weisberg is now
the
Commissioner
of
Cultural Affairs for the City
of Chicago. But in the course
of her seventy-three years
she has hung out with actors
and musicians and doctors
and lawyers and politicians
and
activists
and
environmentalists, and once,
on a whim, she opened a
secondhand-jewelry
store
named for her granddaughter
Becky Fyffe, and every step of
the way Lois has made friends
and recruited people, and a
great many of those people
have stayed with her to this
day. "When we were doing the
jazz festival, it turned out —
surprise, surprise — that she
was buddies with Dizzy
Gillespie," one of her friends
recalls. "This is a woman who
cannot carry a tune. She has
no sense of rhythm. One night
Tony Bennett was in town,
and so we hang out with Tony
Bennett, hearing about the old
days with him and Lois."
Once, in the mid-fifties, on a
whim, Lois took the train to
New York to attend the World
Science Fiction Convention
and there she met a young
writer by the name of Arthur
C. Clarke. Clarke took a shine
to Lois, and next time he was
in Chicago he called her up.
"He was at a pay phone," Lois
recalls. "He said, Ts there
anyone in Chicago I should
meet?’ I told him to come over
to my house." Lois has a
throaty voice, baked hard by
half a century of nicotine, and
she pauses between sentences
to give herself the opportunity
for a quick puff. Even when
she’s not smoking, she pauses
anyway, as if to keep in
practice.
"I called
Bob
Hughes, one of the people
who wrote for my paper."
Pause. "I said, ’Do you know
anyone
in
Chicago
interested in talking to
Arthur Clarke?’ He said,
’Yeah, Isaac Asimov is in
town. And this guy Robert,
Robert... Robert Heinlein.’
So they all came over and sat
iri my study." Pause. "Then
they called over to me and
they said, ’Lois’ — I can’t
remember the word they
used. They had some word
for me. It was something
about how I was the kind of
person who brings people
together."
This is in some ways the
archetypal Lois Weisberg
story. First, she reaches out
to somebody — somebody
outside her world. (At the
time, she was running a
troupe, whereas
drama
Arthur C. Clarke\ wrote
science fiction.) Equally
person
that
important,
responds to her. Then
there’s the fact that when
Arthur Clarke came to
Chicago and wanted to meet
someone Lois came up with
Isaac Asimov. She says it
was a fluke that Asimov was
in town. But if it hadn’t been
Asimov it would have been
someone else. Lois ran a
salon out of her house on
the North Side in the late
nineteen-fifties, and one of
the things that people
remember about it is that it
was always, effortlessly,
integrated. Without that
salon, blacks would still
(
(
have socialized with whites
on the North Side -- though
it was rare back then, it
happened. But it didn’t
happen by accident: it
happened because a certain
kind of person made it
happen. That’s what Asimov
and Clarke meant when they
said that Lois has this thing
— whatever it is — that
brings people together.
2.
Lois is a type
type — a
particularly
rare
rare
and
extraordinary type, but a
type nonetheless. She’s the
type of person who seems to
know everybody^ and this
type can be found in every
walk of life. Someone I met
at a wedding (actually, the
wedding of the daughter of
Lois’s
neighbors,
the
Newbergers) told me that if I
ever went to Massapequa I
should look up a woman
named Marsha, because
Marsha was the type of
person
who
knew
everybody. In Cambridge,
Massachusetts, the word is
that a tailor named Charlie
Davidson knows everybody.
In Houston, I’m told, there
is an attorney named Harry
Reasoner
who
knows
everybody.
There
are
probably Lois Weisbergs in
Akron and Tucson and Paris
and in some little town in
the Yukon Territory, up by
the Arctic Circle. We’ve all
met someone like Lois
Weisberg. Yet, although we
all know a Lois Weisberg type,
we don’t know much about
the Lois Weisberg type. Why
is it, for example, that these
few, select people seem to
know everyone and the rest of
us don’t? And how important
are the people who know
everyone?
This
second
question is critical, because
once you begin even a cursory
examination of the life of
someone like Lois Weisberg
you start to suspect that he or
she may be far more
important than we would ever
have imagined -- that the
people who know everyone, in
some oblique way, may
actually run the world. I don’t
mean that they are the sort
who head up the Fed or
General Motors or Microsoft,
but that, in a very down-toearth, day-to-day way, they
make the world work. They
spread ideas and information.
They connect varied and
isolated parts of society.
Helen Doria says someone
high up in the Chicago
government told her that Lois
is ’’the epicenter of the city
administration,’’ which is the
right way to put it. Lois is far
from
being
the
most
important or the
most
powerful person in Chicago.
But if you connect all the dots
that constitute the vast
apparatus of government and
influence and interest groups
in the city of Chicago you’ll
end up coming back to Lois
again and again. Lois is a
connector.
Lois, it must be said, did not
set out to know everyone.
’’She doesn’t network for the
sake of -networking,’’ says
Gary Johnson, who was
Lois’s boss years ago, when
she was executive director of
the Chicago Council of
Lawyers. ”1 just think she
has the confidence that all
the people in the world,
whether she’s met them or
not, are in her Rolodex
already, and that all she has
to do is figure out how to
reach them and she’ll be
able to connect with them.”
Nor is Lois charismatic — at
least, not in the way that we
think of extroverts and
public figures as being
charismatic. She doesn’t fill
a room; eyes don’t swivel
toward her as she makes her
entrance. Lois has frizzy
blond hair, and when she’s
thinking — between her
coffee and her cigarette —
she kneads the hair on the
top of her head, so that by
the end of a particularly
difficult meeting it will be
standing almost straight up.
’’She’s not like the image of
the Washington society
doyenne,’’ Gary Johnson
says. ”You know, one of
those people who identify
you, take you to lunch, give
you the treatment. Her
social life is very different.
When I bump into her and
she says, ’Oh, we should
catch up,’ what she means is
that someday I should go
with her to her office, and
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lady who sold jewelry,’’ Lois Chinese food. They could eat
said. "She was a person out of it seven . days a week. So
Dickens. She was bedraggled. Sandra brought this man
She had a houseful of cats. But over here. His name was Shi
she knew how to buy jewelry, “Young. He was a graduate
student at the Art Institute
and I wanted her to teach me.
I met her whole circle of of Chicago." Shi Young lived
friends, all these old gay men with Lois and her family for
who had antique stores. Once two years, and during that
a week, we would go to the time Chicago was in the
Salvation Army.’’ Lois was midst of political turmoil.
arguably the most important Harold Washington, who
civic activist in the city. Her would later become the first
husband was a judge. She black mayor of the city, was
lived in a huge house in one of attempting to unseat the
remains of the Daley
Chicago’s
nicest
neighborhoods. Yet somehow political machine, and Lois’s
she managed to be plausible house, naturally, was the site
as a flea-market peddler to a of late-night, top-secret
bunch
of
flea-market strategy sessions for the pro
peddlers, the same way she Washington reformers of
managed to be plausible as a Chicago’s North Side. "We’d
music lover to a musician like have all these important
Tony Bennett. It doesn’t people here, and Shi Young
matter who she’s with or what would come down and
she’s doing; she always listen," Lois recalls. "I didn’t
manages to be in the thick of think anything of it." But Shi
things. "There was a woman I Young, as it turns out, was
knew — Sandra — who had a going back up to his room
arid writing up what he
kid in school with my son
Joseph," Lois told me. Lois heard for the China Youth
Daily, a newspaper with a
has a habit of telling stories
that appear to be tangential circulation in the tens of
millions.- Somehow, in the
and digressive but, on
reflection, turn out to be improbable way that the
parables of a sort. "She helped world works, a portal was
opened
up,
connecting
all these Asians living uptown.
One day, she came over here Chicago’s North Side reform
politics and the readers of
In the mid-eighties, Lois and said there was this young
the China Youth Daily, and
quit a job she’d had for four Chinese man who wanted to that link was Lois’s living
years, as director of special meet an American family and
w speak English better room. You could argue that
to
events in the administration learn
an“d was Alling to’cook for his this was just a fluke - just as
of Harold Washington, and
room and board. Well, II'm
’m it was a fluke that Isaac
somehow hooked up with a
Asimov was in town and that
group of itinerant peddlers always eager to have a cook,
Lois happened to be driving
and especially a Chinese cook,
who ran the city's flea
by when Cindy Mitchell
markets. ’There was this because my family loves
we’d go down to the snack
bar and buy a muffin and
then sit in her office while
she answered the phone. For
a real treat, when I worked
with her at the Council of
Lawyers she would take me
to the dining room in the
Wieboldt’s
department
store." Johnson is an oldschool Chicago intellectual
who works at a fancy law
firm and has a comer office
with
one
of
those
Midwestern views in which,
if you look hard enough, you
can almost see Nebraska,
and the memory of those
lunches at Wieboldt’s seems
to fill him with delight.
"Now,
you’ve
got
to>
understand
that
the
Wieboldt’s department store
— which doesn’t exist
anymore -- was a notch
below Field’s, where the
suburban society ladies have
their lunch, and it’s also a
notch below Carson’s," he
says. "There was a kind of
room there where people
who bring their own string
bags to go shopping would
have a quick lunch. This was
her idea of a lunch out.
We’re not talking Pamela
Harriman here."
G
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came running out of her
apartment. But sooner or
later all those flukes begin to
form a pattern.
3-
In the late nineteen-sixties,
a
Harvard
social
psychologist named Stanley
Milgram
conducted
an
experiment in an effort to
find an answer to what is
known as the small-world
problem, though it could
also be called the Lois
Weisberg problem. It is this:
How are human beings
connected? Do we belong to
separate worlds, operating
simultaneously
but
autonomously, so that the
links between any two
people, anywhere in the
world, are few and distant?
Or are we all bound up
together
in
a
grand,
interlocking web? Milgram’s
idea was to test this question
with a chain letter. For one
experiment, he got the
names of a hundred and
sixty people, at random, who
lived in Omaha, Nebraska,
and he mailed each of them
a packet. In the packet was
the name and address of a
stockbroker who worked in
Boston and lived in Sharon,
Massachusetts. Each person
was instructed to write his
name on a roster in the
packet and send it on to a
friend or acquaintance who
he thought would get it
closer to the stockbroker.
The idea was that when the
letters finally arrived at the
stockbroker’s house Milgram
could look at the roster of
names and establish how
closely connected someone
chosen at random from one
part of the country was to
another person chosen at
random in another part.
Milgram found that most of
the letters reached the
stockbroker in five or six
steps. It is from this
experiment that we got the
concept of six degrees of
separation.
That phrase is now so familiar
that it is easy to lose sight of
how surprising Milgram’s
finding was. Most of us don’t
have
particularly diverse
groups of friends. In one wellknown
study,
two
psychologists asked people
living in the Dyckman public
housing project, in uptown
Manhattan, about their closest
friend in the project; almost
ninety per cent of the friends
lived in the same building,
and half lived on the same
floor. In general, people chose
friends of similar age and
race. But if the friend lived
down the hall, both age and
race became a lot less
important,
Proximity
overpowered
similarity,
Another study,
involving
students at the University of
Utah, found that if you ask
someone why he is friendly
with someone else he’ll say
that it is because they share
similar attitudes. But if you
actually quiz the pairs of
students on their attitudes
youll find out that this is an
illusion, and that what
friends really tend to have in
common
are
activities.
We’re friends with the
people we do things with,
not necessarily with the
people we resemble. We
don’t seek put friends; we
simply associate with the
people who occupy the same
physical places that we do:
People in Omaha are not, as
a rule, friends with people
who
live
in
Sharon,
Massachusetts. So how did
the packets get halfway
across the country in just
five steps? ’’When I asked an
intelligent friend of mine
how many steps he thought
it would take, he estimated
that it would require 100
intermediate persons or
more
to
move
from
Nebraska
to
Sharon,’’
Milgram
wrote,
"Many
people make somewhat
similar estimates, and are
surprised to learn that only
five intermediaries will — on
the average -- suffice.
Somehow it does not accord
with intuition.’’
The explanation is that in
the six degrees of separation
not all degrees are equal.
When Milgram analyzed his
experiments, for example,
he found that many of the
chains reaching to Sharon
followed
the
same
asymmetrical
pattern,
Twenty-four
packets
reached the stockbroker at
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his home, in Sharon, and
sixteen of those were given
to him by the same person, a
clothing merchant whom
1
Milgram calls Mr. Jacobs.
The rest of the packets were
sent to the stockbroker at
his office, and of those the
majority came through just
two men, whom Milgram
calls Mr. Brown and Mr.
Jones. In all, half of the
responses that got to the
stockbroker were delivered
to him by these three people.
Think of it. Dozens of
people, chosen at random
from a large Midwestern
city, sent out packets
independently. Some went
through
college
acquaintances. Some sent
their packets to relatives.
Some sent them to old
workmates. Yet in the end,
when all those idiosyncratic
chains were completed, Jialf
of the packets passed
through the hands of Jacobs,
Jones, and Brown. Six
degrees
of
separation
doesn’t simply mean that
everyone is linked to
everyone else in just six
steps. It means that a very
small number of people are
linked to everyone else in a
few steps, and the rest of us
are linked to the world
through those few.
There’s an easy way to
explore this idea. Suppose
that you made a list of forty
people whom you would call
your circle of friends (not
including family members
or co-workers), and you Maura, who was my
worked backward from each roommate because she had
person until you could worked with a writer named
identify who was ultimately Sarah L., who was a college
responsible for setting in friend of my friend Jacob.
motion
the
series
of No Jacob, no Sarah S. In
connections which led to that fact, when I go down my list
friendship. Imet my oldest of forty friends, thirty of
friend, Bruce, for example, in them, in one way or another,
first grade, so I’m the lead back to Jacob. My
responsible party. That’s easy. social circle is really not a
I met my college friend Nigel circle but an inverted
because he lived down the hall pyramid. And the capstone
in the dormitory from Tom, of the pyramid is a single
whom I had met because in person, Jacob, who is
for
an
my freshman year he invited responsible
me to play touch football. overwhelming majority of
Tom, then, is responsible for my relationships. Jacob’s
Nigel. Once you’ve made all full name, incidentally, is
the connections, you will find Jacob Weisberg. He is Lois
the same names coming up Weisberg’s son.
again and again. I met my
friend Amy when she and her This isn’t to say, though,
friend Katie came to a that Jacob is just like Lois.
restaurant where I was having Jacob may be the capstone
dinner. I know Katie because of my pyramid, but Lois is
she is best friends with my the capstone of lots and lots
friend Larissa, whom I know of people’s pyramids, and
because I was told to look her that makes her social role
up by a mutual friend, Mike different. In Milgram’s
A., whom I know because he experiment, Mr. Jacobs the
went to school with another clothing merchant was the.
friend of mine, Mike H., who person to go through to get
used to work at a political to the stockbroker. Lois is
weekly with my friend Jacob. the kind of person you
No Jacob, no Amy. Similarly, I would use to get to the
met my friend Sarah S. at a stockbrokers of Sharon and
birthday party a year ago also the cabaret singers of
because she was there with a Sharon and the barkeeps of
writer named David, who was Sharon and the guy who
there at the invitation of his gave up a thriving career in
agent, Tina, whom I met orthodontics to open a small
through my friend Leslie, vegetarian falafel hut.
whom I know because her
sister Nina is best friends with 4my friend Ann, whom I met
through my old roommate
(,
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There is another way to look
at this question, and that’s
through the popular parlor
game Six Degrees of Kevin
Bacon. The idea behind the
game is to try to link in
fewer than six steps any
actor or actress, through the
movies they’ve been in, to
the actor Kevin Bacon. For
example, O. J. Simpson was
in ’’Naked Gun” with
Priscilla Presley, who was in
’The Adventures of Ford
Fairlane’’
with
Gilbert
Gottfried, who was in
"Beverly Hills Cop IF' with
Paul Reiser, who was in
"Diner" with Kevin Bacon.
That’s four steps. Mary
Pickford was in "Screen
Snapshots"
with
Clark
Gable, who was in "Combat
America"
with
Tony
Romano, who, thirty-five
years later, was in "Starting
Over" with Bacon. That’s
three steps. What's funny
about the game is that
Bacon, although he is a fairly
young actor, has already
been in so many movies with
so many people that there is
almost no one to whom he
can’t be easily connected.
Recently,
a
computer
scientist at the University of
Virginia by the name of
Brett Tjaden actually sat
down and figured out what
the average degree of
connectedness is for the
quarter million or so actors
and actresses listed in the
Internet Movie Database: he
came up with 2.8312 steps.
That sounds impressive,
except that Tjaden then went
back and performed an even
more
heroic
calculation,
figuring out what the average
degree of connectedness was
for everyone in the database.
Bacon, it turns out, ranks only
six hundred and sixty- eighth.
Martin Sheen, by contrast, can
be connected, on average, to
every other actor, in 2.63681
steps, which puts him almost
six hundred and fifty places
higher than Bacon. Elliott
Gould can be connected even
more quickly, in 2.63601.
Among the top fifteen are
people like Robert Mitchum,
Gene
Hackman,
Donald
Sutherland,
Rod
Steiger,
Shelley Winters, and Burgess
Meredith.
Why is Kevin Bacon so far
behind these actors? Recently,
in the journal Nature, the
mathematicians
Duncan
Watts and Steven Strogatz
published
a
dazzling
theoretical explanation of
connectedness, but a simpler
way to understand this
question is to look at who
Bacon is. Obviously, he is a lot
younger than the people at the
top of the list are and has
made fewer movies. But that
accounts for only some of the
difference.
A
top-twenty
person, like Burgess Meredith,
made a hundred and fourteen
movies in the course of his
career. Gary Cooper, though,
starred in about the same
number of films and ranks
only eight hundred and
seventy-eighth,
with
a
2.85075 score. John Wayne
made a hundred and eightythree movies in his fifty-year
career and still ranks only a
hundred and sixteenth, at
2,7173. What sets someone
like Meredith apart is his
range. More than half of
John Wayne’s movies were
Westerns, and that means
he made the same kind of
movie with the same kind of
actors over and over again.
Meredith,
Burgess
by
contrast, was in great
movies, like the Oscarwinning "Of Mice and Men"
(1939), and in dreadful
movies, like "Beware! The
Blob” (1972). He was
nominated for an Oscar for
his role in "The Day of the
Locust" and also made TV
commercials for Skippy
peanut butter. He was in
four "Rocky" movies, and
also played Don Learo in
Godard’s "King Lear." He
was in schlocky made- forTV movies, in B movies that
pretty much went straight to
video, and in pictures
considered modern classics.
He was in forty-two dramas,
twenty-two comedies, eight
adventure
films,
seven
action films, five sci-fi films,
five horror flicks, five
five
Westerns,
documentaries, four crime
movies, four thrillers, three
war movies, three films noir,
two children's films, two
romances, two mysteries,
one musical, and one
animated film.
Burgess
Meredith was the kind of
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actor who was connected to
everyone
because
he
managed to move up and
down and back and forth
among all the different
worlds and subcultures that
the acting profession has to
offer. When we say, then,
that Lois Weisberg is the
kind of person who ’"knows
everyone," we mean it in
precisely this way. It is not
merely that she knows lots
of people. It is that she
belongs to lots of different
worlds.
In the nineteen-fifties, Lois
started her drama troupe in
Chicago. The daughter of a
prominent attorney, she was
then in her twenties, living
in one of the suburbs north
of the city with two small
children. In 1956, she
decided to stage a festival to
mark the centenary of
George Bernard Shaw’s
birth. She hit up the
reclusive billionaire John D.
MacArthur for money. ("I go
to the Pump Room for
lunch. Booth One. There is a
man, lurking around a pillar,
with a cowboy hat and dirty,
dusty boots. It’s him.’’) She
invited William Saroyan and
Norman Thomas to speak
on Shaw’s legacy; she put on
Shaw plays in theatres
around the city; and she got
written up in Life. She then
began
putting
out
a
newspaper devoted to Shaw,
which mutated into an
underground
alternative
weekly called the Paper. By
then, Lois was living in a big
house on Chicago’s near
North Side, and on Friday
nights people from the Paper
gathered there for editorial
meetings. William Friedkin,
who went on to direct "The
French Connection" and ’The
Exorcist," was a regular, and
so were the attorney Elmer
Gertz (who won parole for
Nathan Leopold) and some of
the editors from Playboy,
which was just up the street.
People like Art Farmer and
Thelonious Monk and Dizzy
Gillespie and Lenny Bruce
would stop by when they were
in town. Bruce actually lived
in Lois’s house for a while.
"My mother was hysterical
about it, especially one day
when she rang the doorbell
and he answered in a bath
towel," Lois told me. "We had
a window on the porch, and
he didn’t have a key, so the
window was always left open
for him. There were a lot of
rooms in that house, and a lot
of people stayed there and I
didn’t know they were there."
Pause. Puff. "I never could
stand his jokes. I didn’t really
like his act. I couldn’t stand all
the words he was using."
Lois’s first marriage — to a
drugstore
owner
named
Leonard Solomon -- was
breaking up around this time,
so she took a job doing public
relations for an injury
rehabilitation institute. From
there, she went to work for a
public-interest law firm called
B.P.I., and while she was at
B.P.I. she became concerned
about the fact that Chicago’s
parks were neglected and
crumbling, so she gathered
together a motley collection '
of nature lovers, historians,
civic
activists,
and
housewives, and founded
the lobbying group Friends
of the Parks. Then she
became
alarmed
on
discovering that a commuter
railroad that ran along the
south
shore, of
Lake
Michigan — from South
Bend to Chicago — was
about to shut down, so she
gathered together a motley
railroad
collection
of
and
enthusiasts
and
environmentalists
commuters, and founded
South Shore Recreation,
thereby saving the railroad.
Lois loved the railroad buffs.
"They were all good friends
of mine," she says. "They all
wrote to me. They came
from California. They came
from everywhere. We had
meetings. They were really
interesting. I came this
close" — and here she held
her index finger half an inch
above her thumb -- "to
becoming one of them."
Instead, though, she became
the executive director of the
Chicago Council of Lawyers,
a
progressive
bar
association. Then she ran
Congressman Sidney Yates’s
reelection campaign. Then
her sister June introduced
her to someone who got her
the
job
with
Mayor
Washington. Then she had
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her flea-market period.
Finally, she went to work for
Mayor Daley as Chicago’s
Commissioner of Cultural
Affairs.
If you go through that
history and keep count, the
number of worlds that Lois
has belonged to comes to
eight: the actors, the writers,
the doctors, the lawyers, the
park lovers, the politicians,
the railroad buffs, and the
flea-market
aficionados.
When I asked Lois to make
her own list, she added
musicians and the visual
artists and architects and
hospitality-industry people
whom she works with in her
current job. But if you
looked harder at Lois’s life
you
could
probably
subdivide her experiences
into fifteen or twenty
worlds. She has the same
ability to move among
different subcultures and
niches that the busiest
actors do. Lois is to Chicago
what Burgess Meredith is to
the movies.
Lois was, in fact, a friend of
Burgess Meredith. I learned
this by accident, which is the
way I learned about most of
the strange celebrity details
of Lois’s life, since she
doesn’t tend to drop names.
It was when I was with her
at her house one night, a big,
rambling affair just off the
lakeshore, with room after
room filled with odds and
ends and old photographs
and dusty furniture and weird
bric-a- brae, such as a
collection of four hundred
antique egg cups. She was
wearing bluejeans and a
flowery-print top and she was
smoking Carlton Menthol
loos and cooking pasta and
holding forth to her son Joe
on the subject of George
Bernard Shaw, when she
started talking about Burgess
Meredith. "He was in Chicago
in a play called Teahouse of
the August Moon,’ in 1956,"
she said, "and he came to see
my production of ’Back to
Methuselah,' and after the
play he came up to me and
said he was teaching acting
classes, and asked would I
come and talk to his class
about Shaw. Well, I couldn’t
say no.” Meredith liked Lois,
and when she was running her
alternative newspaper he
would write letters and send
in little doodles, and later she
helped him raise money for a
play he was doing called
"Kicks and Company." It
starred a woman named
Nichelle Nichols, who lived at
Lois’s house for a while.
"Nichelle was a marvellous
singer and dancer," Lois said.
"She was the lead. She was
also the lady on the first..."
Lois was doing so many things
at once — chopping and
stirring and smoking and
eating and talking — that she
couldn’t remember the name
of the show that made Nichols
a star. "What’s that space
thing?" She looked toward Joe
for help. He started laughing.
"Star something," she said.
"’Star...Star Trek’! Nichelie
was Lieutenant Uhura!"
5On a sunny morning not
long ago, Lois went to a little
cafe just off the Magnificent
Mile, in downtown Chicago,
to have breakfast with
Mayor Daley. Lois drove
there in a big black Mercury,
a city car. Lois always drives
big cars, and, because she is
so short and the cars are so
big, all that you can see
when she drives by is the top
of her frizzy blond head and
the lighted ember of her
cigarette. She was wearing a
short skirt and a white vest
and was carrying a white
cloth shopping bag. Just
what was in the bag was
unclear, since Lois doesn’t
have
a
traditional
relationship to the trappings
of bureaucracy. Her office,
for example, does not have a
desk in it, only a sofa and
chairs and a coffee table. At
meetings, she sits at the
head of a conference table in
the adjoining room, and, as
often as not, has nothing in
front of her except a lighter,
a pack of Carltons, a cup of
coffee, and an octagonal
orange ceramic ashtray,
which she moves a few
inches forward or a few
inches back when she’s
making an important point,
or moves a few inches to the
side when she is laughing at
something really funny and
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feels the need to put her
head down on the table.
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Breakfast was at one of the
city’s tourist centers. The
Mayor was there in a blue
suit, and he had two city
officials by his side and a
very serious and thoughtful
expression on his face. Next
to him was a Chicago
developer
named
Al
Friedman, a tall and slender
and very handsome man
who is the chairman of the
Commission on Chicago
Landmarks. Lois sat across
from them, and they all
drank coffee and ate muffins
and batted ideas back and
forth in the way that people
do when they know each
other very well. It was a
"power breakfast," although
if you went around the table
you’d find that the word
"power" meant something
very different to everyone
there. Al Friedman is a rich
developer. The Mayor, of
course, is the administrative
leader of one of the largest
cities in the country. When
we talk about power, this is
usually what we’re talking
about: money and authority.
But there is a third kind of
power as well — the kind
Lois has — which is a little
less straightforward. It’s
social power.
At the end of the nineteeneighties, for example, the
City of Chicago razed an
entire block in the heart of
downtown and then sold it
to a developer. But before he
could build on it the real
estate market crashed. The lot
was an eyesore. The Mayor
asked for ideas about what to
do with it. Lois suggested that
they cover the block with
tents. Then she heard that
Keith Haring had come to
Chicago in 1989 and worked
with Chicago high-school
students to create a giant fivehundred-foot-long mural. Lois
loved the mural. She began to
think. She’d long had a
problem with the federal
money that Chicago got every
year to pay for summer jobs
for disadvantaged kids. She
didn’t think it helped any kid
to be put to work picking up
garbage. So why not pay the
kids to do arts projects like
the Haring mural, and put the
whole program in the tents?
She called the program
Gallery 37, after the number
of the block. She enlisted the
help of the Mayor’s wife,
Maggie Daley, whose energy
and clout were essential in
order to make the program a
success. Lois hired artists to
teach the kids. She realized,
though, that the federal
money was available only for
poor kids, and, Lois says, "I
don’t believe poor kids can
advance in any way by being
lumped together with other
poor kids." So Lois raised
money privately to bring in
middle-income kids, to mix
with the poor kids and be put
in the tents with the artists.
She started small, with two
hundred
and
sixty
"apprentices" the first year,
1990. This year, there were
more than three thousand.
The kids study sculpture,
painting, drawing, poetry,
theatre. graphic design,
design,
textile
dance,
jewelry-making, and music.
Lois
opened
a
store
downtown, where students’
works of art are sold. She
has since bought two
buildings to house the
project full time. She got the
Parks Department to run
Gallery 37 in neighborhoods
around the city, and the
Board of Education to let
them run it as an after
school program in public
high schools. It has been
copied all around the world.
Last year, it was given the
Innovations in American
Government Award by the
Ford Foundation and the
Harvard
school
of
government.
Gallery 37 is at once a jobs
program, an arts program, a
real- estate fix, a schools
program, and a parks
program. It involves federal
money and city money and
private money, stores and
buildings and tents, Maggie
Daley and Keith Haring,
poor kids and middle-class
kids. It is everything, all at
once — a jumble of ideas and
people and places which
Lois somehow managed to
make sense of. The ability to
assemble all these disparate
parts is, as should be
obvious,
a
completely
I
different kind of power from
the sort held by the Mayor
and Al Friedman. The
Mayor has key allies on the
city council or in the
statehouse. Al Friedman can
do what he does because, no
doubt, he has a banker who
believes in him, or maybe a
lawyer whom he trusts to
negotiate the twists and
turns of the zoning process.
Their influence is based on
close relationships. But
when Lois calls someone to
help her put together one of
her projects, chances are
she’s not calling someone
she knows particularly well.
Her influence suggests
something a little surprising
-- that there is also power in
relationships that are not
close at all.
The
sociologist
Mark
Granovetter examined this
question in his classic 1974
book "Getting a Job."
Granovetter
interviewed
several
hundred
professional and technical
workers from the Boston
suburb of Newton, asking
them in detail about their
employment history. He
found that almost fifty-six
per cent of those he talked to
had found their jobs through
a personal connection, about
twenty per cent had used
formal
means
(advertisements,
headhunters), and another
twenty per cent had applied
directly. This much is not
surprising: the best way to get
in the door is through a
personal contact. But the
majority of those personal
connections,
Granovetter
found, did not involve close
friends. They were what he
called "weak ties.” Of those
who used a contact to find a
job, for example, only 16.7 per
cent saw that contact "often,”
as they would have if the
contact had been a good
friend; 55.6 per cent saw their
contact only "occasionally”;
and 27.8 per cent saw the
contact "rarely." People were
getting their jobs not through
their friends but through
acquaintances.
Granovetter argues that when
it comes to finding out about
new jobs — or, for that matter,
gaining new information, or
looking for new ideas — weak
ties tend to be more important
than strong ties. Your friends,
after all, occupy the same
world that you do. They work
with you, or live near you, and
go to the same churches,
schools, or parties. How
much, then, do they know that
you don’t know? Mere
acquaintances, on the other
hand, are much more likely to
know something that you
don’t. To capture this
apparent
paradox,
Granovetter
coined
a
marvellous
phrase:
"the
strength of weak ties." The
most important people in your
life are, in certain critical
realms, the people who aren’t
closest to you, and the more
people you know who aren’t
close to you the stronger
your position becomes.
Granovetter then looked at
what he called "chain
lengths" — that is, the
number of people who had
to pass along the news about
your job before it got to you.
A chain length of zero means
that you learned about your
job from the person offering
it. A chain length of one
means that you heard about
the job from someone who
had heard about the job
from the employer. The
people who got their jobs
from a zero chain were the
most satisfied, made the
most money, and were
unemployed for the shortest
amount of time between
jobs: People with a chain of
one stood second in the
amount of money they
made, in their satisfaction
with their jobs, and in the
speed with which they got
their jobs. People with a
chain of two stood third in
all three categories, and so
on. If you know someone
who knows someone who
knows someone who has lots
of acquaintances, in other
words, you have a leg up. If
you know someone who
knows someone who has lots
of acquaintances, your
chances are that much
better. But if you know
someone who has lots of
acquaintances — if you know
someone like Lois — you are
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still more fortunate, because
suddenly you are just one
step away from musicians
and actors and doctors and
lawyers and park lovers and
politicians and railroad buffs
and flea-market aficionados
and all the other weak ties
that make Lois so strong.
This
sounds
like
a
reformulation of the old saw
that it’s not what you know,
it’s who you know. It’s much
more radical than that,
though. The old idea was
that people got ahead by
being friends with rich and
powerful people — which is
true, in a limited way, but as
a practical lesson in how the
world works is all but
useless. You can expect that
Bill Gates’s godson is going
to get into Harvard and have
a fabulous job waiting for
him when he gets out. And,
of course, if you play poker
with the Mayor and Al
Friedman it is going to be a
little easier to get ahead in
Chicago. But how many
godsons can Bill Gates have?
And how many people can
fit around a poker table?
This is why affirmative
action seems pointless to so
many people: It appears to
promise something — entry
to the old-boy network -that it can’t possibly deliver.
The old-boy network is
always going to be just for
the old boys.
Granovetter, by contrast,
argues that what matters in
getting ahead is not the deep fryer at Burger King,
quality of your relationships we usually talk about the
but the quantity — not how importance of rebuilding
communities,
close you are to those you inner-city
know but, paradoxically, how attracting ne\tf jobs to
depressed areas, and re
many people you know whom
in
neglected
you aren’t particularly close investing
neighborhoods. We want to
to. What he’s saying is that the
key person at that breakfast in give that kid the option of
downtown Chicago is not the another, better-paying job,
Mayor or Al Friedman but . right down the street. But
Lois Weisberg, because Lois is does that really solve his
the kind of person who it problem? Surely what that
really
really is possible for most of eighteen-year-old
us to know. If you think about needs is not another
the world in this way, the marginal inducement to stay
whole project of affirmative in his neighborhood but a
action suddenly starts to make way to get out of his
a lot more sense. Minority neighborhood altogether. He
admissions programs work needs a school system that
not because they give black provides him with the skills
students access to the same to compete for jobs with
middle-class kids. He needs
superior
educational
resources as white students, a mass-transit system to
or access to the same rich take him to the suburbs,
cultural environment as white where the real employment
students, or any other formal opportunities are. And, most
or grandiose vision
of of all, he needs to know
who
knows
engineered equality. They someone
work by giving black students someone who knows where
access to the same white all those good jobs are. If the
students as white students — world really is held together
people
like
Lois
by allowing them to make by
acquaintances outside their Weisberg, in other words,
own social world and so how poor you are can be
shortening the chain lengths defined quite simply as how
between them and the best far you have to go to get to
someone like her. Wendy
jobs.
Willrich and Helen Doria
This idea should also change and all the countless other
the way we think about people in Lois’s circle
helping the poor. When we’re needed to make only one
faced with an eighteen-year- phone call. They are well-off.
old
high-school
dropout The dropout wouldn’t even
whose only career option is know where to start. That’s
making five dollars and fifty why he’s poor. Poverty is not
cents an hour in front of the deprivation. It is isolation.
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I once met a man named
Roger Horchow. If you ever
go to Dallas and ask around
about who is the kind of
person who might know
everyone, chances are you
will be given his name.
Roger is slender and
composed. He talks slowly,
with a slight Texas drawl. He
has a kind of wiy, ironic
charm that is utterly
winning. If you sat next to
him on a plane ride across
the Atlantic, he would start
talking as the plane taxied to
the runway, you would be
laughing by the time the
seat-belt sign was turned off,
and when you landed at the
other end you’d wonder
where the time had gone.
I met Roger through his
daughter Sally, whose sister
Lizzie went to high school in
Dallas with my friend Sara
M., whom I know because
she used to work with Jacob
Weisberg. (No Jacob, no
Roger.) Roger spent at least
part of his childhood in
Ohio, which is where Lois’s
second husband, Bernie
Weisberg, grew up, so I
asked Roger if he knew
Bernie. It would have been a
little too apt if he did — that
would have made it all
something out of 'The XFiles” -- but instead of just
answering, "Sorry, I don’t,"
which is what most of us
would have done, he paused
for a long time, as if to flip
through the "W"s in his head,
and then said, "No, but I’m
sure if I made two phone
calls...”
Roger has a very good
memory for names. One time,
he says, someone was trying
to talk him into investing his
money in a business venture
in Spain, and when he asked
the names of the other
investors he recognized one of
them as the same man with
whom one of his ex-girlfriends
had had a fling during her
junior year abroad, fifty years
before. Roger sends people
cards on their birthdays: he
has a computerized Rolodex
with sixteen hundred names
on it. When I met him, I
became convinced that these
techniques were central to the
fact that he knew everyone —
that knowing everyone was a
kind of skill. Horchow is the
founder of the Horchow
Collection, the first high-end
mail-order catalogue, and I
kept asking him how all the
connections in his life had
helped him in the business
world, because I thought that
this particular skill had to
have been cultivated for a
reason. But the question
seemed to puzzle him. He
didn’t think of his people
collection as a business
strategy, or even as something
deliberate. He just thought of
it as something he did -- as
who he was. One time,
Horchow said, a close friend
from childhood suddenly
resurfaced. "He saw my
catalogue and knew it had to
be me, and when he was out
here he showed up on my
doorstep. I.hadn’t seen him
since I was seven. We had
zero in common, It was
wonderful."
The
juxtaposition of those last
two sentences was not
ironic; he meant it.
In the book "The Language
Instinct," the psychologist
Steven Pinker argues against
the idea that language is a
cultural artifact — something
that we learn "the way we
learn to tell time." Rather,
he says, it is innate.
Language
develops
"spontaneously," he writes,
"without conscious effort or
formal instruction," and "is
deployed without awareness
of its underlying logic....
People know how to talk in
more or less the sense that
spiders know how to spin
webs." The secret to Roger
Horchow and Lois Weisberg
is, I think, that they have a
kind of social equivalent of
that instinct -- an innate and
spontaneous and entirely
involuntary
affinity
for
people. They know everyone
because -- in some deep and
less than conscious way -they can’t help it.
8.
Once, in the very early
nineteen-sixties, after Lois
had broken up with her first
husband, she went to a party
for Ralph Ellison, who was
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then
teaching at
the
University of Chicago. There
she spotted a young lawyer
from the South Side named
Bernie Weisberg. Lois liked
him. He didn’t notice her,
though, so she decided to
write a profile of him for the
Hyde Park Herald. It ran
with a huge headline. Bernie
still didn't call. "I had to
figure out how I was going to
get to meet him again, so I
remembered that he was
standing in line at the
reception
with
Ralph
Ellison,” Lois says. "So I
called up Ralph Ellison" —
whom she had never met —
"and said, It’s so wonderful
that you are in Chicago. You
really should meet some
people on the North Side.
Would it be O.K. if I have a
party for you?”’ He said yes,
and Lois sent out a hundred
invitations, including one to
Bernie. He came. He saw
Dizzy Gillespie in the
kitchen and Ralph Ellison in
the living room. He was
impressed. He asked Lois to
go with him to see Lenny
Bruce. Lois was mortified;
she didn’t want this nice
Jewish lawyer from the
South Side to know that she
knew Lenny Bruce, who was,
after all, a drug addict. "I
couldn't get out of it," she
said. "They sat us down at a
table right at the front, and
Lenny keeps coming over to
the edge of the stage and
saying" — here Lois dropped
her voice down very low —
’"Hello, Lois.'I was sitting
there like this.” Lois put her
hands on either side of her
face. ’’Finally I said to Bernie,
There are some things I
should tell you about. Lenny
Bruce is a friend of mine. He's
staying at my house. The
second thing is I’m defending
a
murderer.’’’(But
that’s
another story.) Lois and
Bernie were married a year
later.
The lesson of this story isn’t
obvious until you diagram it
culturally: Lois got to Bernie
through her connections with
Ralph Ellison and Lenny
Bruce, one of whom she didn’t
know
(although
later,
naturally, they became great
friends) and one of whom she
was afraid to say that she
knew, and neither of whom, it
is safe to speculate, had ever
really been connected with
each other before. It seems
like an absurdly roundabout
way to meet someone. Here
was a thirtyish liberal Jewish
intellectual from the North
Side of Chicago trying to meet
a thirtyish liberal Jewish
intellectual from the South
Side of Chicago, and to get
there she charted a crosscultural social course through
a black literary lion and an
avant-garde standup comic.
Yet that's a roundabout
journey only if you perceive
the worlds of Lenny Bruce and
Ralph Ellison and Bernie
Weisberg to be impossibly
isolated °If you don’t -- if, like
Lois, you see them all as three
points of an equilateral
triangle -- then it makes
perfect sense. The social
instinct makes everyone
seem like part of a whole,
and there is something very
appealing
about
this,
because it means that people
like Lois aren’t bound by the
same
categories
and
partitions that defeat the
rest of us. This is what the
power of the people who
know everyone comes down
to in the end. It is not -- as
much as we would like to
believe
otherwise
something
rich
and
complex,
some
potent
mixture of ambition and
energy and smarts and
vision and insecurity. It’s
much simpler than that. It's
the same lesson they teach
in Sunday school. Lois
knows lots of people because
she likes lots of people. And
all those people Lois knows
and likes invariably like her,
too, because there is nothing
more irresistible to a human
being
than
to
be
unqualifiedly
liked
by
another.
Not long ago, Lois took me
to a reception at the
Museum of Contemporary
Art, in Chicago - a brandnew,
Bauhaus-inspired
building just north of the
Loop. The gallery space was
impossibly beautiful -- cool,
airy, high-ceilinged. The
artist on display was Chuck
Close. The crowd wasjleek
and well groomed. Black
clad young waiters carried
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pesto canapes and glasses of
white wine. Lois seemed a
bit lost. She can be a little
shy sometimes, and at first
she stayed on the fringes of
the room, standing back,
observing.
Someone
important came over to talk
to her. She glanced up
uncomfortably. I walked
away for a moment to look
at the show, and when I
came back her little comer
had become a crowd. There
was her friend from the state
legislature. A friend in the
Chicago Park District. A
friend
from
her
neighborhood. A friend in
the consulting business. A
friend from Gallery 37. A
friend from the local
businessdevelopment
group. And on and on. They
were of all ages and all
colors, talking arid laughing,
swirling and turning in a
loose circle, and in the
middle, nearly hidden by the
commotion,
was
Lois,
clutching her white bag, tiny
and large-eyed, at that
moment the happiest person
in the room.
© 1999 Malcolm Gladwell
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2
The Relational Meeting
“Whatever one’s philosophical or even theological position, a so
ciety is not the temple of value-idols that figure on the front of its
monuments or in its constitutional scrolls; the value of a society
is the value it places on human relations. ... To understand and
judge a society, one has to penetrate its basic structure to the
human bond upon which it is built; this undoubtedly depends
upon legal relations, but also upon forms of labor, ways of loving,
living, and dying.”
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MAURICE MERLE AU-PONTY
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The Most Radical Thing We Teach
You just finished the main chapter on why we organize. This chapter is the
key one on how we go about doing it. Relational meetings are the glue ihat
brings diverse collectives together and allows them to embrace the tension of
living in-between the two worlds. I organized full time for eight years without
understanding what I was experiencing or being able to explain it. It was cnly
when I tried to teach others that I had to reflect and outline an approach to
building power organizations. To me, the relational meeting is the best -jAF
offers. Properly understood, it’s not a science, not technique, but an art form.
It’s one organized spirit going after another person’s spirit for connection,
confrontation, and an exchange of talent and energy.
In the sacred texts of the Abrahamic religions, we find God holding rela
tional meetings at critical moments. The stories of Moses at the burning b ish
(Exodus 3), Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), and Muhammad in the
cave on Mount Hira (Koran 96) are classic accounts of relational meetiigs
called by the Creator that set three spirits on paths that changed the wo. Id!
When people asked the Buddha in his later years what sort of being he was,
he replied, I am awake.” A good relational meeting wakes somebody up.
Modern IAF defines the relational meeting as an encounter that is face to
face—one to one—for the purpose of exploring the development of a public
The Relational Meeting
■ 45
relationship. You’re searching for talent, energy, insight, and relationships;
where Jiese are present you have found some power to add to your public
collective. Without (hundreds and thousands of such meetings, people cannot
forge lasting public! relationships based on solid social knowledge or build
lasting citizens orgcinizations. Other parts of organizing, like caucuses, con
ventions, and demonstrations, only have lasting effects if they emerge and
take their lead from what happens in relational meetings.
James Madison said, “Great things can only be accomplished in a narrow
compass.” The IAF relational meeting is narrow in compass—one person face
to face with another:—but significant in intention. It is a small stage that lends
itself to acts of memory, imagination, and reflection. It constitutes a public
conversation on a scale that allows space for thoughts, interests, possibilities,
and talent to mix. It is where a public newness begins.
A solid relational meeting brings up stories that reveal people’s deepest
commitments and. the experiences that gave rise to them. In fact, the most
important thing that happens in good relational meetings is the telling of
stories that open a [window into the passions that animate people to act. In a
relational meeting with an African-American leader, an organizer asked why
she seemed so willing to take risks, why she was willing to step up and lead
when others held back. She is, by nature, a shy woman, not at ease in the
public arena, happier in her home and among her family members. In re
sponse to this simple but pointed question, she told the following story.
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When I was a young girl in North Carolina, my sister and I began to
attend the local Roman Catholic church. In those days, blacks sat in the
back pews. Now I was a very large young girl, rather heavy, and so was
my sister. When we went to that church, I saw no reason why my sister
and I should si : in the back So one Sunday we went right up and sat
in the first pew. The pastors and ushers were upset. The pastor came
over before Mass and asked me if we would please sit in the back, like
all other blacks I was scared as I could be, but I just couldn’t see where
God would care where we sat, so I said no. Finally, the ushers came and
carried me and my sister to the back. Carried us1 right down the aisle of
the church.
On the next Sunday, my sister and 1 sat in the front pew again, and
the priest card?
caul and the ushers came and they hauled us off again,
huffing and piiffing. On the third Sunday, the same thing happened.
By this time, we were pretty well known. Two black girls who got car
ried away to the back of the church every Sunday. My family, my
46 •
ROOTS FOR RADICALS
The Relational Meeting
mother particularly, was frightened at what we were doing, but she said
we were doing the right thing.
On the fourth Sunday, the priest and ushers didn’t do a thing. Th:
Mass started, the choir sang, we took our seats, and from then on w;
sat where we wanted in that church and in any Roman Catholic church
we ever-attended.
About a half hour passed this way, when the back door screeched
opened suddenly, and three big guys silently walked in and joined the
meeting, standing. The house’s owner said, “Have another shot and tell
them what youi’re telling me.” After two or three minutes of my analy
sis, one of the standing guys interrupted me with, “This guy is a nigger
lover.” I sensed that the relational meeting was over, and I was next
Instinctively , I countered (where it came from, I’ll never know),
“You guys are stupid. You don’t even know who pays me to do this
full-time.” Then I volunteered, “Monsignor P. J. Molloy of St. Leo’s [a
tough, keep-’em-out local priest]. Let’s call him now,” I said, motion
ing toward the telephone.
We went back and forth for another hour and a half. Finally, 1 stood
and said, “I gotta go.” I left to silence and wobbled to my car but was
alert enough to check underneath it then, and every day for the next
two weeks, before starting it.
\
After tens and hundreds of relational meetings, every experienced LIT
LAF
leader and organizer carries in his or her memory a set of precious stories like
the one you just read, stories that sustain us through difficult and often thank
less work.
Discovering a New Foundation for Organizing
Beginning in Chicago’s racially polarized neighborhoods in the late 1950s and
early ’60s, Dick Harmon and I crafted the art of the relational meeting in the
streets and taught it to organizers in Saul Alinsky’s training institute. Saul’s
way of organizing, which we had inherited, was influenced by electoral poli
tics and the CIO labor organizing of John L. Lewis. In this approach, wh ere
one person equals one vote and all votes are equal, the ability to mobilze
large numbers of people is the key. Under Alinsky, organizing meant “pick a
target, mobilize, and hit it.” In the modem IAF, it’s “connect and relate), to
others.” Issues follow relationships. You don't pick targets and mobilize fifrst;
you connect people in and around their interests. The inspiration for most of the best public tactics I’ve ever created came from relational meetings.
.
It was a chilly Friday night in the fall of 1959 in Chicago’s racially changing St. Sabina’s neighborhood on the Southwest Side. I had asked for
and finally got the name of a key bomb thrower committed to keeping
Negro famihes from moving into the all-white neighborhood. When I
called the person whose name I had, he suspiciously agreed that I could
come by at 9:30.
It was dark when I nervously rang the doorbell of a small white
bungalow. 1 was greeted with “Let’s go to the kitchen,” where four
items were prearranged on the table—a full bottle of Jim Beam, two
shot glasses, and a pistol. I began the meeting by pointing out that
violence just frightened white mothers, who put up “For Sale” signs
the next morning. “They’re not gonna raise their kids on a battlefield,”
I told him. His response was to have a shot and, as he raised his glass
to his lips, he made it clear that I was to do the same.
• 47
The beginningf of the LAF relational meeting weren’t churchy or academic,
but in places like ihat kitchen on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
After engaging in 250 or 300 relational meetings in the mid-1950s on the
racially changing Southwest Side of Chicago, it dawned on me that I had
stumbled onto a very useful tool, something that Alinsky had not figured out.
These dialogues had provided me with a blueprint for organizing toward a
free and open society, a way to break through racial segregation democrati
cally. Here was an alternative to violence, disruption, and fear. It wasn’t until
I was confronted in the late 1960s with creating a training institute that I
fully digested this experience. Teaching rookies how to organize through the
selective, systemaic use and careful evaluation of relational meetings made
me realize that I had discovered a treasure. Building on the social knowledge
I had gained under Alinsky during the 1950s allowed me to teach and develop
the relational meeting in the 1960s. For the last forty years, senior IAF orga
nizers have modeled the art form for trainees. In local and national training,
leaders have been taught to do them. We have come to understand the rela
tional meeting as the basic tool for all effective broad-based organizations.
Laying the Foundation for a Broad-Based Citizens Organization
In the process of constructing a broad-based citizens organization, thousands
of one-on-one meetings will be held.
Upon returning to Chicago to build a broad-based organization in
1994, I did ha[f a dozen relational meetings with a charismatic priest
who had started with Alinsky forty years earlier. Fifteen minutes into
i
48 •
ROOTS FOR RADICALS
The Relational Meeting
the sixth one, I sensed an old man with old connections, old stories; a
worn-down veteran, but still having lots of passion. Painfully, I took a
risk and followed my instincts. I said, “The problem, Jack, is you. You
can’t be center stage. The young priests can’t develop—you’re in the
way.” His face dropped. I paused. After a minute or two he said, “Ed,
what should I do?” I said, “Give me the names of 12 to 15 successful
young pastors in the city and suburbs.” “Why the suburbs?” he asked.
“It won’t work without them,” I answered. This painffil relational
meeting had triggered in me the next step. Three months later we had
the nucleus of a sponsoring committee, with Monsignor Jack Egan, the
IAF treasurer, on the sidelines, where he stayed until he died.
i
' 49
The implication df asking for a relational meeting is that the other person’s
perspective is of valde, that listening to the stories and insights, the memories
and struggles, of another is more important than hustling their name for a
petition or getting tnem out to vote. In contrast to prestructured, carefully
controlled and impersonal strategies like opinion surveys and focus groups,
the relational meeting is a risky, reciprocal event. The relational meeting is a
two-way street. The person requesting such a meeting isn’t a sponge, soaking
up information about the other person’s life. He or she must be prepared to
be vulnerable about his or her own social passions, values, frustrations, and
concerns because inside relational meetings, people will turn the tables with
their own questions:'
I
In bringing the United Power organization to birth in metropolitan Chicaj,o
from 1995 to 1997, the organizers and initial leaders conducted 9,000 tc
to 9,5c o
relational meetings over two years; about 25 percent of those were duds.. E
.l ,
Eveiy
good meeting in the bunch involved relational power, intentionality, and mu
tual recognition. Holding a number of relational meetings on a weekly basis
is the main work leaders must do to Jsustain and develop their organization
The relational encounter is the radical source of ah successful solidarity in a
democratic society.
The relational meeting is a thirty- to thirty-five-minute opportunity to s£t
aside the daily pressures of family, work, and deadlines to focus deliberate y
upon another person, to seek out their talent, interest, energy, and vision.
Don t violate this time frame. People do that all the time because they wart
conversation or chitchat. There are shelves full of books on how to keep
people talking. No matter how interesting it is, don’t violate the thirty-minute
rule. In a relational meeting, you’re checking people out, piquing their curios
ity, and looking for talent, not for friends or “dialogue.” Time discipline will
help keep you focused on public business. If the first thirty minutes goes wel ,
don t keep going schedule another meeting. In the meantime, check out the
people they send you to. If they’re duds, don’t go back. The relational meeting
is an art form that forces you to work within a time frame. Something in the
nature of these meetings requires discipline about time. These are moments
of intensity that cannot be sustained.
Here s a piece of social knowledge for you on time and power. In relations 1
meetings with big power people, they’ll keep the first twenty to twenty-fiv:
mmutes on you. Ordinary people will let you keep the focus on them for th:
first twenty to twenty-five mmutes, then they’ll want to know somethin:;
about what makes you tick and what you want from them. If you don’t be
lieve me, try it. That’s how you get social knowledge.
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• Who are you? i
• What do you wjant?
• Why do you dol what you do?
• Who pays you?!
• Are you running for office?
Effective leaders in their own right will want to know something about what
makes you tick. They will test, probe, and agitate you. You need to be able to
reciprocate, to have the ego, clarity, and flexibility to respond to someone
else’s initiatives. That’s why we need to see the relational meeting not as a
rigid structure but as a plastic form that can be bent, shaped, and changed
spontaneously in response to unpredictable demands and possibilities. No
two relational meetings are alike.
While the dominant culture tells us that cell phones, beepers, fax ma
chines, e-mail, and nternet chat rooms have made face-to-face communication obsolete, organizers and leaders who regularly do the intense work of
relational meetings understand that these disciplined conversations touch our
depths in a unique and irreplaceable way, even if one never sees the other
person again. In relational meetings, the “why” questions so often avoided by
people have a space m which to surface.
• Why are things like this?
• Why am I doing what I do?
• Why don’t I sp^nd more time on what I say is most important to me?
•I
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Having these disciplined, existential dialogues is no waste of time; it is one of
the highest and most valuable ways to spend our time. There is no electronic
substitute. There is ho chance for community without the relational meeting.
50 *
ROOTS FOR RADICAL S
The Art of the Relational Meeting
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A relational meeting isn't selling or pushing an issue or membership in an
organization. We must listen rather than talk and ask questions based on what
we are hearing. What is the other person thinking and feeling? What makes
them tick? What’s their number-one priority? Your basic tools for the meeting
are your eyes, ears, nose, instinct, and intuition.
Short succinct questions are the key.
• Why do you say that?
• How so?
• What’s that mean to you?
• How come it matters?
You must be prepared to interrupt with brief, tight questions like these, but
not to make your own speeches. Once you ask a probing question, shut iup
and listen, and be alert for the next question. The artistry of relational meet
ings has to do with this in-and-out movement.
In relational meetings, we look for interests, talents, and connections
across the spectrum of race, class, retigion, and politics. Those who initiate
them are particularly alert for people in the “moderate middle” of the politi
cal spectrum, who must be found in large numbers to form the core of an
effective broad-based organization. The relational meeting is the entry point
to public life. It is never done merely “to get to know” another person. Face- -to-face meetings that lead to the development of an ongoing public relation
ship form the core of collective action for the common good.
The relational meeting isn’t chitchat, like the usual informal exchange over
coffee or drinks. In casual meetings, we take people as they present them
selves. We don’t push. We don’t dig. We don’t ask why or where a notion
came from. We don’t probe an idea. We don’t raise possibilities. We don’t ask
questions that engage the imagination: “Well, what if you looked at it this
way?” “How would your parents have reacted?” "How would you feel if you
were the other person?” In everyday, casual talk, we don’t show depth of
curiosity or interest, and we don’t expect curiosity and interest to be dembnstrated toward us. Those who become proficient in holding public relational
meetings learn that they must be “on” while they do them—intentional, fo
cused, and prepared to agitate and be agitated in turn.
The relational meeting is not voyeuristic. It’s not an occasion to pry into
the private life of the other person. The difference between prying and prob
ing is important. When people pry, they show excessive curiosity; they try to
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The Relational Meeting
‘ 51
force the other person open. Curiosity becomes an indiscriminate end in it
self. A probe is more focused. It is an attempt to find the other’s center.
In a relational meeting, probing reveals the underpinnings of someone’s
public action or inaction. If a neighborhood resident is angry about the aban
doned building on the block and has attempted to organize others but
stopped short of direct action, it’s important to discover why. The personal
reasons that motivate action are revealed in stories: a grandfather who immi
grated during the D< ipression to establish a family in America; a mother who
served as a model of courage and strength during the anxiety and deprivation
of wartime; a brother gone bad who exerts a negative pull that the person is
resisting. Stories like these don’t rest on the surface, to be picked up in casual
chatter. Only concerned and intentional encounters will bring them to light.
The relational-mleeting approach is selective. Unless I get fooled, I have
relational meetings with leaders only. And I go up the food chain, toward
more power. You cai’t get to power without a credential.
In 1986 while on an organizing trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, I
requested and got a relational meeting with newly elected Archbishop
Desmond Tutu. It was friendly enough, but the archbishop was agitated
by the refusal of President Botha to meet with him. After several min
utes of listening to him, I said, “If I were Botha [God forbid], I
wouldn’t meet with you either.” He spit out, “Why do you say that?” I
said, “Because if he recognized you, he might have to recognize all the
other black South Africans.” Apartheid wouldn’t allow white power to
recognize blacks. Boldly, I said, “You should have had 10,000 black
South Africans cutside the Johannesburg Cathedral when you were
made a bishop in the Anglican Church.” He responded, “We had some
blacks present in the cathedral.” “Bishop,” I said, “had you come out
after the installation and addressed 10,000 black Anglicans militantly,
Botha might have given you a meeting.”
Archbishop Tutu and I parted on friendly terms, but that was a confronta
tional relational meeting. I had challenged him on power, courage, and not
understanding the 0 ^position’s interests.
Why have relational meeting with leaders only? First, a leader is someone
with relationships who can deliver his or her followers. The point of relational
meetings in broad-b ased organizing is to find leaders and connect them up,
not to duplicate preexisting relationships or replace leaders. Second, people
who are followers vvll tend to dump their problems on you, which is deener
gizing for you. Interested followers will be invited Jo assemblies and actions
I
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ROOTS FOR RADICALS
The Relational Meeting
and be given the opportunity to grow into leaders inside a broad-based orga
nization over time, but you can’t build an organization of organizations
around followers. In real estate, the mantra is “location, location, location.”
With relational meetings, it’s “selection, selection, selection.” If you get
caught with a follower, there’s an easy way out. Just say, “Take me to youij
leader.”
The relational meeting is not a search for those who share our faith, class,
politics, or other views. Ideologues on the right or left tend to seek consistency
and certainty. The disaffection with electoral politics of the vast moderate
middle of American society is in large part a reaction to the increasing insu
larity and narrowness of far-out liberals and right-wing conservatives. Both
groups end up preaching to their ideological clubs, using their own language,
their own fabricated theology, and their own single agendas. Both extremes
communicate, “If you want to join us, you have to be like us—follow the
party line.” Neither extreme sends the message that its agenda has some flu
idity, that its tone or strategy might be altered, that newcomers are expected
to bring something to the group’s agenda. Neither group does much organiz
ing, in the sense that the term is used in these pages. Instead, they pressure
people by means of direct mail, television ad campaigns, op-ed pieces, focus
groups, and market research studies, with an ever watchful eye on public
opinion polls. But polls cannot measure people’s intensity or passion for
change, nor can they bring people into real relationships.
Finally, the relational meeting is not a technique or an electronic shortcut,
but an art form. Relational meetings aren’t social science surveys for gathering
data, or one more focus group for dissecting the public. In sharp contrast to
the purpose of isolated and arbitrary opinion polling, relational meetings let
us discover something of the wholeness or spirit of the others.
manner. Those who become skilled in the art of the relational meeting have
learned to use their whcjle selves—body and spirit, charms, compassion, wits,
humor, and anger—in these intense, focused encounters.
To summarize these points, the relational meeting
52 •
• Who are they?
• Who are their heroes and heroines?
• Whom don't they like?
• What is their dream for their family or congregation or neighborhood?
• What would they call a life well lived?
• Can they deliver their institution?
• Are they open to public life and organization?
• Do they have some appetite for action?
Like art, the relational meeting has a certain form and requires certain
skills. But relational meetings have to be used flexibly and creatively by those
initiating the meetings rather than following a rote method in a formalized
■■
* 53
• is for the purpose if developing a public relationship
• focuses on the spirit and values of the other
• requires an intentional focus that goes beyond ordinary conversation
• necessitates probing and agitating the depths of the other
• demands a measure of vulnerability on both sides
• applies selectively, jvith leaders only
• bridges the barriers of race, religion, class, gender, and politics
• is a form of art thJt requires patient development and use of particular
skills
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When a good relational meeting occurs, two people connect in a way that
transcends ordinary, everyday talk. Both have the opportunity to pause and
reflect on their personal experience regarding the tension between the world
as it is and the world as it should be. And in that moment, a new public
relationship may be born, through which both will gain power to be truer to
their best selves; to live more effectively and creatively in-between the two
worlds. Most of the tadics for action that I’ve come up with in the last fifty
years came partly from spmething somebody said during a relational meeting.
After the Meeting
At the end of the individual meeting, the leader or organizer asks herself or
himself some serious questions.
• Does this person have any animating passion about the state of our
world as it is or as it ought to be?
• Does he or she have any anger, grief, memory, and vision about the state
of our public life?
• What about a sense of humor?
• Is there a healthy tension between his or her values and reality?
• Did the person askj me anything or exhibit any curiosity about me? Was
he or she properly [vary of my reasons for seeking a meeting? Was he or
she skeptical?
• Would personal problems in family or work prevent this person from
participating in and contributing to a collective?
After Aiinsky: Community Organizing in Illinois
(c) 1990 Illinois Issues, University of Illinois at Springfield
ISBN: 0-9620873-3-5
Chapter 4 (pp. 35-40> of After Aiinsky
Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City
For three years Barack Obama was the director of Developing Communities Project, an
; institutionally based community organization on Chicago's far south side. He has also been :
a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working
throughout the Midwest. Currently he is studying law at Harvard University. "Why
Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City" was first published in the August/
September 1988 Illinois Issues [published by then-Sangamon State University, which is
now the University of Illinois at Springfield].
)
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By Barack Obama
(c) 1990 Illinois Issues, Springfield, Illinois
; Over the past five years. I’ve often had a difficult time explaining my profession to folks,
i Typical is a remark a public school administrative aide made to me one bleak January
morning, while I waited to deliver some flyers to a group of confused and angry parents
•4who had d iscovered the presence of asbestos in their school
I "Listen, Obama," she began. "You’re a bright young man, Obama. You went to college,
. didn’t you?”
il nodded.
i "I just cannot understand why a bright young man like you would go to college, get that
; degree and become a community organizer."
’ "Why’s that?”
I" ’Cause the pay is low, the hours is long, and don’t nobody appreciate you.” She shook
1 her head in puzzlement as she wandered back to attend to her duties.
; I’ve thought back on that conversation more than once during the time I've organized
; with the Developing Communities Project, based in Chicago’s far south side.
i Unfortunately, the answers that come to mind haven’t been as simple as her question.
■ Probably the shortest one is this: It needs to be done, and not enough folks are doing it.
j The debate as to how black and other dispossessed people can forward their lot in America
I is not new. From W.E.B. DuBois to Booker T. Washington to Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X
; to Martin Luther Kingr this internal debate has raged between integration and nationalism, j
; between accommodation and militancy, between sit-down strikes and boardroom
i negotiations. The lines between these strategies have never been simply drawn, and the
; most successful black leadership has recognized the need to bridge these seemingly
;
! divergent approaches. During the early years of the Civil Rights movement, many of these I
i issues became submerged in the face of the clear oppression of segregation. The debate
>
was no longer whether to protest, but how militant must that protest be to win full
citizenship for blacks.
j
Twenty years later, the tensions between strategies have reemerged, in part due to the
i recognition that for all the accomplishments of the 1960s, the majority of blacks continue !
J to suffer from second-class citizenship. Related to this are the failures — real, perceived
and fabricated — of the Great Society.programs initiated by Lyndon Johnson. Facing these i
realities, at least three major strands of earlier movements are apparent.
First, and most publicized, has been the surge of political empowerment around the
country. Harold Washington and Jesse Jackson are but two striking examples of how the
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energy and passion of the Civil Rights movement have been channeled into bids for more
traditional political power. Second, there has been a resurgence in attempts to foster
economic development in the black community, whether through local entrepreneurial
efforts, increased hiring of black contractors and corporate managers, or Buy Black
campaigns. Third, and perhaps least publicized, has been grass-roots community
organizing, which builds on indigenous leadership and direct action.
Proponents of electoral politics and economic development strategies can point to
substantial accomplishments in the past 10 years. An increase in the number of black
public officials offers at least the hope that government will be more responsive to innercity constituents. Economic development programs can provide structural improvements
and jobs to blighted communities.
j In my view, however, neither approach offers lasting hope of real change for the inner city
unless undergirded by a systematic approach to community organization. This is because
the issues of the inner city are more complex and deeply rooted than ever before. Blatant
discrimination has been replaced by institutional racism; problems like teen pregnancy,
gang involvement and drug abuse cannot be solved by money alone. At the same time, as
Professor William Julius Wilson of the University of Chicago has pointed out, the inner
i city's economy and its government support have declined, and middle-class blacks ar:
are
(leaving the neighborhoods they once helped to sustain.
j NeiLiiet
Neither eiectuidi
electoral politics nor a strategy or
of economic seir-help
self-help and internal development
I
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«-U_____ ________ ___________________ .......................................................................................................
can by themselves respond to these new challenges. The election of Harold- .Washington
in
.........
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Chicago
hicago or of Richard
Richard Hatcher in Gary were not enough to bring jobs to inner-city
■ neighborhoods or cut a 50 percent drop-out rate in thFschools, although they did-achieve
did achieve
(an
an important symbolic effect. In fact, much-needed black achievement in prominent city
;i positions has put us in the awkward position of administering underfunded systems
*■ neither equipped nor eager to address the needs of the urban poor and being forced to
compromise their interests to more powerful demands from other sectors.
; Self-help strategies show similar limitations. Although both laudable and necessary, they
; too often ignore the fact that without a stable community, a well-educated population, an
adequate infrastructure and an informed and employed market, neither new nocwellnor well■ established companies will be willing to base themselves in the inner city and still compete
; in the international marketplace. Moreover, such approaches can and have become thinly
1 veiled e*rn<;e<; fnr nitt-inn har-lz
_______ ______ _____________
( veiled excuses for cutting back on social r>rr.r.r->rr>rprograms, which are anathema
to a conservative i
iagenda.
(agenda.
i: In theory, community organizing provides a way to merge various strategies for
j neighborhood empowerment. Organizing begins with the premise that (1) the problems
; inner-city
nities do not Result
result from a lack
from a
|! facing
^ngLinn
^city commu
communities
lack ofeffectivesolutions,
effective splutjons, but from
i lack of power to implement these solutions; (2) that the only way for communities to build t
| long-term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision; and (3)
: that a viable organization can only be achieved if a broadly based indigenous leadership — ,
I and not one or two charismatic leaders — can knit together the diverse interests of their
i
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! local institutions.
I This means bringing together churches, block clubs, parent groups and any other
l institutions in a given community to pay dues, hire organizers, conduct research, develop
I leadership, hold rallies and education campaigns, and begin drawing up plans on a whole
| range of issues — jobs, education, crime, etc. Once such a vehicle is formed, it holds the
| power to make politicians, agencies and corporations more responsive to community
! needs. Equally important, it enables people to break their crippling isolation from each
i other, to reshape their mutual values and expectations and rediscover the possibilities of
I acting collaboratively — the prerequisites of any successful self-help initiative.
i By using this approach, the Developing Communities Project and other organizations in
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Chicago’s inner city have achieved some impressive results. Schools have been made
more accountable-Job training programs have been established; housing has been
renovated and built; city services have been provided; parks have been refurbished; and
crime and drug problems have been curtailed. Additionally, plain folk have been able to
j access the levers of power, and a sophisticated pool of local civic leadership has been
developed.
; But organizing the black community faces enormous problems as well. One problem is the
' not entirely undeserved skepticism organizers face in many communities. To a large
: degree, Chicago was the birthplace of community organizing, and the urban landscape is
! littered with the skeletons of previous efforts. Many of the best-intentioned members of
The community have bitter memories of such failures and are reluctant to muster up
1 renewed faith in the process.
A related problem involves the aforementioned exodus from the inner city of financial
• resources, institutions, role models and jobs. Even in areas that have not been completely
devastated, most households now stay afloat with two incomes. Traditionally, community
organizing has drawn support from women, who due to tradition and social discrimination
j had the time and the inclination to participate in what remains an essentially voluntary
activity. Today the majority of women in the black community work full time, many are
i the sole parent, and all have to split themselves between work, raising children, running a
household and maintaining some semblance of a personal life — all of which makes
voluntary activities lower on the priority list. Additionally, the slow exodus of the black
i middle class into the suburbs means that people shop in one neighborhood, work in
I another, send their child to a school across town and go to church someplace other than
the place where they live. Such geographical dispersion creates real problems in building a
| sense of investment and common purpose in any particular neighborhood.
' Finally community organizations and organizers are hampered by their own dogmas about
[the style and substance of organizing. Most still practice what Professor John McKnight of
I Northwestern University calls a "consumer advocacy" approach, with a focus on wrestling
■ services and resources from the ouside powers that be. Few are thinking of harnessing the
i internal productive capacities, both in terms of money and people, that already exist in
I communities.
i Our thinking about media and public relations is equally stunted when compared to the
! high-powered direct mail and video approaches success fully used by conservative
! organizations like the Moral Majority. Most importantly, low salaries, the lack of quality
!
'training and ill-defined possibilities for advancement discourage the most talented young
i blacks from viewing organizing as a legitimate career option. As long as our best and
_ ! brightest youtti see,more wppM_LU4ii».jLy-JLLi
uic yyi,»n UUJLLU
_ the |
QPRQ rtunity iD j=»»LL«yiny.
climbing the£QrpQiate.l^errthan.ip
buildlog
!communities from which they came, organizing will remain decidedly handicapped.
iNone of these problems is insurmountable. In Chicago, the Developing Communities
| Project and other community organizations have pooled resources to form cooperative
'think tanks like the Gamaliel Foundation. These provide both a formal setting where
i experienced organizers can rework old models to fit new realities and a healthy
I environment for the recruitment and training of new organizers. At the same time the
I
i leadership vacuum and disillusionment following the death of Harold Washington have
! made both the media arid people in the neighborhoods more responsive to the new
i approaches community organizing can provide.
1 Nowhere is the promise of organizing more apparent than in the traditional black
i churches. Possessing tremendous financial resources, membership and — most
j importantly — values and biblical traditions that call for empowerment and liberation, the
j black church is clearly a slumbering giant in the political and economic landscape of cities
| like Chicago. A fierce independence among black pastors and a preference for more
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traditional approaches to social involvement (supporting candidates for office, providing
shelters for the homeless) have prevented the black church from bringing its full weight to
bear on the political, social and economic arenas of the city.
Over the past few years, however, more and more young and forward-thinking pastors
have begun to look at community organizations such as the Developing Communities
Project in the far south side and GREAT in the Grand Boulevard area as a powerful tool for
living the social gospel, one which can educate and empower entire congregations and not
just serve as a platform for a few prophetic leaders. Should a mere 50 prominent black
churches, out of the thousands that exist in cities like Chicago, decide to collaborate with
a trained organizing staff, enormous positive changes could be wrought in the education,
housing, employment and spirit of inner-city black communities, changes that would send
powerful ripples throughout the city.
In the meantime, organizers will continue to build on local successes, learn from their
numerous failures and recruit and train their small but growing core of leadership —
mothers on welfare, postal workers, CTA drivers and school teachers, all of whom have a
vision and memories of what communities can be. In fact, the answer to the original
question — why organize? — resides in these people. In helping a group of housewives sit
I across the negotiating table with the mayor of America’s third largest city and hold their
own, or a retired steelworker stand before a TV camera and give voice to the dreams he
has for his grandchild’s future, one discovers the most significant and satisfying
contribution organizing can make.
; In return, organizing teaches as nothing else does the beauty and strength of everyday
I people. Through the songs of the church and the talk on the stoops, through the hundreds
iof individual stories of coming up from the South and finding any job that would pay, of
i raising families on threadbare budgets, of losing some children to drugs and watching
j others earn degrees and land jobs their parents could never aspire to — it is through
: these stories and songs of dashed hopes and powers of endurance, of ugliness and strife,
subtlety and laughter, that organizers can shape a sense of community not only for
i others, but for themselves.
- END - Chapter 4 -
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4
The strategy chart is an extremely useful
tool for campaign planning. It lends itself both
to overall campaign strategy and to the plahning
of specific events such as a public hearing Dr an
accountability session with an elected official.
The chart is valuable as the focal point of t
group planning process because it poses th i
necessary questions in a logical order and moves
people through the planning process step by
step,
In your campaign planning meetings, you
should always display the chart prominent y on
a blackboard or large sheet of paper in the iont
of the room. Have the following resources on
hand to complement the chart:
Strategy Chart
Coals
Organizational Considerations
Constituents, Allies, and Opponents
Targets
Tactics
Notes on Tactics
Using the Chart
Timelines
Sample Strategy Chart
20
1. A large map of the area, city or state id which
the campaign will take place. There are
often critical relationships among issue s,
groups, neighborhoods, geography, an 1
political districts that can only become
apparent when you look at a map.
2. Overlays for the map to show political districts
(or use separate district maps).
3. Election returns for relevant races for t he last
several years. Knowing voting patterns and
totals in primaries and general elections is
important to understanding the strength of
allies and opponents, even if your
organization is not involved in electon 1
work.
4. The Yellow Pages to identify potential
constituent and opponent organizations.
5. A list of your own board members and, if you
are a coalition, your affiliates by address.
Organizing for Social Change
J
Developing a Strategy
6. Someone who knows the major unstitutions in
the area, major employers, bank i,
corporations public buildings, et:.
Next, we outline the information to be filled
in and the questions to be considered for each ’
of the five columns of the chart, whl :h is
displayed on the next page. Planning and
completing the chart in sufficient del ail can take
several hours.
There are five major strategy elements to
consider. Each has a column to fill in on the
chart.
1. Long-Term, Immediate, and Short-Term
Goals
2. Organizational Considerations .■
3. Constituents, Allies, and Opponents
4. Targets (who can give you what you want)
5. Tactics
At first glance it appears that the chart is a
series of lists. What we are unable to show on
paper, but what becomes clear when yoi
actually use the chart in planning, isj hat it is
more like a computer spreadsheet. henever
you change anything in one column! .
corresponding changes need to be ni ide in the
others. For example, adding another; goal may
require finding a different type of cd islituent
group that would employ another taqtic against a
new target
To help illustrate the use of the chart, we
will cite, among other examples, a hypothetical
campaign to win tax reform on the state level.
------ I
Let’s say that you are the organizer in charge of
the campaign. Like many other states, yours has
been hit by a major budget crunch. The
governor, a middle-of-the-road Democrat, has
announced that social services will have to be
cut, aid to school districts must be cut, and many
public employees laid off. He has also
announced a package of regressive sales and
excise tax increases. In addition to these,
communities will be hit with higher property
taxes to fund the schools unless they slash
school budgets.
Your organization, the State Citizens
Alliance, is a coalition. It includes many unions,
senior citizen groups, environmentalists,
community organizations, low-income
organizations, women's organizations, and
organizations of people of color. In addition, the
organization has an individual membership of
46,000 people recruited by your professional
door-to-door canvass? It has a fine track record,
having won many statewide legislative battles.
Your organization supports increasing
taxes, but you want it done in a progressive way,
which puts the burden on the rich and the large
corporations. You have obtained the assistance
of a public interest organization to draft your
own tax proposal—the Citizens’ Fait Tax
Plan—so your technical presentation will be as
good as any the Governor can produce. You are
now ready to plan how to get your proposal
passed.
Developing a Strategy
21
/
Mlowest Acaaemy strategy Chan
After choosing your issue, fill in this chart as a guide
to developing strategy. Be specific. List all the possibilities.
Organizational
Considerations
Constituents, Allies, and
Opponents
1. List the resources that your
I. Who cares about this issue
enough to join in or help the
organization?
Goals
I. List the long-term objectives of
your campaign.
organization brings to the
campaign. Include: money,
number of staff, facilities,
reputation, canvass, etc.
2. State the intermediate goals
for this issue campaign. What
constitutes victory?
•
•
•
Win concrete improvements in
people’s lives?
Give people a sense of their
own power?
Alter the relations of power?
3. What short-term or partial
victories can you win as steps
toward your long-term goal?
Tactics must be:
• Who has the power to give
you what you want?
• What power do you have
over them?
• In context
•
•
•
2. Secondary Targets
2. Who are your opponents?
•
Who has power over the
people with the power to
give you what you want?
• What power do you have
over them?
•
• What will your victory cost
• Expand leadership group
• Increase experience of
existing leadership.
• Build membership base.
• Expand into new
constituencies.
• Raise more money.
I. For each target. list the
tactics that each constituent
group can best use to make its
power felt.
A target is always a person. It
is never an institution or
elected body.
Whose problem is it?
What do they gain if they
win?
• What risks are they taking?
• What power do they have
over the target?
• Into what groups arc they
organized?
2. List the specific ways in
which you want your
organization to be stengthened
by this campaign. Fill in
numbers for each:
Tactics
1 - Primary Targets
•
•
What is the budget, including
in-kind contributions, for this
campaign?
How will the campaign:
Targets
them?
What will they do/spend to
oppose you?
• How strong are they?
•
Flexible and creative
Directed at a specific target
Make sense to the
membership
Be backed up by a specific
form of power
Tactics include:
Media events
Actions for information and
demands
• Public hearings
• Strikes
• Voter registration and voter
education
• Law suits
• Accountability sessions
• Elections
• Negotiations
•
•
3. List internal problems that
have to be considered if the
campaign is to succeed.
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Chicago, Illinois 60610
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Sample Organizational Considerations Column
1. Resources to Put In
Salaries and expenses for six months =■ $45,000. On hand = 110.000. To raise =
$35,000.
Staff .
Mary'—LeadOrganizer
-Full time
Fre^i^drganizer . .
Halftime
Sam—Support Staff
l.day’.,a week
Liz^bilege-Intcm
1. dayv a -.z;--week
Kate^-Supervisor i
week
(Cash valiie of staff time = 540,000)
• Canvass, offices (3). Approx.. 15 canvassers
hittirig 9,000 doors a month for three
morith&.(cash value if people were hired to
. do this =’$95,000). ,
• 7 board rnembers blithe tax committee.
Each represents„an affiliate organization.
• Committee chair. Very active. Good
spokesperson
• Lobbyist from allied union.: .
’Tax expert contributed to us by Citizens for
Tax Neatness..
• Office space and phones for all staff
.
(cash value-$7.00).. .
• 1 Xcroxithat works. 1 that sort of works.
2 computers.
.
(cash value for use = $200)
• Good relatioiis with press.
Abner Beny at the Sentinel and
Al Ferman at the Herald.
•
:
against seniors, had to make the police
department keep crime statistics by age just to
prove that the problem existed.
And sometimes, short-term goals will be
electoral. A specific person must be removed or
more forceful leadership elected.
While listing goals, consider what the cost
to someone will be if you win it. Who will pay?
What is it worth to someone to defeat you?
Knowing this helps you to get a sense of how
much money is likely to be spent on defeating .
you. It also gives you some better idea of who
will end up as allies or opponents.
When you are finished listing your goals,
have the group put them more or less in the
order in which they will have to be achieved.
2. What We Want to Get Out of It
. Make back all expenses ($45,000) through
contributions from affiliates and campaign
fundraising.
. • . 4 new affiliates. Most likrily ;chc>ices areCarverW Taxpayers Against Waste,
Newton Teachers Local. Ji‘0, Association , of
Child;ServicejYoyiders^
.
Our Schools Committee.
‘
Build a base
016 5th’7lh’and 14th
districts Promote George, Fneda, and Holly
aswspdctiv^^kespehtms,
•. Peyelqp’liactive volunteers. ’
Develop ways.to activate,45,000 canvass
3. Problems to Solve
• Rivalry between teachers’ unions may erupt.
—Meet with them. Ask them to keep turf
fight out of it;
• Uptown Seniors don’t like Downtown
Seniors.
—Hold separate meetings in each
community.
• Fred says that Mary whistles through her
nose all day, arid he can’t work in the. same
office with her.
—Seek treatment for Fred since no one else
ever hears Mary do this.
Column 2: Organizational
Considerations
This column is essentially an organizati snal
expense and income statement. You list wh.it
resources you have to put into the campaigr
(expenses), what organizational gains you. want
to come out of the campaign (income),’ and
internal problems that have to be solved.
Stan with resources. This is essentially /our
campaign budget. Consider these to be expanses
or better yet, investments. Be very- specific,
particularly about staff time and money. List
names. Make sure that the people working_ <n
your campaign are in the room when you ta k
about how much of their time is going into he
campaign. “Full time,” for example,;pieans that
a person has no other responsibilities. Don’t be
one of those groups where the organizer works
“full time” on each of five campaigns at once.
List the amount of money you arte putting
into the campaign and the amount that needs to
be raised. Then put a fair market casii value on
the in-kind contributions you are macing,
including staff time. Unless you do this, your
allies, affiliates and members will nelver have
• any idea of the size of your real contribution,
and neither will you.
In the second part of the column llist
everything that the organization wantis to get out
of the campaign, in addition to winning the issue.
Consider this income and plan to make a profit,
both in organizational gains and real -dollars.
The last part of this column listsiinternal
problems that will have to be considered or
solved in the course of the campaign! Here,
“internal” implies both within your Organization
(e.g., staff relationships) and problems within
constituent or allied organizations. !
Sample Constituents, Allies, and
Opponents Column
1. Constituents arid Allies
State.Teachers Uhioc:7.000members
;Local;210.GothamCity .
' .Local 113'Newton
Local 69 Butler
Duyyil
i-;Sta^Teachers-'Assbciation:
-12.000 members -
•
State Public Employees Union:
14,000 rhembfers
Lisfilocals
• State Labor Federation:
401000 members
■Listfleiive local and
labor councils.
• Association of Day Care Centers: 1,200
members
• State Senior Council: 3,COO members
Ciubsin
Parker (5th District)
Gotham
Newton (7thTjistrict)
(
Salem'
Wmchester(14th District)
Westchester
• Council of Home Health care Providers
• Newton Council ofCivic Associations
< State Alliance of PTAs
• Taxpayers Union: -2,000 members
•
Column 3: Constituents, Allies and
Opponents
Constituents and Allies
This column is where you answer the
questions, who cares about this issue , what do
they stand to win or lose, what power do they
have, and how are they organized? A
constituency is a group of people, hopefully
already organized, who you can contact and
bring into the campaign. In filling ou!t this
column, be expansive, even far fetched. The
idea is to come up with a long list of potential
allies. During the campaign you ma; not get to
all of them, but you can come back to the list
later if events bog down and you need additional
support.When you start drawing up the b st for the
Citizens’ Fair Tax Plan campaign, the first
groups that come to mind are public! employee
organizations that face layoffs and taxpayer
organizations. Some taxpayer groups will be
very right-wing, but some could join you.
Clearly, organizations that get services or
funding from the state will also be interested:
examples include seniors and day cire
providers.
2. Opponents
• Chamber of Commerce
• Bankers Association .
• •:. Insurance-Industry Council
. • Johnson-Corp/
'
: RepIBlrd (.14th District)
' . • .Taxpayers Association of Hatemail
, • * etei;-ejtc.
i
•
The problem is that in the face of a general
sentiment in the state that favors budget cuts
over tax hikes of any kind, this list is too short.
Additional allies will be homeowners and
parents, but to bring them in. the goals of the
campaign will have to be expanded to include
Il
L
24
Organizing for Social Change
Developing a Strategy
II
2S
property tax relief and school funding. (This is
an example of how the chart is like a computer
spreadsheet. When you change one column, you
will have to change others.) The next question is
how are home owners and parents organized?
The canvassers can reach some of them, and
others will contact you after the media start to
carry the story, but look for existing groups.
Even if you are organizing for an individual
membership organization rather than a coalition,
it is still useful to think of people as part of
groups. For example, say that you are working
on a public transportation issue and decide that
senior citizens are a possible constituency. You
could list seniors on the chan, or you could be
more specific and say, "Seniors who ride the #1
and #2 buses.” It would be much better,
however, to look in the Yellow Pages to see
what senior centers are served by those lines.
Don’t overlook churches that might have senior
clubs. Mark them on a map. Put them on die
chart by name. Go and visit them.
Then, look for constituencies that are less
than obvious. On die tax issue, realtors or real
estate associations might join with you because
value is added to the houses they sell if taxes are
lower and there is a good school system.
Think of each constituent group as the hub
■ of a wheel. Then look at the spokes. Who cares
about these people? Who does business with
them? Who provides services to them? Who
lends them money? Who borrows their money
(banks, insurance companies)? For whom do
they vote? If they had more money to spend,
where would they spend it? Who would get it
(local merchants or Swiss banks)? What
organizations or churches do they belong to?
Looking at your possible constituents in this
way, it is easy to see that the self-interest of one
group affects the self-interest of many others.
While it is necessary to think about potential
areas of conflict between the groups, remember
that people don’t all have to love each other,
agree on tactics-, or even sit in the same room in
order to support the same issue. In fact,
sometimes the issue brings them together. This
was the case in the classic campaign against the
Chicago Crosstown Expressway. The proposed
expressway route ran through different ethnic
communities. One White group came with signs
saying, "Black roads, white lines united against
the Crosstown.”
26
Break down your list according to whether
the constituency is organized or unorganized.
That is, homeowners in the Lincoln Park aiea,
as opposed to homeowner associations in the
Lincoln Park area. Then rank each group
according to the power they bring to the
campaign. Consider the following:
How many of them are there? / How many
members do they have?
• Did they work or vote for the incumbent
office holder?
• Do they make campaign contributions?
• Will they give money to your campaigh?
• Do they bring special credibility? (Clergy)
• Do they have special appeal? (Children)
• Are they part of a larger organized network?
(Veterans)
• Do they have a reputation for being tot gh?
(Unions)
• Do they have special skills? (Lawyers)
• .Are they considered particularly
newsworthy? (Penguins)
•
Last, examine the weakness of each
constituency. Look at their reputation, past!
history, and the enemies that you might inherit
by linking up with them.
Opponents
List all the groups, individuals and I
institutions that stand to lose or be very up^et if
you win. What will your victory cost them? Try to evaluate how actively each will oppose you,
and what they will do or spend to defeat ydu. In
a few cases you may find ways to neutralize
them, but even if there is nothing you can do, it
is best to have some idea of what to expectlas
the campaign unfolds. List the power of each
opponent. How does the strength of your j
constituents stack up against the strength of your
opponents in the eyes of the people who can
give you what you want?
Column 4: Targets
Primary Targets
The person with the power to give you what
you want is often referred to as the “target’ of
the campaign. This does not necessarily imply
that the person is evil. It simply means that by
Organizing for Social Change
p
virtue of having the power to give yt u what you
want, that person is the focus of the campaign.
The target is always a person. ersonalize
the target" is a fundamental rule of 6 -ganizing.
Even if the power to give you what y ou want is
actually held by an institution such dS a city
council, a board of directors, the legislature, the
police department, or the Environmental
Protection Agency, personalize it. Find out the
name of the person who can make the decision,
or at least strongly influence it. Make that
person the target Not only does this! kelp to
narrow the focus of the campaign, bik it makes
your members feel that winning is possible. A
campaign to change a person’s mind is much
more believable than one to change me policy of
a big institution. In addition, individual decision
makers have human responses such k fairness,
guilt, fear, ambition, vanity or loyalw. These do
not exist in institutions or formal bodies as a
whole. Such responses can only comle into play
if you personalize Tie target.
' When filling out this column, list all the
possible people who can give you wiat you
want. It helps if there is more than one of them
because where power is divided, the^e are
usually more weak spots and openings. Also,
multiple targets provide an opportunity to
. sustain the campaign over a longer time. This
/ allows you to build strength. In man:' types of
campaigns, time is on your side if you can hold
out. This is particularly true if you ale trying to
stop expensive things from being built, or large
sums of money from being spent. Along
campaign may also help you to keeplthe issue
alive until an election intervenes or a court
decision comes down. List the reasons that each
target has to oppose you as well as ti! agree with
you. List your power over each target. Go back
to the constituency list and considerlhow to
match the power of each constituent^ against
the vulnerabilities of the target.
.I
Secondary Targets
A secondary target is a person who has
more power over the primary target-than you do.
But, you have more power over thisjperson than
you have over the primary target.
Tenants in public housing who wanted their
buildings painted provide an example. The
tenants made several members of the city
housing authority their primary targets.
Is. When
MSB
irs tu,
'
the tenants discovered that old lead paint was
peeling off the walls, they made the head of the
health department a secondary target. She didn’t
care about the tenants’ dispute with the housing
authority, but lead was a health hazard that had
to be corrected. She told the housing authority
that the walls had to be scraped and repainted.
When you list secondary targets, write down
what power you have over them, and what
power they have over the primary target.
In the Fair Tax campaign, the targets are
determined by an analysis of the legislature.
Clearly the governor will be a target, as will the
heads of key committees. Once the legislation is
introduced, and a head count taken of committee
members and the legislature as a whole, specific
districts can be targeted as well. Secondary
targets for this campaign might include officials
such as county chairs of the Democratic and
Republican parties, lower-level elected officials,
and campaign contributors.
Don’t feel obliged to have a secondary
target if you have power over the primary one.
Column 5: Tactics
Tactics are steps in carrying out your overall
plan. They are the specific things that the people
in column 3 can do to the people in column 4 to
Developing a Strategy
27
Sample Tactics Column
(listed more or less in the .order in which they
might actually be used)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Media hits. Feature unjust tax distribution
between1 homeowners and EXXON
refinery.
More media- hits. Spotlight education cuts.
Kids come-with symbols of cut prograrns.
e.g;, spbrts equipment,’ musical
instruments.
Do same day in four cities with teacher
organizations and PTAs.
Start postcard campaign for fair taxes.
“Dear Gov. When my income goes over
$100,000,1 will happily pay higher taxes if
you enact them how.”
Media hit in capital to release detailed Fair
Tax Plan. Sponsors and co-sponsors on
hand.
Canvassers start petition drive in targeted
districts.
Media hits in targeted districts to announce
formation of district Fair Tax committees
to put legislature on the spot. Show
petitions.
Delegation meetings to get position of
targeted legislators.
Local hearings.Either sponsors hold them
officially or we hold them. Aim for high
turnout.
Additional delegation meetings in target
districts. Service providers, seniors, clients
of programs are included.
Save our schools. Rallies and picnics.
Fundraiser.
TV debate between our leader and
legislative opponents.
Tax bill burning day when tax bills are
sent out.
Accountability sessions in targeted
districts, particularly the Sth, 7th, and 14th
districts.
Mass lobby day in capital when bill comes
up for vote. Governor invited to speak for
the bill. Empty chair if he doesn’t. Invite
potential opponents.
put pressure on them. When you list tactic: . put
down who will do what, and to whom. Tactics
should be fun. They should be within the
experience of your members, but outside tl ic
experience of your targets.
Every tactic has an element of power t ehind
it. None should be purely symbolic. Differ mt
tactics require different levels of organizat onal
strength and sophistication to use. For that
reason, some work better at the beginning )f a
campaign and some can only be used later after
a certain level of strength is reached.
Notes on Tactics
Media Events
Media events are designed to get press and
TV coverage, and little more. As stand-aloie
events, they are usually used at the start of the
campaign to dramatize the issue and annot nee
that the organization is working on it. Late in
the campaign, the media will be used in
conjunction with other tactics. A media event
might consist of releasing information or a
study, demanding information, having victims
tell their story, or making demands on the arget.
For the Fair Tax Campaign, an opening media
event might be held in front of property owned
by a large corporation. The percentage of
income paid in taxes by the corporation could be
contrasted to that paid by nearby homeowrers
who would bring big enlargements of theii tax
bills to display to the press.
The press usually responds well to
something funny or dramatic. A Citizen Action
organization, for example, wanted to dramatize
that the rising cost of auto insurance was forcing
people to choose between paying for their homes
or their cars. The group built a home into aicar
with the toilet in the trunk. The press loved] it.
If the media event features groups such as
low-income people, the homeless, the
unemployed, or striking workers, be sure that
they are presented with dignity and as whole
people asking for the same rights that othe ‘s
enjoy. They are not objects of pity; nor are they
looking for a handout.
Public Hearings
You might demand that the target hold an
official public hearing, but often organizations
have their own hearings with a panel of
community leaders and allied political leaders
who listen to testimony from your constituency.
Often a report is issued. The hearing I ;erves to
educate, get publicity, and establish jour
organization as a leading force on the issue.
Accountability Sessions
!
Accountability sessions are large meetings
with elected officials. They are sponsored by
you and held on your turf. Several htindred
people come to tell the official what they want
done. The official is asked to agree tito th<
the
demands on the spot.
Organizing for Social Change
to talk. If your target offers to negotiate too
easily or too soon, watch out! It may be a device
to make the other side look reasonable without
any serious concessions being made. (But don’t
automatically assume that every offer is some
kind of trick. There are, groups that snatch defeat
out of the jaws of victory because they can
never believe that they actually won.)
The next chapter explores some of these and
other tactics in greater detail.
Using the Chart
The strategy chart can be used to plan
organizational development as well as issue
campaigns. The starting point in the chart is
determined by the type of planning you are
doing. For example, to plan an issue campaign,
start from left to right. To plan the startup of a
new organization, say a new senior citizen
group; begin at the lower half of the
Organizational Considerations column and work
out what die organizing model will be. For
example, is it an organization of senior clubs?
Then skip to the Constituents column and list all
the existing clubs that could potentially join the
coalition. Next, go back to the Goals column
and decide what issues would appeal to the
largest number of clubs. From there go to the
Targets and then to the Tactics columns.
One reason that the chart works in so many
ways is that an organizatiomis literally the
product of what it does, Once you are clear on
■ what you want it to be, you can work backwards
toward doing something that will shape the
group in the desired direction. An example of a
strategy chart that shows all five of the columns
presented earlier appears at the end of this
chapter.
Elections
Depending on what type of organization you
are, you may actually endorse candidates. Even
if you don’t, October is a good time to negotiate
with an incumbent candidate if the election is to
be held in November, because the candidate is
more vulnerable then.
Negotiations
Actions
Actions are a particularly useful tactic for
local organizations, especially toward the tart
28
of a campaign. In an action, a group of people
confront a target and make specific demands.
They expect to get an answer on the sjpot.
Organizations usually start with procedural
demands such as asking for an appointment with
someone or that a hearing be held. They also
might ask for the release of information, the
publication of rules, or time on the agenda. Later
when the group is stronger, actions rnight be
used to .win some of its main demanejs.
Actions often involve the media^ut they
are not media events. That is to say, mey have
power behind them which goes beyond media
coverage, and they are not simply held in an
attempt to publicize a situation. The i
organization’s real power may be the number of
participants or the size of the constituency they
represent, their ability to embarrass the target, or
their ability to cause the target pol itickl harm if
the target is a public official, or financial harm if
it is a business.
Issue campaigns usually end in some form
-of negotiation. You must have shown
considerable power to get the other side to agree
Time Lines
To finish off the planning process, make
time lines for the campaign. Include all the
major campaign events and deadlines for
preparing the publicity for each. Be sure to
include the key dates in the electoral process.
Even if you are not involved with candidates,
note such information as when voter registration
starts and ends, when nominating petitions start
Developing a Strategy
29
Sample Midwest Academy Strategy Chart for "Fair Tax Campaign"
Goals
1. Long-Term Goals
• State budget well funded
by a progressive tax
system.
• Full funding of schools
by the state.
• Make this a major issue in
the next gubernatorial
primary
2. Intermediate Goals
> Pass the Citizens’ Fait
Tax Ran.
'» Make this a major issue in
theSdi, 7th & 14th
districts to expose anti
Fair Tax records of
incumbents for future
races.
3. Short-Term Goals
• public support from local
officials.
• Line up influential
sponsors in House and
Senate by April.
• 25 co-sponsors by June 1.
Constituents, Allies,
and Opponents
Organizational Considerations
I. Resources to Put In
• Salaries and expenses for
six months « $45,000. On
hand — $10,000. To raise =
$35,000.
• Staff
Mary—Lead Organizer
Full time
Fred—Organizer
Half time
Sam—Support Staff
1 day a week
Liz—College Intern
1 day a week.
Kate—Supervisor
4 hrs. a week
(Cash value of staff time =
$40,000)
• Canvass offices (3).
Approx. 15 canvassers
hitting 9,000 doors a
month for three months
(cash value if people were
hired to do this = $95,000).
• 7 board members on the
lax committee. Each
represents an affiliate
organization.
« Committee choir. Very_____
■ active: Godd spokesperson.
• Lobbyist from allied union.
• Tax expert contributed to
us by Citizens for Tax
Neatness.
• Office space and phones
for all staff.
(cash value = $700).
» 1 Xerox that works. 1 that
sort of works.
2 computers.
(cash value for use = $200)
• Good relations with press.
Abner Berry at the Sentinel
and
Al Ferman at the Herald.
2. What We Want to Get
Out of It
• Make back all expenses
($45,000) through
contributions from
•
•
•
•
affiliates and campaign
fundraising.
4 new affiliates. Most
likely choices are Carver
City Taxpayers Against
Waste, Newton Teachers
Local 310. Association
of Child Service
Providers, Gotham Gty
Save Our Schools
Committee.
Build a base in the Sth.
7th, and 14th districts.
Promote George, Frieda,
and Holly as respective
spokespersons.
Develop 15 active
volunteers.
Develop ways to activate
15,000 canVass members
tn key districts.
3. Problems to Solve
• Rivalry between_________
’ teachers' unions may
erupt. —Meet with them.
Ask them to keep turf
fight out of it
• Uptown Seniors don’t
like Downtown Seniors.
—Hold separate
meetings io each
commanity.
• Fred says that Mary
whistles through her nose
all day, and he can’t
work in the same office
with her.
—Seek treatment for
Fred since no one else
ever bears Mary do thit.
1. Constituentsand Allies
• State Teachers Union:
7,000 members
Local 210 Gotham City
Local 113 Newton
Local 69 Butler
Local 666 Spuytcn
Duyvil
• Slate Teachers
Association: 12.000
members
Lisi locals
• State Public Employees
Union: 14,000 members
List locals
• State I.abor Federation:
40,000 members
List active local and
labor councils.
• Association of Day Care
Centers: 1.200 members
•
State Senior Council;
3.000 members. Clubs in
Parker (Sth District)
Gotham
Newton (7th District)
Salem
Winchester ( !4th District)
Westchester
«
•
•
Targets ■
Tactics
1. Primary Targets
• Governor Winthrop
• House Tax Committee
Chair
• Rep. Bacon (14th
District)
• Senate Committee Chair
• Rep. Lax
• Committee members, to
be determined
• Other legislators, to be
determined
(listed more or less in the order in which they
might actually be used)
• Media hits. Feature unjust lax distribution
between homeowners and EXXON
refinery.
• More media hits. Spotlight education
cuts. Kids come with symbols of cut
programs, e.g., sports equipment, musical
instruments.
• Do same d^y in four cities with teacher
organizations and PTAs.
• Stan postcard campaign tor fair taxes.
’ ’Dear Gov. When my income goes over
$100,000,1 will happily pay higher taxes
if you enact them now.”
• Media hit in capital to release detailed
Fair Tax Plan. Sponsors and co-sponsors
on hand.
• Canvassers start petition drive in targeted
2. Secondary Targets
• G. Groggy—Union
County Dem.
Chairman—includes
14th Dist.
• R. Waterdawn—Kent
County Dem.
Chairman—includes 7th
Dist.
• Selected campaign
contributors to
individuals listed above
• County Commissioners
in the counties
containing target
districts.
districts.
•
•
•
Councilor HomeHealth
•
Care Providers
Newton Council of Civic
Associations
Stalo Alliance of PTAs
Taxpayers Union: 2,000
members '
•
•
•
X
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Opponents
Chamber of Commerce
Bankers Association
Insurance Industry
Council
Johnson Corp.
Rep. Bird (14th District)
Taxpayers Association of
Hatemail
•
•
Media hits in targeted districts to
announce formation of district Fair Tax
committees to put legislature on the spot
Show petitions.
Delegation meetings to get position of
targeted legislators.
Local bearings. Either sponsors hold
them officially or we hold them. Aim for
high turnout.
Addltfonalilelt^aijon meetings in target=
districts. Service providers, seniors,
clients of programs are included.
Save our schools. Rallies and picnics.
Fund raiser.
TV debate between our leader and
legislative opponents.
Tax bill burning day when tax bills are
sent out.
Accountability sessions in targeted
districts, particularly the Sth, 7th, and
14th districts.
Mass lobby day in capital when bill
comes up for vote. Governor invited to
speak for the bill. Empty chair if he
doesn’t Invite potential opponents.
etc., etc.
Midwest Academy, 225 West Ohio, Suite^SO, Chicago, Illinois 60610
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God created the world and we created
Conjunto Palmeira: four decades of forging
community and building a local economy in
Brazil
Rogerio ArnsiNeumann, Alison Mathie, assisted by
Joanne LinztJy
I
Abstract
•' J
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>•: •
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CHAPTER 2
Forced to resettle- by the Brazilian military junta in the 1970s, the residents
of Conjunto Palmeira began organizing and demonstrating in order to secure
basic services and infrastructure. One struggle followed another - for water,
electricity, a sewage system, a bus service, garbage disposal and the construction
of a canal to drain rhe swamp where the neighbourhood v/as located. Once
this was accomplished, the local Residents' Association organized to build the
local economy through the creation of Banco Palmas. Offering loans to small
entrepreneurs, it has also experimented with issuing a unique local currency to
promote local consumption and boost the local economy. The Banco Palmas
model has now been replicated in other parts of Ceara State.
Introduction
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CzOnjunto Palmetra is an urban neighbourhood on the outskirts of the,
tourist city of Fortaleza in the north-east of Brazil, For the regular tourist,
or the middle class presidents of this modern city Conmnto Palmeira-has no
particular attraction - on the contrary, its location would be more likely to
be associated with - poverty and crime. However, this neighbourhood has
attracted considerable attention internationally because its residents have
achieved social and economic successes that have eluded other low income
neighbourhoods. Emblematic of this success is its Community Bank - Banco
Palmas - with its loan scheme and its own local currency, used to promote the
local economy
This achievement is the latest demonstration of communitv solirinritv
40
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
first residents were forcibly removed from coastal areas and relocated to
desolate land 15 km from the city centre. Decade by decade, residehts forged
a sense of community by organizing themselves, calling upon ea:h other's
skills and resources, securing basic services from the local authorities, and
then challenging themselves to produce and consume in ways that would
boost the local economy and generate employment. It is a story of struggle
, and resilience; community organizing and strategic partnering with external
agencies; openness to new ideas; and an astute use of the media to capture
outside interest and attention.
The significance of this story is in how the character of community
organizing has itself evolved and changed over the years. In a climate of
political repression, people had to rely on each other for survival, and organized
themselves accordingly. With the end of the dictatorship, organizing strategies
could be channelled towards campaigning for services from local government
and building project management capacity. And then, in its most recent form,
community organizing has reached a new threshold as Conjunto Palmeira's
producers and consumers try to build a local economy that offers lope and
opportunity to a younger generation. These historical threads are picked up
by each new generation of leadership, motivated to build on the reputation
of their predecessors.
t
Brazil in the last forty years: the context for the achievements df
Conjunto Palmeira
I
In 1973, when the hist residents began to settle in the area of Con junto
Palmeira, Brazil was experiencing one of the most contradictory periods in its
history. These were the so-called Anos de Chumbo, or the Years of Lead, a'dark
period during which the military dictatorship gave legal power to arbi :rary rule
and political repression. Assuming power during a military coup in November,
1964, the dictatorship enacted legislation that repressed citizens' rights for
ten years, from 1968 to 1978. The National Congress was closed, individual
rights were suspended, people were not allowed to gather in groups, and
demonstrations were prohibited.
And yet, this period was also associated with strong economic growth,
known as the Brazilian Miracle. Between 1968 and 1973, the Brazilian
economy grew at an average rate of 11.5 per cent per year, helped by foreign
loans and newly adopted neo-liberal reforms, and by 1980 it was one of the
fastest growing economies in the world (Pinheiro et al., 2001). Price in the
'Miracle' blinded the government to the social costs of the inequalities that
economic growth was generating. An influential slogan created by the military
government captured this cavalier attitude: 'Brazil, love it or leave it.'
This pride began to waver when the first oil crisis hit in 1974, and interest
rates on foreign debt began to rise, threatening the viability of the Brazilian
economy and leading to the external debt crisis in the early 1980s. For many
poor Brazilians the end of the 1970s came without gains: their rights had
I
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41
not been respected, nor had they received a slice of the economic pie. It was
in this climate of
( repression and exclusion that people began to organize in
.eilra.
Conjunto Palme
During the 1^80$, the economy remained in crisis; as elsewhere in Latin
America, its external debt burden resulted in a 'Lost Decade.' Successive
economic plans Attempted, but failed, to rein in inflation, which at times
was running rarilpant at 20-30 per cent a month. But popular pressure was
building for political change, and as a result steps began to be taken towards
political openness and reconciliation. Exiled politicians were allowed to
return to Brazil, ^nd an amnesty was granted to members of the military junta
accused of torture. Political parties began to form. In 1982, state government
elections were Irleld, the first, elections since the military coup in 1964,
followed by maioral elections in the state capitals three years later. Mass
demonstrations prompting these steps towards democracy finally resulted in
the election of tike first civilian President of the Republic’in 1985. Thus, the
period when Cohjunto Palmeira campaigned successfully for the provision
of basic services ilvas also a time when the power of popular movements, new
political parties, tend trade unions was uniting the country around promises
of democratization.
Closing the dlecade on a note of optimism, Brazil adopted a new Federal
Constitution in || 1988, with specific emphasis on citizen participation in
decisions at the' municipal level. Pioneering a new model of decentralized
democracy, public services affecting the day-to-day lives of citizens were
decentralized toTlocal governments. Decision-making boards were created,
especially in the area of social services - health, education and social assistance
- with half of the board members representing civil society and the other
half representing' government. Each board had the power to propose public
policies and set guidelines for the budget for each sector. To this day, despite
challenges, few countries in the world offer their population so many avenues
for participating effectively in public administration as does Brazil. The
partnership of the residents of Conjunto Palmeira with government in the
construction of infrastructure during the early 1990s illustrates early efforts to
put these principles of citizen participation into practice.
The 21st'century began with a new agenda for development. With inflation
under control anh the currency stabilized since 1994, the national debate has
focused on economic growth and income redistribution. The paradox still
confronting Brazil is that while it currently enjpys the position of having the
eighth largest economy in the world and a respectable overall record in terms
of life expectancl, income per capita, and education, these successes continue
to coexist with extreme inequality and poverty. The vitality of the economy
has allowed for sbme social mobility but income disparities remain stark: the
wealthiest 10 per cent of the population earns nearly 50 per cent of national
income, while th e poorest 10 per cent earns only 0.7 per cent. According to
2003 data, about one-fifth of the population live on less than US$2 a day and 8
per cent live on hss than US$1 a day (The World Bank, 2007), with north-east
I
42
i
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
n.d.: 7)
The story of Conjunto Palmeira
I
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The decade of migration: early efforts to organize in the 1970s
I
I am not going to Palmeira this way. I will stay in my shack until they
knock it down. The breadwinner ... will be worse off with his family if they
move [him] to Palmeira. He will miss his bus, sleep on the street and be late
for work. Why can't they move us closer to the city? There are many empty
plots of land. (Os moradores de favela do Conjunto Palmeira, n.d.: 8)
The words of Inacio, cited in Memories of our Struggles, expressed a commor.
sentiment at the time: Conjunto Palmeira was an undesirable place to live
Situated in a swampy area, it not only lacked basic infrastructure, such as
drinking water and electricity, but was also far from the city centre where
many people worked or were looking for work.
The move to which Indcio refers was the result of a policy of slum removal
and urban improvements along the city's waterfront begun by the city of
Fortaleza in 1973 during the military dictatorship. Fishermen and othe?
working families of this coastal region were forced to leave their homes anc
were transported by truck to an area outside the city limits that would become
known as Conjunto Palmeira, named after the large number of palm trees ir
that area (palmeira means 'palm tree' in Portuguese). Following these fishing
families, people from other neighbourhoods of Fortaleza and from the state
of GearA were also moved to Conjunto Palmeira. The experience of Carmo
illustrates what happened:
In 1974 I was living in Lagamar when we had the great flood. I lived for e
month in the sports arena and then the City brought us here to Palmeira
.43
had to figure out the* rest (Os moradores de favela do Conjunto Palmeira,
Brazil experiencing lower standards of living than elsewhere. Urban violence
has become a recurrent issue and is a sign of looming social upheaval thai
has been decades in. the making. In this context, the residents of Conjuntc
Palmeira have attempted to claim their share of economic prosperity anc
social mobility, and create a 'solidarity economy.'
The story of Conjunto Palmeira is inscribed in collective memory as wel.
as in several litaratura da cordel (literally meaning, 'literature hanging or
the clothesline,' because the booklets had to be dried after printing). These:
clothesline stories were produced in the 1980s, when community leader:
collected statements from residents on the history of the neighbourhood':
struggles. In this section of the case study, these stories, enriched by interview:
with current residents and supported by more recent publications producer
by Banco Palmas and university researchers, are organized in the way leader:
in the community organize their own stories, according to distinct phases ir
the community's growth, decade by decade.
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
!
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The city of Fortaleza I assigned building lots and donated materials for the
construction of a one rd ?m building per family. This had to be built within a
month, otherwise the ri^ht to the land would be forfeited. Thereafter, people
could purchase the lan$ in instalments. However, the makeshift dwellings,
combined with the lack of basic infrastructure and services, soon earned
the area its reputation as a slum. Minimal services were provided, but only
gradually. The first schobl was set up in 1974, in a barn. Only in 1976 did the
community finally receive a regular bus. service so that people could get to
Fortaleza for work.
One of the earliest examples of community organizing was 'Community
Emergency Assistance' j CEA), started in 1977. Medical facilities were only
available outside Conjiilnto Palmeira, and people had to be taken there in
donkey carts or hammc cks. Through a donation of an old car, community
leaders organized a means to transport emergency cases , to hospital.
Approximately 600 people joined this initiative, and contributed a monthly
fee to maintain this service. Then, during a municipal election campaign, a
candidate for election ti the city council donated an ambulance that would
provide the same services to the community for free. Three days after the
election, however, the ajnbulance was taken in for repairs and never returned
to the community. According to a community activist at the forefront of the
CEA initiative, this breath of trust was a salutary lesson. People realized that
they would be better ofi relying on each other rather than outsiders: 'People
wanted to believe in something bigger [outsiders] and this is what happened'
(Filho, personal commdnication, 2007).
By the end of the dec-ade, government services in the community included
a health centre, a publi: school, a community centre, and a police station.
A Catholic church was established, and local priests were instrumental in
supporting local organising efforts, such as the cooperative day-care centre
__ connections
______ _were
__ __
• *through
J 'the
\ priests
‘
‘ )anow
that still exists today^ And
made
to
azil. With NGO support, Delivery House, an initiative
active NGO sector in Bra:
of residents to ensure accessible and safe birthing facilities, was established at
this time.
,
These early organizing efforts were significant, but small in scale compared
to the severity of their lijlng conditions. The population of Conjunto Palmeira
kept growing - reaching almost 20,000 at the end of the 1970s - and the lack
of basic infrastructure ^uch as water and sanitation, electricity, and garbage
disposal pushed people] > patience to its limits. By the end of the 1970s, the
residents were ready to tjake action.
:l
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FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
45
H GUIANA
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
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PACIFIC
OCEAN
z
The decade of community participation: mobilizing, organizing and
confronting the authorities in the 1980s
Of particular significance at this time was the formation, in 1981, of th ?
Residents' Association of Conjunto Palmeira (ASMOCONP). It began as an
informal gathering of concerned community members meeting in the horn ?
of Marinete (as described in 'Marinete's Story' below) and her husband.
Once it was formed officially, it gave them the confidence to confront th ?
authorities in a more organized way and paved the way for other communitv
organizations to establish themselves soon after.
Yet the Residents' Association needed a physical presence in the community,
and so proceeded to organize the construction of a building. Community
leaders went from house to house in the neighbourhood asking for donations
- building materials, money, tools, volunteer labour, or whatever people wem
willing to contribute. When the actual construction took place, community
leaders like Marinete used a loudspeaker, calling for the bricks, roof tile^,
and volunteers that had been promised. The overwhelming response was a
strong indication of the support for the Association, and of the strength of the
S’-
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community.. As Marinete said, this was not an activity that was> carried out by a
few community activists but by a groundswell of active comm
1
community
members:
Tt wasn't just me, it was us' (personal communication, 2007).
Marinete was one of several leaders who paved the way for later campaigns.
With each success, it wai easier to organize community members. For example,
after the Residents' Association was built, the next issue they rallied around
was access to electricity. The story of how the community persuaded the
power company to provide electricity services is now legendary. Jose Valdo
remembers the strategy! they used to make their point:
i
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So we decided to get organized. We were 2,000 residents who went to
the electricity comp my. We made our case and insisted on bringing the
engineer to Palmeira at nightfall. It was very dark. As he walked around the
community he fell and tore his clothing. After that we got electricity for 14
blocks, (personal coiiimunication, 2007)
The fact that 2,000 people could be mobilized in this way is evidence of
an extraordinary level 6f community solidarity and organizational capacity.
Even though many of the community members didn't know exactly what
they would be doing once they arrived at the power company, they were still
willing to go. Moreover as Jose Valdo explained, community leadership was
able to leverage this success by astute use of the media:
I
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46
^UR
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
When the houses [In one section] finally received electricity, the mayor
and the press showed up. That's how the community got them to keep
another promise, which was fulfilled later: to provide electricity to the rest
of Conjunto Palmeira. (personal communication, 2007)
In 1983, the community mobilized again to draw attention to the need for
public transportation. Conjunto Palmeira is located 18 km from downtown
Fortaleza. It could take three to fours hours to get to the downtown area
because there were few buses and those that did pass through the community
were often full. The story goes that the municipality claimed that there w=re
12 buses, whereas only four actually passed through the neighbourhood.
Angered by this discrepancy, Jose describes the tactics he and a few others
used to force the hand of the authorities:
... A few colleagues and I would stay at the bus stop from four in the morn: ng
.ntil midnight to count the buses that came by and the number of peo ale
on them. We showed this to the Mayor's Office, but they doubted us. So we
damaged some buses in protest, (personal communication, 2007)
This action resulted in the city's withdrawal of this route's bus service for
several days. People in the community were furious with the local leadership,
but they also appealed to the city. Finally the city authorities added $bne
buses to the route and eventually established the first express bus service in
Fortaleza, taking passengers from the neighbourhood directly to downtown A
three-hour journey could now be accomplished in 45 minutes.
By this time, Conjunto Palmeira was well-known to the local authorities
and there was a certain level of respect for the community's tenacity. A fou :th
instance of effective community mobilizing illustrates people's attempts to
collaborate with local authorities rather than use confrontational tactics at
least at first. The issue was garbage disposal. Frustrated by the lack of garbage
collection, the Residents' Association began a campaign of Alternative Clean
up in 1987. Striking a partnership with the city authorities, residents were
hired by the city to collect the garbage in mule-drawn carts. A year later, he
partnership ended, on the grounds that the partnership was not permitted
under local authority regulations. In protest, residents and cart drivers picked
up garbage accumulated over several days and took it in a convoy of m\ ledrawn carts to the nearest municipal building, where the garbage was dumped.
To draw even more attention to the situation, the Association invited the local
press to publicize the event.
Emboldened by their successes, the Residents' Association then decided to
take on the issue of the water supply, which had been raised as a serious public
health concern. Ironically, the water supply for Fortaleza was piped through
Conjunto Palmeira, but the residents did not have access to it. In 1988, \he
community organized itself again to put pressure on the government, giv, ng
the Water and Sewage Company of Cear<i a 30-day deadline to provide ' he
community with access to the piped water supply running through to ‘ he
I II
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JR
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47
■I
city. Under the slogan!, 'if the water doesn't arrive, ole ole old, Fortaleza will
dry up,' the residents threatened to break the water pipe. Sensing this level of
determination, the sta^e government authorized construction to allow for the
distribution of piped y'ater to the community.
According to several of: the leaders who emerged during the 1980s, the
motivation to organize was prompted by their experience of well-intentioned,
but often inappropriate, outside assistance. Food-for-work programmes
organized by state anlh municipal authorities were widely considered to be
'make-work' programmes: their effect was demoralizing. Leadership emerged
in reaction to the patronizing treatment residents experienced at the hands
of social workers (or 'social insisters,' as they were dubbed) who administered
these food-for-work Programmes. One-.community leader remembers how
people began to reject some of this assistance: 'We learned to stand on our
own two feet. We realized that they were bringing in ready-made things that
we should have beenddoing ourselves. We wanted someone to help us, not
someone to tell us whjat to do' (Marinete, personal communication, 2007).
Not all interactions with outside organizations were negative. In fact, an
initiative of a group of health-care professionals that led to the creation of
the Nutrition Centre of Conjunto Palmeira in 1984 gave the community an
experience of a positive relationship that could benefit and strengthen the
community. This group of health-care professionals respected the way the
community was alreadv organized and recognized the skills and capacities that
the community members were willing to contribute. In the face of chronic
malnutrition and a high infant mortality rate, the health professionals trained
community members: to work as health monitors and provide basic health
education to children s families in their own homes, while simultaneously
providing medical sendees for critical cases of malnutrition at the nutrition
____ The Block Leaders (Representantes de Quadras') selected to be health-care
centre
monitors did not need to be literate; a sophisticated visual tool with simple
pictures and symbols v^as designed so that health data could be recorded by all
these volunteers, regardless of literacy levels. Programmes such as those offered
by the Nutrition Cenitre helped people develop skills to monitor children's
health and deliver basic care, while simultaneously raising awareness about
the social, environmental and economic factors affecting children's health.
It was during the 1980s, therefore, that the community began to assert
itself in the face of ndglect by the authorities, earning respect for its tenacity
and perseverance. This reputation would stand community members in good
stead as they headed into the 'decade of construction' that followed.
The decade of construction in the 1990s
Looking at Conjunto Palmeira today and remembering the community the
way it was, I am amazed at everything we built. When I say zwe/ I mean
the associations, thie church groups, and people in general. We [did not]
have drainage or a It asic sewage system, we didn't have anything... We were
F
48
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
completely forgotten. After everythmg that we have achieved, Palmeira
now has more life! (Conceiyao, personal communication, 2007)
During the 1990s, Conjunto Palmeira underwent another transformation.
As Conceicao looks back on this period, three observations stand out Fl st
the community finally acquired basic infrastructure - water, sanitation, a
drainage canal. Second, the community itself was responsible for building and
managing the construction. Third, it marked a time when the community
Xnger being ignored by the authorities but was working in partnership
With them.
. .. e
Bv the early 1990s, there were 26 community organizations m C°njuiito
y
i ..
-u-j nrrswn
Tt
It Ead
had psrablished
established aa
Palmeira and its population had grown to 25,000.
....
reputation for itself as a well organized, active community, but wit ‘he
majority employed in casual, minimum wage employment or in petty trading,
311 Through'the^network of local and international NGOs operating in no^heastern Brazil at the time, staff members of the German organization, Deuts .he
—'..j Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), heard about Conjurto
Gesellschaft fur Technische
reputation
of
Palmeira. Based on its i~
r-------- --and the discussions between members
.
the Residents' Association and GTZ staff members, Conjunto Palmeira ]
that would build on the community's organising
identified for a programme L.-.-------,
"
“ ” md
and mobilizing capacity and revitalize the local economy. GTZ, City
Ha b .
the State Government worked with the community to organize a sene, of
The first of these, called 'Inhabiting Ithe
workshops for community leaders.
■
■ was
Uninhabitable,' took place in 1991. Emerging horn these~ d^ssmnO
i
Union
of
Associations
an agreement among community leaders to form. a Umon o_
;
■ -> Palmeira
The leaders
and Organized Groups in Conjunto
1-------- (UAGOCONP).
v
took responsibility for developing a ten-year strategic plan to transform the
neighbourhood into a place
place where
where people
could live
live with
people could
with dignity.
dignity. Over t:his
10-y„
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
I'
informed and reassured that even if their houses had to be removed to make
1 I:
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w <»rn<«, a,
I.
the—
rivers, install a sewage system
community members managed to drain
........
and pave the streets, transforming what had been described as a slum im o a
^Th^cVmtmctton. oUdrtinage canal was the first priority. The flooding and
landslides of 1986 had resulted in extensive damage to 600 houses: over 1,100
people had been left homeless. A permanent solution was necessary.
The construction of the canal required community organizing, plann ng,
and managing at an unprecedented level. Using a participatory m^hodc. ogy,
community members mapped out land use, drew up soao-economic pro^es
of the residents, made an inventory of the organizations in Conjunto
Palmeira, and listed other information about resources that the commu uty
could mobilize. Each resident was committed to carrying out construe io
work in his or her neighbourhood. Community leaders held street nieet>ngs
every time work began on a new part of the canal. People had to be 1. p
49
way for the canal, they would not be left homeless.
At the time, the jlisual practice was for government to manage the
construction of infrastructure projects . But on GTZ's insistence, the community
had to be in charge of construction, through the Residents Association.
'The Canal', as it is IkAown'locally, became a landmark-not only because it
......ft cj
conditions in the community, but also because of the
improved the living
people
gained
in administering
a large project. It was
an
experience
o—TII-------- such
, alsoQUC
*■
...
—_____ 1-1
experiment in innovative
partnership.
The_ <5financial
investment WOC
was HllOP;
hug .
million reais, in total, Uif which GTZ contributed 50 per cent, the Municipal
Mum
Government paid 25 toer cent, and the State Government contributed the
remaining 25 per cent JThey set up a local board - consisting of representatives
of 26 community organizations working alongside municipal staff members which was responsible for decisions relating to the construction. The workers
on the construction project were local residents, many of whom were specially
trained to work on thi project.
The project required a unique partnership with local government. The
government architect Lid technical advisor were part of the management unit
responsible for purchasing equipment and hiring community workers, and
were accountable, not! only to the city authorities but also to the community.
According to the local government architect, having the construction
supervised directly by! community representatives resulted in cost savings,
even if the weekly meetings slowed down the work itself at times (Garcia,
personal communication, 2007). The priority was to build on the skills of
community members,! and allow them to acquire new skills and increase their
income-earning potential. Matias, who at the time was the treasurer of the
Residents' Association^ had to do the books with the management unit every
month. He remembers, with pride, how 'we could account for every penny
(personal communicailion, 2007). This experience stood him in good stead:
it was during his terrri as President of the Association that Banco Palmas was
created in 1997.
•
___ of • which the canal construction was a major part,
The ten-year plam
was completed in seven years. In 1997, at a follow-up workshop, discussion
revolved around the consequences of the community's success. Proud thougn
people were of their 'achievements, Conjunto Palmeira had, however, now
become an expensive' place to live, as the newly established infrastructure
required formalized services, with the result that people had to pay municipal
taxes for electricity, witer, and sewage disposal. A study done by the Residents'
Association revealed jhat 30 per cent of the residents had been living in
the neighbourhood fir less than two years, and that one
c_ out of every three
residents who had fought for the improvements to the neighbourhood could
estate
no longer afford to livle there. A spate of speculative purchasing of reall cstctz
ae
newly
upgraded
neighbourhood
had
begun
to
attract
had started, now that t r
, ._
new residents. If the now 'habitable' Conjunto Palmeira was to be affordable
UWV*
II:
II
a
l-
mt’'
AAA
UT'W •
T’”*"
/
——— -
.
FOUk DECIDES vf Fuko’iNu
50
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
I
more
opportunities
for
people
tc>
for all its residents, there would have to be
building on past accorriplishments of organizing and on the trust earned
by broad-based leadership. The focus of the community began to shift.
The residents had fought for, and had won, basic infrastructure, organizing
themselves to make demands of outside Institutions, particularly government.
At the end of the 1990s, vlzhen a sustainable local economy became the prionty,
they began to make demands of themselves. People started to look within
their own community for solutions.
To assess the potential for stimulating the local economy, the Residents
Association calculated that the community, spent around RSIS million or
R$428 per capita per yei (based on a population of 35,000). Set against this
potential spending power, there were very few retail stores and services offering
competitive prices or opportunities to purchase on credit. Hence, money was
draining out of the community that could, potentially, be 'captured by local
businesses. It took 45 meetings with local producers, merchants, members o
the Residents' Associatlok, and residents to come up with a plan to encourage
people to buy locally ratlier than going elsewhere to shop. Innovative financia
products and services were one part of the plan (a credit card, and various loan
products, outlined in deLil in Box 2.2) but still more creative ideas for a local
earn a living.
.
At this time, it was estimated that 80 per cent of the residents relied 01
the informal economy for their livelihood and that 90 per cent of household;
lived on the equivalent of two minimum wages (Stichting Aktie Stroh alm
2003). And so, during the next community planning phase, the priority was
to create opportunities for income generation. Small loans were needed tc
help people establish themselves in micro enterprises, but there was neithei
a bank, nor a small loan facility in Conjunto Palmeira. Turned down by the
state government for a loan fund, community leaders eventually succeedec
in convincing a local NGO (CEARAH Periferia) to approve a grant of RS2,00C
(approximately US$1,180 at 3 March 2008) to start a credit scheme in 1997
News spread fast - too fast, even on the TV and radio. Community member;
clamoured to get access to the credit, not realizing that the supply of fund;
was so limited.
In the midst of this turmoil, the Residents' Association of Conjunto Palmeirc
established a community bank - Banco Palmas - in January 1997, to manage
the new credit scheme. Strictly speaking, it remains a financial institution
rather than a bank, because it is not authorized to hold savings, although
this may change in the near future. Offering loans and credit facilities, it wa* ■
founded on a modest sum of money, but its vision was ambitious: to ensure
that economic development in Conjunto Palmeira would be inclusive, with
opportunities for people with more limited means to stay and contribute tc
the continued development of the community. Gradually, funds came from
other NGO sources (Oxfam UK and GTZ), thanks to the connections through
CEARAH Periferia, and the loan fund grew to R$20,000. However, it soon
became clear that w’hile money was coming into the local economy from
various sources - wages, pensions, petty trading, and sometimes Ulegal activity
- very little was being spent in the community. Not only was it going to be
necessary to provide loans to local businesses to provide local services and
products for people to buy, it would also be necessary to encourage consumers
to buy locally if the local economy was to flourish.
currency were also proposed.
Experimenting with a ‘solidarity economy’: testing the idea of a local
currency
The decade of economic development in the new millennium
The way we consume defines the kind of society we would like to build.
Consumption is not only an economic attitude, but it is also a political
attitude. When we consume products that have been produced in our
community, we are generating jobs and income for local residents. When
we consume products by companies that have no social responsibility, we
are only enriching the business people who use the profits for their own
benefit. Qoaquim Melo and Sandra Magalhaes, 2003)
It was in this spirit of building a community - one that consumed, as well
as produced, with a 'political attitude' - that Banco Palmas was established,
I
■
Within a few years, community leaders had begun to establish links with a global
network of activists, academics and development practitioners experimenting
with strategies for a -solidarity economy.’ Those who attended the first
Brazilian Meeting of Culture and Socio-economic Solidarity in Rio de Janeiro
in June 2000, picked up |bn the idea of an Exchange Club, already common n
Argentina. Back In ConAnto Palmeira, 30 to 40 local traders agreed to try this
out by getting together skery two weeks for a day to exchange: clothing, crafts
and food. Essentially a bartering system, the value of each product for sale was
expressed In units of 'sokal currency.’ This experiment lasted approximately
two years, but because bkc goods such as rice, beans, eggs and flour were not
produced locally and were therefore not offered for exchange, the initiative
ultimately lacked the overall utility necessary to succeed.
During the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2002, the Strohalm
Foundation looked for a partner to test a method of stimulating the local )
economy by introducing unique local currency into the local economy. Banco
Palmas agreed to be thd partner and the 'palma' was introduced as a unit of
currency. At first, the vilue of the palma was tied to the value of the real, but
the exchange of palmas tp reais was not permitted, in an effort to maximize the
demonstration effect ofibuying locally with palmas. But it soon became clear
that unless it was possible to exchange palmas for national currency (the real)
those
businesses or
or producers
accepting palmas would be limited in what they
those businesses
prod
could purchase, and wages in palmas would have limited spending power. For
SI
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
52
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
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ft
^8
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t?' ’il
o
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1
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I
example, the supermarket could only pay its staff in palmas if they were frorr
the community and spent their money there, but they could not pay othe:
staff members, let alone their suppliers in palmas.
So Banco Palmas and the Strohalm Foundation decided to take the experimen:
further. The decision was made to allow the palma to be exchanged 1:1 with
the real. In this new phase 20,000 palmas were brought into circulation. Little
by httle, local merchants began to offer discounts of between 2 and 10 pe:
cent for those paying in palmas. stimulating local consumption even more.
Remarkably, in the early days, people began to bring their reais to exchange
<1
I
53
I
I
II
fe
I £
for palmas and the palma i^inency continues to be widely accepted in the local
economy today.
']
The idea bphind the lojlal currency was to create more opportunity for local
The idea bphind the lojcal currency was to create more opportunity for local
business development arid employment. Soon it became clear that unless
people were
people
were paid
paid in
in palriias,
palrias, the
the amount
amount of
of money
money circulating
circulating locally
locally would
would
.
.
.
—
.4
1 I 1 __
_. • -—
Cl-rz-iVialm
be limited.
The
Residents'
Association
then negotiated with the Strohalm
Foundation to construct; a building for PalmaTech, a Community School of
Socio Economic Solidarity, in the grounds of the Residents' Association, and use
the process of building it to further test the impact of the new cunency on the
local economy. A grant from ICCO (Interchurch Organization for Development
Co-operation) for R$55,0OO would cover the costs of construction. The plan
was to convert as much i!as possible of this grant to palma, then use this to
purchase building supplies locally and to pay 80 per cent of people's wages. By
doing so, reais were 'saved' and used for micro credit loans by Banco Palmas.
It was explained to the Workers that the palmas they earned could be spent
locally, while the 20 per' cint of their wages in reais could be used for the goods
and services that were ndt available locally. Banco Palmas offered interest-free
loans in reais to local merchants, and would accept repayment in palmas. As
businesses began to see ihe advantages of this arrangement, and as people
began to spend their wag^s in their own neighbourhood, palmas began to gain
credibility.
!
The expectation was ttiiat all of the palmas paid out would return to Banco
Palmas, balancing the amount of money loaned in reais with what was paid
: to the workers in palmas. In fact, the new currency began to circulate in the
local economy, just like tlhe official real currency. According to the Strohalm
Foundation's evaluation report (Stichting Aktie Strohalm, 2003), during
the construction phase,, over 40 participating businesses agreed to accept
palmas, offering 200 different products. Examples included local pharmacies,
bakeries, groceries, fast food shops, and accessory stores. Over 300 consumers
and 'prosumers' used thje new currency in their transactions, generating a
significantly higher multiplier effect (15 per cent higher) than would have
been the case if reais rather than palmas had been injected into the economy.
A local currency: educational tool or threat to the national banking
system?
In 2003, the Central Bahk of Brazil began to get nervous about this new
currency and threatened the Residents' Association with court action, on
charges of forging monel. Eager to demonstrate that the local currency was
complementing the national currency, not trying to compete with it, the
director of Banco Palmas made his case at a hearing. He argued that the
currency was, in fact, nojmore than an educational tool, demonstrating the
benefit of local consumption for local economic development, and providing
incentives to change local expenditure patterns. The judge agreed: according
to Joaquim Melo, the judfce commented that the real crime was allowing such
FOlm DEC^JES v. FG.^lNu
54
NT.
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
levels of poverty to exist, not the effort to give people in Conjunto Palmeira
an opportunity to increase incomes through developing the local economy
(personal communication, 2007).
a
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I
Scaling out the Banco Palmas model
From this point on, Banco Palmas went from strength to strength. In 2005,
Banco Popular do Brasil (a bank specializing in micro credit) agreed to provide
it with R$250,000 in loan funds. Its latest partnership with Banco Popular do
Brasil enlarges its loan fund to R$500,000. Its employees now act as advisors
by scaling out this model of community banks elsewhere. To date, eight new
community banks have been established in other parts of Ceara State, and five
are established in other parts of Brazil. Banco Palmas is earning a fee for its
advisory role in the start-up of these new banks. With these banks restricted
to providing loans, the formation of a credit union with a savings facility is
the next logical step.
Whether the palma currency will outlive its usefulness is another question.
If patterns of expenditure continue to favour buying locally, then the palma
currency may no longer be necessary. On the other hand, a local currency
may help local merchants draw customers back to the community once they
can provide the diversity of products that its consumers have been purchasing
elsewhere. Members of the recently formed Business Association now take up
these issues with Banco Palmas, strategizing how to continue to build the
economy through loans for small business, financial services for 'prosumers,
training opportunities for youth, and the continued use of palmas. The story
of Bezerra (Box 2.3) illustrates how local entrepreneurs have both contributed
to, and gained from, this investment in the local economy.
Bezerra's account, as a relative newcomer who has seen the reputation
of this urban neighbourhood rise in the eyes of outsiders, is a familiar one.
Young people described how coming from Conjunto Palmeira used to count
against them, but how employers now actively seek young employees from
this neighbourhood.
A growing local economy
Through a series of initiatives, economic development in Conjunto Palmeira
has continued to grow, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of
complexity. With the Residents' Association at the helm, partnerships with
external funders have made it possible to share investment in a number
of local economic initiatives. In total, between 1998 and 2007, five smallscale manufacturing businesses were directly created within the Residents
Association, and 130 small businesses started up in the community as a result
of the loan scheme. This translates into direct employment for 1,000 and
indirect employment for a further 400 people (Melo, personal communication,
2007),
t
t
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In addition, to ensure sustained commitment to a solidarity economy,
the Residents' Association runs the Bairro Escola de Trabalho (Neighbourhood
School of Work), which tains young people to understand the cooperative
economy of their neighbourhood and creates opportunities for internships in
local businesses. As an expression of solidarity, income earning opportunities
for the disadvantaged have also been established, such as Incubadora Femmina,
founded in 2001 to assist at-risk women, with external NGO support (from
the Coordenadoria Ecurijenica de Services (CESE). Fifty women took part
in professional training and were provided with an opportunity for work
experience in local businesses. Since then, they have applied for producer
credit from Banco Palmas for small business loans or received support in their
job searches.
Forging a community, an analysis of internal agency
'God created the world and we built Conjunto Palmeira.'
(quoted on a poster illlkstrating the canal construction)
It was in this can-do spirit that the residents took responsibility for transforming
_ i-i.
.ovan
an
inhospitable
area int-n
into aa riacimtiip
desirable nlacp
place to
to live.
live. In
In the
the otocess
process they
they forged
forged a
community. Through its issociations, particularly the Residents' Association,
I
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56
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
I
F
|
¥
I
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f^OCW’-eAss. Moradore
698 •
'.-I
The palma is accepted in many stores as local currency.
the community has become internally and institutionally connected,
continuously building on its reserves of local skills and assets. Embedded
in these associations are the less tangible characteristics of this community
that have contributed to its success. Some of these have to do with largejr v
social, economic and political struggles and successes with which community
members were directly or indirectly engaged and which influenced the type
of assistance offered by outside agencies. Some, however, were specific to the
community itself and we focus on six of these here.
First, the residents of Conjunto Palmeira have been opportunistic and
enterprising. In a period of political repression, the only opportunity for people
was to draw upon their own resilience and survival skills. Later, as the political
climate in Brazil changed and social justice began to be heard in government
rhetoric, community members seized opportunities to hold their electee!
officials to account, and resisted the kind of help that would weaken theiir
resolve. They deliberately sought out partnerships with NGOs that recognized
their capacities and invested in them. Today, a growing national econom)|,
combined with international criticism of the widening social inequality this
generates, allows Conjunto Palmeira to demonstrate that it has both the right
and the capacity to seize a larger portion of the economic pie. In so doing, it
sets an example for others to follow.
Second, the community has developed effective internal communication?
and has been able to make use of the media to communicate its aspirations
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and successes to the outside world. For example, community stories have been
recorded and shared is a common reference point. People of different ages
and diverse life experiences talk about the same struggles and initiatives. This
local history, or micro-history, has been a powerful instrument in developing
a local identity and a sense of community. Also, the community has used the
media strategically to draw attention to its struggles and successes, sometimes
embarrassing local authorities to fulfil obligations, and sometimes impressing
potential investors.
Third, this sense ol identity has relied on expanding the relationships
of trust. This is a large community where many people are strangers to one
another. Yet through its associations and activities (mobilizing neighbours to
make demands of government, building a canal, or establishing Banco Palmas,
issuing loans, and establishing a viable local currency) trust has enabled
these initiatives to succeed and has been further strengthened as a result of
that success. The associations have been the means by which the capacity
to organize in a crisis1 (demonstrated in the 1970s and 1980s) has become
institutionalized and sustained.
A fourth factor in - he success of Conjunto Palmeira is the capacity of
its leaders to change ’perspective, using the lessons from each struggle to
organize better each time. The lessons from the experience of building the
canal, for example, prompted community members to think about economic
development in a different way. Before, the focus had been to bring people
together to demand external intervention, primarily from government. The
challenge with regard I to the canal was for leaders 4:0 bring people together
so they could Introduce 'interventions' themselves, with external support.
Sometimes, success can tie people and their organizations too rigidly to the
attitudes that made them successful in the first place. Resisting this tendency,
the Residents' Associaion has been able to redirect its focus. Building a
community is like a game of chess, demanding patience, flexible strategies,
and an awareness of risl In Conjunto Palmeira, the leaders have demonstrated
all of these skills and more.
Fifth, in telling thei: history, no one leader is identified. People never say
T; only 'we/ thus embracing all those who had earned legitimacy as leaders at
different stages, at different times, and with different groups. The challenges
of life in the community transformed many residents into leaders, and they
continue to do so. It ib another example of the capacity on the part of the
leaders to be able to change their views, and to step back when others are
ready to move forward!.
Finally, while man^ of the original leaders remain active, forming new
leadership among the younger generation is considered so important that the
by-laws of the Resident»' Association require it. Over the 40-year history of the
Association, different residents .helped establish it, led the large community
campaigns, and then Postered local economic development through Banco
Palmas. Now a new generation of young people are being identified and
trained to lead the development of the community in the years to come.
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58
FOUk DECmjES U. FOk^iNG. hIT.
5
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
Stepping back: relationships with external organizations
Over time, the Residents' Association negotiated for partnerships with
external organizations that respected the aspirations of the community
expressed through the Residents' Association and the Union of Associations
and Organized Groups in Conjunto Palmeira. People were proud of their
existing achievements, yet they were aware that they did not necessarily have
all the skills required to manage large-scale projects. In the case of Conjunto
Palmeira, the turning point for people was the experience of building the
canal. While the Association could count on technical assistance from the city
and GTZ, it retained control. The practical lessons in community governance
were invaluable.
The attitude of external agencies is therefore very important. As Neumann
and Neumann write:
If, when looking at a community, one sees only poverty and povertyrelated issues, one tends to throw a number of structures and projects its
way to change what is there, ignoring or even shutting down development
initiatives that have come from the residents themselves. But if one looks
at a community and sees the human talent, community and organizational
resources already available, one tends to strengthen what is already there. |
(Neumann and Neumann, 2004:19)
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Viewed from this perspective, the quality of the relationships initiated by
external organizations has been of fundamental importance. The priests who
came in the 1970s, the health professionals who started the Nutrition Centre ,
and volunteer health monitoring in the 1980s, GTZ in the 1990s, and Strohalm |
Foundation, ICCO, and the Banco Populaire do Brasil in this decade have all
modelled their relationship on valuing the contribution and achievements of ■
the residents of Conjunto Palmeira. They were responsive, not directive. Now
this type of partnership is expected and well understood: organizations that
support the community do not look at residents as less capable individuals ,
who need to be 'fixed.'
Bezerra’s supermarket in Conjunto Palmeira, where Palmas-a local currency. Issued by Banco
Palmas to stimulate the economy - are accepted.
I
I
Conclusion
Conjunto Palmeira has transformed itself from a collection of hastily
constructed dwellings built in the 1970s to an urban neighbourhood of 30,000
with services and amenities and a growing local economy. An older generation
of leaders is proud of the results of the struggle, but concerned now about
how to ensure that opportunities exist for the younger generation. Deliberate
efforts to prepare and position young people for leadership have been built
into the work of the Residents' Association, opportunities for skills training
are provided through PalmaTech, and loans for small business and a service
to link young people to job opportunities exist alongside the regular banking
services of Banco Palmas. .These efforts, and the social life that revolves around
g-'
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these activities, reach inio the larger community and, to some extent, protect
it from threats - ai drug culture that permeates poorer neighbourhoods of most
U*examlple,
___ J Ti, is
Brazilian cities, afor
is no stranger to Conjunto Palmeira.
Nevertheless, one of . the concerns raised by the leaders of the Residents
- forward
■*
’ momentum,
-------- l. The character
Association is how to continue to sustain the
• ■ • ms
of the community has changed, as have the aspiratjo
’ of its members and its
■ ■’ -- the
motivations to organize. (The newest association
1— Business Association - is
From the point of view of community members,
indicative of IL
its new fodus.
1
Conjunto Palmeira continues to undergo transformation, and this means
________________
meeting opportunity
while at thej same time contending with new’ struggles
social
and
economic challenges facing youth. As one long-time
such as the <
commented,
ih
the early days the community organizers would talk
resident c----night
strategizing.
Now, because of increased crime, they are
long into the
way
home
froln
community
on their
- meetings
- by 9 p.m. Historically this
community has been able to adapt, devise new strategies and find solutions;
new partners that recognize this capacity are still needed to support their
endeavours.
Conjunto Palmeira is best known for Banco Palmas, but as this case study
illustrates, Banco Palmas rests on the shoulders of those who have spent
decades organizing. Uniier a repressive regime, leaders in Conjunto Palmeira
organized so that people could survive conditions of physical neglect. This
initial organizing evolved into organizing to access the services that a new
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60
FROM CLIENTS TO CITIZENS
FOUR DECADES OF FORGING COMMUNITY
democratic regime was obliged tp_deliveL Finally, with the infrastructure in
place, people organized to ensure that the country's economic growth did not
pass them by.
In the last 20 years since the end of the dictatorship, three different
presidencies have offered different brands of political and economic change,
with Lula's current presidency elected on the promise to redistribute wealth
more evenly. Yet the structural transformation required to change the course of
Brazil s development has, so far, been slow to materialize. Although a popular
saying states that 'God is Brazilian', God has not yet performed the miracle
of building a socially equitable, economically solid and environmentally
sustainable country. Conjunto Palmeira is a place where people have taken
the situation into their own hands. They want to continue to build solidarity
and create their own version of social and economic success.
Authors’ note
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References
Melo Neto, J. and Magalhaes, S. (2003) Bairros pobres, ricas solutes: Banco
Palmas, ponto a ponto [Poor neighbourhoods, rich solutions: Banco Palmas,
step by step] Expressao Grafica, Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
Neumann, L. and Neumann, R. (2004,) Desenvolvimento comunitdrio baseado em
talentos e recursos locals - ABCD [Community development based on local
talents and resources], Global Editora, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Os moradores de favela do Conjunto Palmeira [The residents of the favela of
Conjunto Palmeira] (n.d.) Memorias de Nossas Lutas : favela de Conjunto
Palmeriras: Habitando o inabitavel. [Memories of our struggles: The;
settlement of Conjunto Palmeiras: habitable or uninhabitable]. Vol. 1J
Unpublished document.
Pinheiro, A., Gill, I., Serven, L. and Thomas, M. (December 2001) Brazilian
economic growth, 1990-2000: Lessons and policy implications, 2nd draft.
Prepared for Global Development Network Conference, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Available from http://www.gdnet.org/pdf7draft_country_studies/
BrazilianEconomicGrowthl900-2000RioDraftI.pdf [Accessed 5 September
2007]
Stichting Aktie Strohalm (2003) Project 'Formento Fortaleza': Final report,
, Stichting Aktie Strohalm, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
World Bank, The (n.d.) Brazil country brief, available from: http://go.worldbank.
org/UW8ODN2SV0 [Accessed 5 September 2007]
61
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Research for this case study was carried out in January 2007 in Conjunto
Palmeira and Fortaleza] north-eastern Brazil, by Rogerio Arns Neumann, Joanne
Linzey, and Alison MaHhie with assistance from Sarah Riedl (translation) and
Nathalia Cardoso (interview transcription).
In 2006, the Coacft Institute invited Rogerio Arns Neumann, currently
working with the Ode Brecht Foundation, to identify a community in Brazil
that would illustrate citizen-driven development in an urban context. With
many years experienc working in community development in Brazil, he
identified four possible communities. Conjunto Palmeira was our first choice
because it was an urb< n setting in one of the poorest regions of Brazil, and
because its history was already well documented by community members
themselves as well as by academics and some NGOs. Rogerio contacted the
Residents' Association! who responded enthusiastically to the. idea. Joanne
Linzey offered to assist in the fieldwork because of her experience working
in collaboration with Rogerio in Brazil in her capacity as the Chief Executive
Officer of Metro United Way in Halifax, Canada. Alison Mathie's role was to
coordinate the research effort and help in the writing once an initial draft had
been translated from Portuguese into English.
In Conjunto Palmeiira, we conducted group and individual interviews with
staff and elected representatives of the Residents' Association in Conjunto
Palmeira, staff of Banco Palmas, members of the Business Association,
individual entrepreneurs and community members. Mostly these interviews
took place in the Residents' Association with the various activities of Banco
p-1_____ n-i_____ r •_______L . j .1 . t-»
.
.
...
.
..
Palmas, Palma Limpe, and the Business Association going on all around, and
-Carnival
in fujj swing. We encouraged community
with preparations
for]
members to analyze their own stories, and offered the Residents' Association
some popular
popular educaticjn
education and
and facilitation
facilitation tools
tools in
in the
the process.
process.
Deepening our understanding of the history of the neighbourhood, we also
conducted interviews i ith representatives of Centro de Nutricao de Conjunto
Palmeira, and a teachiiqr at the local school. Accounts of the construction
____________
of
the
canal
gathered from community members
the
local government
—
— — were
■
-—
mu/VI u <4.4and
AV4
4
KZVC4A
V
Itl 1 L
------------ 1 Paulo
- Garcia
———— Details on the history and the
WAV. impact of Banco Palmas
architect,
were provided by Joaqjiiim de Melo (Banco Palmas) and Dr Jeova Torres of the
University of Cere&. Particular thanks go to Joaquim de Melo, the Director
of Banco Palmas, for his assistance in facilitating interviews, for giving his
own time so generously, and for reading an earlier draft of this case study.
Altogether fourteen individual interviews and four group interviews were
conducted. These interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed
along with existing documentation, cited in the text.
Efforts were made to get in touch with some of the organizations that
had assisted Conjunt > Palmeira in the early days, but key individuals in
these organizations h id moved on. Their role, although important at key
intervals, remains in the background, with the community perspective
—
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tor
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s
more prominently placed in the foreground. One of the reasons community
members were willing to participate, according to Joaquim de Melo, is that
the story was not confined to a single project (Banco Palmas, for example)
but highlighted the cumulative effect of community organizing, each new
development standing on the shoulders of the efforts that preceded it. As
outsiders, the researchers therefore promised to deliver an inside story, and on
that basis the conversations began to flow.
CHAPTER 3
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Building the Mercado Central: Asset Based
Community De velopment and community
entrepreneurship in the USA
I
Geralyn Sheehan
it
!
Abstract
In a relatively short period of time, new Latino immigrants in Minneapolis, USA,
have been able to establish a cooperatively, owned market place that incubates
small businesses catering to Latino (and non Latino) consumers. In the process,
a run-down area of downtown Minneapolis has been revitalized. This process of
social and economic integration was set in motion by local church groups assisting
new immigrants with a'place where they could come together as a faith community
and hold services in Spfanish. This assistance then extended to opportunities for
local training, which zA turn led to a deliberate exercise in identifying the skills
and resources of new immigrants and how these could be linked to opportunities
for small business development. As such it illustrates the power of organizing
based on a recognition of assets, motivated by aspirations for a strong community
integrated into the larger local economy.
Introduction
F
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r
The story of the Mercado Central is one of Latino immigrants who believed in
their capacity to realize!a collective vision of home and neighbourhood. The
Mercado Central, a retail business cooperative and incubator in Minneapolis,
is the result of creativity,1 tenacity, and collaboration with faith-based and other
community organizations to build a traditional marketplace in an inner-city
American neighbourhood.
Centrally situated in an area that is home to an estimated 8,000-9,000
Latinos, the Mercado Central offers an alternative vision for other inner-city
neighbourhoods, where| recent immigrants are often marginalized and faced
with serious challenges io integration with the wider American population. As
a result of this vision, the Latino population in Minneapolis has been able to
gain much wider acceptance and appreciation for its cultural traditions. It has
created a culturally relevant economic development vehicle that has enabled
its members to integrate into the city's economic life.
•
’
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•
__ introduction
out'SS!6’ baSiC and USfb,e
nows Erectly
out of the expenence of courageous and creative neighborhood leaders rrom across the country.
Tories'TheslT
tO
community-building success
cob
Th
uS
Organized into a step-by-step introduction to
a
leade^W ratTFh
ab°Ut from neighborhood
leaders^We call this strategy "asset-based community development"
Before begmning to outline the basic elements of this approach, it will
be helpful to remember how so many of our communities came to be
oftenhiled ’
traditi°nal Strategies for improvement have so
The Problem: Devastated Communities
No one can doubt that most American cities these days are deeply
ttl / Professionai‘,2ed- and require elaborate education and creden-
XhbaT“d”he °f d'““' '"’P10’™” PossSlifc’ta, lOT-tome
can Sh"
I*’
rCmOVed the bOttOm
from the fabled AmerihLts
opportunity." For many people in older city neighbor
hoods, new approaches to rebuilding their lives and communides new
openings toward opportunity, are a vital necessity.
Two Solutions, Two Paths
financial and human resources. By comparison with the second path
which insists on beginning with a clear commitment to discovering a’
community’s capacities and assets, and which is the direction A s tide
md more MdM“"
;•
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1
INTRODUCTION
The Traditional Path—A Needs-Driven Dead End
For most Americans, the names "South Bronx," or "South Central Los
Angeles," or even "Public Housing" call forth a rush of images. It is not
surprising that these images are overwhelmingly negative. They are
images of crime and violence, of joblessness and welfare dependency,
of gangs and drugs and homelessness, of vacant and abandoned land
and buildings. They are images of needy and problematic and deficient
neighborhoods populated by needy and problematic and deficient
people.
These negative images, which can be conceived as a kind of mental
’'map" of the neighborhood (see page 3) often convey part of the truth
about the actual conditions of a troubled community. But they are not
regarded as part of the truth; they are regarded as the whole truth.
Once accepted as the whole truth about troubled neighborhoods, this
"needs" map determines how problems are to be addressed, through
deficiency-oriented policies and programs. Public, private and nonprofit human service systems, often supported by university research
and foundation funding, translate the programs into local activities
that teach people the nature and extent of their problems, and the
value of services as the answer to their problems. As a result, many
lower income urban neighborhoods are now environments of service
where behaviors are affected because residents come to believe that
their well-being depends upon being a client. They begin to see them
selves as people with special needs that can only be met by outsiders.
They become consumers of services, with no incentive to be produc
ers. Consumers of services focus vast amounts of creativity and intelli
gence on the survival-motivated challenge of outwitting the "system,"
or on finding ways—in the informal or even illegal economy—to
bypass the system entirely.
2
!
I t
There i^nothingnaturaLoEinevitableaboutthepreeessthatlead^to
the creation of client neighborhoods. In fact, it is important to note
how little power local neighborhood residents have to affect the
pervasive nature of the deficiency model, mainly because a number of
society’s most influential institutions have themselves developed a
stake in maintaining that focus. For example, much of the social
science research produced by universities is designed to collect and
analyze data about problems. Much of the funding directed to lower
income communities by foundations and the United Way is based on
the problem-oriented data collected in "needs surveys," a practice
emulated by government human service agencies. Finally, the needs
map often appears to be the only neighborhood guide ever used by
members of the mass media, whose appetite for the violent and the
-spectacularly problematic story seems insatiable. All of these major
institutions combine to create a wall between lower income communi
ties and the rest of society—a wall of needs which, ironically enough,
is built not on hatred but (at least partly) on the desire to "help."
I
INTRODUCTION
Neighborhood Needs Map
Unemployment
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Broken families
Slum housing
r
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Grafitti
Crime
Child abuse j
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Mental
*1—•disability
—1— —-—
Welfare recipients
Lead poisoining
Dropouts
INTRODUCTION
1 he fact that the deficiency orientation represented by the needs map
constitutes our only guide to lower income neighborhoods has devas
tating consequences for residents. We have already noted one of the
most tragic—that is, residents themselves begin to accept that map as
the only guide to the reality of their lives. They think of themselves and
their neighbors as fundamentally deficient, victims incapable of taking
charge of their lives and of their community’s future. But other conse
quences flow as well from the power of the needs map. For example:
Viewing a community as a nearly endless list of
problems and needs leads directly to the much
lamented fragmentation of efforts to provide solutions.
It also denies the basic community wisdom which
regards problems as tightly intertwined, as symptoms in
fact of the breakdown of a community’s own problem
solving capacities.
* Targeting resources based on the needs map directs
funding not to residents but to service providers, a
------ consequence not always either planned for or effective.
¥ Making resources available on the basis of the needs
map can have negative effects on the nature of local
community leadership. If, for example, one measure of
effective leadership is the ability to attract resources,
then local leaders are, in effect, being forced to
denigrate their neighbors and their community by
highlighting their problems and deficiencies, and by
ignoring their capacities and strengths.
* Providing resources on the basis of the needs map
underiines the perception that only outside experts can
provide real help. Therefore, the relationships that
count most for local residents are no longer those incide
the community, those neighbor-to-neighbor links of
mutual support and problem solving. Rather, the most
important relationships are those that involve the
expert, the social worker, the health provider, the
funder. Once again, the glue that binds communities
together is weakened.
Reliance on the needs map as the exclusive guide to
resource gathering virtually ensures the inevitable
deepening of the cycle of dependence: problems must
always be worse than last year, or more intractable than
other communities, if funding is to be renewed.
4
W At best, reliance on the needs maps as the sole policy Z
guide will ensure a maintenance and survival strategy
targeted at isolated individual clients, not a
development plan that can involve the energies of an
entire community.
i *
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INTRODUCTION
Because the needs-based strategy can guarantee only
survival, and can never lead to serious change or
community development, this orientation must be
regarded as one of the major causes of the sense of
hopelessness that pervades discussions about the future
of low income neighborhoods. From the street corner to
the White House, if maintenance and survival are the
best we can provide, what sense can it make to invest in
the future?
The Alternative Path: Capacity-Focused Development
If even some of these negative consequences follow from our total
reliance upon the needs map, an alternative approach becomes im
perative. That alternative path, very simply, leads toward the develop
ment of policies and activities based on the capacities, skills and assets
of lower income people and their neighborhoods.
In addition to the problems associated with the dominant deficiency
-model, at least two-more factors argue for shifting to a capacity-ori^ ~
ented emphasis. First, all the historic evidence indicates that significant
community development takes place only when local community
people are committed to investing themselves and their resources in
the effort. This observation explains why communities are never built
from the top down, or from the outside in. (Clearly, however, valuable
outside assistance can be provided to communities that are actively
developing their own assets, a topic explored further in Chapter Six.)
The second reason for emphasizing the development of the internal
assets of local urban neighborhoods is that the prospect for outside
help is bleak indeed. Even in areas designated as Enterprise Zones, the
odds are long that large-scale, job-providing industrial or service
corporations will be locating in ihcse nejghborhoqd^^
it likely,
in the light of continuing budget constraints, that significant new
inputs of federal money will be forthcoming soon. It is increasingly
futile to wait for significant help to arrive from outside the community.
The hard truth is that development must start from within the commu
nity and, in most of our urban neighborhoods, there is no other
choice.
Creative neighborhood leaders across the country have begun to
recognize this hard truth, and have shifted their practices accordingly.
They are discovering that wherever there are effective community
development efforts, those efforts are based upon an understanding,
or map, of the community’s assets, capacities and abilities. For it is
clear that even the poorest neighborhood is a place where individuals
and organizations represent resources upon which to rebuild. The key
to neighborhood regeneration, then, is to locate all of the available
local assets, to begin connecting them with one another in ways that
multiply their power and effectiveness, and to begin harnessing those
5
INTRODUCTION
local institutions that are not yet available for local development
purposes.
This entire process begins with the construction of a new "map" (see
page 7). Once this guide to capacities has replaced the old one con
taining only needs and deficiencies, the regenerating community can
begin to assemble its strengths into new combinations, new structures
of opportunity, new sources of income and control, and new possibili
ties for production.
The Assets of a Community: Individuals,
Associations, Institutions
Each community boasts a unique combination of assets upon which to
build its future. A thorough map of those assets would begin with an
inventory of the gifts, skills and capacities of the communfty's
community's resi
dents. Household by household, building by building, block by block
the capacity mapmakers will discover a vast and often surprising array
of individual talents and productive skills, few of which are being
mobilized for community-building purposes. This basic truth about the
"giftedness" of every individual is particularly important to apply to
persons who often find themselves marginalized by communities. It is
essential to recognize the capacities, for example, of those who have
been labeled mentally handicapped or disabled, or of those who► are
marginalized because they are too old, or too young, or too poor. In a
community whose assets are being fully recognized and mobilized,
these people too will be part of the action, not as clients or recipients
of aid, but as full contributors to the community-building process. '
|.. . »l j ».
r
.•
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-
r
In addition to mapping the gifts and skills of individuals, and of house
holds and families, the committed community builder will compile an
inventory of citizens' associations. These associations, less formal and
jnuehJess. dependent upon paid staff than are formal institutions, are
the vehicles through which citizens in the U.S. assemble to solve
problems, or to share common interests and activities. It is usually the
case that the depth and extent of assodational life in any community is
vastly underestimated. This is particularly true of lower income com
munities. In fact, however, though some parts of associational life may
have dwindled in very lbw income neighborhoods, most communities
continue to harbor significant numbers of associations with religious,
cultural, athletic, recreational and other purposes. Community build
ers soon recognize that these groups are indispensable tools for
development, and that many of them can in fact be stretched beyond
their original purposes and intentions to become full contributors to
the development process.
6
Beyond the individuals and local associations that make up the asset
base of communities are all of the more formal institutions which are
located in the community. Private businesses; public institutions such
4
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A
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S
A
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INTRODUCTION
Community Assets Map
!
Schools
Businesses
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Churches
Parks
Block Clubs
i Artists
Income
Libraries
Elderly
Youth
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Labelled
People
x
Cultural Groups
r
Hospitals
I
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Community Colleges
j__
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7
INTRODUCTION
as schools, libraries, parks, police and fire stations; nonprofit institu
tions such as hospitals and social service agencies—these organizations
make up the most visible and formal part of a community’s fabric.
Accounting for them in full, and enlisting them in the process of
community development, is essential to the success of the process. For
community builders, the process of mapping the institutional assets of
the community will often be much simpler than that of making an
inventory involving individuals and associations. But establishing
within each institution a sense of responsibility for the health of the
local community, along with mechanisms that allow communities to
influence and even control some aspects of the institution’s relation
ships with its local neighborhood, can prove much more difficult
Nevertheless, a community that has located and mobilized its entire
base of assets will clearly feature heavily involved and invested local
institutions.
Individuals, associations and institutions—these three major categories
contain within them much of the asset base of every community. They
will also provide the framework for organizing this guide. Each of the
next three sections explores methods for recognizing, mapping, and
mobilizing one of these clusters of local strengths.
In addition, the guide will highlight other aspects of a community’s
assets, including its physical characteristics—the land, buildings.and
infrastructure upon which the community rests. And because so much
of a community’s well-being depends upon the strength of the local
economy, one section of the guide will explore ways in which indi
viduals, associations and local institutions can contribute economi
cally.
An Alternative Community Development Path: AssetBased, Internally Focused, Relationship Driven
This guide is designed to help communities not only to recognize and
map their assets—the individuals, local associations and institutions
which make up the sinew of the neighborhood—but to mobilize them
for development purposes. As we begin to describe the basic elements
of an asset-based community development process, it is important to
place this discussion in its larger context. Two major qualifications
should be stated as strongly as possible.
First, focusing on the assets of lower income communities does not
imply that these communities do not need additional resources from
the outside. Rather, this guide simply suggests that outside resources
will be much more effectively used if the local community is itself fully
mobilized and invested, and if it can define the agendas for which
additional resources must be obtained. The assets within lower in
come communities, in other words, are absolutely necessary but
usually not sufficient to meet the huge development challenges ahead
8
'A
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4
4
4
INTRODUCTION
Second, the discussion of asset-based community development is
intended to affirm, and to build upon the remarkable work already
going on in neighborhoods across the country. Asset-based community
development acknowledges and embraces particularly the strong
neighborhood-rooted traditions of community organizing, community
economic development and neighborhood planning. In fact, experi
enced leaders in these three areas have been among our most valuable
sources of inspiration and guidance. The approach outlined in this
guide is intended to complement, and sometimes to precede, their
efforts—not to substitute for them.
These caveats understood, then, "asset-based community develop
ment" deserves a little more introduction and definition. As will be
come apparent in more detail in the chapters that follow, this process
can be defined by three simple, interrelated characteristics:
■« Obviously enough, the first principle that defines this
process is that it is "asset-based.” That is, this community
development strategy starts with what is present in the
community, the capacities of its residents and workers,
the associational and institutional base of the area—not
with what is absent, or with what is problematic, or with
what the community needs.
« Because this community development process is asset
based, it is by necessity "internally focused." That is, the
development strategy concentrates first of all upon the
agenda building and problem-solving capacities of local
residents, local associations and local institutions. Again,
this intense and self-conscious internal focus is not
intended to minimize either the role external forces
have played in helping to create the desperate
conditions of lower income neighborhoods, nor the
needXo at^ct^<MitiQiMresources to these ........ . communities. Rather this strong internal focus is
intended simply to stress the primacy of local definition,
investment, creativity, hope and control.
If a community development process is to be asset
based and internally focused, then it will be in very
important ways "relationship driven." Thus, one of the
central challenges for asset-based community developers
is to constantly build and rebuild the relationships
between and among local residents, local associations
and local institutions.
Skilled community organizers and effective community developers
already recognize the importance of relationship building. For it is
clear that the strong ties which form the basis for community-based
problem solving have been under attack. The forces driving people
apart are many and frequently cited—increasing mobility rates, the
/
9
INTRODUCTION
I
separation of work and residence, mass media, segregation by race and
age and not least from the point of view of lower income communities,
increasing dependence upon outside, professionalized helpers.
I
I
Because of these factors, the sense of efficacy based on interdepen
dence, the idea that people can count on their neighbors and neigh
borhood resources for support and strength has weakened. For com
munity builders who are focused on assets, rebuilding these local
relationships offers the most promising route toward successful com
munity development. This guide will stress the importance of relation
ship building for every person and group in the community, and will
underline the necessity of basing those relationships always upon the
strengths and capacities of the parties involved, never on their weak
nesses and needs.
That, then is the skeleton of the simple development process sketched
in this guide—it is a community-building path which is asset-based,
internally focused and relationship driven.
1
1
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Participant Reading List
DAYS - Sunday, July 19, 2009
■
Behaviour Styles Information Sheet
■
Behaviour Styles Rating Form
■
"Whaf s your story?" A life-stories approach to authentic leadership
development - B. Shamir, G. Eilam
■
Definitions and Significance of Leadership
■
Nominal Group Technique: A User's Guide - R. Dunham
■
Open Space Technology: A User's Guide - H. Owen
/
■
’
\
\
■
.
-
•
■■
■
•
■
.
.
nFFINITION
” tadivid”al ““
K^^,'SSK:“S^’S!,J:
_;;-.unt other important
„„ „ It doos not take talo a<^>'
skills, motives.
i< ■!»’ N°L”SS”S«- h°pes'ideas' d"“'s'
S5s"S
In addition, behavior style reflect an
meets his or her own needs, copes an
DIMENSIONS
;"O
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T„O teic 4t— o. hnnton
1)
assertiveness
■
Degree to which an individual’s behaviors are perceived y
attempting to influence the thoughts or actions or others.
. ;’ W®
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..._;.
Si*'
Assertive
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ITell
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- •
Makes staimMts
Krect, forc^ul
Leans forward
Initiates, proactive
Slfe
BtonSt listeii
tWMyt
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“S-fV|f»-
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Responds, reactive
Kiep^
bpifti^ns W.
Expresses thoughts/opinions
'^oB
•
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2)
RESPONSIVENESS
Degree to which an individual is perceived by others as emotionally
responsive (expressing feelings) or emotionally reserved (containing feelings)
when relating to others.
Emotionally
Responsive
Concerned with how others feel
Imprecise, general
Uses opinions, hunches
Seems easy to know
Animated, impulsive
Concerned with how others think and maybe
indifferent to feelings
Precise, specific
Uses facts, data
Seems difficult to know
Reserved., cautious
f
fv
EmotionaHy
Self-Contained
© DW
October 1990/1994
btyie Awareness bimpunea, i racom, uavia Menu ana Koger i\eia
2
ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT BEHAVIOR STYLES
1. There is no best or worst style. All styles have advantages
and disadvantages. All styles are effective when appropriate
to the situation and implemented well.
2. There are no pure styles. We all have parts of each styles iin
us. However, we also have one style that predominates; one
style in which we are most comfortable and which requires the
least energy and stress.
3. Behavior style does not explain the whole person. It only
defines perceived patterns of behavior. It does not address
personality or an understanding of how an individual thinks or
feels.
4.to There is often a significant discrepancy between inner
reaction and outer response.
—
_I . ..
%*J|-
5. 75% of the population is different than we are. These peoph
havedOsehtiW®^^ Therefore, they
different manner, use time
relate in a different
way, make decisions and manage conflict in q. w^y ita differs
from how we doit. •
•
6. We allhave goals Wehope to attainw wish to
achieve. However, different iflterperSonal priorities influence
how we go about accomplishing these ends.
3
INDICATORS OF DEGREES OF ASSERTIVENESS
.
Less
Assertive
More
Assertive
Persons ” to the left of
the line” tend to:
Persons "to the right of
the line” tend to:
O Move more rapidly.
O Move more slowly and
deliberately.
O Speak more quickly, more
intensely, and often more
loudly.
O Speak more slowly and more
softly.
O Sit upright or lean forward,
especially to make a request
or state an opinion.
O Lean backward, even when
making a request or stating
an opinion.
O Be more emphatic when
expressing opinions, making
requests, and giving directions.
O Be more tentative, and less
forceful in expressing
opinions, making requests,
and giving directions.
O Be more confrontive.
O Be less confrontive.
OTake interpersonal initiative.
O Let ote
O Be "tell oriented."
Q Be "ask oriented.”
the
0 pecide more quickly^
DecideJess quickty*
Q Be more risk, oriented.
OBe less risk oriented.
O Wesrt more pressure for decisions.
O Have more intense end
consistent eye contact
pressure for
deririqns?
©Jlave less intense and less
consistent eye contact*
Reference: Bolton & Bolton, SoriaL^^/ManageinenfeS^dfc American
4
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INDICATORS OF DEGREES OF RESPONSIVENESS
More
Responsive
Less
Responsive
Persons "above the line"
tend to:
Persons "below the line"
tend to:
O Gesture more frequently.
O Limit their use of gestures.
O Move more freely.
O Move more rigidly.
O Have more facial expressiveness.
O Have less facial
expressiveness.
O Seem more playful.
O Seem more serious.
O Appear more friendly.
O Appear more reserved.
O Dress less formally.
O Dress more formally.
O Be freer and less guarded
in their expression of feelings.
O Be more controlled in their
expression of feelings.
O Focus more on feelings.
O Focus more on facts.
0 Appear mm»-^^^fadrfahted
than task oriented.
Q Appear more
wWited
than people oriented.
O Be more interested in smtHl
talk, anecdotes, and
O Be less interested in
falk, .ah^eddfas^and jokes.
0 Allow feelings to have a greater
i nfl Wen ee on dedsioh making.
O Demonstrate
their use of time.
on facts than emotions.
in
O Demonstrate more discipline •
in their use o>f time.
- iiisciplhied manner.
Reference: Bolton & Bojton, SodalSfyle/Management Style. American
Management Assmi«fedlV
M*
7
5
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Behavior Styles Matrix
4 Styles
z x
T
T
f
Expressive
Promoting Style
I
A
Supporter
II
Supporting Style
JX
----- ASSERTIVENESS ~
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Dreyer
Cp^trollxng^^
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Adapted fToffi:
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
7i0 SA Second Avenue
Portland, OR
>1
1
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I
Analyzer
Analyzing Style
1
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6
Behavior Styles Matrix
Subquadrants
4
T
Supportive
Expressive
Expressive
Expressive
----------------- !-------------------
Driver
I Analytic
Expressive | Expressive
T
I
-------------------- ]-----------------
cn Driver
I Analytic
Supportive | Supportive
§
S
i
I Analytic
N
T
. Supportive
£ Expressive
Analytic
Analytic
a4
I .Driver
r
0
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Z
Adaptedfrom:
iMbo^aittry
. >
Expressive . Supportive
Supportive
Supportive
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Portlund,OR97204
T
-assertiveness —
Expressive
Supportive
Driver
1 DriWr
Driver
Driver
X
Driver
Analytic
l Ax>atly|ic
{ Analytic
i
Style: Supportive
FOCUS:
People
WANTS:
Friendship / Relationship
REJECTS:
Conflict
RISK:
Averse
(
DECISION
MAKING:
Wants safe-guarantees / Give clear specific
solutions in order to help them decide
TIME
ORIENTATION:
BACK-UP
STYLE:
STRATEGY:
Acquies^er-Typical statements: "Whatever
then takes.':
reservations / concerns elsewhere
« SolidtTritidsm all along
«
safe to critidze
* Get petson involved.
■»<
ri.-'
-
8
Style: Analytic
FOCUS:
WANTS:
Predictable patterns / To be right
REJECTS:
Involvement
RISK:
Averse
DECISION
MAKING:
Need time to decide / Evidence other's
decision will be good in the future
TIME
ORIENTATION*
Disciplined/ Aecwate
BACK-UP
STYLE:
Avpicfer
)
STRATEGY^
T^jtfcal statement "I don't want
totalkaboutit."
vAddi’^jm^edm^
< Jndude details
* Etdist bersnn's aid ii
9
i
Style: Expressive
FOCUS:
Idea / Dream / Vision
WANTS:
Appreciation / Aid for dream
REJECTS:
Isolation
RISK:
Taker
i
DECISION
MAKING:
Appreciates testimonials & anecdotes
f'
(A
TIME
ORIENTATION:
lacK-up
■i
ABteker
STYLE:
Typical statements: "If you
so unorganized..." "You
if it fell on your head."
STRATEGY:
•I
‘
I
I
■
* Don'tj>ersonalize critique
: Help Expressive separate self from idea
•.«; Present positive ideas & alternatives to get
r '■
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10
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.
ri;
'A
C~
c
Style: Driver
FOCUS:
Productivity / Action / Results
WANTS:
Job done
REJECTS:
Inaction
RISK:
Taker
DECISION
MAKING:
Appreciates options & probabilities / Likes to
make the decision
TIME
ORIENTATION:
f
BACK-UP
STYLE:
L-C
Li**
it now!"
Do not ignore or compete
t tahte
goals results
J!
Channel interaction
SIS into mutually
productivearea
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1
•
-
11
Interacting Effectively With Others
Determining Another's Style
AVOID: To interact effectively with others, it is important to avoid
judgements, evaluations and analyzing "why" an individual behaves in a
certain way.
PRACTICE: It is more helpful to: 1) observe behavior patterns carefully,
2) tentatively classify a style, and then 3) be open to behaviors suggesting a
different style before reaching a conclusion. It is also helpful to observe an
individual's behavior under stress and treat all observations as the beginning
of wisdom about the other.
Versatility
There is another dimension to behavior style that is extremely important in
interacting effectively with others - versatility.
Versatility means the ability of an individual to be adaptable and skillful in a
variety of situations and adept in dealing with others. Versatility is
independent of style and is demonstrated by:
1) the ability to use interpersonal skills
2) a natural inclination to satisfy others
3) a willingness to actively meet the needs of others
I
('
Individuals who are versatile recognize they can control only one-half of the
relationship and they can more easily modify their own behavior than
modify others. Therefore, they W Wfc skills and flexibility to temporarily
use behaviors from their nondominant styles in order communicate
appropriately in a given interaction for a specific moment in time.
Versatility does not mean giving up. goals*- rather it means working toward
goals by using behaviorS tMt wmbre cothfortable for the other party's style.
Being versatile means using different processes for a short time B order to
better achieve certain outcomes.
Versatile individuals increase their chances of influencing by asking
themselves,
"
■mat needs of others must I consider? And in mhal Wfys shmild I
modify nty style in dfylet to fyte
The critical question for a versatile individual is:
“What can 1 do to make it easier for others to understand or
communicate xyith me at th^
f
12
(
Checklists for Working with Other Styles
CHECKLIST TO USE WHEN
WORKING WITH THE HIGH
SUPPORTIVE
DO'S
DONTS
1. Start, however briefly, with a
personal comment. Break the ice.
1. Don’t rush headlong into
business or agenda.
2. Show sincere interest in them as
people; find areas of common
involvement; be candid and open.
2. Don’t stick coldly or harshly to
business; on the other hand, don’t
lose sight of goals by being too
personal.
3. Patiently draw out their personal
goals and work with them to help
achieve these goals; listen; be
responsive.
3. Don’t force them to respond
immediately to your objectives; don’t
say ' here’s how I see it..."
4, Present your case softly, nonthreateningly.
4. Don’t be domineering or
demanding; don't threaten with
position or power.
5. To draw out their opinions, ask
"how?” questions.
5. Don’t debate about facts and
figures - they’ll get lost or quiet
If you agree easily, look for
possible areas of early disagreement
or dissatisfaction.
6. Don't manipulate or bully them
into agreeing because they probably
won’t fight back or follow through.
Don’t patronize pr demean.
feelings, personal reasons.
8. Don’t be abrupt or move too
quickly.
9. Define dearly (preferably in
writing) individual contributipns.
St. Di^tbe.v^u^doOBite..
opinions or probabilities.
10. Provide guarantees that their
decisions will minimize risks and
will provide them with
10. Don’t offer assurances or
guarantees you can’t fulfill.
11. Provide personal assurances,
clear, specific solutions with
maximum guarantees.
11. Don’t keep deciding for them or
they ’ll lose initiative; don't leave
them with undiscussed worries.
i
13
CHECKL1ST TO USE WHEN
WORKING WITH THE HIGH
ANALYTIC
DO'S
DONTS
1. Prepare your "case" in advance.
1. Don i be disorganized or messy.
2. Approach them in a straight
2. Don’t be circuitous, giddy, casual.
forward, direct way; stick to business, informal or loud.
3. Support their principles/ thought- 3. Don't rush their decision-making
ful approach; build your credibility by process.
listing pros and cons to any
suggestions you make.
4. Make an organized contribution
to their efforts; present specifics and
do what you say you will do.
4. Don't be vague about what’s
expected of either of you; don't fail to
follow though or explain changes.
5. Take you time but be specific.
5. Don't dilly-dally.
6. Draw up a scheduled approach to
implementing action with a step-bystep timetable; assure them there
won't be surprises.
6. Don't leave things to chance or
luck
7. If you agree, follow through.
7. Don’t provide special personal
incentives.
,
8. If you disagree, list your reasons
in an organized manner.
8
1
ca^o,e/ whe^dle/
9. Give them time tO veilfy .
actions; be accurate, unreliable sources; don’t be
realistic.
haphazard.
10. Provide solid, tangible, practical
evidence.
11. Indicate guarantees ovei
period, but provide OJtWSS.
I.
Don't use someone's opinion as
eyidme-
■A
11. Don’t use gimmicks or clever,
quick manipulations.
■
■ ' • - \
14
CHECKLIST TO USE WHEN
WORKING WITH THE HIGH
EXPRESSIVE
DO'S
DONTS
1. Plan interaction that supports
their dreams and intentions.
1. Don't legislate or muffle.
2. Leave time for relating,
socializing.
2. Don't be curt, cold, or totaly
impersonal.
3. Talk about people and their goals. 3. Don t drive on to facts and
figures, alternatives, abstracts.
4. Stick to general ideas. Put details
in writing. Tie down modes of
action and deadlines.
4. Don't leave things hanging in the
air, or they'll hang their!
5. Ask for their opinions / ideas
regarding people.
5. Don't ’dream" with them
you'll lose time.
6. Provide ideas for implementing
action.
jb. Don’t kid around too much,
"stick to the agenda" too much.
7
moving, entertaining.
8. :
9. Offer special, immedMWand
incentives to acknowledge their
willingness to take risks.
Don’t WkdbWn W them.
CHECKLIST TO USE WHEN
WORKING WITH THE HIGH
DRIVER
DONTS
DO'S
1. Be clear, specific, brief and to the
point.
1. Don't ramble on or waste time.
2. Stick to business.
2. Limit time spent building
personal relations.
3. Come prepared with all the data, 3. Don’t be disorganized; don’t
objectives, and support materials in a confuse or distract their mind from
business.
well-organized package.
4. Plan your presentation efficiently; 4. Don’t leave loopholes or cloudy
present the facts logically.
issues.
5. Ask specific (preferably “What?”)
questions.
5. Don't ask pointless or rhetorical
questions?
6. Provide alternatives and choices
to allow them to make their own
decisions.
6. Don't come with your mind
made up, or make decisions for
them.
i
■
7- Provide facts and figures about
If you disagree, take issue with the 8. If you disagree, don’t take issue
8, U,
with them personally
facts, not the person.
*
9. If you agree, ^upp>rfWlilts, mt
10v Don't try to convince by
1&. Motivate
persuade
referring to objectives and results.
:t persoft^al'’ >e^ns.
11. After talking business, depart
11. Don’t direct or order.
M
offer m ,’epiloguen after
fWhingWdnm
Checklists are adapted from MIR, The Wilson Learning Corporation
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Flexibility & Role Shifting
In Behavior Styles
DECREASE FEELING
• Contain feelings
• Expressless
• Use facts
EXPRESSIVE
SUPPORTIVE
INCREASE ASSERTIVENESS
REDUCE ASSERTIVENESS
• Tell more
• Ask less
• Takecontrol
• Ask more
• Tell Less
• Share control
INCREASE FEELING
DRIVER
■
Express more / Be open to feelings
• Trast intuiMon / Give more ‘
J
ANALYTIC
BEHAVIORAL STYLES
I
PROMOTING
CONTROLLING
SUPPORTING
ANALYZING
HOW TO
RECOGNIZE
They get excited.
They like their own,
way; decisive, strong
pointsof view.
They like positive
attention, to be
helpful and to be
' regarded warmly.
They seek a lot of
data, ask many
questions, behave
methodically and
systematically.
TENDS TO ASK
Who? (The per
sonal dominant
question).
What? (The results
oriented question)
Why? (The per
sonal non-goal
question).
How? (The technical,
analytical question).
WHAT THEY
DISLIKE
Boring explana
tions, wasting time
with too many facts.
Someone wasting
their time, trying to
decide for them.
Rejection, treated
impersonally, un
caring and unfeel
ing attitudes.
Making an error,
being unprepared,
spontaneity.
REACTS TO
PRESSURE AND
TENSION BY
"Sell" their ideas
or argumentative
Takes charge,
takes more control
Becomes silent,
withdraws,
introspective.
Seeks more
data and
information.
BEST WAY TO
DEAL WITH
Get excited
with them. Show
emotion,
______
Let them be in
charge.
Be supportive;
Show you care.
Provide lots of
data and
information.
LIKES TO BE
MEASURED BY
Applause, feedback.
Recognition
Resalts. Goaloriented.
Friends, close
relationships.
Activity and
busy ness will
lead to result
(
MUST BE
ALLOWED TO
Get ahead quickly.
Likes challenges.
Get into a compe
titive situation.
Likes to win.
Relax, feel, care,
know you care.
Make decisions at
own pace, not
cornered or
pressured.
A
WILL IMPROVE
WITH
Recognition and
some structure
^fthin which to
reach the goal.
Effort: They rely
A position that
requires coopera
tion with others.
A structure of goals
and methods for
achieving each
Interpersonal
and communi
cation skills.
TimB thy ihce to
heavily on hunches,
intuition, feelings.
be efficient, get
things done now!
Relationships.
Friendship means
a lot to them.
Inspire them to big
ger and better
accomplishments.
Allow diem freedom
to do things their
own way.
FACTORS
LIKES TO SAVE
-
AN EFFECTIVE
LEADER WILL
Care & provide
detail, specific plans
and activities to be
accomplished/
hate to
wrong or get caught
without enough
information.
Structure a framewbrk or "track" to
follow.
r1
Name____ 1----- - --------------
Behavior Styles Rating Form - SELF
Di,eCtl0„S; Below IS a « of P~
* "S
people. For eachj>hrase or
? f on #18
see your self as somewhat
how you see yourself, For examp ,
.
\ • , number 3; if you see
more task-oriented than relationship-oMd ar
yourself as very task-oriented, circle number 4. eg.
Task-Oriented
18. Relationship-oriented 12
3
4
/ tend to...
2
0
2
3. Pay more attention
to feelings
1
®
3
4. Be more slow-paced
1
©
3
Take charge of
situation
1
2. Ask questions
7
')
■)
& Be structured
0
>
7, Bswte:
®
/ thott^hWl
S.. Confront conflict
Make statements
Pay more attention to
reason
Be more fast-paced
4
4
)
')
Follow the lead of others
4
1
1. Direct the actions
of others
Be
2
3
’•
'
..
•
■
A
Avoid iffihflrel; f
i
)
4
1
©
£
®
wgawd
4
3
11
mteta^tiohs-
>uv-■ ■
>1
1
' ftwiMil#!
it?
1 tend to...
4
Be outgoing /
forthcoming
12. Be quiet / moderate
2
13. Be directive
2
3
Be supportive
2
3
Like to work with others
14. Like to work alone
1
15. Disclose
information
1
16. Be easy going /
tolerant
1
17. Be distant
18. Be relationshiporiented
2
3
2
3
&
3
4
1
19. Focus on outcomes
or results
3
4
4
1
©
3
21. Get impatient
1
3
3.
24.
Withhold feelings
1
Decide quickly
1
Be caring
Be task-oriented
Focus on process or
Be more impulsive /
dramatic
3
/ guarded
3
2-
0
■
.(
r
( "
4
'1;
1
Demand of self and
others
2
20. Be more deliberate /
cautious
Be subtle
Keep information inside
4
r
r
Be direct
3,
4
3
g)
O
>
Be more
^^W®***-1
f
igyiOyOoi iur il
Adapted fmr»>
Bdu^tiotial Labratory^ Fbitkni OR
StKial 'Syie/- Management
& Bolton
>: ;;1W'
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r
Name
K -G ■
xHXsr^0
Behavior Styles
Score Sheet
"™b" VOU have ^ed
™Zg0"Fo™
jr.vu wave circled on
correspond to the question numbers listed below:
3
1.
5.
8.
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11.
I
13.
1
2.
4.
9.
I
12.
3
15.
16.
23.
19.
26.
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21.
25.
sum #1
2-
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sum #2
Sum #] + 35 - (Sum #2)
divided by 16 =
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II
„ divided hy 10 >
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
The
SCIENCE
ELSEVIER
DIRECT •
Leadership
Quarterly
The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
“What’s your story?” A life-stories approach to
authentic leadership development
Boas Shamir3’*, Galit Eilamb’1
^Department of Sociology and Anthropology. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel
^School of Business Administration, Ono Academic College, 104 Z'ahal Street, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Abstract
)
In this paper, we first develop the concepts of authentic leaders, authentic leadership, and authentic leader
development. We suggest a definition of authentic leaders, which is based on the leader’s self-concept: his or her
self-knowledge, self-concept clarity, self-concordance, and person-role merger, and on the extent to which the
leader’s self-concept is expressed in his or her behavior. Following, we offer a life-story approach to the
development of authentic leaders. We argue that authentic leadership rests heavily on the self-relevant meanings
the leader attaches to his or her life experiences, and these meanings are captured in the leader’s life-story. We
suggest that self-knowledge, self-concept clarity, and person-role merger are derived from the life-story. Therefore,
the construction of a life-story is a major element in the development of authentic leaders. We further argue that the
life-story provides followers with a major source of information on which to base their judgments about the
leader’s authenticity. We conclude by drawing some practical implications from this approach and presenting
suggestions for further research.
© 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
)
Keywords: Authentic leadership; Leadership development; Life-story; Self-concept clarity; Self-expression
)
A review of the literature reveals that there is no single accepted definition of authentic leadership and
different authors use the term in somewhat different ways (e.g. Bennis, 2003; Bennis & Thomas, 2002;
George, 2003; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; Terry, 1993). Certain elements, however, are shared by all
)
■
-
I
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 67 567022; fax: +972 3 5479499.
E-mail addresses: boas.shamir@huji.ac.il (B. Shamir), eilamcons@bezeqint.net (G. Eilam).
’ Tel :+972 50 400513.
1048-9843/$ - see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved,
doi: 10.1016Zj.Ieaqua.2005.03.005
J
396
B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
writers on the topic. Authentic leaders are portrayed as possessing self-knowledge and a personal point
of view, which reflects clarity about their values and convictions. They are also portrayed as identifying
strongly with their leadership role, expressing themselves by enacting that role, and acting on the basis of
their values and convictions. Any discussion of authentic leader development has to focus on how these
characteristics are developed.
Here, we suggest that leaders acquire these characteristics by constructing, developing and revising
their life-stories. Life-stories can provide leaders with a “meaning system” from which they can act
authentically, that is interpret reality and act in a way that gives their interpretations and actions a
personal meaning (Kegan, 1983, p. 220). Therefore, leaders are authentic to the extent that they act and
justify their actions on the basis of the meaning system provided by their life-stories. This suggestion
implies a shift of focus from the current emphasis on the development of skills and behavioral styles to
an emphasis on leaders’ self-development, and especially to the development of their self-concepts
through to the construction of life-stories.
We develop these arguments in this article. However, in view of the lack of accepted definitions for
the term authentic leadership, and in view of the possibility that it will be defined too broadly so that it
simply replaces such terms as good leadership, moral leadership or effective leadership, it is necessary to
start by clarifying our own terms.
( x
1. Authentic leaders and authentic leadership—clarification of terms
r
We believe that in order for the term authentic leadership to have an added value and be usefill,
it has to be different than other terms commonly used in the leadership literature. In this regard,
definitions that encompass positive leadership qualities that are not directly related to the term
authenticity, e.g. developing the leader’s associates, or are covered by other leadership concepts, e.g.
transformational leadership, may be too broad and non-distinctive to be useful. To be distinctive and
useful, the term authentic leadership has to draw attention to aspects of leadership that have not
been strongly emphasized by other leadership terms and models.
We start with the term authentic leader, because it is less complex than the term authentic leadership,
and because any concept of authentic leadership has to include an authentic leader as one of its
components.
(
c
r
r
r
1.1. Authentic leaders
All definitions are arbitrary. They reflect choices and cannot be proved or validated. Our own
choices are based on the dictionary meaning of the term authentic, namely ‘genuine’ ‘original’ ‘not a
fake’, and on those aspects of the term authentic leader, which seem to be shared by other writers
who use this term.. Foliowing, we suggest that the main defining characteristics of authentic leaders
are:
f
r
i- ■
1. Authentic leaders do not fake their leadership. They do not pretend to be leaders just because
they are in a leadership position, for instance as a result of an appointment to a management
position. Nor do they work on developing an image or persona of a leader. Performing a
leadership function and relatecfractivities are self-expressive acts for authentic leaders. It is part of
(
(
B. Shamir, G. Eilam ! The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
) •
)
>
)
)
I
I
what they feel to be their ‘true’ or ‘real’ self. In other words, when enacting the leadership role,
authentic leaders are being themselves (as opposed to conforming to others’ expectations).
2. Relatedly, authentic leaders do not take on a leadership role or engage in leadership activities for
status, honor or other personal rewards. Rather, they lead from a conviction. They have a value
based cause or a mission they want to promote, and they engage in leadership in order to promote
this cause or mission. The first two defining characteristics mean that leadership is a eudaimonic
activity for authentic leaders. The term eudaimonia originates from Aristotle and means being true
to one’s true self (daimon). The state of eudaimonia occurs when people’s life activities are
congruent with their deeply held values (see the discussion by Hies, Morgeson, & Nahrgang, 2005
in this Special Issue). According to recent writers (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Seligman, 2002; Waterman,
1993), w'hen people are eudaimonically motivated, they are fully engaged both in their owm self
actualization and in using their virtues, talents and skills in the service of the greater good. That is,
authentic leaders are interested not only in being all that they can be but also in making a
difference.
3. Authentic leaders are originals, not copies. This does not mean that they are necessarily unique or
very different from each other in their personality traits. Furthermore, their values, convictions, cause
or mission may be similar in content to those of other leaders and followers. However, the process
through w'hich they have arrived at these convictions and causes is not a process of imitation. Rather,
they have internalized them on the basis of their own personal experiences. They hold their values to
be true not because these values are socially or politically appropriate, but because they have
experienced them to be true.
Of course, leaders are social beings and therefore influenced by societal norms and values,
parental and peer socialization, schooling, role models, and other social influences. Therefore,
the content of their values and convictions is not likely to be entirely original. However, they
have not been passive recipients of these social inputs. They have made these values and
conviction highly personal through their lived experiences, experienced emotions, and an active
process of reflection on these experiences and emotions. We believe this is what is meant by
authenticity as the “owning” of one’s personal experiences (Harter, 2002; Luthans & Avolio,
2003).
This idea is captured by Bennis who wrote that “Leadership without perspective and point of view
isn’t leadership—and of course it must be your own perspective, your own point of view, You
cannot borrow a point of view any more than you can borrow someone else’s eyes. It must be
authentic, and if it is, it will be original, because you are original” (1992, p. 122). To summarize
this point, even when authentic leaders occupy a position in an organization that has been occupied
by others or is occupied by others who hold identical positions (a battalion commander, a store
manager, etc.) they operate from a personal point of view. This point of view does not have to be
dramatically different from the point of view of others who hold or held that position, but it has to
be personal in the sense that it has developed from personal experiences, personal reflection and
personal learning.
4. Authentic leaders are leaders whose actions are based on their values and convictions. What they say
is consistent with what they believe, and their actions are consistent with both their talk and their
befiefs. Because they act in accordance to their values and befiefs rather than to please an audience,
gain popularity or advance some personal or narrow political interest, authentic leaders can be
characterized as having a high level of integrity. Because their talk and actions are consistent with
)
?
J
397
y
398
B. Shamir, G. Eilam : The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
their beliefs and values, they can also be characterized as being highly transparent (see Gardner,
Avolio. Luthans, May, & Walumbwa, 2005 in this issue).
Note that our conceptualization of authentic leaders does not include anything about their
leadership style. In that, it differs from most previous typologies of leaders. For instance,
transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1998) emphasizes certain leader behaviors. While authentic
transformational leaders may be more effective than inauthentic transformational leaders (Avolio,
Gardner, Walumbwa, Luthans, & May, 2004), our conceptualization implies that transformational
leadership is not synonymous with authentic leadership. Transformational leaders can be authentic
or inauthentic and non-transformational leaders can be authentic. Nor does our conceptualization say
anything about the content of the leader’s values or convictions. In that, it is narrower than some
definitions of authentic leaders (e.g., Luthans & Avolio, 2003), which include considerations of
morality that are not derived directly from the concept of authenticity.
Rather, the defining characteristics listed above imply that we define authentic leaders on the basis of
their self-concepts and the relationships between their self-concepts and their actions. More specifically,
if we translate the above-mentioned criteria to self-concept attributes, we can define authentic leaders as
people who have the following attributes:
1. The role of the leader is a central component of their self-concept. They have achieved a high person
role merger (Turner, 1978). They do not necessarily have to use the term leader to define themselves.
They may use other terms (e.g., ‘freedom fighter’ Mandela, 1994) but these terms imply a leadership
role, and they think of themselves in terms of that role and enact that role at all times, not only when
they are officially ‘in role’.
2. They have achieved a high level of selfresolution (Turner, 19767 or self-concept clarity, which
refers to the extent to which one’s self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined and internally
consistent (Campbell et al., 1996). High self-concept clarity, implies strongly held values and
convictions and a stable sense of self-knowledge, which several writers (e.g., Bennis, 2003; Luthans
& Avolio, 2003) regard as attributes of authentic leaders. The importance of self-concept clarity for
authentic leadership derives from the fact that people’s self-views reside at the center of their
psychological universe, providing the context for all other knowledge. As people become more
certain of their self conceptions, they are more inclined to rely on these conceptions to organize
their experiences, predict future events, and guide behavior (Swann, 1990). For these reasons,
stable and coherent self-concepts provide authentic leaders with a critically important source of
coherence, and a framework for defining their existence, organizing experience, predicting future
events, and guiding social interactions (Swann & Schroeder, 1995; Swann, Rentfrow, & Quinn,
2003).,
3. Their goals are self-concordant. This means that they are motivated by goals that represent their
actual passions as well as their central values and beliefs (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999; Sheldon &
Houser-Marko, 2001). In contrast, non-concordant goals are ones that are pursued with a sense of
“having to”, as the person does not really “own” the goals or believe in them. Authentic leaders are
self-concordant individuals, namely people who pursue life goals with a sense that they express
their authentic choices rather than externally imposed duties or conventions. In other words, the
authentic leader is motivated by internal commitment, which, in the final analysis is a commitment
to a self-concept (Shamir, Arthur, & House, 1993).
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4. Their behavior is self-expressive. It is consistent with their self-concepts and is primarily motivated by
components of the self-concepts such as values and identities rather than by calculations or expected
benefits. One implication of behaving in a self-expressive manner is that authentic leaders are likely to
seek self-verification more than self-enhancement in their interactions with others, including
followers. According to self-verification theory and related findings (Swann, 1990: Swann &
Schroeder, 1995), the more people rely on their actual selves to guide their behavior, the higher their
striving for self-verification. Furthermore, the more people have a coherent and stable self-concept,
the more they derive a sense of prediction and control from self-verifying rather than from self
enhancing feedback and evaluations and the more they seek social interactions with others who
corroborate their self-view rather than with others who provide them with the most positive
evaluations or feedback (Swann, Stein-Seroussi, & Giesler, 1992). This implies that authentic leaders
do not seek the most admiring followers but rather followers who increase the leader’s sense of
authenticity by confirming his or her self-concept.
To summarize, our definition of authentic leaders implies that authentic leaders can be distinguished
from less authentic or inauthentic leaders by four self-related characteristics: 1) The degree of person
role merger i.e. the salience of the leadership role in their self-concept, 2) The level of self-concept
clarity and the extent to which this clarity centers around strongly held values and convictions, 3) The
extent to which their goals are self-concordant, and 4) The degree to which their behavior is consistent
with their self-concept.
1.2. Development of authentic leaders
Our concept of authentic leaders implies that authentic leader development has four components:
)
1. Development of a leader identity as a central component of the person’s self-concept.
2. Development of self-knowledge and self-concept clarity, including clarity about values and
convictions.
3. Development of goals that are concordant with the self-concept.
4. Increasing self-expressive behavior, namely consistency between leader behaviors and the leader’s
self-concept.
For the present purposes, we assume that authentic leader development is beneficial. This assumption
is not based on the positive value currently attached to the term authenticity. Rather, it is based on the
belief that authentic leaders are more effective than inauthentic leaders. This belief is based, in turn, on
two arguments. First, we believe the leader role is a highly challenging role, which requires a high level
of energy^ resolve and persistence. To lead effectively, especially when leadership involves the
introduction and guidance of societal or organizational changes, people need to overcome resistance,
deal with frustrations and setbacks, sometimes make personal sacrifices, recruit support, and energize
others. Dealing with such challenges requires a source of inner strength. To find the motivation to lead
and the energy to persist in the face of obstacles and setbacks, leaders need to operate from strong
convictions and a high level of self-concept clarity. As Swann (1990, pp. 414-415) puts it, “stable self
conceptions act like the rudder of a ship, bolstering people’s confidence in their ability to navigate
through the sometimes murky seas of everyday life”.
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For instance, in a recent interview, HP chairperson and CEO, Carly Fiorina was asked where she
found the strength and the courage to deal with the strong resistance she had faced in her move to merger
Compaq with HP. Here is part of her reply:
. .1 think leadership takes what I call a strong internal compass. And I use the term compass
because what does a compass do? When the winds are howling, and the storms are raging, and the
sky is cloudy so you have nothing to navigate by, a compass tells you where true North is. And I think
when a person is in a difficult situation, a lonely situation.. .you have to rely on that compass. Who
am I? What do I believe? Do I believe we 're doing the right things for the right reasons in the right
way? And sometimes that's all you havW (In conversation with Louise Kehoe, July 21, 2003).
It is reasonable to assume that leaders who are authentic in the sense discussed here, namely possess a
psychologically central leader identity, have self-concordant goals and high self-concept clarity, and
express themselves in their leadership role are more likely than inauthentic leaders to find the inner
strength and internal compass to support them and guide them when dealing with their challenges. This
is our first ground for associating authentic leaders with leader effectiveness.
In addition, authentic leader development is beneficial because of its effects on followers (Avolio et
al., 2004; Gardner et al., 2005). Among other things, it may contribute to the development of authentic
followership, which is an important component of authentic leadership and has additional benefits, as
discussed in the following section.
i.
1.3. Authentic leadership
So far, we have only discussed the concept of authentic leaders. However, equating authentic
leadership with authentic leaders is not satisfactory for two reasons. First, it may result in identifying
authentic leadership primarily on the basis of the leader’s subjective experiences and convictions. This is
because the self is a subjective phenomenon. It is impossible to know what is the ‘true’ or ‘real’ self or
whether such a real self exists. It is only possible to know whether the person experiences his or her
actions as stemming from his or her real self or as consistent with his or her true self (Turner, 1976).
However, as argued by Adomo (1973), a purely subjective concept of authenticity would include
instances of ‘honest’ self-delusion, in our case of leaders who truly believe they have been endowed with
special qualities not possessed by ordinary mortals and who act on the basis of such a belief. History has
shown that such leaders can be very dangerous. If we want to exclude such instances from our definition
of authentic leadership, we have to broaden the definition so that it refers not only to attributes of the
leaders but also to attributes of their relationship with followers (Also refer to Gardner et al., 2005’s
discussion of this point in this special issue).
Second, and more fundamentally, leadership does not consist only of leaders, and therefore authentic
leadership cannot consist only of authentic leaders. Leadership is always a relationship between leader
and followers (e.g., Hollander, 1992; Howell & Shamir, 2005). Therefore, to clarify our construct of
authentic leadership we have to bring the followers into the picture. We therefore suggest that for a fuller
definition of authentic leadership, the term authenticity should be applied not only to the leaders but also
to the followers and to the relationship between the followers and the leader as done in this special issue
by Gardner et al. (2005). Following, we suggest that, in addition to authentic leaders, authentic
leadership includes authentic followership as well, namely followers who follow the leaders for
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authentic reasons and have an authentic relationship with the leader. More specifically, by authentic
followership we mean:
1. Followers who follow the leader for authentic reasons, that is because they share the leader’s, beliefs,
values and convictions, the leader’s concerns, and the leader’s definition of the situation rather than
because of coercion, normative pressures or the expectation of personal rewards.
2. Followers who do not have illusions or delusions about the leader and do not follow the leader
because such illusions provide them with a false sense of safety. Rather, they exercise their own
independent judgment about the leader and the leader’s actions. Such followers have a realistic view
of the leader’s strengths and weaknesses and do not follow him or her blindly.
3. Followers who authenticate the leader. By that we mean:
a. Followers who judge the leader’s claim for leadership as based on personally held deep values and
convictions rather than on mere conventions of an appointed office or the desire for personal power,
status or other benefits.
b. Followers who judge the leader’s behaviors as consistent with his or her beliefs, values and
convictions.
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Following from the previous discussion, the development of authentic leadership does not depend
only on the existence or development of authentic leaders but also on followers who authenticate the
leader and follow him or her authentically. Furthermore, the authentication of the leader by the followers
is an important element in authentic leadership development because it reinforces the leader’s
authenticity. According the self-verification theory (Swann, De La Ronde, & Hixon, 1994; Swann,
Rentfrow, & Quinn, 2003) people associate self-verifying evaluations with feelings of authenticity and
psychological coherence. Thus, leaders’ self-concept clarity and sense ot authenticity depend to a
considerable extent on the authentication of their leadership by their followers.
In the remaining of this article, we focus mainly on the development of authentic leaders, though we
also attend briefly to the process by which followers authenticate the leader. The topics of authentic
followership and the development of authentic followership will no be addressed here in full (For a
broader definition of authentic leadership as a process that involves both leaders and followers, see
Luthans & Avolio, 2003 and Gardner et al., 2005).
We focus here mainly on the development of authentic leaders for three reasons: First, it is a narrower
and less complex topic than the full development of authentic leadership. Second, authentic leaders are a
necessary component of authentic leadership, and therefore clarifying the process of authentic leader
development is a necessary step toward a fuller understanding of authentic leadership development.
Third, we believe that the existence or development of authentic leaders increases the likelihood (though
by no means guarantees) of the development of authentic followership. There are reasons to expect
authentic leadership to be contagious. Leaders wha are authentic may serve as role models to their
followers. They may give license or even encourage others to behave authentically as well. For instance,
transparent leaders who admit their weaknesses and expose their vulnerability may encourage followers
to behave in a similar manner because trusting others is likely to be reciprocated. Thus, our second
reason for regarding authentic leader development as beneficial is that such leaders are less likely to
produce blind followership and more likely to produce authentic followership as defined above.
After clarifying our terms, and in view of the considerations presented above, the remaining part of
this paper is devoted to the argument that the development of authentic leaders is achieved through the
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B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
development of their life-stones and that the life-story is a major way by which followers authenticate
their leaders.
2. 1 he role of life-stories in the development of authentic leaders
Life stories as a source ofself-knowledge and self-concept clarity
We defined authentic leaders as having, among other things, self-knowledge and self-concept clarity,
ur thesis is that they achieve such knowledge and clarity through the development of a life-story.
Self-knowledge consists, first of all, of the answers the person gives himself or herself to the question
Who am 1. According to the “narrative mode of knowing” (Bruner, 1986), these answers are often
otganized in the form of life-stones. Life-stories express the storytellers’ identities, which are products of
the relationship between life experiences and the organized stories of these experiences. Author Isak
Dinesen is quoted as saying: “to be a person is to have a story to tell” (Simmons, 2002). Several authors
(e.g. Bruner, 1991. Gergen & Gergen. 1986, McAdams, 1990) advocate that personal narratives are
people s identities because the life-story represents an internal model of “who I was, who I am (and
ip u ’
Kh° 1 c lght beCOme”- ldentity is a story created, told, revised and retold throughout life
(Pallus, Nasby, & Easton, 1991). We know or discover ourselves, and reveal ourselves to others by the
stones we tell about ourselves (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998, p. 70).
Leaders’ life-stones are self-narratives. According to Gergen & Gergen (1986), self-narratives “refer
o the individual s account of the relationships among self-relevant events across time. In developing a
self-narrabye the individual attempts to establish coherent connections among life events. Rather than
seeing one s life as simply ‘one damned thing after another’ the individual attempts to understand life
events as systemat'cally related. They are rendered highly intelligible by locating them in a sequence or
unfolded process . One s present identity is thus not a sudden and mysterious event, but a sensible result
oi a iiie-story (p. 255).
In other words, highly developed self-knowledge in terms of a life-story provides the authentic leader
with self-concept clarity because it organizes life events into a gestalt structure that establishes
connections between those events so that the person’s life is experienced as a coherent unfolding
process. Furthermore, the life-story provides the authentic leader with a “meaning system”, from which
to feel think, and act. It enables him or her to analyze and interpret reality in a way that gives it a
personal meaning (Kegan, 1983, p. 220).
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Life-stones provide authentic leaders with a self-concept that can be expressed through the leadership
role. For instance they provide the leader with knowledge and clarity about their values and convictions
This is captured by Pearce (2003), who writes: “Your passion about what you want to change grows
from the foundation of values that have been formed by your life experience. These values are vftal to
you personally, not because they are socially acceptable, although they might be—and certainly not
ecause they look good on a plaque on the waft, but because you have actually experienced them to be
IP- ) an Every idea you hold passionately has a background in your personal experience” (p
21). As an example, Pearce brings Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks who watched his father
osmg jobs because of ill health and being worn down by the system: “As a kid, I never had any idea that
I would one day head a company. But 1 knew in my heart that if I was ever in a position where I could
make a difference, I wouldn t leave people behind” (Schultz & Young, 1997, p. 4).
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2.2. Life-stories as self-justifications
Another defining characteristic of authentic leaders is a high person-role merger. For authentic
leaders, the role and the self are relatively undifferentiated (Gardner & Avolio, 1998). Enacting the
leadership role is in itself a form of self-expression for the authentic leader (Bennis, 1992). For that to
happen, the leader must believe he or she has not only the ability but also the right to play a leadership
role. In other words, to lead authentically, leaders need to justify to themselves the social position they
claim for themselves, and their sense of self-confidence, self-efficacy, and knowing better than others
where to go or what to do.
It is through life experiences and the way they are organized into life-stones that people can
develop a self-concept of a leader that supports and justifies their leadership role because the life
story not only recounts but also justifies. Life-stories are not only ‘who am I’ stones but also ‘why
am I here’ stories (Simmons. 2002). They include at least implied answers to the questions, “how
have I become a leader?’ and “why have I become a leader?’ In other words, m constructing their
life-stories leaders explain and justify their present self, which includes their leadership motivations
“for more than many forms of speech, autobiographical discourse expresses more directly than
other discourses one’s sense of self, identity, and motivation for acting in the world” (Illouz, 2003,
n
1
Evidence in support of this claim can be found in a recent study by Shamir. Dayan-Horesh &
Adler (2005) who carried out a study of leadership development themes in leaders life stories in or er
to examine how leaders’ life stories account for and justify their leadership. Their purpose was not to
study specific individuals in their particular context, but to discover broad leadership development
themes that transcend particular contexts. For this reason, they used two very different types of life
stories- leaders’ published autobiographies and interviews with leaders. Eleven autobiographies of
recognized leaders in the political, military, and business spheres were read. The autobiographies were
dehberately selected to represent a variety of spheres of influence, gender, and cultural ongms. Sixteen
in-depth interviews with organizational leaders were conducted. Interviewees were relative^ young_(m
their 30 s) managers from medium to large size high-tech organizations who were identified by Jeir
organizations as high performers who have already demonstrated leadership qualities and have further
^’shXVet af^sSX narrative method (Lieblich et al. 1998) to analyze the leader’s life stories. The
3
narrative method views individual descriptions, explanations, and interpretations of actions and events as
lenses through which to access the meaning which human bemgs attribute to their exp^nce.
Following, Shamir et al. approached the stories as “depositories of meaning” (Gabriel, 2000, p. 15) and
read them from the perspective of asking about the meaning of the story from a leadership deyelopmen
point of view. Their aim was to distil from the many stories they studied the central themes of leadership
development. To perform this process, they read and re-read the life stories produced by both methods of
data collection and tried to identify major themes of leadership development that emerge from the
stories. This was done in an iterative manner until some saturation was achieved in the sense that no
other major categories were identified. Further details about the method can be found m Shanur et a .
They found that accounts of leadership development in leaders’ life stones are organized around four
major themes or proto-stories: leadership development as a natural process, leadership development out
of straggle and hardship, leadership development as finding a cause, and leadership development as a
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learning process. All four themes serve as bases for authentic leadership. In the remaining of this section
we substantiate this claim and offer examples from the life-stories interviews, which are not reported bv
Shamir et al. (2005).
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2.3. Leadership development as a natural process
This story manifested itself either as a story of a bom leader whose leadership was evident from a very
early age or as a story of a ‘late bloomer’ who had inherent talents and tendencies that were discovered
when the opportunity presented itself.
The perception of being a natural leader provides a potential basis for authentic leadership as the terms
natural and authentic are closely linked (as are the terms artificial and inauthentic). Stories of leadership
development as a natural development have a quality of obviousness, sometimes ap almost fatalistic
qi|ahly The cbviousncs5 of the leader’s leadership and the fact that in many cases the life-story indicates
that it had been manifested in his or her being ‘special’ in some respects from an early age, provide
proofs that the leader indeed has the ability to lead and the right to lead. Here are two examples from
the hte-stones interviews:
‘7/ is a sort oj a tendency that was inherent in me. At certain stages of life, I wasn’t aware of that,
but with time you become aware ofit and even try to reinforce it... It is something that is built-in I
can't explain why. I just know it is built-in, as if it was obvious”.
It is not that it comes from the outside... I neverfoughtfor it... it simply came... I also love it I
cannot live without it... I have to. I must lead”.
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2.4. Leadership development out of struggle
1 PT stc’ries, stand m. contrast wi* the harmonious story of natural development. In these cases
leadership development is attributed to what Bennis and Thomas (2002) have called ‘crucibles’ or
defining experiences, usually ordeals that transformed the person. In such stories, the motivation to lead
is often attributed to the need to overcome some injustice (e.g., stemming from a disadvantageous ethnic
or economic background). They also often contain a moral element stemming from the fact that the
reported life experiences offered easier, but less moral, ways of coping (e.g., becoming a drug dealer)
which were not taken by the leader. In addition, because they are usually stories of victory over enemies
or debilitating circumstances, they attest to the existence in the leader of many qualities that are
considered necessary for leadership—strong will, self-confidence, proactivity, ability to take on big
c a lenges and cope with difficulties, independence, and toughness. In many respects, such life-stories
are good stones to lead from.
Here is an example of authentic leadership development out of struggle taken from the interviews
conducted by Shamir et al. (2005):
“There was a continuous struggle that! had to fight all over the years with the environment.. .the
struggle that:. .formed me... There was nothing but me... At least that’s what I put into my head
an 1 understood that the environment is hostile to someone like me, that is society is hostile to
someone like me, and it was clear that in order to develop in such a society... it had to be a
hundred percent me” (Our emphasis).
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405
In political leaders' stories, the story of struggling with difficulties and disadvantages is not only a
personal story but also a collective story. In these narratives, the leader’s story represents the struggle of
a group. When the stories represent a collective struggle, such as in the cases of Mandela (1994), Golda
Meir (1975) or Gary Adams (1996), they provide an additional justification for the need to lead, namely
fighting to promote collective purposes. In this respect, such stories are similar to the third type of
leadership development story identified by Shamir et al. (2005).
2.5. Leadership development as finding a cause
Life-stories of leadership development as the finding of a cause often combine a personal story with a
collective story of a movement. These stories present leadership development in terms of developing
identification with a movement and a cause and finding a sense of direction through the development of
a political or ideological outlook. For instance in Anwar Sadat’s (1978) autobiography, titled “In search
of identity”, the growing recognition of the necessity of a revolution and armed struggle against the
British is related in terms of finding a life goal and therefore an identity. Once he found that identity he
felt a sense of destiny and a sense of a strong relationship between his personal fate and the fate of his
country. Mandela (1994) also tells how he gradually developed or found the identity of a freedom
fighter, and once he defined himself as such, this became his main identity and main purpose in life.
2.6. Leadership development as learning from experience
)
)
The fourth and final theme identified by Shamir et al. (2005) in leader’s published and oral life-stories
is leadership development as learning from experience. Several leaders perceive and relate their life-story
as a series of learning or training experiences, for instance learning from failures or mistakes or learning
from positive and negative role models. In such stories, the leader bases his or her self-knowledge and
convictions directly on lessons learned from his or her life experience. For instance one of the managers
interviewed by Shamir et al. related a story from his military service. As a deputy company commander
during a war he tried to persuade the company commander to take a certain path but failed.
The result was a grave navigation error:
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“JTe entered an ambush and were wiped out... This is the kind of story that has to influence a
person, to mould him... I learned some ofmy behaviors from this story, my aggressiveness, my not
giving in... I am not yielding. I am seen as someone who is too stubborn. One who checks
everything before he is ready to step aside... And that is what I try to explain in this story, why 1 am
so obstinate sometimes, why! am not ready to give up checking and re-checking everything... IfI
believe I am right-no compromise! And that is how 1 educate everybody here. This is how I worked,
how I work. I teach my son: check everything thoroughly. Even an order: Check every order, don't
do anything blindly”.
)
2.7. Non-leaders
The importance of a life-story as the basis for leadership and for a leadership-based self-concept is
also highlighted by the cases of managers who did not have a coherent story to tell. These managers held
a formal title of a leadership position, performed leadership functions, and were seen by other members
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B. Shamir, G. Eilam 7 The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
of their organizations as performing a leadership role, but these positions, roles and functions remained
external to their core self-concepts. They expressed self-doubts, ambiguities and ambivalence regarding
their ability to be leaders and their motivation to embrace such a role. Such managers clearly found it
difficult to lead. Here are two examples:
‘7 don rt know if lam considered a leader... They sent me to the course because they came to the
conclusion that someone has to manage human resources in the company... Some people say I was
more lucky than anything... I advanced very fast because there was a series of positions that
bounced me upwards and also an element ofluck... I am not sure I have enough ofit [leadership]'"'.
have another characteristic, something that I feel inside me, some kind of insecurity in my
abilities or in who I am... All the time I try to prove more and more... I live with this dilemma,
how people perceive me and my lack of confidence that says, why do they look at me so highly,
when I am... less than that, / live with this... gap".
The life-stories of these managers were patchy and less organized than the stories of the other leaders.
In contrast with the main leadership development themes presented above, which place the locus of
causality in the leader’s traits, efforts or actions, these stories emphasized an external locus of causality.
They conveyed a sense of being pushed or pulled into leadership role. For instance, the first manager
quoted above attributed his being sent to a leadership development course (and therefore ‘‘posing” as a
leader) to company needs, and attributed his successes to luck.
2.8. Self-development as the development of a life-story
How do authentic leaders develop the life-stories that provide them with self-knowledge, self-concept
clarity and strong convictions? Life-stories are not testimonies to the objective events that happened, but
the manifestation and expression of the events as perceived and interpreted by the individual that
experienced them (Widdershoven, 1993, p. 2). Personal narratives are much more than remembered.
They are constructed (Neisser, 1994). This storied construction of reality has less to do with facts and
more to do with meanings. Life-stories are not ‘free’ constructions, they are constrained by the events of
life, but authentic leaders select the elements of the story to confer meaning on prior events-events that
may not have had such meaning at the time of their occurrence (Josselson, 1993).
v
Constructing a coherent life-story involves highlighting certain participants and parts and ignoring or
hiding others. This does not mean that authentic leaders lie while constructing their life-stories. Rather,
they are constructing their truth by legitimately selecting and emphasizing certain events and participants
in the service of this purpose. As one authentic leader, Mahatma Gandhi (1949), wrote in the
introduction to his autobiography, titled “The story of my experiments with truth”:
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‘7 understand more clearly today what I read long ago about the inadequacy ofall autobiography
as history. I know that I do not set down in this story all that I remember. Who can say how much I
must give and how much omit in the interest of truth?"
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The traditional approach to leadership development uses leader’s life-stories in order to discover
actual events and experiences that had contributed to the leader’s development. Many researchers
and writers have focused on events and experiences in the leader’s early life or early career such as
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407
the loss of a parent, the successful resolution of an early life crisis, difficult or nurturing family
circumstances, high parental expectations, travel outside the homeland, relationships with mentors or
role models, and involvement in many leadership roles early in life. They have attempted to
connect these events and experiences with the development of relevant leadership traits and skills,
such as self-confidence, independence, risk-taking, achievement motivation, and power motivation
(e.g., Avolio & Gibbons, 1988; Bums, 1978; Conger, 1992; Kets de vries, 1988; Kotter, 1988;
Zaleznick, 1977).
In contrast, we suggest that the events and experiences chosen by authentic leaders to appear in
their life-stories reflect the leaders’ self-concepts and their concept of leadership, and allow or
enable them to enact their leadership role. For instance. Bennis & Thomas (2002) explicitly refer to
the crucibles and defining moments in leaders’ lives as places or experiences from which one
extracts meanings that lead to new definitions of self. According to Bennis and Thomas, crucibles
are places where essential questions are asked: Who am I? Who could I be? Who should I be? How
should I relate to the world outside myself? From the point of view of self-development and self
concept clarity the events or experiences themselves are less important than the meaning the leader
conferred on those experiences. As Bennis (2003, p. 334) says, "‘authentic leaders create their own
legends and become the authors of their lives in the sense of creating new and improved versions of
themselves.”
The same principles apply not only to crucibles but also to other, more mundane experiences, for
instance to learning from role models. According to Shamir et al. (2005) study, many leaders’ life-stories
emphasize learning from role models of various types: historical or public figures, literary figures,
parents, siblings and other family members, teachers, mentors, superiors and peers. In the case of
authentic leaders, these models are not imitated. Rather the leader constructs his or her self-concept with
reference to these models. Perhaps the purest demonstration of this construction was given by some of
the managers interviewed by Shamir et al. who could not identify clear and salient role models. Rather,
they perceived the influence of role models as a kind of collage work in which they selected and
assembled learning experiences from contacts with teachers, bosses and colleagues, as well as from
world leaders and literary figures. This was described as a gradual process of self-clarification, which
started from a vague self-identity and progressed through encounters with various real and fictitious
characters, which the leader actively, though often intuitively and in an eclectic manner, used to arrive at
greater self-concept clarity.
Here are two quotes that demonstrate this process:
‘7 don ft think I ever preferred a single role model, but a little from here and a little from there...
what seemed appropriate in a certain area, not the 100 %, only those parts that seemed to me
important, that appealed to me”.
' >
‘7 did something that is comfortablefor me, that I didn't know how to figure out clearly or put into
words... When I saw a movie I took away one sentence or one scene... and the same if1 read a
book... and I chose to remember out ofunderstanding that those specific... elements in the bopk—
them I want to remember and them I want to adopt, and theyfit into the puzzle, into the pattern that
L .. with time, create (bur emphasis). ..All along the way Ifindfor myselfthose people that when
they say what they say itfits the way that I... These characters expressed sometimes in a couple of
words or a number ofwords, what was in my belly, and... they didn ft create anything new, theyjust
framed what was clear to me”.
408
B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
In sum, we have argued in the previous section lhai authentic leader development can be conceived of
s he development of role-person merger, self-knowledge, self-concept cl.ntv sdf” ncorZc and
makes his or her Te
Pr°
68 the meaning SyStem from which the lcader acts and thus
2.9. Life-stories as the basis of leader authentication
authentic leader it is not slfficienUhat tl e
aCtionS’ To be an
meSSageS
(S“”4
>«). r, dec ..so
r*
r
r
sS™8 “ *• - —‘
explained and justLd^^^^^^^
Z3e SeS
COnvictions
convincingly
/ X
(v
chomtu,eristics, die m“ j ”l^ fXwem m’'’ “ ’T J* “s"’™1.
character’ tvorihg of ident.tS “n X” ('X'X ““ “
»>' «ther oemml
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B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
409
More broadly, to lead effectively, the leader’s story and the collective story should be similar in some
respects (Gardner, 1995). The leader’s story should capture not only the leader’s self-concept, but also
the followers' values, identities and desires. It should be embedded in a collective story of which
followers are a part, and should provide an answer not only to the question, 'what am 1 here for?’ but
also to the questions 'what are we here for?’ Authenticity markers provide the basis for judging the
leader’s story as an authentic representation of the collective story.
Fourth, in evaluating the life-story as a narrative of origin and in searching for authenticity markers,
followers may compare the leader’s life-story as told by the leader to the leader’s life-story as told by
other sources: family members, associates, teachers, bosses, journalists, etc. Fifth, and perhaps most
importantly, the life-story serves as a template against which followers compare the leader’s decisions
and actions. The followers can be assumed to constantly monitor whether the leader’s actions and
behaviors are consistent with the traits, values and convictions implied by his or her life-story in order to
judge the authenticity of the leader and find justifications for their own followership role.
Of course, leaders, who are aware of the potential effects of their life-stories on followers’
authentication process, may fabricate such stories to increase followers’ identification and trust. For
instance, Jesse Jackson used to tell stories about growing up in poverty and about Martin Luther King
dying in his hands and passing the torch to him (Shamir, Arthur, & House, 1994). At least some sources
(e.g., House, 1988) claim that these stories were exaggerated for the purpose of gaining followers’
identification and trust. We can therefore assume that authentic followership is a continuous process of
comparing the leader’s life-stories as told by him or her with information about the leader’s life-story
obtained from other sources, as well as a process of comparing the leader’s life-stories with the leader’s
other messages and actions. In this sense, authentic leadership does not reside only in the leader.
In addition, as suggested earlier in this article following self-verification theory (Swann, 1990),
authentication by followers is likely to contribute the leader’s self-concept clarity and sense of
authenticity thus further reinforcing the development of authentic leadership. However, a full treatment
of followers’ role in the development of authentic leadership is outside the scope of this paper.
)
)
)
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)
3
)
i
)
)
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3. Practical implications
3.1. Assisting the development of authentic leaders from the life-story approach
The life-story approach to authentic leader development suggests that self-knowledge, self-concept
clarity, and the internalization of the leader’s role into the self-concept are achieved through the
construction of life-stories. In this regard, it is different from most leadership development programs,
which tend to focus on the acquisition of concepts, skills, and behaviors either in courses and workshops
(Conger, 1992) or through on-the-job experiences, mentoring and coaching (Day, 2000). In addition to
the different focus, the life-story approach to authentic leader development implies that the development
process is highly personal and furthermore may have to be largely natural in order to be authentic.
Therefore, unlike the acquisition of concepts, skills or behavioral styles, this process cannot be expected
to gain much from a standardized training program earned out within the framework of the leadership
development “industry”. We should be especially wary of standardized programs because authentic
leaders as defined in this paper do not follow fads, yet the yearning for authenticity, in leadership and
elsewhere, is currently such a fad.
410
B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
These considerations set limits to the extent to which authentic leader development can be planned
and guided. However, this does not mean that it cannot be assisted. The process does not always happen
fully naturally. There may be ways to assist it or facilitate its unfolding. It is reasonable to assume that
many people aspiring to be authentic leaders may have fragments of a life-story in their minds that do
not add up to a coherent story and do not yet provide them with a sense of self-knowledge and self
concept clarity. Some people are action-oriented and less reflexive than others.
In addition, the action demands of many tasks and circumstances may not provide the time and state
of mind for reflection, as evidenced by the fact that many leaders (e.g., Mandela, 1994; Sadat, 1978)
report that much of their self-development occurred during periods of forced ‘time-outs’ when they had
to spend time m prison. Throwing leaders into prisons may be a little too extreme way of assisting them
in self-development. However, there are perhaps other ways by which people can be assisted in drawing
personal meanings from their experiences and authoring their life-stories to achieve greater selfknowledge and clarity and thus develop their potential to become authentic leaders.
It follows from our discussion of authentic leader development that one of the major ways to assist
people to develop their potential to become authentic leaders is through a guided reflection process.
Reflective thinking is “the process of creating and clarifying the meaning of experience (past or present)
in terms of self’ (Boyd & Pales, 1983). The process involves returning to the experience (replaying it in
t e mind and/or recounting it to others), attending to the feelings accompanying the experience and its
memory, re-evaluating the experience and drawing lessons from it. Through this process people learn
about their strengths, weaknesses, motives and values and come in touch with their ‘true’ self in the
sense of separating who fliey are and who they want to be from what the world thinks they are and wants
them to be (Bennis, 1992).
prevJous works (e.g., Bennis & Thomas, 2002; Luthans & Avolio, 2003) have emphasized the role
of the life events as “triggers” that stimulate development and growth. However, just encountering
some impactful experience is not enough; the experience must be reflectively worked into the life
story such that the story, and identity, is revised or redirected (Pallus, Nasby, & Easton, 1991). This
can happen close to the experience but may also happen later in life. In other words,’because life
stones are continuously constructed and revised, the “lessons of experience” (McCall, Lombardo, &
Morrison, 1988) can be learned not only close to the experience but also much later. Following, the
hfe-stones approach to leader development assumes that in addition to the immediate impact of the
experience, there are opportunities for growth and development in engaging in what McAdams (1990)
one’slfe^story^
name,y 1116 Process of reflecting upon, elaborating, editing and extending
p
o
r
e
(
A guided life review process can start with asking people to draw a life-line, identify major events and
turning points and reflect on them with the help of questions asked by a facilitator, a counselor or
sometimes even a researcher, as has been done by Tichy (1997) and Bennis & Thomas (2002). Such a
process often focuses on tiie leaders’ ‘defining moments’ (Badaracco, 1997), ‘epiphanies’’ (Denzin,
1989) or crucibles’ (Bennis & Thomas, 2002): events or circumstances in which they were presented
with dilemmas or difficult choices and which provide them with an opportunity to leam from the choices
made and the actions taken about their values, motivations, priorities, abilities, and shortcomings Such
reflection does not amount to the authoring of a full life-story. Often, however, considerable potential for
self-knowledge may reside m less comprehensive stories and, furthermore, reflection on defining
moments may provide the anchors for developing a more complete story and a fuller sense of self
concept clarity.
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B. Shamir, G. Eilam ! The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
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411
Because we defined authentic leadership as characterized by person-role merger, and because we view
leader development and self-development as closely related, we do not believe reflection should be
restricted only to leadership experiences or even to career related experiences. Furthermore, defining
moments do not necessarily have to be associated with the overcoming of difficulties or hardships. As
suggested by Luthans & Avolio (2003) there is considerable potential for leadership development in
positive life events.
It has recently been suggested (Spreitzer & Grant, 2004) that people may be challenged by “positive
jolts”, namely unexpected events of a positive nature such as unique experiences of success or
appreciation. Such experiences generate positive emotions such as joy, pride, interest and elevation.
According to Fredrickson’s (1998; 2001) broaden-and-build theory, such emotions broaden people’s
thought-action repertoire by creating a tendency to explore and take in new infonnation and experiences
and by enabling the person to envision even greater achievements in the future. These tendencies in turn
may build enduring personal resources by broadening the person’s self-concept to include qualities and
strengths the person had been less aware of before the positive jolt, reinforcing the person’s sense of
agency and efficacy, and adding newly imagined “possible selves” (Markus & Nurius, 1986) to his or her
self-concept.
Such a process can be facilitated for the purpose of aiding leader development. Luthans & Avolio
(2003) advocate exposing people to planned positive trigger events. An example is provided by Roberts,
Dutton, Spreitzer, Heaphy, & Quinn (in press) who have developed an assessment called the reflected
best self (RBS), which asks people to obtain short descriptions of who they are and what they do when
they are at their very best from a diverse array of significant people in their lives (Spreitzer & Grant,
2004). Roberts et al. demonstrate how reflecting on the RBS helps people grow because it activates the
process described above.
The life-stories approach implies that similar outcomes may be achieved by making use of positive
jolts that already happened. Rather than obtaining a reflected best self from current associates, leaders
may be asked to construct a “reflexive best-self’ by identifying positive jolts in their life-stories and
reflecting on them to discover their strengths and contributions and broaden their self-concept. In view of
the reported success of the RBS technique and the fact that reflecting on unique events in life stories,
including positive jolts has been used successfully in psychotherapy (e.g., Freedman & Goombs, 1996;
White & Epston, 1990) we speculate that such an approach may also be useful in leader development.
In a similar vein, leaders may gain self-knowledge and self-concept clarity from reflection on their
role models: people whom the leader believes have influenced him or her or whom he or she perceived
as worthy of emulation and identification. Shamir et al. (2005) discovered that many leaders put an
emphasis on role models in their life-stories. If leaders attribute much of their development to role
models, perhaps more emphasis should be given to this aspect in the guided development of authentic
leaders. This process can follow a similar pattern to the one suggested above with respect to defining
moments. Leaders may be invited to list their role models and then reflect on the reasons for choosing
these models, the feelings associated with these choices and the motives and values reflected in their
choices. Thus, they may start to define or re-define themselves through their role models.
In addition, leaders may be assisted by an invitation to discuss and reflect on other leaders’ life
stories, not necessarily those they have identified as their own role models. One way to do so would be
to work with leaders or aspiring leaders oh other leaders’ life-stories. Reading biographies or extracts of
biographies^ watching biographical films, discussing them and reflecting on other leaders’ life-stories,
defining moments and development patterns might be helpful in authentic leader development because.
412
B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
as Sparrowe (2005) has argued, people may need a variety of alternative plots and characterizations as
emplates against which they can construct their own past, imaginatively represent their own future, and
narrate their own development as leaders. Exposing leaders to other leaders’ life-stories and reflectin’^ on
lem, may ass'st leaders in gaming self-concept clarification through the process of collage work as
described by some leaders interviewed by Shamir et al.’s (2005) and quoted earlier in this paper
Other ways of assisting the development of authentic leaders can be suggested. For instance, guided
reflection on current events and challenges facing the leader can be used to draw self-knowledge and
elf-related meaning from the feelings associated with them, the action alternatives considered by the
leader, and the choices made by him or her. Guided reflection on current actions and decisions mav also
e p managers and other leaders to find ways to better express their ‘true’ self in their role and find the
courage to present themselves to others in a more transparent and authentic manner.
T’ aUthent,'C' leader devel"P'nent is not performed only in the leader’s head. Authentic
rs find their voice by acting m the world, receiving feedback, and reflecting on the consequences
of their actions. We should not forget that lives are not only constructed as stories, they are also lived
storiese(Avolion IwT l^ b'°graph’eS’ nOt °nly the way these biographies are constructed into life
stories (Ac oho 1999). If we assume that leaders lead by virtue of their actual biographies no less than bv
vi e of their life-stones, they should live and act as authentic leaders if they want to develop their
potential to become such leaders. Authenticic leader development therefore includes reflecting on the past,
acting in the present, and reflecting on
to facilitate the process.
“
P1686"’ “P0"’
aSpeC‘S Sh°Uld be attended t0 in an attempt
annTmnriPfOrSSeSrf°f a?ed
develoPment described above are personal and probably most
appropriately performed in mdividual counseling. Some of them, e.g. the discussion of leaded
biographies, films etc., may benefit from a small group framework. Not all managers can become
authentic leaders through such processes and many are likely to benefit from such hefp only in certain
ages o their life or career. Some will discover that they cannot authentically incorporate the
but not necTs T
llf®’Stones and self-concepts. Others might become more anthemic people
but not necessarily more authentic leaders because they lack some necessary leadership attributes Xd
offremTV nftelieT5
“ guided refleCtion 38 described above maV help many
of diem to identify and define there convictions, gain greater self-clarity, and come to view life as
“fimshed project or set of projects (Denzin, 1989), thus assisting them in finding an ‘internal compass’
“d b“g
™S pr°CeSS does not 2““
development of auZnfic
nrese^ beCaUSe leadershlP dePends on followership. Cervantes’ Don Quixote, for instance has been
presented an authentic person who has a clear internal compass (March & Shechter, 2003) We doubt
owever, if he qualifies as a leader because he has almost no followership. In spite of this qualification’
md m^be 6
deSCnbed “ this Paper is a necessary component of authentic leader development
may be as important as the acquisition of skills or the learning of an appropriate behavior/style.
(
o
o
4. Research implications
ThoXs^MO^^Cardn6
SpeCulatl.Ve though
draw on Previous research (e.g., Bennis &
no,-nt S’
, ? ;
r et •’ 2005; Tichy’ 1997)- Research on leadership from a lifery p
of view is still scarce in general, and virtually non-existent with respect to the topic'of
f
B. Shamir, G. Eilmn ' The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395 -417
413
authentic leadership develop:
l.fe-S.»riK as series
s.:r“awMs
p— «
to XS,m’ly “ !h”M "™ l“l“'
self-expression. These considerations siisrnest
°W edge’ self'cIanficatl0n’ self-presentation, and
^s^"f''Z*~
X zsr1 fr” ,",is rpMive- L'a<,"s'“■ —•»
life st‘!erent llne.0f ,niqu’ry would focus on the process of constructing life-stories by leaders From the
and whtch .s mfluenced by others’ responses to initial versions of the story. CeSXentX S
)
New se?f !'emf’haS,Z^ m successtve version of the story, while others may be added or emphasized
veZons X
raeanmgs may be discovered or constructed in this process. FollowZdS
versions of the same leaders’ life-stories (for instance, in newspaper interviews given by th! leader a
drfferent penods) may provide some clues to this process.
While the study of leaders’ life-stories may offer many insights, it is not sufficient Since leaders mav
)
W-ts about the relationships between leader’s life-stories and their selLoncepts For instil do
)
)
ncepts, goals and values but should corroborate them with assessments from colleagues and followers
authenticifr ofZea'derJ ,’77“ “77^lheby "h‘cl‘ foil™ers JW <l>e
are th. .ud,^
)
I
) .
1
)
Wlowe„ |ook fo,
lea(]m.
414
B. Shamir, G. Eilam / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395-417
vulnerability on the part of the leader by the inclusion of stories of failure and weakness increase
followers’ trust in the leader? Do followers’reciprocate the authenticity of the leader as reflected in his or
her life-story and behavior? More generally, do authentic leaders produce authentic followership as
defined in this paper?
Such investigations can be carried out in field studies that examine the relationships between leaders'
life-stories, leaders’ authenticity, and followers’ reactions. Perhaps they can also be carried out
experimentally. While manipulating authenticity is a contradiction in terms, it may be possible to
manipulate the contents of leaders’ life-stories, randomly expose different samples of participants to
different versions of life-stories and study experimentally the effects of these versions on people’s
reactions to the leader, including the extent to which they perceive him or her as authentic. It may also be
possible to expose different samples of participants to the same arguments and messages presented by
authentic and inauthentic leaders. For instance, a message about an environmental initiative presented by
a leader whose life-story based self-concept centers around environmental issues versus a leader whose
self-concept does not include deep conviction about these issues.
Finally, the cross-cultural generalizability of the ideas presented in this article should be investigated.
To begin with, the concept of authenticity may not be valued similarly in all cultures or, which is more
likely, may carry different meaning and manifested in different ways in different cultures. For instance,
followers in some cultures may not expect leaders to be self-expressive or transparent. Indeed, they may
even react negatively to such leaders. The processes by which followers authenticate the leader may also
differ among cultures. In addition, the guided life review process suggested in the practical implications
section may not be equally applicable in all cultures either because it violates norms of privacy or
intimacy or because it focuses on the individual and relies on a relatively independent, rather than
interdependent concept of self (Markus & Kitayama 1991). As a method , of inquiry, the life-story
approach has been used extensively by anthropologists in many cultures (e.g., Crapanzano, 1977;
Peacock & Holland, 1993). Its applicability to the investigation and development of leadership remains
an open issue.
As we suggested in the introduction, the concept of authentic leadership will be useful to leadership
scholars and practitioners to the extent that it highlights aspects of leadership that have not been
emphasized by extant theories of leadership and suggests new directions for research and practice. Our
purpose in this paper has been to contribute to these outcomes by advancing a self-concept based
definition of authentic leaders, articulating on the basis of this definition a thesis regarding the central
place of leaders’ life-stories in the development of authentic leaders, and deriving from this thesis some
practical and research implications, which, while perhaps not totally new, have hitherto been neglected
by students of leadership and leadership development
I •
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*
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B. Shamir, G. EUatn / The Leadership Quarterly 16 (2005) 395—417
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1
BARTER
1
>
Definitions and
Significance of
Leadership
5 <1
r
You cannot be a leader, and ask other
people to follow you, unless you know
how to follow too. (Sam Rayburn,
Speaker of the Hou$e, 1961)
5
is
CHAl’TER OBJ ECTIVES
♦
AFrER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
> Define leadership and effectiveness.
J
)
)
Identify the four major cultural values that have the poten
tial to affect leadership.
> Ust the major obstacles to effective leadership.
Understand the similarities and differences between leader-
)
)
List the basic roles and functions of rttaria^ew&nt and be
aware of cultural differences in the use and application of
those functions.
)
Understand the basic elements of the debate over the jrfr
pact of leadership in orgamzations.
)
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)
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)
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3
4
v-:-1'/
Part I
Building Blocks
DEFINITIONS
What Is a Leader?
Webster s Dictionary defines leading as guiding and directing on a course
a'\i as servin& 35 a channel. A leader is someone who has commandins
au iont}' or influence. It often seems that every researcher develops his 01
her own definition of leadership. Bass (1981) classifies the various definitionot leadership ranging from leadership or—i _
_r.ithe group process
as ««
an integral
partL of
1^0°
lafin0^11
r'ltohtfield, 1948)
1948) to
to leadership
leadership as
as an
an influence
influence process
process (Bass
(Bass
J Hot I- I .arHrr»4>»UX 1 f\£ief
r- ii
.1966),
i.ii’Li. to ileadership asr the initiatior
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xu leauciMiip as me mi
° tT» '*r®(Homans’ 19S0) and the instrument of goal achievement.
The
'°1 various
'T "u definitions
dtd’nitioris of leadership have the following in common
First, leadership is a group phenomenon; there are no leaders without followers. As such leadership always
involves interpersonal influence
L^qidership is a group phenomenon;
or persuasion. Second, leaders
there are no leaders without
use that influence to guide
followers.
groups through a certain course
of action or toward the achieve
ment of certain goals. Therefore,
leadership is goal directed and plays an
active role in groups and organizations. Third, the presence of leaders often assumes some 1
form of hierarchy
,
* Precedmg three elements
I as any person who in fluences indiof
crnnk unrl
n„OI
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311
helps them in the establishment
in
toward achievement of those goals, thereby allowing them to be effective.
..........
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What Is EffectsVENESS^
Along with the. van,
about the riieamffi
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eadership, there has been much debate
u^encss. What does it mean for a leader to be
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
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discussed in Chapter 6). Still another group has defined effectiveness as the
successful implementation of large-scale change in an organization (for
example, the transfonnational leadership concepts presented in Chapter 8).
The definitions of leadership effectiveness are as diverse as the definitions of
organizational effectiveness. The choice of a certain definition depends
mostly on the point of view of the person trying to determine effectiveness,
and on the constituents who are being considered. For example, research
indicates that bosses and subordinates have different ways of defining effec
tiveness (Castaneda and Nahavandi, 1991). More specifically, when trying to
establish the effectiveness of a department manager, a managers supervisor
may focus primarily on outcomes and whether the projects were completed
on time and under budget. From the point of view of the managers follow
ers, however, higher openness and consideration of their needs, and the
attention the manager pays to their career development may be the key to
effectiveness. One could argue that the completion of the project on time
and under budget could not have been achieved if the department head did
not take care of his or her people. Therefore, the two definitions are simply
different parts of the same phenomenon, since the first one focuses on out
comes whereas the second one deals with process.
An interesting twist on the concept of leadership effectiveness is proposed
by Luthans (1988) who distinguished between effective and successful man
agers. According to Luthans, effective managers are those who have satisfied
and productive employees, whereas successful managers are those who are
promoted quickly. Based on a study of managers, the researcher suggests that
successful and effective managers are engaged in different types of activities.
Effective managers spend their time communicating with subordinates,
managing conflict, training, developing, and motivating them. On the other
hand, successful managers’ primary focus is networking, which involves
interacting with outsiders, socializing, and politicking. It is obvious that both
types of behaviors are i mportant for a leader to achieve his or her goals; how
ever, only 10 percent of the managers in this study were both effective and
successful. The implications of this study for orgariizations and how we me^
sure and reward pur leaders can be grave. In order to encourage and reward
performance, organizations need to reward the leadership activities that will
lead to effectiveness rather than those that lead to quick promotion. If the
balance is not achieved, an institution can quickly find itself with a. majority
of flashy but incompetent leaders.
Ideally, any definition of leadership effectiveness would take into consid
eration all the different roles and fiinctions that a leader performs and would
factor those into the evaluation. However, such a thorough analysis is r<ely
possible and we often fall back on simplistic measures. The chief executive
officer (CEO) <a publicly traded company is usually considered effective ig
the company’s stock prices keep increasing, A politician is effective if the
polls indicate his or her popularity and if he or she is reelected. A football
Si
6
Part I
Building Blocks
coach is effective when the team is winning. A school principals effectivenes:
is often determined by the students’ scores on standardized tests. The com
mon theme of these examples is the focus on outcome. Process issues art
rarely taken into account. For example, employee satisfaction is sometime:
measured but rarely considered to be the main indicator of an organization’:
effectiveness. Similarly, in a school system faculty morale and turnover
which are keys to the facilitation of student learning, are not used as a crite
ria for determining effectiveness.
Although many leadership studies have considered process issues in deter
mining effectiveness, their focus has been primarily on the productivity o
the work group. One way to take
;A leader is effective when
a broad view of effectiveness is tc
or her 9rouP k successful in
consider a leader effective whei
maintaining internal stability and
his or her group is successfu
external adaptability while
in maintaining internal stabilit)
and external adaptability while
achieving its goals.
achieving its goals. The interna
stability involves a follower and efficiency fo<>cus, while external adaptability
considers outside constituents (see Table 1.2). Such a definition takes intc
account both process and outcome.
Cross-Cultural Considerations
In spite of the breadth of the preceding definition of effectiveness, it is inter
esting to note that it does not encompass many views of what leadership h
and should be. Particularly, there are many cross-cultural differences in whai
a leader should do to be effective. For instance, whereas in the United States
people do not expect leaders to be failure-proof, in many other cultures c
leader s admission of mistakes would be intolerable and a deadly blow to hi$
or her authority and ability to lead. For example, many U.S. presidents, wher
faced with no other option, recognize their mistakes openly and proclaim tc
have learned from them (consider President Carter on the hostage situation
President Reagan on Nicaragua and Iran arms deal, President Bush on the
"Vision thing,” and President Clinton on smoking pot). Such admissions arc
rarely forthcoming in other countries; French President Charles de
, statement that he had heard Algeria’s cries and understood them during the
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
7
French-Algerian crisis in the 1960s was considered by many in France, to be
an unforgivable admission of mistakes. The Shah of Iran’s similar speech in
1978 addressing the continued riots in the country fueled further upheaval,
as it was seen as a sign o£weakness, error, and therefore defeat.
Additionally, organizations develop their own culture, which typically
includes deeply held beliefs about leadership (Schein, 1985) and how orga
nizations should be run. These organizational cultural assumptions have the
same effect as national cultural assumptions in that they affect what is con
sidered appropriate and desirable. For example, in one organization effective
leadership is defined as decisive and dedicated to increasing shareholders'
wealth, whereas in another an ideal leader is one who is considerate and
socially aware and responsive. The two organizational cultures lead to two
different models of leadership effectiveness.
One of the most widely used models of national culture was developed by
Hofstede (1980). The model proposes four basic dimensions along which
cultures differ: individualism, power distance, uncertainty’ avoidance, and
masculinity (see Table 1.3). The combination of these four dimensions lends
each national culture its distinctiveness and unique character. For example,
when compared to 40 other nations, the United States is below average on
power distance and uncertainty avoidance, highest in individualism (closely
followed by Australia), and above average on masculinity. These scores would
indicate that the United States is a somewhat egalitarian culture where
uncertainty and ambiguity are well tolerated, where a high value is placed on
individual achievements, assertiveness, performance, and independence,
and where sex roles are relatively well defined. On the other hand, Japan
tends to be higher than the United States on power distance and masculinity
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8
Part I
Building blocks
(one of the highest scores) and uncertainty’ avoidance but considerably lowei
on individualism. These rankings are consistent with the popular image ol
Japan as a country where social structures such as family and organizations
are very important, power and obedience to them tend to be absolute, risf
and uncertainty are averted, there is strong gender differentiation, and high
value placed on achievement. Hofstede s model has been used to point out
that many of our leadership and other organizational theories have poten
tially limited applications in other cultures. In other words, they are not “cul
ture-free/’ Hofstedes dimensions will be used throughout the book to point
out cultural similarities and differences.
Overall, although achieving goals and maintaining health may be a wellsuited U.S. definition of leadership effectiveness, it may lack key element?
such as infallibility that are essential in other cultures. Given cross-cultura
differences in what is considered ideal and effective leadership, it is impor
tant that we apply our own definitions with considerable care.
STACLES TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Regardless of the definition of effectiveness, being an effective leader h
much harder to achieve than it is to define. We all may know what makes <
leader effective, but it is often a totally different challenge to be one. Th(
question is then, what are tlu
obstacles to effective leadership!
Being an effective leader is
Aside from different levels o
harder to achieve than
skills and aptitudes that may pre
^it is to define.
vent a leader from being effec
tive, there are also several other
obstacles to effective leadershij
(see Table 1.4). First, organizations are often rigid and unforgiving. In tliei:
push for short-term and immediate performance, they do not allow any roon
for mistakes and experimentation. A few organizations such as W.L. Gore anc
3M that encourage taking risks and making mistakes are the exception (set
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
Box 1.11. Becoming a good kwler takes practice and involves learning from
one s mistakes. The rigidity of many of our institutions and their rewards sys
tems discourage such endeavors.
Additionally, the uncertainty and. complexify that many organiziitions face
are not ideal settings for practicing new skills. The external factors demand
immediate attention; there is often no time left for learning. Interestingly,
the implementation of new methods, if they were allowed, would make deal
ing with opThplexity and Uncertainty easier in the long rim. There is; there
fore. a vicious cycle whereby there is no time for the learning that would help
Box 1.1
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\ A/’^n9ness
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to innovate, and openness to change along with
V V flexibility and decentralization have become prerequisites of high-performing
organizations. However, although many organizations from the nation's largest busi
ness and health care organizations to educational institutions and city and state gov
ernments claim to be innovative and open, not all have achieved those goals. There
are few exceptions.
W.L. Gore & Associates, the maker of Gore-Tex, has succeeded where many U.S.
corporations have failed. In spite of its growing size and success, the company defies
all the traditional rules of management. The very fluid and innovative structure,
referred to as lattice and the unmanagement management style, used by its owners
and managers has caught the eye of many experts. Each of its plants is kept at about
200 employees to preserve a close-knit and cohesive family climate. There are no for
mal structures, no titles, no bosses, and no orders. This "unstructured facilitates cross
functional interaction and quick response to market demands. Each individual "asso
ciate" deals with every other associate directly, without the interference of managers
or supervisors who are called senior associates. At W.L. Gore & Associates, leaders are
not appointed but are allowed to happen. According to president Bill Gore, leaders
only happen because some people decide to follow them (Huey, 1994).
Similar concern for openness and decentralization, and genuine concern for
employees, characterize3M and Jonhson & Jonhson (| & J). Desi De Simone, CEO of
3M, is described as unpretentious, friendly, and smart. His advice includes allowing
employees time to follow their muse, creating a culture of cooperation, making the
company a lifetime career, spending money on R&D, and staying ahead of customers
(Loeb, 1995). Decentralization, allowing managers to set their own goals and to
make mistakes, and unbending focus on ethics are also elements of management at
| & j, where CEO Ralph Larson believes that edicts from headquarters destroy morale
(O'Reilly/1994).
Some of the best-run hospitals in the country have also adopted similar
approaches with an equal degree of success. James Hinton of Presbyterian Healthcare
oFjAlbuquerque, Stephanie McCutheon of Michigan's Sisters of Mercy Heafth'
Cprpofation, and Carolyn Roberts of Vermont's Copley Hospital all rank among the
best health care administrators in the-United States (McCool, 1992; Rauber, 1993)<
Their succ^fc due to a gfeaf extent to theif focus on openness arid allowing employ- 5
ees to contribute fully to the organizations.
All of tee leaders have been able to adapt or change their organizations to matek ’
them flexible and allow for those with relevant and innovative ideas to contribute.
The rigid structures either do hot exist/ as is the case of W.L. Gore and BM, or are
bypassedthrough partid^atiort arid ihe leaders' openness and encouragementand Hauber ^3).
Source: Huey (1994); McCool (f
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The Few
Innovators
L-^Ki
10
Part I
Building Blocks
current crises. This in turn causes the continuation of the crises, which makes
it impossible to have time to learn and practice innovative behaviors. As a
result, management usually falls back on old ideas about what effective lead
ership styles are and finds simplistic solutions that do not fit new and complex
problems. The use of simple ideas such as those proposed in the One-Minute
Manager (Blanchard and Johnson, 1982) or In Search of Excellence (Peters
and Waterman, 1982) provide only temporary solutions.
Another factor that may pose an obstacle to effective leadership is the dif
ficulty involved in understanding and applying the findings of academic
research. In the laudable search for precision and scientific rigor, academic
researchers sometimes do not clarify the application of their research. The
complex and never-ending learning process of becoming an effective leader
requires both experimentation and institutional support. The inaccessibility
of academic research to many practitioners and the short-term orientation of
organizations in which many managers operate provide difficult obstacles to
effective leadership. Except for the few individuals who are very talented and
learn quickly and easily, or those rare leaders who have the luxury’ of time,
these obstacles are not easily surmounted.
■li ADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
What is the difference between leaders and managers? Are the two basically
the same or atte there sharp distinctions between them? These questions
have moved to the forefront of the discussion of leadership in the past few
years. The major distinctions proposed are that whereas leaders have long
term and future-oriented perspectives, and provide a vision for their follow
ers that looks beyond their immediate surroundings, managers have short
term perspectives and focus on routine issues within their own immediate
departments or groups (Gardner, 1986). Zaleznik (1990) further suggests
that leaders, but not managers, ape charismatic and can create a sense of
excitement and purpose in their followers. Kotter (1990) takes a historical
perspective in the debate and proposes that whereas leadership is an age-old
concept, management has developed in the past 100 years as a result of the
complex organizations that were created after the industrial revolution. A
managers role is to bring order and consistency through planning, budget
ing, and controlling. Leadership, on the other hand, is aimed at producing
movement and change (Kotter, 1990).
The debates suggest that for those who draw a distinction between leaders
and managers, leaders are- assigned attributes that allow them to energize
their followers. Managers, on the other hand, are simply the individuals who
take care of the mundane and routine details. Many of the arguments confuse
the concept of leadership/management with effectiveness. Being an effective
manager involves performing many of the functions that are attributed to
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
leaders with or without some degree of charisma. For example, is a manager
who motivates his or her followers' and whose department achieves all its goals
simply an effective manager, or is the manager
a leader? The distinctions
that are drawn between leadership and management may be more related to
effectiveness than to the difference between the two concepts. An effective
manager of people has to motivate them and provide them with a sense of
mission and purpose. Therefore, effective managers can be considered to be
leaders (Gardner, 1986; Grove, 1986). Following the definition of leadership
presented earlier, any manager who guides a group toward goal accomplish
ment can be considered to be a leader. Much of the distinction between man
agement and leadership seems to come from the assumption that the title of
leader assumes competence. Therefore, an effective and successful maixager
can be considered to be a leader, but a less competent manager is not a leader.
Overall, the debate over the difference between the two concepts does not
add much to our understanding of what constitutes good leadership or good
management and how to achieve them. It does, however, point to the need
felt by many organizations for effective, competent, and visionary' leadership/management. This book will not dwell on the distinction between the two
concepts and the terms will be used interchangeably.
FVNCT1ONS AND ROLES OF LEADERS
Managerial Roles
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In order to be effective, leaders perform a number of different roles and func
tions, The roles are sets of expected behavior that are ascribed to the person
by virtue of his or her leadership position. Along with the basic managerial
functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling, leaders
are ascribed a number of strategic and external roles as well (to be discussed
in detail m Chapters 9 and 16) , Furthermore, one of the major roles and func
tions of leaders is to provide their group or
with a sense of vision
and mission. For example, a department manager needs to plan and organize
his or her department’s activities and assign various people to perform tasks. A
department manager also has to monitor his or h@ subprdiriates? performance
and correct their actions when needed. Aside from ihese internal fimctidns,
the manager h^fe> negotiate with his. dr her boss and other department man
agers for resources and coordination of activities. In addition, in many organi
zations, managers and leaders at all levels are asked to participate in strategic
planning and the development of their org^i^tioii's mission^
Many different taxonomies of managerial activities have been developed
(Komaki, .1986; Luthans and Lockwood, 1984). One of the most cited is
research by Mintzberg (1973) who added the ten executive roles of figure
head, leader, liaison,monitor, disseminator, spokesperson, entrepreneur, dis-
Part I
12
Building Blocks
turbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator to an already long list of i
what leaders do. Mintzberg's research further suggested that few if any man- •
agers perform these roles in an organized, compiirtnientaJi7.ed, and coherent
fashion. Instead their days tire characterized by a wide variety of tasks, fre- \
quent interruptions, and little time to think or to connect \yith their subordi- :
nates. Mintzbergs findings have become an integral part of many of our def- :
initions of leadership and management. The roles he defined are typically i
considered to be the major roles and functions of leaders. For a discussion of I
gender differences in managerial activities, see Box 1:2.
,
___________ ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ■
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Box 1.2
/hen Salty Helgesen published her book lhe Female Advantage: Women's Way of .
V Leadership in 1990, many myths about the universality of management behav-
1
Gender
Differences in
Managerial
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ag pace, with many interruptions, and very few non-work-relatedactf ... .
hat their identity was directly tied to their job and often reported feeling isolated
having no time to reflect, plan, and share information with others. They also
rted having a complex network of colleagues outside of work and preferred face»-face interaction to all other means of communication.
gesens findings of female managers only nratched MinUberg's
■
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Mintzberg's in the last twoj
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consrder unscheduled events to be interruptions; instead they viewed them as a .
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^tnd themes Having time to read and'reflect on the “big picture." '
ally, the femafe executives scheduled time to share information with both
their colleagues and t^ubprdinatesr
The gender differences found between the ttwo studies.can be partly attributed tonvever^ Helgesep's suggestions about
manager in the center and
all other parts of the department of :
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
MWW
B
Function of the Leader in Creation and
Maintenance of an Organizational Culture
One of the major roles of leaders is the creation and development of a culture
and dimate for their group or organization (Naliavandi and Malekzadeh,
1993; Schein, 1,985). Leaders and
Leaders and particularly founders
particularly founders leave an
leave an almost indelible mark on
almost indelible mark on the
the assumptions that are passed
assumptions that ;ire passed down
from one generation to the next.
down from one generation to the
As a matter of fact, organizations
next. As a matter of fact,
often come to mirror their
organizations often come to mirror
founders’ personalities (see Box
their founders' personalities.
1.3). If the founder is control oriented and autocratic, the organization will he centralized and managed in a
top-down fashion. If the founder is participative and team oriented, the orga
nization will be decentralized and open. The leaders make most if not all of
the decisions regarding the various factors that will shape the culture (see
Figure 1.1).
Leaders are role models for other organizational members. They establish
and grant many of the status synnbols that are. the main artifacts of culture.
Followers often take their cues from the leaders on what behaviors are and
are not acceptable. If the leader of the organization is uncaring and brash
with lower-level staff members, other managers may follow suit and show
disregard for their staff. On the other hand, if the top executive goes out of
his or her way to take notice of the lower-level employees and emphasizes
Box 1.3
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of Southwest
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14
Part I
Building Blocks
LEADER
ROLE
MODEL
REWARD
SYSTEM
HIRING
DECISIONS
STRUCTURE
AND STRATEGY
CULTURE
Figure 1.1
Leader's Role in Shaping the Organization
f
their importance to the organization, other managers are also likely to do s<
For example, Robert Howard, one of the CEOs of Levi Strauss & Co., cor
tinned the company’s strong culture of social responsibility, caring, and com
mitment to its work force. His actions and decisions model these values fc
others in the company (Bennis, 1992).
One of the key behaviors that leaders need to role model is the accep
tauce of responsibility for ones actions. With the power and status afforde
to leaders comes the obligation of accepting responsibility for ones ow
decisions and the organizations impact on others. The willingness to accef
such responsibility often seems to be lacking in many U.S. corporation
where there is more energy spent on finger pointing than in correcting mis
takes. The leaders demeanor in this category can set the tone for others i
the organization to either accept or shirk responsibility fortheir actions an
d®W®.
Other means fhmugh which the leader shapes culture fe by decision
regarding the reward system (Kerri and Slocum, 1987) and by eontrollin
deQsjpp standards, In ohe organization rewind (fimncig ahd nonfinahcia]
or^y g°
the highest contributors to the bottom line. In another, othe
accomplishments sudi as contribution to cultural diversity or the degree c
social raaid rewarded. Additionally, leaders are i
charge of selecting other leaders and managers for the organization. Thos
selected are likely to fit the existing leader s ideal model and therefore fit th
culture. The selection of other influential members of the organization pre
vides leaders with yet another opportunity to shape the culture. Many firm!
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
for example, have a nominating committee of the board of directors. In such
committees, top managers nominate and select their successors. They can,
therefore,-control not only the current culture but also have a strong influ
ence^ on the future of their organization. A case in point is General Electric,
which has a well-developed list of successors to current CEO Jack Welch
(Grant, 1995). Each candidate has been carefully evaluated and groomed to
ensure a smooth continuity.
The power of the leader to make decisions for the. organization regarding
structure and strategy is another effective means of shaping culture. By
determining the hierarchy, the span of control, the repotting relationship,
and the degree of formalization and specialization, the leader molds culture.
A highly decentralized and organic structure is likely be the result of an open
and participative culture, whereas a highly centralized structure will go hand
in hand with a mechanistic/bureaucratic culture. The structure of an organi
zation limits or encourages interaction and by doing so affects as well as is
affected by the assumptions, shared by members of the organization.
Similarly, the strategy' selected by the leader or the top-management team
will be determined by, as well as help shape, the culture of the organization,
for instance, a proactive growth strategy that requires innovation and risk
taking will engender a very different culture than a strategy of retrenchment.
On the other hand, it may be very difficult for an inflexible bureaucracy to
implement a highly innovative strategy that requires quick adaptation to the
externd environment.
ROES LEADERSHIP MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
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Open any newspaper or business periodical and you are likely to find the pro
file of a political, community, or business leader or a lengthy article about
how an organization is likely to be greatly affected by its new feadersliip.
Company stocks fluctuate as a result of change in leadership. For example,
while the board of directors of American Express was debating the fate of
CEO Robinson (he was replaced), the company’s stock price plummeted a
steep 13 percent in four days. Similarly, a new leafe Oy Ofect & firms
Credit rating by affecting the confidence the financial community has in him
or her. A city or nation may feel a sense of revival and bptiihism when a new
leader is eWed. A large majority of the Ftench w<e delig^
1995 election of their new president Jacques Chirac^ after 14 years of a
socialist government, the change seemed to be as much ffe catiM of the
excitement as. the fact that Chirac was elected. In otter cWM diro eonsequenecs are predicted as a result of new political or community leadership.
By and large^ we tend to believe that the leadership i§ an impOitint matter
'W Wife this assertion for granted; hoWOW, thbre
debate among leadership scholars about whether leadership really
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Part I
Building Blocks
impact organizations. The key questions are: To what extent, if at all, does the
leadership of an organization affect various organizational elements am
organizational performance? Are there certain situations where leadership
has more impact than others?
Leadership Is Insignificant
Much of the research about the lack of importance of leadership has roots ii
the field of sociology. Such an approach asserts that organizations are driver
by powerful factors other than their management (Brown, 1982; Cyert am
March, 1963; Hannan and Freeman, 1977; Meindl and Ehrlick, 1987
Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977). Environmental, social, industrial, and .economy
conditions, just to mention a few factors, are assumed to determine organi
zational direction and performance to a much higher degree than leadership
Similarly, the same external factors along with organizational elements sucl
as stmeture and strategy are also assumed to limit the leaders decision-mak
ing options, further reducing the leaders discretion. The support for thi
“insignificant leadership" approach comes primarily from two areas.
First, a group of researchers has studied the impact of change of leader
ship succession in organizations. Results from studies in the private and pub
lie sectors have supported the notion that the change of leadership does no
affect organizational performance strongly. For example, Salancik am
Pfeffer (1977) in a study of the performance of mayors found that leadership
accounted for only 7 percent to 15 percent of changes in city budgets
Similarly, Lieberson and O’Connor (1972) found that, whereas leadership
has minimal effects on the performance of large corporations (accounting
only for 7 percent to 14 percent of the performance), company size and eco
nomic factors have considerable links to firm performance.
Further support for the “lack of importance" hypothesis is found in a sec
ond area of research that focuses on the extent of managerial discretioi
(Hambrick and Finkelstein, 1987). Although the goal ofthe research is not t<
show the irisignificance of leadership, somt of the results show that CEO
have very limited discretion in their choices and activities. The lack of man
agerial discretion in decision making further reinforces the notion that exter
nal environmental elements and internal macro-organizational element
have more impact than leadership. Overall, the early evidence from the sue
cession research along with some of the managerial discretion findings havi
| been used to Support the notions that: (1) leaders have little impact on orga
; nizations, and (2) even when leaders do make decisions that may affect orga
nizations, their decisions are determined by environmental and organiza
tipnal factors and are, therefore, not a reflection of the leaders preference
or style. Additionally, some researchers have labeled leadership as a simple
symbol or a myth (Meindl and Ehrlick, 1987). Some research has indicatec
that when asked who is responsible for a group Or an organi^atidh’s sucocs
and performance, people are more likely to attribute the success to th<
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
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leader. This effect happens even when there are data that indicate that such
attribution to the leader alone is not warranted. Researchers therefore con
clude that the effect of leaders, although interesting, is not objective and
actual but rather reflect a romantic notion of the role and impact of leaders.
(See Table 1.5 for a summary.)
Contradictory Evidence
More recent reconsideration of the older data and reinterpretation of some of
the findings point to the serious flaws in the research about the lack of impact
of leadership, and reasserts the importance of leadership in organizational
performance. (See Table 1.4 for a summary.) For example, in a reevaluation of
the Lieberson and O’Connor 1972 study, Weiner and Mahoney (1981) found
that 44 percent of the profitability of the firms studied was accounted for by a
change in leadership. Other researchers (Day and Lord, 1988; Thomas, 1988)
further indicated tliat the early results were not as strong as originally
believed. Other studies in schools indicated that the principal is the most
important factor in the climate of a school and in the success of students
( Allen, 1981). Others also found that the leadership of an organization is crit
ical to orchestrating and organizing all the complex elements that are neces
sary to change an organization (Burke, Richley, and DeAngelis, 1985).
Reconciling the Differences
The debates about the impact of leadership make valuable contributions to
our understanding of leadership. First, it is important.to recognize that lead
ership is one of many factors that influence the performance of a group or an
organization. Second, the leaders contribution, although not always tangible,
is often significant in providing a vision and direction for followers, and in
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Table 1.5 ARGUMENTS OVER THE IMPACT &F LEADERSHIP
Leadership Is Insignificant
• Outside environmental factors affect
organization more than leadership.
feture and strategy
• Inter
^^lepurse an organization takes'.
detei
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5
; Leadership is eritW in orchestrating change.
for o* f
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than a real organizational factor.
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. LeatW"
fs profitability.
•hrfiin act is moderated hv situational
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Part I
Building Blocks
integrating their activities. Third, the key is to identify situations when the
leader does have limited power and discretion over the group and the orga
nization. (These situations will be discussed at length in Chapter 6 with sub
stitutes for leadership, and in Chapters 9 and 10 with the role of upper-ech
elon leaders). Finally, the potential lack of impact of leaders in some
situations further emphasizes the importance of followers in the success of
leadership and the need to understand organizations as broad systems.
Overall, after years of debate, the popular view that leaders impact organiza
tions has received research support and our focus has shifted from whether a
h leader has impact to understanding a leader’s impact and its consequences.
A broad definition of a leader as any person who influences individuals and
groups within an organization, helps them in the establishment of goals, and
guides them toward achievement of those goals thereby allowing them to be
effective was presented. In order to be effective, leaders have to help main
tain internal health and external adaptability. In spite of the apparent sim
plicity of the definitions of both leadership and effectiveness, both are diffi
cult concepts to implement. Our current institutional structures and
hierarchies are often powerful obstacles to the innovation, experimentation,
and support that are needed for the development of effective leadership.
Many have proposed separate definitions for leadership and management.
However, the activities performed by leaders are similar to those typically
considered to be the domain of effective managers. Although some have seen
the roles ofleaders and managers as being different, effective and competent
managers are often also leaders within their groups and organizations. In
addition to performing the traditional managerial roles and duties, leaders
also have a special role in the creation of a culture for their organizations.
They can affect culture through direct decisions regarding reward systems
and hiring of other managers and employees and also by being role models
for others in the organization. In spite of the many roles that leaders play in
an organization, there are some situations where they have only limited
impact on group and organizational performance It is-, therefore, essential to
consider leadership in its proper context and take into account the numerous
factors that may impact group and organizational performance.
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1. What are the essential components of the definition of leadership?'
2 tfreness?
eSSential comPonents of the definitions of leadership effec-
3. Provide one example each of an cffeetivc and a successfii] leader. Consider
how they differ and what you can learn from each.
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
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4. Provide an example of a leader wlioin you consider to be both effective
and suc'cessful. Identify the elements of his or her success and explain
what you can learn from tl iat person.
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5. What are the obstacles to effective leadership? In recent years, how have
the nature <md occurrence of such obstacles changed? Why?
6. Based on your knowledge of the Field of management and .your personal
definition of leadership, how are management and leadership similar or
different? How can the differences be reconciled? How do these differ
ences add to our understanding of leadership?
7. What are the Wiws in which leaders influence the creation of culture in
their organizations? Are there additional methods used by top managers?
Provide examples.
8. What are the basic assumptions guiding the “insignificant leadership’7 con
cept? What is your position on this issue? Document your argiunents.
exercises
This exercise is designed to help you develop a personal definition
of leadership and clarify your assumptions and expectations about
leadership and effectiveness.
Individually list five desirable and five undesirable characteristics
of your ideal leader.
Desirable characteristics
1.
Undesirable characteristics
2.
2.
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4.
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What Is
Leadership';
1. Describe Ideal Leader
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Exercise
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Part I
20
Building Blocks
__®
X-.2L.—„—--L —•
In groups of four to five discuss your list and your reasons and draw
up a common definition.
■......................................................................................................................................................................................... .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................
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.. -......... -.............. -........-......
Each group will make a five-minute presentation of its definition.
p
.......
Discuss various definitions:
- JHL. .MML,
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—
3/Wfiof are the assumptions about the foie of the leader?
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Leadership'
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
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.......... ..... —__ _________ _ ______
In groups of three or four share your leadership image and discuss
its implicatidhs for your own leadership style.
i
Groups will share two of their individual members' images of leadership.
Discuss implications of various images for:
1, A person's leadership styUr -———
2r Impact on organizational culture and structure:
3. Compatibility with current: or paff fedders.
. . . -. . ......- .............. - -.... - - -... - - ---------- - -—.... —....... ... - ------
4. Potential shortcomings of each image.
)
The. following exercise is a cross-cultural role play designed to
allow you to experience the challenges of interacting with different
cultures. The setting is the fictional country of Nari. You will be
asked to play the role of either an American or a Narian. Read the
exercise carefully; your instructor will provide you with further infor
mation.------------—...... -.... ..... ...——--------- —
...
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1.3
Narian
Bridges
------------------------------------------ —- ---- —- ----——
Nari is a Middle East country with a very old history and a rich
""—*f of a. number af •
minerals, the country has
funds and has
attracted many foreign investors. As a result; Nari has launched a
careful and'well-planned develbpmehf campaign. In the past 20
years the economy has become the strongest in the region.
e^jroprThe per
capitaincome is thehighe^indher^ion^^<^rjracyrate ofover
)
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Exercise
■
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’The >TiWaI‘sy?fem is'aa' auffiEffiKaj
thereisarecently elected paTliat
a consultative body
^beendn
ble neighbors, Nari has enjoyed a y^t:
current dynasty has been in power for o‘
^^err the>‘:
inKougfi
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Building Blocks
Part I
ing the Vtaftond the Eashs help tn eeonomlc development. • 4
T he cult ure is warm and - generally welcoming of outsidei|
although critiasm of the culture is noorly accepted and not open
discussion. The extended family remains the core of society, with th
FalHef being'the unquestioned head. Many younger Nnrtans siS
higher education in other parts of"the world; however, almost d
return eagerly to their country; Although there are some rurnbl me
about opening up the political systems and allowing for more dem<
cratic participation, the authority of the family, of the communij
and of the monarch are rarely, if ever, questioned. " ’
■Sf Marian leaders are assigned total and absolute power: Althoug
not viewed as-derived from divine righto, leaders are assumedto l
= infalIihle._Narian. leaders are confident in their, complete knowledr
of ol’Jhat ihey come to face. They do not ask questions and do hi
seek advice, even from equals. Such potential indication of lack i
knowledge or expertise would be seen as incompetence.' The Ndrid
leader is expected to take care of loyal followers under any circun
stance. As followers owe unquestioning obedience, so leaders ov
them total devotion. They are fully responsible for all that happer
to their followers in all aspects of their life. They are expected to he;
and*guide ffiexn andYome td~ffieir rescue when needed.'Their"j|
mary dutyistotake care of their followers.
---- --In return, Nariah followers are expected to be loyal, obedier
i
dutiM^and.sHbsgrytent^They accept their leaders', arders^wiliing
andwholeheartedly, as all Narians are_ taught from the younge
age that leaders are infallible and that the proper functioning oft!
sociUFrorderhirfges’upon obedience; loyalty to leaders and eldei
and-npomthefr fulfilling their responsibility as followers. Disse
andconffictam rarely imthe open. If ever a mistake is made, regur
less of where the fault lies, all individuals work on correcting it wit
out assigning blame. If the leader has made a mistake, an eve .
HiJ&nbnV- The nersoTv
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The role of women in Narian society has been very puzzling
equat rights'vbth men. They cun vote, conduct-any kind rf tasmt
tiort; The literacy rate for women is equal to that of men, aj
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Definitions and Significance of Leadership
although fewer of them have pursued higher education, it appears
that most women who are interested in worldng om^
home
have found easy employment in the booming Narian economy.
However, the society remains Highly pamdrchdlin its traditions.
A U.S. construction compai
R9 ““entalcontract for construction Of two '
it. The-i .
. yTs'WOTk;
ing closely with several U.S.-edueated Narian en. ineers who work
of.UrbanDevelopment
Urban Dpyplopmpnt n(UL,..l The Minister of
for the Narian Ministry
Ministryof
UD,
Mr.
DafH,
is.q
UD,
Dafti, is a well-respected civil engineer, educated
icated in Austria
in the 1950s. In addition
-------- to
.j Narian, he speaks fluent German.
German,
English, and French. He has been instrumental in the development
of his country. Although a consummate-politician and negotiator
country’s resources and economic situation, he
and an expert on his country's
has not practiced his engineering skills for many years.
Mr. Dafti has decided on the general location and structure of the
two bridges to be built. One of the locations and designs has serious
flaws. His more junior Narian associates appear to be aware of the
potential problems but have not clearly voiced their concerns to the
U.S. contractors who find the design requirements unworkable.
Please wait for further instructions.
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Allen, TH. (1981). Situational management role$: A conceptual model. Dissertaticm
Abstracts International, 42(2A)> 465.
Bass, B.M. (1960). Leadership, psychology, and organizational behavior. New York-.
Harper.
Bass, B.M. (1981). StogdiUs handbook of leadership. New York: The Free Tress.
Bennis, W. (1992). Leaders on leadership. Boston^ MA: Harvard Business Review
Book.
Blanchard, K.H., and Johnson, S. (1982). The one-minute manager New York:
Murrow.
Browii7 M.C. (1982). Administrative succession arid organizational performance:
The succession effect. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29, 245-273.
Burke, W., Richley, E.A., and DeAngelis, L. (1985). Changing leadership and plan
ning processes at the Lewis Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space
Admimstfation. Human Resource Management, ^4^1), 81-90.
Cartwright, D.C. (1965). Influence, leadership, control. In J.G. March (Ed.),
Handbook of orga nizations. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Castaneda M., and Nahavaixdi, A. (1991). Link of manager behavior to supervisor
performance rating and subordinate satisfaction. Group and Organizational
Studies, 16(4), 357-366.
MiXWM
2
Nominal Group Technique. A Users' Guide
http://instruction.bus.wisc.edu/obdemo/readings/ngt.html
Organizational Behavior
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NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE*: A USERS’ GUIDE
Randall B. Dunham, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin
This document is designed to identify the circumstances under which use of the Nominal Group
technique (NGT) is appropriate and examine the strengths and weaknesses of the method.
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INTRODUCTION
This document and its associated demonstration are designed to teach you the use of the Nominal Group
Technique (NGT) for organizational decision making and problem solving. In using the NGT, we are
not concerned with routine decisions or decisions in which negotiation or bargaining occurs. Rather we
are concerned with judgmental decision making where creative solutions are sought.
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The NGT technique will take advantage of pooled judgments. That means that the judgments of a variety
of people with vaned talents, knowledge, and skills will be used together. By doing this, the resulting
ideas are likely to be better than those that might be obtained by other methods.
In this document, we will:
1. Provide a brief overview of NGT.
2. Describe the use of the NGT technique detailing the exact process at each step.
3. Discuss some of the most commonly asked questions about the NGT method.
4. Summarize the NGT method so that you will be ready and able to use it after reading this
document and participating in the associated demonstration.
OVERVIEW
I.
Procedures
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L Generating Ideas: Each individual in the group silently generates ideas and writes them down.
2 ^Ird
IdeaS: Gr°Up menibers en£aSe ’n a round-robin feedback session to concisely record
^. Drecmsm^^^
discussed
in^ii to obtain clariffead6n and evaluation ~
4. Voting on Ideas: Individuals vote privately on the priority of ideas, and the group decision is
made based on these ratings.
♦This exercise is based heavily on the ideas presented in Delbecq, A. L, Van de Ven, A. H., and Gustafson, D. H., Group
Techniques far Program Planning: A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes, (1975), Scott, Foresman and Company.
I
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Benefits
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1. Balances participation across members.
2. Balances influence of individuals.
3. Produces more creative ideas than interacting groups.
4. Produces a greater number of ideas than do traditional interacting groups.
5. Results in greater satisfaction for participants.
6. Reduces the conforming influence common to most face-to-face group meetings.
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12/7/06 4:46 PM
Nominal Group Technique: A Users' Guide
http://instniction.bus.wisc.edu/obdemo/feadings/ngt.nii
7. Encourages participants to confront issues on a problem-solving basis rather than on a personal
assault basis.
8. Leads to greater sense of closure and accomplishment.
Limitations
1. Requires extended advance preparation, which means that it cannot be a spontaneous technique
Sdie of ±e meeting3 S,nglepUrp0Se’ singIe-topic meeting; it is difficult to change topics in the
3 might reshst™6111 fr°m 3,1 participants t0 use the same structured method, which some people
PREPARATORY TASKS
The Meeting Room
Choose a room large enough to accommodate participants in groups of five to nine members at
diiX,dtia ^bkS' Space,tables far enough aPart so noise from tables does hot overlap and prove
detracting. It is usually best to set each table in a U-shape, with a flip chart at the open end S the U.
Supplies
Provide the necessary supplies, which means that for each table you will need a flip chart a roll of
flip
pe,so")' “e la,ge felMip pen”
Opening Statement
I would like to thank each of you for attending this meeting to identify ways to deal with
[at this noint
knTw 3
h‘n
k" Wha‘eVer 0,6
Pr°blem isL 1 Welcon,e S'01110 this meeting
want yo^to ’
kno that am very happy to have each of you with us today. Our objective is an important one At the
conclusion of this meeting, we will have mapped a potential strategy for dealing with '[the focal
r
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SXIlXTT that
Of “3 ful,y participale-lndeed-success wi"
eq-1 -d full
participation. Each of us is here as an unportant group resource. There are no status differences between us in this
Sr
nttO"rCeS dePendS °n CVery mCmber fully Sharing insight from his °r
own work
experience perspective I appreciate, therefore, the willingness of every (Mie of you to fully share your ideas and
-------- *yo. >n j^giy unng e nextminutes we ar^together^he-ideas-whieh-you'generateiirthis meefliuTwiTl---become the basis for organizational planning for
[the focal problem].
ms rneeUh8
e
CONDUCTING THE SESSION
Step 1: Silent Generation ofIdeas in Writing
The first step of the NGT meeting is to have groui
ip members write key ideas silently and independently.
This is done to:
Provide:
A. adequate time for thinking and reflection
B. social facilitation from seeing others
working on the same task
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Avoid:
A. interruptions
B. an undue focusing on a small number of
ideas
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C. sufficient time for generation of ideas
D. the benefit of remaining
problem-centered
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C. competition, status pressures, and
conformity pressures
D. choosing between ideas.prematurely
I
To accomplish this step, the leader must:
• Present the question or problem to the group in written form.
• Verbally read the question to the group.
• Direct the group to write ideas in brief phrases or statements.
• Ask the group to work silently and independently.
The following is an example of how the leader might start Step 1 of the NGT process:
I
The following is the organizational issue identified for today’s session. [The leader would then read the problem
statement to the group.] I would like each of you to take five minutes to list your ideas in response to this
question. Describe each idea in a brief phrase or a few words on the worksheet in front of you. Please work
independently of other members. During this period of independent thinking, I ask that you not talk to other
members, interrupt their thinking, or look at their worksheets. Since this is an opportunity for each of us to
prepare his or her contributions to the meeting, I would appreciate intense effort during the next five minutes. At
the end of the five minutes, I will call time and suggest how we proceed to share our ideas. Are there any
questions? Let’s proceed then with our individual effort for the next five minutes.
I
-------- Here areLSome^suggestionsToE the-leaderduring-this firsLstep-oTthe NGT-process:
1. Be a model of good behavior by writing your own ideas in silence.
2. Sanction individuals who disrupt the process.
3. Avoid detailed clarification of the task that would suggest solutions.
4. 4. Be a working participant just as any other member.
Step 2: Round-Robin Recording ofIdeas
The second step of NGT is to record the ideas of group members on a flip chart visible to the entire
group. Round-robin recording means going around the table and asking for one idea from one member
at a time. The leader writes the idea of a group member on the flip chart and then proceeds to ask for one
idea from the next group member, and so on.
Some of the advantages of this approach include:
)
• Equal participation in the presentation of ideas.
• An increase in "problem-mindedness.”
• Depersonalization (the separation of ideas from personalities).
• An increase in ability to deal with a large number of ideas.
• Tolerance of potentially conflicting ideas.
• Encouragement of hitchhiking. (Ail idea listed on the chart by one member might cause another
member to think of a new idea. When this occurs, the second member should add the new idea to
his or her personal worksheet to be presented to die group when his or her turn for presenting an
idea arrives.)
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.
• Provides a written record and guide.
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To accomplish this step, the leader will behave as outlined in the following statement which should be
made by the group leader:
During the last five minutes, each of us has used our worksheets to list ideas for dealing with today's issues. Now I
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like to have each of you share your ideas with the other members of the group This is an imnortant ct
because our Jist of .deas wdl constitute a guide for further discussion, help us undersLd Ifce richne^X' 9
have to work with, and stimulate additional ideas. To accomplish this goal as ouicklv and pfr • ♦>
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am going to go around the table and ask individuals one at a time to five mAn d
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The following are some suggestions for the leader to follow at this stage:
1. Number and record each idea on the flip chart
no n“itas ,b'“
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reenter later, if they wish).
4. Record ideas in the exact words of the group member
6 Alliwtheientlp 1St °f ideaS V’Sible ,0 the en^re §rouP6. Allow only a listing of ideas, not a discussion or debate.
Step 3: Serial Discussion
x X““i is “to “ch id“ in turn for the purpose of
focus,nS unduly on any one idea or subset of ideas
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“ “S S“ge are Sl,°™in I|“ ““i-S
of comments „hich shonld
The purpose ot this diso^i^tin,e lo 8°^ end hiiefly discuss each ides.
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______ "Plain an ium. Any m.mberrfthe
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item and says:] "Are there anv miectinnc «».
chart, the leader points to the first
[This is then repeated with each idea.]
commcn s g^P members would like to make about this first item?’*
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Step 4: Preliminary Vote
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jmpoHSof inX&itSi®p^dureffiteD^fedVid’}al Tctob?rs t0 Pennine the relative
leader as follows:
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thought and effort on your part As you look at the flip chart sheets and find an item which you feel is very
important, please record the item on an index card.
[At this point, the leader goes to the flip chart and draws an index card.] Please place the number of the item in the
upper left-hand comer of the card. For example, if you feel Item 13 is very important to you, you would write 13
in the upper left-hand comer. [At this point, the leader should write 13 in the upper left-hand comer of the card s/he
has drawn on the flip chart] Then, write the identifying words of phrase on the card. [At this point, the leader
writes the phrase for Item 13 on the card s/he has drawn.] Do this for each of the five most important items from
our total list. When you have completed this task, you should have five cards, each with a separate phrase written
on the card and with identifying numbers using the numbering system from our list of ideas on the flip chart. Do
not rank-order the cards yet Spend the next few minutes carefully selecting the five items. We will rank-order the
cards together. Are there any questions?
1
1
1
• Step 4b
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1
[After each member of the group has selected five items and written them on separate cards, the leader says the
following]: Please spread out your cards in front of you so you can see all five at once. Looking at your set of five
cards, decide which one card is the most important Which card is more important than the other four cards? [At this
point the leader gives the group time to study their cards.] Please write a number ’'S” in the lower right-hand comer
of the card. Turn that card over and look at the remaining four cards. Of the remaining four cards, which is the least
important? Write a number ”1" in the lower right-hand comer. Now choose the most important of the remaining
three cards and write the number M4" in the lower right-hand comer. Now choose the less important of the
remaining two cards and write the number n2M in the lower right-hand comer. Now write the number "S" in the
lower right-hand comer of the remaining card.
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The remaining parts of Step 4 are as follows:
1
1. A. The leader makes a tally sheet on the flip chart with numbers down the left-hand side of
the chart corresponding to the ideas from the round-robin listing.
2. B. The leader has all of the cards from all participants placed into one large pile which he or
she then shuffles.
'
3. C. The leader then asks one group member to read the idea number and number of points
from each index card while the leader records the scores on the tally sheet
4. D. The leader sums the scores for each of the ideas to identify those ideas which are most
highly rated by the group as a whole. These constitute the most favored group actions for
dealing with the problem which was the focus of the exercise.
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"OptionalSteps-------------- ------ --------- ----- ■---------- —
_ ___________________
If desired, two additional steps can be added to the process. Step 5 adds a brief discussion held after the
group sees the ratings of the entire group. This discussion focuses on those ideas that were most highly
rated during the preliminary vote and again concentrates on clarification of the issues. After this
discussion, the leader proceeds to Step 6, in which a new (final) vote is taken. The final vote is then
tallied to identify the group’s most favored actions.
Copyright 1998 Randall B. Dunham
5 of 5
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Community Goal Setting Meeting
Any-Town, USA
July 19, 2009
9:00 AM-11:00 AM
9:00 AM
Welcome by Jane Lambert
Jane introduces Peter House and Jim Diers as facilitators
Welcome by Peter
Explain importance, goals, use
Explain brainstorming
People all settled at individual tables
9:15 AM
First Exercise
•
Brainstorm: “What do you like about your [health system]?” Write the
question on the flip chart.
__ Write your ideas in silence on the yellow pads
9:20 AM
9:30 AM
9:35 AM
• 9:45 AM
•
Round robin offering of ideas (one at a time) to be written on flip
charts.
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Second Exercise
•
Brainstorm: “What don’t you like about your [health system]?” Write
the question on the flip chart.
•
Write your ideas in silence on the yellow pads
•
Round robin offering of ideas (one at a time) to be written on flip
charts.
f
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Discussion of the process to be sure we all understand how to do this, now
that we have practiced a bit.
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Goal Setting Meeting
9:50 AM
Third (Key) Exercise
•
Brainstorm: “What changes would you like to see in your [health
system]?” Write the question on the flip chart.
•
Write your ideas in silence on the yellow pads
•
Round robin offering of ideas (one at a time) to be written on flip
charts. (Eliminate and/or combine duplicates)
•
Give each idea a letter (not a number)
10:10 AM
•
Discussion of each idea to be sure that it is understood by the small
group.
10:20 AM
•
Voting for the “top five” at each table
9:55 AM
1.
2.
3.
4.
10:35 AM
) •
10:50 AM
Each participant picks his/her top five ideas.
Various techniques to pick the top five: show of hands, file cards,
dots._______________________________________________
Participants are now on break until it is time to present from each
table.
After voting, table scribe makes a new sheet of paper with the top
five vote getters from the table. Take the new sheet to the front of
the room.
•
Recorder from each table reports the top five ideas from his/her table
to the whole group.
•
Facilitators create a master list, eliminating duplicates.
•
All individuals get FIVE DOTS and are asked to vote on the master
list. Rule: spread your dots around.
•
Trade the dots for completed evaluations.
•
•
•
Facilitators announce the top ten ideas
THANK YOU
Next steps
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11:00 AM
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Goal Setting Meeting
OPEN SPACE
TECHNOLOGY
A User's Guide
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HARRISON OWEN
Originator of Open Space Technology
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Chapter J J
Preparation
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C o you have decided you want to try Open Space-the fact is, it is
UZ simple and easy to get started. Nevertheless, some careful prepa
ration is necessary. Not the sort of preparation you may be used to,
with months of committee meetings devoted to agenda development
and participant selection. But preparation nonetheless.
J-
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Appropriateness
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The first item to look at is the basic decision of whether to use Open
Space Technology or not. In the wrong situation, OST may create
more problems than it solves.
A
Open Space Technology is effective in situations where a diverse
group of people must deal with complex and potentially conflicting
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material in innovative and productive ways. It is particularly power
ful when nobody knows the answer and the ongoing participation
numberof people is required to deal tvith thequestions. Con- '
versely. Open Space Technology will not work, and therefore should
not be used, in any situation where the answer is already known,
where somebody at a high level thinks he or she knows the answer,
or where that somebody is the sort that must know the answer, and
therefore must always be in charge, otherwise known as control,
control, control.
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
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To take some obvious examples, Open Space Technology would
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not be the method of choice for installing a new corporate billing
system. Presumably the system has been designed, tested, and pack
aged. At the point of installation, there is little room and even less
need for argument, discussion, or change. Simply issue the manuals
and allow folks to get on with business.
Conversely, OST will work superbly if the issue is the future of
the corporation, and the people (all sorts of people including the top
brass) are quite willing to admit that they just do not know the
answer, but nevertheless believe that collectively they have a shot at
creating a viable solution.
I
It Always Works
In a curious way. Open Space Technology always seems to work; it
just may be that sometimes people are not totally pleased with the
results. Not to be mysterious, but in the Open Space environment,
people tend to be creative, synergistic (they work together), and
self-motivated. If this type of behavior is not desired, it can cause
problems.
I
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For example, a Fortune 25 corporation considered OST as a pos
sible component for a new, worldwide orientation program for
employees. Their-idea^ was -to- c^^t^^^^ita‘ve^and-nseful ~flrstrexpeaF~
) . •
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rience by bringing new folks into the fold with the feeling that they
had an exciting part to play. Accordingly, they designed a program
that would bring together old and new employees to work on
issues and opportunities for building a better corporation One
might wonder what the new hires actually had to contribute in
such a situation, but the truth of the matter was, a lot If nothing
in
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else, they had all the questions presumably long since answered by
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those with more tenure. By revisiting the old questions and finding
some new ones, the company thought that everybody might collec
tively build an effective team that looked to the ftiture.
On the appointed day, a test of the approach was initiated. Sixtyfive people, two-thirds of whom had been with the company for
less than a year, met with their colleagues. From my point of view,
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the day was everything it was supposed to be. People talked,
worked, energized, synergized, and seemed to have fun. When it
was all over, I thought it useful to make a quick assessment of how
things had gone. So I asked each person to think of a word that
—described the day for them. Since the program was designed for the
newcomers, it seemed appropriate to ask them for their woids first.
I was not disappointed, for the words included: exciting, energizing,
stimulating, liberating, and collegial. Just as I was beginning to feel
pleased and proud, I turned to the more senior people and received
a nasty shock. Their words: terrible, unsettling, out of control, confusing,
worst day I have ever spent.
There was no doubting the intensity of feeling displayed by both
groups, and I found myself shaking my head in confusion at the
obvious difference. Then one of the very senior members said that
he had to agree with his colleagues. The day had been awful, and if
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northe worst, then certainly on a very short list But in all fairness,
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he went on to say, Open Space Technology had done everything
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exactly as advertised. The problem for him was that he felt out of
poration did not use Open Space Technology in its orientation pro
gram, but not because it had failed to work.
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control, and he did not like that at all As you might gather, this cor
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
Focus and Intent
Although Open Space Technology is powerful and effective, never
use it for the sake of the process alone, only for the potential results.
OST is designed to do a job, to work a real business issue, no matter
how you define business or issue. So a first act of preparation is to
determine in concrete terms what you want to accomplish, best
stated in a question.
For example, it might be your intent to plot the future of your
organization (which some call strategic planning). Your initial ques
tion might be: What are the future issues and opportunities for Oxymoron
Corporation? That may seem rather broad, but at least the potential
participants would understand that Oxymoron Corporation was on
the table and not something else, and further that the whole future
was up for consideration, as opposed to simply the compensation
scale or new products. As we will discover, Open Space Technology
runs on two fundamentals: passion and responsibility. Without pas
sion, nobody is interested. Without responsibility, nothing will get
done. Obviously, different people feel passionate about different
i
things (different strokes for different folks). And it
,s quite unlikely that anybody will take
responsibility for something they do
v r—
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ForOperrSpace"^—
Technology to work, it
must focus on a real busi
ness issue that is of
passionate concern to
those who will be
involved.
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^not^re^bout^iets^extremely^--^
L important, therefore, to declare
* right up front what the focus is.
■
To utilize the example from
g chapter 1, the 225 people who
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gathered in Denver felt some
T
real concern about roads on pub
lic and tribal lands. The fact that
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Preparation
19
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$1.5 billion was at stake raised their interest even higher and was
sufficient to draw them to the gathering and keep them engaged
until it was over. It is unlikely, however, that the same group of
people would assemble for two days to consider the future of the
hardware business.
All of this may appear obvious, but it is amazing how often we
1
find ourselves in solemn assembly with little if any idea as to why
we are there, or indeed, who called the meeting. Little wonder that
nothing gets done and we leave frustrated. Fuzziness of intention
may be tolerated in dictatorial organizations, where the word of the
boss is sufficient to provide the rationale, but in the world of Open
Space, where passion and responsibility are the essential ingredients.
the word of the boss doesn’t go very far. There is a more important
word: volunteer. Being a volunteer is the prime prerequisite for the
full expression of passion and responsibility. Only fools volunteer for
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something they neither understand nor care about
Under the heading of comprehension and concern, it has been
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my experience that few people in working organizations care about
such abstractions as team building or empowerment, let alone an
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"Open Space experience." They do care about making a profit, pro
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viding a service, creating a product, winning a customer, market
share, or even an election. Everything else tends to be viewed as a
— Jjuzz word, or a "warm fiizzic," drawn from the special vocabulary
of strange people who inhabit training departments and the human
resource area. As it happens, I think that team building and
empowerment are very important, and some of my best friends
work in the human resource area. But the point remains: most of
the world could care less, which does not make them "bad people,"
just different.
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
20
OST is designed to deal with real business issues-no matter how the
nature of the business may be defined. If your business happens to
be training or human resources, then you may indeed be passion
ately concerned about what other people may view as *soft stuff? So
be it. But never inflict your concerns on others and expect them to
care as you do. For Open Space Technology to work, it must focus on a real
business issue that is of passionate concern to those who will be involved.
The Group
Who should come, and how do you get them there? The answer is:
whoever cares, and the fact of their caring will be sufficient to insure
their attendance. The process of invitation becomes extraordinarily
simple. Given the business issue of choice, run it up the flagpole.
I can understand that all of this sounds neither scientific nor
orderly. After all, if we only did what we cared to do, not much
would get done. Or would it? Isn't it true that jobs done by people
who don't care are not worth a whole lot? Is it not also true that
people who care greatly accomplish incredible things? And fortu
nately, there are a lot of different people who care about a lot of dif
ferent things, which means there is a high likelihood that the major
ity of things needing to be taken care of will be taken care of-by
someone who cares.
. ....
.
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Very quickly, the conventional wisdom creates a negative selffulfilling prophecy that the only way a job gets done is when we
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The conventional wisdom in many organizations says that until
the boss issues the order not much is going to happen. And further,
when the order is issued, people in general are not going to like it,
because after all, the order requires work. We all know that work is
unpleasant or what is retirement for?
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Preparation
21
don't care enough to do it. And that does not make a great deal of
sense. The fact is that the best way to get something done well is to
I
give it to somebody who cares enough to do it. Even in those situa
tions where a number of folks are assigned a task, the usual experi
ence is that the actual work is done by a precious few: those who
I
care to do it. So why not avoid all the frustration, guilt, and anger?
Assign work only to those who care to do it
This revolutionary suggestion apparently would not work in what
we take to be a standard organization dominated by the conven
tional wisdom. However, the suggestion points to the heart and soul
of Open Space Technology, and the conventional wisdom may well
be wrong. For OST to work, people must do their jobs because (and
only because) they care. Put in slightly different terms, voluntary
self-selection is the absolute sine qua non for participation in an
Open Space event
1
At this juncture, you may justifiably be wondering about all
those people presumed necessary to the task who, for one reason or
another, do not show up. The answer is painfully simple. If thos^
people are truly essential to the task, the task will not get done
until they are ready to do it Alternatively, it may turn out that
those folks were not nearly as essential as previously presumed. In my experience, the latter is most
often the case. But the principle remains, the
right people for an Open
event are.
the ones who want to come: voluntary self
selection is the rule
None of this is to suggest, however, that
I
maximum best effort is not required to insure
that all the appropriate people know about
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Open Space.
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
the event and are given every opportunity to see that participation
is in their best interest. In select cases, a personal invitation can be
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very effective. It is also important that people truly understand the
implications of their absence. 1 have found, for example, that when
I
the issue is the future of the organization (as in strategic planning),
people will often find it advantageous to attend lest they not be part
of the organizational future.
In the final analysis, the issue is quality and not quantity. It is
infinitely better to have a small, select group that truly cares than a
cast of thousands whose minds and hearts are elsewhere.
How Many?
OST has worked effectively with groups of frbnTfive to one thousand members in face-to-face situations. With a little help from the
cybersphere, the constraints of time and space can be stretched,
making the potential number of participants theoretically infinite. Of
course, practical considerations will reduce that number consider
ably, but there is no need to worry about overcrowding when it
comes to the capacity of Open Space to handle large numbers of
people. The real question is how many you need to get the job done.
There is no reason to believe that fewer than five would be
unworkable, nor that a thousand is a sort of "sound barrieif lean
tell you that one thousand people is a lot of people, and while the
energy and occitement ispalpable^ it scarcely qualifies as an intimate
group. At the other end of the numbers scale, there is nothing to
suggest that it will not work with fewer than five people. It should
be remembered, however, that the total resource available to the
group is its membership, which in most cases is more than sufficient.
With a group of five, one person represents 20 percent of the total
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Preparation
23
resource. If that person is feeling a little down or out of sorts, the
impact upon the group can be immense. On the other hand, if the
same person were feeling a little down in a group of one hundred,
the effect of the 1 percent diminution would probably be minimal.
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The Invitation
At some point it is usual to issue an invitation. For small groups, it
may be verbal, but more often than not something in writing is
appropriate. A natural temptation (which must be resisted) is to try
to explain everything that will happen during the event, including
how and why it will work. After all, we are used to sending out a
I
full agenda in advance with a complete rationalization. Open Space
oup will prepare the agenda upon
arrival. Thus, providing the agenda is not only unnecessary, it is
impossible. So what do you say in the invitation? As little as possible
The objective is to stimulate the imagination of potential guests to
the point that they perceive the pertinence and attractiveness of the
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issue. In these days of information overload, when it is presumed
that more is better, a parsimonious approach may seem strange.
Remember, however that when you give out all possible informa
tion, there is no room for imagination. I am not suggesting obftiscation or deceit-just that you say only as much as you need to and
allow the creative concern of those who attend to do the rest
c
A useful model might be the first paragraph of a really good
story If you tell the whole tale at the outset nobody would bother
reading on. On the other hand, if you say nothing, or little that
makes any sense, the reader will not be hooked. The art lies in say
7*
ing just enough to catch attention, while leaving sufficient open
space for the imagination to run wild. Words like provocative, evocative,
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Open Space Technology A User's Guida
24
imaginative, or open-ended set the tone, and questions should heavily
outweigh statements, for questions create space in which the imagi
nation can grow.
There is, of course, some practical information to be included in
the invitation, such as location, time, and logistics. But above every
thing else, keep it short, simple, and to the point. Simplicity is truly a
virtue and it is useful in all areas related to Open Space, beginning
with the invitation. In the process of developing OST, I practiced
what may seem a rather strange discipline, which I call “less is more."
Each time 1 had an opportunity to run an Open Space event, I
I
attempted to identify one more thing not to do. Over the years, I
think I have pared it down to the bare-bones essentials.
.•
And what do you say about the process itself? Again. as little as
possible. Truthfully, even if you were to send the participants this
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whole book (God forbid), a substantial number still would not
I
understand, and fewer would believe. But that is not a fatal flaw, for
there is another truth. Most people don't really care about the
process of a meeting; they care about the fcsues and the results. So
when it comes to explaining Open Space, don't. Simply say that
although it may be new to this group, it has been used all over the
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world with predictable results. By the end of the gathering, the fol
lowing will have occurred:
Every issue of concern to anybody will have been raised, if they
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All issues will have received full discussion, to the extent
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A full report of issues and discussions will be in the hands of
all participants.
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Priorities will be set and action plans will be made.
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(The last two typically only occur in two- and threc-day meetings
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with computer support.)
For the super-curious, you certainly can give them this book or
one of the others to be found on the resource list on page 162. Tales
from Open Space may be particularly helpftil in this regard.
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Time and Space
Open Space Technology happens in time and space, and although
the requirements are minimal, they are important. Even more
important is the understanding that there is no perfect, ideal, or
generically optimal time and space for Open Space. Almost anything
will work (with some important exceptions). The real-question is tlie
appropnateness of both the time and the space to the people and to
the task.
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How Long?
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How much time do you need for Open Space Technology? Within
rather broad limits, the answer is that it depends on your intention.
On the short end of the scale, less than one full day is usually frus
pi
trating. Some colleagues, however, who utilize OST in school sys
tems, have managed to fit the approach into a fifty-minute school
hour. Be that as it may, the groups that I work with^which tend to
be businesses, bureaucracies, and other organizations, take one full
day to really get into the spirit of things. With anything less, they
find it is time to stop just when they are truly having fun One day
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wifi allow for a very intense, meaningful, and productive discussion.
If your intention is to produce a set of proceedings, as was the
case with the $15 billion event described in chapter 1, a second day
is almost essential. The actual proceedings are done with a simple
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
computer system that will be described in the next chapter. For
reasons I do not fully understand, if there is only one day, groups
become so engrossed in their discussions that they have little or no
time for recording the results. With the knowledge that there will be
a second day, participants tend to pace themselves in such a fashion
that time appears for the computers. If you say that doesn't make
any sense, I must agree with you, but that has been my experience.
Given a third day, the group's interactions take on a wholly dif
ferent quality. If the first day allows for intense discussion, and the
second day for the recording of results, a third day permits prioriti
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zation of all issues, convergence of related issues, and the creation of
action plans. It is noteworthy that the first two days are not dedicated
to separate activities in a linear sequence (discussion then report
writing). Rather the group develops a rhythm, or sense of itself, that
permits the new activities as time allows. The last day, or more usu
ally half-day, focuses on priorities, convergence, and action planning.
The choice, therefore, between a one-, two-, or three-day event
depends entirely on the results required. In one day, the conversa
tion will be stimulating and intense. In two days, that conversation
may be recorded for posterity. With three days, priorities can be
established and next steps identified.
)==
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At the risk of some confusion, I will describe the course of events
that holds true for all gatherings (one, two, or three days), and then
in chapter 8 I will deal with the special considerations for three-day
events.
After Three Days ...
My mother used to say that after three days guests and fish leave
something to be desired. I think the same is true with Open Space
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Technology. The reasons have something to do with fatigue levels,
which begin to climb, and the natural ebb and flow of group activi
ties, which hit a low point after three days. By the end of three days
the energy output has been such that disengagement is the only
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option. How long groups would have to stay in “neutral" 1 don't
know, but some respite is absolutely essential. After another day or
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so, I suspect that the cycle would repeat. However, everyone has
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usually had enough after three days.
OST in Combination
It is sometimes necessary to use OST in combination with other
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approaches to meetings. There is nothing wrong with this so long as
certain principles are kept in mind. The fundamental one is: Never
interrupt Open Space with something else. When you are doing Open Space, do
it. When it is over, it is over.
This means that if you have a series of speakers you want the
group to hear, or other programmatic activities you want everybody
to be a part of, do it before Open Space. The reason is quite simple
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and relates to the essential precondition of voluntary self-selection,
without which Open Space Technology will not work There will be
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no problem, however, if the command performance takes place
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before the Open Space.
Theoretically; such mandated group events might also follow the
Open Space, although experience has shown that the results are less
than optimal The level of synergy and creativity is typically so high
in Open Space that it is difficult to sit still and listen to a speaker at
the conclusion, even a very exciting speaker.
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
Space
Open Space Technology requires one main room that is large
enough to allow all the participants to sit in a circle, or at the most
two or three concentric circles, without crowding. Breakout areas are
also required, and we will deal with that issue shortly. When esti
mating the necessary size of the main room, it usually works to
divide the rated capacity by two. Thus if the room is rated for two
hundred people theater-style, it will comfortably handle one hun
dred people in Open Space.
One wall of this room must be free and unobstructed by doors,
curtains, windows, or pictures. This wall will become the community
bulletin board, where people will be taping up notices indicating
their areas of interest Should masking tape not adhere to the wall,
all will be lost If the hotel management throws a fit at the prospect
of material taped to the wall, get a new management, hotel, or both.
Just to make sure, I strongly advise doing the “tape test" when the
venue is first selected. Apply a piece of the tape to be used to the
specific wall and determine that the two will stick together, not just
momentarily, but over time and with strain.
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It is also useful, but not imperative, to find a room that will be
large enough to accommodate the coffee break setup and the com
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puters (if they are going to be used). Placing both of these elements
inthelargemeeting^roomwillinsureaconstantpassageofpeople
in and out, which is very useful for building the group's sense of
flow and energy. Security concerns may dictate placing the comput
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ers in a separate room, but stealing a full-size personal computer in
a busy environment is not all that easy, nor is it something I have
ever experienced. Laptops are something else, which is one of the
reasons I prefer not to use them.
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Prepara rion
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The point of placing the computers in the main room is to make
the report generation process an integral piece of the total fabric It
is not something done by strange people called secretaries. With the
computers in the public place, discussions begun in the sessions,
halls, and elsewhere continue and grow richer right up to the
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moment they are captured electronically.
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Breakout spaces are required once the process gets going. Note
that I said breakout spaces, and not necessarily rooms. Some people
require four walls, a table, chairs, and a chalkboard (windows
optionaD before they feel well situated to do anything that looks like
work or discussion. For such people, breakout rooms are essential
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
Other people experience that sort of environment as claustrophobic
and greatly appreciate the great outdoors directly, or at the very
least mediated through a window. The point is that a variety of
meeting spaces is in order.
A great deal of time and effort have been devoted to the under
standing of differences in learning styles and pacing (speeds), and
there is no doubt that each one of us has our own peculiar require
!
ments that must be met if we are to achieve our optimum perfor
mance. Less attention has been given to what might be called learn
ing spacing. Each one of us has a set of physical conditions in which
we perform best and learn most comfortably. These conditions
change with time, subject, and temperament. We all want an envi-
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ronment conducive to our learning, but that environment can be
very different for different people, or can even be different for the
same people at different times.
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Effective circumstances for an Open Space event not only include
a sufficient number of formal breakout rooms for those who feel
the need of such things, but also a healthy array of other kinds of
spaces. Big ones, small ones, by water, in the woods, adjacent to the
bar, quiet, noisy, open, closed. I am convinced that the depth and
rapidity of learning are directly proportional to the variety of avail
able spaces.
—WhenitcomestoTormalbreakoutroomsra^workable'rufcTjf^-----thumb is five per one hundred participants. This presumes that there
are some additional public spaces in the facility, such as the lobby,
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gardens, hallways, and of course, the more the better. It also pre
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sumes that some people will find it comfortable and convenient to
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meet in the large main room.
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Other Considerations—Like
When Do We Eat?
Humankind does not live by discussions alone. Sooner or later,
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snacks or meals are not only nice but necessary for reasons of physi
cal survival, in addition to providing an important occasion for the
ongoing process of dialogue. Unfortunately, most conference coffee
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breaks and meals are arranged for the convenience of the manage
ment, with little regard for the feelings and needs of the participants.
When it comes to eating, voluntary self-selection applies just as it
does in all other areas of the Open Space experience. To the extent
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possible, people should be able to refresh themselves when they
need and want to, congruent with their other activities. If the discus
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sion has suddenly heated up, no meal bell should be allowed to
interrupt. By the same token, when there is a break in the action it is
nice to be able to take a pause that refreshes.
Pushed to extremes, this philosophy could well create revolt in
the kitchen, which would be a disaster in itself. There are, however, a
number of ways to avoid this. For example, all meals can be served
as buffets over a several-hour period, allowing people to come and
go as they please. For coffee breaks, try replacing the fifteen-minute
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snacks are left out for an hour or longer. Of course, things do get
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mad dash, which nobody observes anyhow, with a more leisurely
-approachr^Thewofld-will not come to an end if the beverages and
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cold, or warm, over time, but that problem can be solved by serving
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foods that do well at room temperature over extended periods of
time, such as fresh fruit.
Another strategy is to hold the meeting in a place with easy
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access to a number of restaurants, all of which have different hours
and cuisines. In this way the fate of the total population is not solely
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
in the hands of one kitchen staff. With virtually no effort, it is pos
sible to insure that there is never a time when something good to
eat or drink is not available. This may be somewhat difficult on the
waistline, but it has definite advantages for a methodology that took
its original inspiration from the coffee break.
The easy availability of a variety of food and drink over time
becomes especially important when multiple cultures are present at
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a single conference. For example, Americans typically have lunch at
noon, with the program resuming an hour later. Dinner appears at
six or, at the very latest, seven o'clock Most of the rest of the world
considers this schedule madness and heresy. Siestas are interrupted
^Lnd-lhe-possibility-of-the-late-evening-dinner-precludedT-Resuft?-----Unhappy people!
The solution is simple. Make it possible for everybody to eat and
sleep when they want to. Open Space permits such flexibility while
still allowing the task to get done. There is no reason why partici
pants should become prisoners of the kitchen staff. Should'the par
ticipants also have traveled some distance to attend, the variety of
time zones will compound differences of cultures. It is difficult to
participate effectively when the belly is unhappy and growling.
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Supplies
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The basic supplies for Open Space are simple but essential. In chap
ter 5,1 will describe in detail how the following items are used, but
under the heading of preparation, the following materials need to
be secured:
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• Masking Tape-five rolls (one-half inch)
• Ink Markers-dark primary colors, preferably washable, about
fifty per one hundred participants
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Preparation
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■*—HipCharts ■one chart with stand- per breakout room, five
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extra pads
• Post-its-3x5 size, two packages of one hundred per package
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These quantities are not precise, and if your group is very artistic,
loquacious, or wasteful, you may need more.
If your group is going to do things like create a set of proceed
ings, set priorities, and prepare action plans, you may require a
number of computers. (See chapter 5.) But bare-bones Open Space
will function just fine with the minimal supplies described above. It
is even possible to do proceedings, priorities, and action plans with-
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out computers, but only for relatively small groups.
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A final necessity is a microphone for groups of seventy-five and
above, unless the acoustics are superb. In order for the process to
work well, people have to hear each other, and soft voices tend to
drown in the carpet. A wireless mike is best, for long cords present
an unacceptable hazard, particularly when the group starts to move
about, which it will. If a wireless mike is unavailable, however, a
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corded mike will do, but with the following considerations. First of
all, make sure that the cord is Jong enough to reach any point in
the circle. With large groups, this may mean as much as two hun
dred feet of cord, and that is a lot of wire. Secondly, be very careful
when the group starts to move, or somebody will trip, be garroted,
or worse.
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Consultation with the
Managenient
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The management of your conference facility is a most important
part of your team. If they have never supported an Open Space
event, it is essential that you spend as much time as is necessary to
make them feel comfortable and part of the action. They will find
that OST is much easier to host, but because it is different, it may
seem a little strange.
7
I find it useful to talk about the total concept, how it got started,
and what the experience has been, in addition to the standard 4etails
that are usually covered in preconference meetings. They need to
know, for example, not only that you need meals on a flexible sched
ule and refreshments available at all times, but why this is important
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As professionals whose business it is to support various sorts of gath
erings, I think you wifl find that their interest will be strong.
If you are fortunate to be the only guests in the facility, a condi-^
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tion I strongly recommend, there will be no problems with other
guests. However, if you are sharing a facility, it is quite possible that
t e apparently random coming and going of the Open Space group
may be a little disconcerting to others whose approach to meetings
>s m the more traditional mode. AH of these problems can be avoided
if it is clear m advance where your people should not go. If you find
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Preparation
35
there are too many prohibitions, it may be best to seek an alterna
tive facility.
Under ideal circumstances, the facility staff will feel free to join in
the festivities as appropriate. Obviously, if proprietary information or
other sensitive matter is being discussed, outsiders will not be useful.
But where and when that is not the case, a welcome mat for your
hosts is always a plus.
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Checklist for Open Space
E] Appropriateness
Should we even take this trip? Is OST right for our purposes^
EZI Theme
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Is it clear, focused, but with sufficient room to let the imagination
grow?
Pl
Invitation
Is there sufficient information to insure that our guests arrive at the
right place, at the right time, ready to go to work? Does our descrip
tion of the task evoke participation without prescribing the detailed
outcome?
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□ Time
Have^weallottechsufficienttimeforwhat we want to do? One day
for a good discussion, two days for a written record, three days to
put it all together.
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O Main Space
Is our main meeting room large enough so that all of our partici
pants may sit comfortably in a circle, or two or three concentric
circles, with room to spare?
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3lw^OpenSpaceTechno'°9y A User's Guide
□ The Wall
Do we have a relatively unobstructed wall in our main meeting
room, long enough so that all of our participants can stand in front
of it and not be more than two or three persons deep? Will mask
ing tape stick to the wall? Will the management object if the tape
does stick? Did we do the "tape test?
D Other Spaces
Do we have sufficient breakout rooms for those who like a formal
setting (five rooms per one hundred participants)? Will other
people with other tastes find something to their liking? Have we
advised the management that our participants are likely to be
working all over the facility? Are there^wa^erc our
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should not go?
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□ Food and Drink
Have we made arrangements for the
maximum possible flexibility
for meals and snacks? Will there
be plenty of variety available most
of the time?
□ Suppli:
lies and Equipment
Do we have the necessary supplies ready to go?
Masking Tape-five rolls (one-half inch)
' I? Mariters-da* Pomary colors, preferably washable, about
“fly Per one hundred participants
_________________
• Flip Charts‘-one chart with stand per breakout room, five
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extra pads
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• Post-its-SxS size, two packages of one hundred per package
• Mrcrophone-cordless if possible, or with sufficient cord to
reach all points of the circle
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I—I Consultation with the Management
Have we spent some good, quality time with the facility manage
ment? They need to know that an Open Space event is probably
unlike anything they have experienced before. Because of the sim
plicity of the arrangements and the responsibility of the part.cipants,
management's job is always a lot easier and may actually be quite
hm. If you feel free to do so. invite the staff to participate at what
ever level seems appropriate. After all, they are a very important
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part of the team.
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Have a great
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time! Remember:
if it isn't fun, it isn't
working.
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Chapter
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Getting Started:
Creating Time and Space
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r I 1 he preparations have been made and the people are assem-L bled; everybody is sitting in a circle. The middle is open space
except for a small pile of markers, masking tape, and quartersheets of flip-chart paper. It is time to get started.
The initiatory activities of an Open Space event are designed
to move people as quickly as possible into active, synergistic
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co-creation. This is not the time for speeches, lengthy explanations,
or acknowledgments. What transpires is the absolute minimum
necessary to get the show on the road. Over the years, operating
under the principle that less is more, I have found it possible to
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reduce the opening ceremonies to something close to one and
one-half hours. By the end of that time, people will know what
they are doing, will have created their agenda (task groups, discus
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sion groups, and the like), and will be heading off to work.
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Initiation consists of the following six stages:
1. Welcome
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2. Focus the Group
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3. State the Theme
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4. Describe the Process
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5. Create the Community Bulletin Board
6. Open the Village Marketplace
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
STAGES OF INITIATION
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1.
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Welcome
2.
Focus the Group
3.
State the Theme
4.
5.
Describe the Process
Create the Community Bulletin Board
6.
Open the Village Marketplace
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What fofiows is my usual approach, but please note, there is no
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one right way. My way works for me and is dependent on my style,
chemistry, and relationships with the groups, along with a host of
other individual factors of which I am not aware. What you do will
have to be tailored to your idiosyncrasies and those of your group.
Having said this, I also believe there is a logic to what I do, and as
I
minimal as each stage along the way may appear, there is a reason
for its shape and form. I suggest, therefore, that you try it according
L
to the book once or twice, and then throw caution to the wind.
There are certain principles 1 think you will be well advised to keep
in mind, and I will do my best to point them out as we go along As
for the details, this is strictly a “do your own thing'’ party_________
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Welcome
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Unless you are hosting your own group, the first person to speak in
the circle is the official sponsor, whoever that may be. Particularly if
you are an external facilitator, it is important that the assembled
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Getting Started: Creating Time and Space
83
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body be greeted by somebody they all know, or know of. The meet-
mg environment is not the standard one, and the process of creating
the safe space necessary for that particular group to get on with its
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unique business can only begin when they feel some degree of
familiarity and ownership. Seeing a familiar face at the start is a
good beginning.
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The words spoken should be brief, indeed there is
• rarely need for
more than a few. The invitation will have taken care ,
of the whys
and wherefores for gathering, and all the information essential to
1
getting the event off and running will be provided by the facilitator.
Recommended speech m this situation goes something like the fol-
owmg: Welcome to you all. I know we are going to have a useftil
time together, and now is the moment to get on with it Her^s Har
risen . . Short, sweet, and to the point. And of course, if there are
4
some essential logistics to be communicated, that can be done too,
but above everything else, keep it brief.
Ri-
Focus the Group
It is my practice to stand outside the citric „.1UI. llavc Dcen lntro_
until I have been inti
duced. This is not about shyness. In most cases, few if any of the
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participants will have the least clue as to who I am, so there is little
reason for me to be cluttering up the space until I am needed. Once
introduced, I come to the edge of the citric and say something sim-
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around the inside of the citric, and as I go, I invite the participants
to let their eyes trace the circle to see who is there; The important
thmg is to move with slow deliberation and allow people time to
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l-ift
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really see who is sitting in the circle, even if they do not know who
the other people are. The slow pace also enables everyone to catch
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WJWSW Open Space Technol°9y * U»«rt Gold.
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hor breath before rushing onw.rf. By ,he Ome | „me back around
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to my starting point, a significant change has taken place. The empty
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Open Space, which may have seemed hostile and forbidding to
many, has now been invisibly filled with the hopes and expectations
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o the group as a whole, and no word, save for mine, has been spo-
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ken. The process is well under way.
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State the Theme
The next order of business is to make clear the purpose of the meet
ing. If you are standing at the edge of the circle, as I usually am,
OV\‘S er‘Of1 t,me t0 movc into tlie center. From that position
words describing why we are here and what we propose to do will
come quite naturally. Avoid long histories or detailed presentations
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or people wrll have received invitations that presumably gave them
he necessary details. This is simply a destination check. The plane is
leaving for Chicago, and if that is not what some passengers had in
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mmd, now would be a good time to get off.
If you find yoil„clf fol.getting wha|
check the signs on the walls. Remember that you placed them
in sequence, starting with the theme. All yOU have to do to
keep your place is let your eyes run amund the walls. And
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nobody wifi even know you are doing that
the
of a,, ,hlme.
objeaiw
sud,. ray th., fute sl„ to flow_more
« desenphve or p^ertpfe. Do
S"1’th., everybody „„W
whrf. h.. subsequendy po,
th« dme to ™plre.
. ye„ ,go
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Getting Started: Creating Time and Space
85
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responsibility. If passion isn't aroused, not much is going to happen,
and responsibility will never have a chance.
This is also a good time to outline any specific expectations in
terms of the end product of the event, the form of the product, or
what will be done with it. If all you anticipate is a good airing of
general issues, say that, but if the expectation is more precise, that
expectation should be articulated. So, for example, if you expect to
write up a set of proceedings, as was the case with the $15 billion
meeting in Denver, Colorado (see chapter I), it wouldn't hurt to say
something like:
3
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By the end of our time together, we will have written our proceedings. I have here in my hands the front cover and the back
cover. As you can see, there is nothing in between. That empty
space will remain so unless, or until, we all get to work. To help
us with all that we have some very friendly computers located in
our Newsroom. But I am sure that we will rise to the occasioh,
and I can assure you that by the time we leave, you will have
your own personal copy in hand. How all of that is going to hap
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pen, we will talk about in a moment, but for now just know—it
will get done.
Notice the upbeat flavor. The intent is to set pnsirive exp^ctations-
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(... it will get done*), which is entirely different from ordering people
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to do something. I also make the point of using *we* as opposed to
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"you* whenever that fits. As the facilitator, it is not my job to tell
anybody to do anything. It is my job to help "all of us* understand
that we are truly in this together, and that togetherness is a tremen
dous resource. Now if these words, or these kinds of words, don't
)
come easily from your mouth, don't worry about it. Find different
ones that work for you and do the same thing.
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
By the end of this stage, the group should know where it is going
and be excited to get there. Don't take any more time than is neces
sary for the task. Indeed, if the group is already charged up when
they convene, skip all of the above and go with something like: We
all know why we are here, so kt's get on with the business.
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Describe the Process
I
By now people should be charged up and more than a little curious
i
as to what happens next. If your written invitation was parsimo
nious, as suggested, participants will have only the barest details,
and a few of them may be wondering how they ever let themselves
be talked into attending such a strange event In a word, the troops
may be more than a little restless and anxious. All of that is to the
good, for both the restlessness and the anxiety can be turned and
focused, providing the power for liftoff. Of course, you will have to
deal carefully with the possibility that either anxiety or restlessness
may go too far, and I will suggest some means to limit that liability
in a moment. But please note, I didn't say out of control, for if you ever
think things can be under control, particularly your control, think
again. It will never happen, and should you succeed, the whole
enterprise would come to a screeching halt
I usually start this stage with a comment made as casually as I
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am-ablej-whiGh-also-briefly-provides-somethiRg-of-the-history-of-----Open Space Technology.
In case you are curious about how we are going to get from here to
there . . . well, it is called Open Space Technology. OST has been
developed over a period of time, starting in 1985. It has been used
in America, Europe, India, South America, and Africa with groups
of from five to five hundred members. The results have been out-
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Gerung Storied: Creating rime and Space
87
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standing. For example, can you imagine 225 people self-organizing a
fifty-three-workshop conference in less than one hour, self-managing
it over a two-day period, and walking out with 150 pages of proceed
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ings in their hands forty-eight hours after they started? It happened.
I
It can happen here.
I make no effort to give a full accounting of the approach. The
objective is not to prove that it can work on the basis of prior expe
rience, but rather to plant the idea that it really has been done
before and to set some expectations that this group will join the
others in a positive and successful experience.
There are also some other things going on with these words. By
citing the numbers and accomplishments of past participants and
—then asking if people can imagine such a situation, I am intentionally stretching the credibility of the group, possibly to the point of
breaking. For the truth of the matter is, unless the members have
i
!
already participated in an Open Space event, they will find it diffi
I
cult, if not impossible, to imagine anything like what is described.
The conventional wisdom says you just do not (cannot) do things
like it, and most people are bounded by the dictates of the conven
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tional wisdom. Were one to ask the group, at precisely this moment,
:1
what degree of success they might predict for the whole enterprise, it
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is quite likely that the consensus would be: None!
I?
You may be questioning the wisdom and utility of raising the
Ti
groups awareness regarding the apparent impossibility of their task
The reasons to do this are twofold. First, as they acknowledge their
anxiety, they will effectively be able to own it and thereby make it
available down the road as a source of energy. Of course, 1 don't
want them to become too anxious or they will freeze, but we will
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deal with the balance as we go along. The second reason, however, is
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
!
the major one. When a group does the impossible within the first
hour of its meeting, it is very hard to stop them after that. This is
called empowerment.
Once the adrenaline is running, it is time to put some content
into the notion of Open Space Technology. The approach here is
fairly straightforward.
You may be wondering how we are going to do all of this. Actu
I
ally, it is quite simple. In just a little while, I am going to ask each
one of you who cares to-and nobody has to-to identify some issue
or opportunity related to our theme for which you have genuine
-■
passion and for which you will take real responsibility. Don't just
consider good ideas that somebody else might do or be interested
in. Think of powerful ideas that really grab you to the point that
you will take personal responsibility to make sure that something
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gets done.
P
If nothing occurs to you, that is okay, and if you have more than
one issue or opportunity, that is fine too. Once you have your issue
or opportunity in mind, come out into the center of the circle, grab
a piece of paper and a marker. If you have more than one issue, take
several pieces of paper. Write down a short title and sign your
7
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name. Then stand in front of the group and say, “My issue is .. .
and my name is... ? After you have announced your theme, take
your piece of paper and tape it up on that blank wall.
Note particularly the introduction of the twin power points of
passion arid responsibility, all in the context of the ritual act of
p
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walking to the center of the circle in order to announce theme and
name. If the circle is large, and particularly if the assembled group is
an intact work group, the journey to the center is a long one indeed,
p
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Getting Started: Creating Time and Space
89
and not to be entered upon lightly. When
I
a person says, "My issue is . . . and my
name is . . ” out there in front of
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everybody, a commitment has been i
made.
S
Some people have wondered
whether the very rigor of the jour-
ney to the center of the circle might
not discourage a few folks and elimi-
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When a group
I
does the impossible
within the first hour of
its meeting, it is very hard
to stop them after that.
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This is called
empowerment.
!
nate some good ideas. The answer is
obviously yes. But my experience has been
that no good ideas, supported by passion, dis-
appear (by definition). The world is full of good ideas, but without
passionate commitment, they are worth little and go nowhere. In an
Open Space environment, where the fundamental condition for suc
cess is self-management, passionless good ideas are not only useless,
they are a liability. They consume precious space and further suggest
that somebody (usually the unnamed great they) should be taking
responsibility. The point is: they do not exist, and nothing will get
done until I, you, or we get on with business.
v)
Just about now you may notice many pairs of eyes beginning to
fixate on the large, blank wall reserved for the community bulletin
board. Usually at this moment people feel, and sometimes express, a
degree of apprehension. After all, most people who found them-
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selves sitting in a room with their peers, colleagues, or perfect
J.
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strangers and looking at a blank wall supposedly representative of
their agenda for the next day, or God forbid, three days, would feel
nervousness. What are they going to do? How did they get into this
mess? Picking up on those feelings, 1 say:
:...
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Operl Sp,JCe Technol°9y A Uw’1 Guld.
Just out of cunosity, how many of you have ever been to a one-
•1
(t^o-, three-) day meeting where the total agenda was represented
by a blank wall? J suspect that more than a few of you are begin
ning to wonder how you got into.this, and more importantly, how
you are going to get out of it. Well, I have a promise for you If at
this moment you are looking at that wall and wondering 'what on
earth are we going to do for the rest of our time together?'I promise
that withm an hour you will be looking at that same wall and
i
wondering 'how are we going to get it all done?'
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Getting Started: Creating Time and Space
91
4
Then it is time to go back to explaining the process. Point out that
proposing an area of discussion and taking responsibility for it does
not require that the proposer be an expert or that a formal presen
tation be given. Either or both of those can be true, but it is equally
possible that the proposer is virtually ignorant on the particular
subject and is looking for some.people with whom to share the
Hi
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ignorance and develop some knowledge. Taking responsibility
means that the proposer will designate a time and a place and then
convene the session. If proceedings are to be created, the convener
has the additional responsibility of entering the results of the discus
sion into the computer, or if they are terribly cyberphobic, finding
somebody else to do the chore.
Finding a time and a place may be as simple as indicating the
swimming pool at 5:00 p.m. The time can be anytime during the
conference, and the place a:mywhere that people feel comfortable. For
some this will be the public areas of the facility, others may choose
to go off the site. One time at a seaside conference center, a group
decided to meet on a boat in the middle of the bay.
For those individuals who prefer the security of four walls and a
formal meeting setting, a breakout room is probably the setting of
choice. Whereas the swimming pool area and other public spaces
are expandable, breakout rooms do not work that way. But slotting
folks into meeting spaces is easily handled with the space/time
K 7
.
matrix previously described, and which now should be hanging in
the center of the wall To use the matrix, invite people to pass by it
on then- way to the wall to post their issue (after they have
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announced their issue), and to remove the Post-it of their choice
from the space/time matrix and affix it to their issue paper. Affixing
that Post-it to their paper accomplishes two things: everyone now
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Open Space Technology A User's Guide
will be able to tell where and when the session will be, and simulta
neously, all following session leaders will know by the absence of
the Post-it on the matrix that the room is taken at that particular
time on that day.
You may have noted the one-and-one-half-hour lunch period
and thought it excessive, but after all, lunch is a time for further
conversation and nobody said that meetings could not be held dur
ing that time. And with that amount of time, you can also work in a
siesta, which is a marvelous way to revive sagging energy in the
middle of the day. And of course, if you have southern European or
Latin Amencan participants, they will appreciate the thought They
know what some of their faster-paced colleagues to the North tend
f
to forget. No day is so bad that it cannot be improved with a nap."
(Carrie Snow)
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Assure the assembled group that no area of interest will be denied
and urge everyone to put up as many announcements as they want
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"No day is so bad that it cannot
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bo improved with a nap,"
(Carrie Snow)
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Getting Started: Creating Time and Space
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The point you want to make is: if at the end of the day some partici
pant finds him or herself saying, "But they didn't ever take a look at
4
5
my issue," there is absolutely nobody to blame but oneself.
Once I have described the creation of the bulletin board in some
I
detail, 1 move on to talk about the village marketplace. There is not
much to say here because it is so intuitive. The essential action is
that participants sign up for as many groups as they have interest in.
I!
I urge people to sign up for more groups than they can physically
H
attend. It often turns out that groups are canceled or combined, or it
?•
is always possible to attend more than one group in a single time
slot by leaving early or coming late. Some people actually make a
practice of this behavior; I call them-bumblebees. (See the Law of------
Two Feet on page 98.)
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Questions?
At this point, you have described the basic mechanisms of Open
Space Technology and some participants may have some questions.
My advice is don't take any; keep on going.
The OST mechanisms are so intuitive that even when the lan
guage of the facilitator is not the participants' native tongue there
has never been any problem in understanding what needs to be
done. Furthermore, once the action starts, any possible confusion is
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resolved by simply watching those who do understand. The point is,
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answering questions is unnecessary. It may be polite, but it mainly
slows things down, and it is most important to keep moving.
In addition, questions are often asked as a means of either cover
ing up or dealing with anxiety. At worst, they open the way for
V.)
lengthy disaissions, and sometimes debates, about whether the
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process will really work, past experience, and the like.inasmuch as
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Open Space Technology
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A User's Guide
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every group I have ever worked with is always sure that the process
will not work with their group, I can safely say that the possibility of
logically convincing anybody that success is near at hand is nil. The
only useful proof will be the actual group performance. And the
only way to get there is to keep moving.
But before the group can be cut loose to deal with their business,
they need to know about the four principles and the one law, which
are the subjects of the next chapter.
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Participant Reading List
DAY 4 - Monday, July 20,2009
■
Moving Towards Partnership
■
Healthy Cities: A Model for Community Improvement - D. Clark
■
Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way - J. Diers
/
• ...
. •
Moving Towards Partnership
COMMUNITY’S SHIFT
GOVERNMENT S SHIFT
Recognize that neighborhoods
aren't just places with needs but
communities of people with
underutilized resources
• Move beyond customer service
and citizen participation to
community empowerment
• Never do for communities what
they can do for themselves
•
•
Stop focusing on self-proclaimed
leaders and start providing
communities with leadership
training as well as assistance with
outreach and networking
GOVERNMENT’S SHIFT
•
•
•
•
•
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•
Move beyond blaming government
to taking a share of the responsibility
•
Think and act as citizens rather than
as taxpayers
- Never wait for government to do
what could better be done by-the
community
•
M a k e it worth govern ment s wh ile to
partner with the community by
making it a priority to build broad
and inclusive participation
COMMUNITY’S SHIFT
The community can't partner with a • Government can’t partner with a
government‘ divided by functions,
‘ community divided by factions, so
so develop a more holistic,
work collaboratively within the
community-based approach
neighborhood and with other
neighborhoods.
Recognize that community
• Recognize that government staff
members have valuable expertise
have valuable expertise
Make information accessible to the • Keep government informed and
community arid provide
coach staff on working effectively
educational opportunities
with the community
Appreciate the unique character of • Keep the big picture in mind
different neighborhoods and
cultures
Delegate as many decisions as
• Recognize government's role in
possible to the community
setting policy and meeting the needs
of the community as a whole
• Recognize and thank government
Recognize and thank community
officials and staff who are effective
members who are effective
partners
partners
STEPS
TOWARDS
EFFECTIVE
PARTNERSHIPS
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Do No Harm:
• Don’t distract the community from
its own priorities.
• Don’t take people’s time without
providing a return.
• Don’t make the community
dependent.
• Don’t undermine the community.
Remove Institutional
Barriers to Partnerships:
• Centralized decision making
• Cookie cutter programs and
regulations
• Rigid silos
• Inaccessibility (location,
language, hours, runaround)
• Bureaucratic red tape
• Know-it-all attitude
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Build Community’s
Capacity for Partnership
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Assist with:
• Leadership development
• Outreach
• Networking
• Matching funds
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2
G
G
G
G
HALLMARKS OF
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS
Neighbourhood/
Community-Focused:
• Accessible
• Culturally appropriate
• Holistic
Asset-Based:
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• Focus on community’s strengths
• Make underutilized agency
resources available
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Community-Driven:
• Promote inclusive, democratic
associations
• Empower community in planning,
decision making, implementation,
and evaluation
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Healthy Cities:
A Model for Community Improvement
Doug Clark
ocai government managers and councils increasingly
| H face pressures to address issues - not traditionally as-
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signed to localities. Citizens want‘education improved,
child care made available, gangs eliminated,
homelessness abated, drug and alcohol abuse
reduced, and air and water quality made safe. Local residents
no longer tolerate the “passing the buck” answer, that these
issues are the responsibilities of some other jurisdiction.
When this kind of response is given, it simply reinforces citi
zens’ alienation and distrust: “There they go again! Unwill
ing to find an answer. Bureaucratic runaround.”
When we skirt responsibility for the overall quality of life
our commumties and ignore our roles jn_prevention,
frequently the results are simplistic solutions: enforce tru
ancy laws, adopt daytime curfews, arrest gang members,
move the homeless on to the next city, implement more so
briety checkpoints, take public inebriates to the county
drunk tank.
In isolation, some of these programs may be effective, blit
most are labor-intensive and simply add to the growing cost
of law enforcement- If current trends continue, many com
munities will find their budgets consumed by public safety
expenditures. Besides the high costs they generate, many of
these solutions are simply “aspirins” that do not cure the ail
ment.but only mask the symptoms. We might feel better if
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November 1998
Figure 1: Traditional us. Healthy Gty Continuum
City Relationship to
Neighborhood/
Community/Citizen
| Traditional
Healthy City
Consumer -
Client/Partner
more police are hired, but public offi
cials arc realizing that a police officer on
Stimulate/Link/Convene
City View of Role
Provide Services
every comer will not solve all the prob
Coordinate/Organize
lems in our communities. When the ef
fects of the aspirin wear off, we still are
Customer Service,'^
Attendance at Existing
Strategies to Improve
left with the migraine.
Surveys, Town Hall
Meetings, Study Circles,
the Relationship/Role
Adding to the complexity of the is
Meetings, Hearings,
Convening, Stimulating
sues is a host of challenges that have
Focus Groups
_________________ _ ______________
been thrown at communities and their
Police, Fire, Public -<—>- Broad Community Health/
City View of Primary
managers. At the same time that citi
Works, Recreation
Well Being/Prevenrion______
Responsibility
zens want more solutions to qualityExpert
Consultant _______ _
Staff View of Its Role
of-life issues, state and federal support
Citizen Participation^*-*^ Government Participation
Interaction Between
systems are being abandoned or
in Government
in Citizen Issues/Initiatives
Conununity
and
City
severely curtailed Congress “solved”
Trustee/Steward___________
Owner/Dispenser
-*■
City
View
of
Resources
the welfare problem. It passed a law,
►
Identify Community
Identify Needs —
Problem-solving
and the consequences landed on the
Resources or Organizations
Approach
doorstep of city hall. Congress “solved”
Already Engaged in the Issue
the issue of equal access for the dis
abled It passed a law, and the costs
Efficiency, Equity,
Participation, Trust,
Values
landed on the doorstep of city hall
Order, Accountability,
Responsibility, Relationships
Problems and solutions are being
Rights—
pushed down to the local level, most
Facilitator, Inclusive
Leader, Exclusive
Politician/City
often without an award of the corre
Manager Role
sponding resources. Rules, regulations,
Standardized,
► Informal, Diverse,
Approach to
and procedures are handed down in
Formal, One Size Fits All Situational______
Community
abundance from state and federal gov
High
► Low to None
Predictability
ernments. Funds and suppon are an en
and
Control
tirely different matter. With few excep
tions, local governments are facing other
We have the ability to tailor solutions to
budget constraints at the very time that
Opportunities
local circumstances, and more experi
state and federal resources are becoming
mentation is possible.
During the ascendancy of state and fed
extinct. These financial woes, coupled
The greatest opportunitypresented by
eral systems, we in local government
with rising citizen expectations, often
these
trends "is a chance to use the in
lamented the lack of local control These
have resulted in frustrations’ being ex
crease
of local control and the reduction
distant bureaucracies did not under
pressed through taxpayer revolts, defeats
oLresources^to-foster^a^retum^to^bam^
——
^ofrbond^measures^and^initiatives-tOHre-—stand^eurHocakmeeds^unique^ciFGum^—
raising
”
concepts,
civic
responsibility,
quire expanded voter review of local
stances, local history, and culture. Their
participation, and the transition of local
“one size fits all” solutions were wrong
spending. The vicious cycle continues.
government to governance models. Em
Issues are becoming increasingly
for localities. Laws were written for a
phasizing customer service models has
central city and did not apply to a sub
complex. Solutions require muitijurisleft some cities believing they have merely
dictional and cross-sector (voluntary,
urban jurisdiction. Water quality provi
reinforced citizens as passive consumers
sions were modeled after the shallow At
private, government) solutions. Can we,
of services rather than as active partners
or should we, attempt to solve gang and
lantic Ocean shelf but not the deep
in the community. Many residents, busi
juvenile delinquency issues without in
Pacific Ocean model We yearned for the
nesses, and other groups have come to
volving schools, families, the faith com
good old days of local control. Echoing
expect that local government will fix ev
munity, the chamber of commerce, local . the old adage of being careful what you
erything. Nordstrom may do an excellent
nonprofits, county agencies, or sur
wish for, we now find ourselves with
job of selling shoes with outstanding cus
rounding communities? Complex issues
more local control than some of us may
tomer service, but cities need to go be
^re requiring new skills, new models,
have wanted.
yond this “legendary service” by also in
and new forums for solutions. Working
Rather than giving up, we should see
volving the citizen in designing, making,
outside the traditional environment is
these trends as opportunities to assert
and marketing the shoes. .
not only becoming an increasingly com
more influence over programs, solu
The future of communities will bemon mode but a professional necessity.
tions, and outcomes in our jurisdictions.
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Public Management
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long to those who can tap these re
sources, shift citizens from a consump
tion to a civic responsibility model, walk
comfortably between (and among) sec
tors, and convene and facilitate solu
tions that become citizen-based rather
than government-provided.
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government or business involvement.
tanks with revolving doors; nonprofits,
The bam-raising approach used in de
health care organizations, and founda
Tocqueville’s American society of the
tions that partner with localities on
1830s has a chance for revival under the
screening and brief intervention pro
Healthy Cities model.
grams for substance abuse; and com
Within the traditional compartmen
munities that engage youth in planning
talized approach to public administra
and implementing community initia
tion, one difficulty that the Healthv
tives. Performance-based budgets, eco
Cities movement has encountered may
nomic sustainability, and broad-based
The Healthy Cities Model
be traced back to the name itself. Some
indicators projects are other expres
The Healthy Cities movement has pro
administrators initially think of Healthv
sions of the concepts. The Healthy
vided a model for meeting the chal
Cities as a health care delivery or disease
Cities model allows us to think beyond
lenges and taking advantage of the op
treatment model. Although medical
our professional boundaries, to partner
portunities facing local governments
concerns can be targeted in a Healthy
with other sectors to improve quality of
and their managers. Healthy Cities
Cities effort, the movement presents a
life, and to employ prevention ap
emerged with leadership from the
far more indusive model, broadly cover
proaches rather than remaining on the
World Health Organization in the
ing a community’s social, physical, and
never-ending treadmill of increased
mid-1980s. What started as a modest
economic environments. The health of a
spending for public safety.
project in a few European cities, how
community is defined locally, enabling
ever, quickly mushroomed into a
the model to adapt to local circum
Plans, Policies, and
worldwide effort with participants on
stances. The community defines chalPrograms---- ------------------------every continent.___________ __________ denges-and^assets-and-undertakerspecifi^
The underlying premise is that broad,
actions to address local issues. The act of
Healthy community efforts have fo
holistic community health can best be
bringing the community together on a
cused attention on both communities
achieved through a partnership of pub
specific issue begins to develop relation
and community-based organizations as
lic, private, and voluntary efforts. Pro
ships within, between, and among the
the entry points for comm unity-based
grams in different countries and com
private, public, and voluntary sectors.
change. Until recently, the Healthy
munities have taken on a variety of New models for community-based solu
Cities effort in California has concen
locally based initiatives, but the basic
tions evolve.
trated on municipalities as the launch
principles are less concerned about spe
One way to describe the Healthy City
ing pads. In South Carolina, Colorado,
cific projects and more centered on basic
nexus of health and economics is to re
and Massachusetts, community-based
democracy, citizen involvement, and
late the story of a country physician. He
organizations, nonprofits, hospitals,
bringing together different sectors.
was honored by the state medical society
and school districts have served as the
People often fall into the trap of de
as doctor of the year; When he was being
bases for launching healthy commu
scribing everything in terms of either/or
introduced at the awards ceremony, the
nity-building efforts.
dichotomies. You either have a conser
emcee mentioned that the physician also
For the purposes of this artide, the
vative or a liberal approach; a Republic Was_mayor of hiS Giry and-^-TnrrnheF=Hft rerrri^Hp^irhiFCifip<>^K^s been talren.av
can or a Democratic bias, a business or a
the regional economic development
emphasizing th? role of the local govern
government solution model; The
board. When asked later why he under
ment and in particular of the local gov
Healthy Cities approach recognizes the
took these political activities, the doctor
ernment manager in this work. No mat
importance of a third force in commu
stated that the biggest threat to the com
ter where the effort begins, though, the
nity problem solving—the voluntary
munity’s health was the loss of young
model looks at general and master plans,
sector, consisting of nonprofits, the reli
people to distant cities where there were
poh'des, and programs that affect com
gious community, neighborhood orga
better job opportunities. If he wanted
munity health and the quality of life.
nizations, hospitals, community clinics,
the health and quality of life of his dtv
In contrast, the rational planning
or, in general, what some have called
to improve, he realized the need to be
model first looks at developing a broad
civil society.
involved in economic development. This
planning effort, then moves toward de
In many respects, this is simply an
physician understood Healthy Cities
veloping policies, ordinances, or laws,
old idea reborn. In the early 19th cen
concepts.
and finally culminates in specific pro
tury, Alexis de Tocqueville, with his ad
So do public health officials who ap
grams for implementation. But the
miration for the American spirit, de
proach violence as a major public
Healthy Cities approach frequently does
scribed citizens forming associations to
health issue; communities that provide
not follow this linear, model. For those
solve all kinds of local problems without
sobering services rather than drunk • communities who$e past experiences
u
6
November 1998
FYI
"
have bogged down in circular “planning
responsibiliry for the total quality of life
ro plan” efforts, direct action in the
in the community.
For more information on becom
form of an early win-win solution for
Traditional localities are always
ing involved with Healthy Cities in
multiple parties can be the first step. In
lamenting the lack of participation. Res
your area, visit this Web site:
fact, this approach may be the best
idents will not travel to city hall or take
www.healthycommunities.org.
strategy when trying to interest other
part in community-organized meetings.
In California, contact the Center
sectors (public, private, and/or volun
A Healthy City works to increase partici
for Civic Partnerships,. 1851
tary) in coming together for commupation in resident- and community
Heritage Lane, Suite 250, Sacra- .
niry action. Developing trust and pat
based initiatives, rather than setting up
mento, California 95815;. e-mail,
terns of cooperation among sectors can
new systems for citizens to work with
chcc@cwo. com.
be talked about in theory and made part
government. Why develop new systems,
For information on the Coalition
of a broad planning effort, but experi
meeting schedules, and staff bureau
for Healthier Cities and Communi
ence in the Healthy Cities model
cracy when busy people simply do not
ties, call 312/422-2635..
>■ r
demonstrates that direct action may be
have time for even one more meeting?
the best approach toward raising the
Why not participate with school-based
comfort level for all parties working in
groups, existing nonprofits, service
partnership.
clubs, ministerial associations, and hos
efforts can be increased because com
An example of the direct-action ap
pital advisory boards? Healthy Cities are
munity-based systems can become less
proach is the experience of the city of
also more focused on identifying com
dependent on political, economic, and
Escondido, California with child care is
munity resources rather than on
official leadership changes.
sues. City officials had grown tired of
dwelling on community needs.
This transition to a Healthy Cities
the annual competition for child care
One of the most difficult transitions
model, however, is neither easy nor
dollars from the Community Developfor a Healthy City is to shift each staff
quick. As the model is implemented,
ment Block Grant program. The city
member from the role of expert to that
the organization changes as it experi
called together child care providers, ad
of community consultant. Most em
ments with new ways of approaching
vocates, and the schools to solve this
ployees are more comfortable sitting in
issues. The council, manager, and staff
issue. A child care program funded from
city hall and making decisions on what
need to be ready for the changes and
block grant dollars was developed that
is best for the community. Staff and
open to new ways of viewing the local
gave low- and moderate-income resi
councils also are used to viewing dry re
ity’s role, responsibilities, resources,
dents the chance to use a voucher at any
sources as things owned and dispensed
strategies, values, and problem-solv
licensed provider.
by the dty instead of thinking of the dry
ing methods. The continuum de
The group formed to solve this
scribed in this article (see Figure 1)
as primarily a trustee or steward of
issue remained intact and has gone on
attempts to identify the characteristics
those resources.
to get involved in broader planning is
Council and manager roles in a
that will change—that in fact need to
sues related to child care, family
Healthy City model shift from tradi
change—for a Healthy Cities model to
friendly benefits,- and other forms of flourish.
tional command-and-control leadership
advocacy for children. Escondido
to facilitation and convening. Learning
A traditional locality views citizens as
tobackoffandletcomniuiutysysterns
prayed-the^bl^oDfaalitatdr^and^cdn^ consumersofservicesprovidedbythe
vener but no longer plays a major role
assume leadership of an issue can be difjurisdiction. To improve these services,
with the Child Care Advocacy Coun
»rks
ficult both for the elected officials and
the community conducts surveys, wor
’"
cil. Community-based solutions are
ind . the staff To be comfortable with the
on improved customer service, and
being developed without direct cost to
model, one must be tolerant of ambigu
holds public hearings and town hall
or leadership by the qty.
ity and comfortable with chaos. Pre
meetings. A Healthy City has a different
view of the citizen; it sees him or her as a dictability and control are rare to nonex■L
/
■
............................... ;
■
'-4'
■
istent Working with the community and
partner with the community, emphasiz
Transition from a
the model requires different skills, less
ing the locality’s role as a facilitator, a
Traditional to the Healthy
ego, more patience, and a greater toler
convener.
Cities Model
ance for a slower pace of progjess.
The Healthy City stimulates discus
The more experience a community
The benefits, however, are numerous.
sion and ideas and then links existing
gains with the Healthy Cities approach,
Engaging the community in the process
organizations and citizens through at
the more the community’s capacity for
can rebuild trust. People “own” solu
tendance at meetings and participation
dealing with a variety of issues is en
tions that they have identified and im
with existing organizations. The city or
hanced. Sustainability of improvement
plemented. It is difficult to tear down
county views its role very broadly: it has
Public Management
(
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7
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what you have helped to build up. Iden
tifying important community issues,
creating a vision, and bringing together
various sectors to partner with the local
ity can build lasting relationships that
outlive political turmoil, leadership
changes, and economic hard times. Effi
ciency can be achieved by bringing city
resources to the table where existing sys
tems are already in place and leveraging
public, private, and voluntary funding.
The Healthy Cities philosophy, how
ever, will fail if it is approached as the
latest flavor of the month. It takes time,
effort, cultural change, constancy of
purpose from the manager and a shift of
values both by the council and by the
municipal organization.
Conclusions
Community-oriented policing is closely
linked to the philosophy of Healthy
Cities. (Many police departments have re
alized that they alone cannot solve crime
problems. Partnering with neighbor
hoods, residents, and local organizations
has become the norm for many police
officers who are interested in solving
problems and not just in boosting their
arrest statistics. In many respects.
Healthy Cities takes this concept one step
further, toward the ideal of communiryoriented government.
Localities that realize they alone can
not solve community problems are can
didates for the Healthy Cities model.
Those that are tired of do mg more or
trying harder with methods that have
failed are candidates for the model.
Councils that understand the links be
tween community issues, prevention
models, and public safety expenditures
are prime candidates. Managers who
understand the importance of partnermg with private and voluntary resources
I
We Count
I
On Them
in the community also are good
prospects.
The Healthy Cities approach may not
fit every community. Healthy Cities
does, however, present a powerful model
for community improvement and quality-of-life enhancement for those indi
viduals and organizations willing to
think bevond the traditional local gov
ernment management models and re
sponsibilities. OSO
Doug Clark is vice president of PMW
Associates, San Clemente, California,
where he may be reached by e-mail at
pmwdoiig@ix.netcom.com. He is the
former city manager of Escondido and
Larkspur, California.
ICMA's Web site
http ^/www, icma. o r g
They Count
On Us
For over 25 years, policemen, firefighters and
ether public service employees have relied on
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the ICMA Retirement Corp a ration.
With ever S3 billion under manaqement, lhe IC.VA Retirement
Csrpcraticn is the deferred eompensaticn end celined contributicn
provider of cficice for ever 3C3.CC0 public senice ecplovwso ‘.l.-.' ’rsrk C.r,
cn fjr pp-pj-.:.: s=r;:2ss.
• r-:e
cf A'e/'Jj fjr ^rdietl
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jcecr sad p.'4'j.dsr ian.css.
You can count on us too
Far rrore information, call 1-EQC-7CC-«i4Q1
or visit our Intnmct Site at w«vw.icrnarc.org
ICMA RETIREMENT CQRPCRATiSN
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to.i >c-i’ "
November 1998
COMMUNITY
BUILDING
«r
eys,
/J
<■'
v
< M_C<>
fc« A. A \
Neighbor Power: Building Community the
Seattle Way, by Jim Diers
University of Washington Press,
2004, Seattle Washington ($18.95)
vJ
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v)
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1970s, became the first director
izing in networks such as the
of Seattle’s new Department of
Industrial Areas Foundation, the
Neighborhoods (DON) in the late
1980s and saw it through an
Urban Democracy, Jeffrey Berry,
Organizing,
impressive
Kent Portney, and Ken Thomson
Foundation—began
showed that communities with city
strate their real potential for exten
Now
wide systems of neighborhood asso
sive leadership development and
Washington, Diers has written a
ciations in the 1970s and 1980s
partnerships only after 1990. In
beautiful
manifested many characteristics of
Civic Innovation in America, Lewis
account of what has clearly been
what the authors described as
Friedland and I argued that at
inspired work by a very diverse
“strong democracy." On questions
least some of these citywide
array of neighborhood residents
of efficacy and citizens’ learning,
systems continued to innovate,
and activists, working in collabora
these communities compared favor
combining neighborhood empow
tion with city staff, several mayors,
ably to cities with various forms of
erment with new forms of grass
and the city council. Though not
independent community organizing
roots watershed partnerships and
but without similar levels of govern
restoration, community policing,
an academic book, Neighbor
Pow^r provides a very careful and
ment support. Their findings were
dispute resolution, participatory
detailed analysis of the design
quite convincing and anchored in
planning, youth empowerment,
principles
an impressive analytic framework.
and more. In addition, some of the
Seattle's system. Although Seat
But for many, these findings were
more recent citywide systems,
tie’s polideal, cuIture, economy,
counterintuitive: How could institu-
such as Seattle, showed a distinc
and demographics are not those of
tionalized systems of participation
tive innovativeness, while also
Everycity, USA, every mayor and
empower citizens more than some
learning from cities such
city manager, as well as every
of the best forms of independent
Portland and St. Paul.
and
the Gamaliel
to
demon
as
period
of capacity
building for more than a decade.
at
the
and
and
University
of
highly readable
practices
of
neighborhood staff member and
citizen leader should read this
organizing to come out of the Saul
Building
important book. It provides a
Community the Seattle Way, Jim
model of the kind of visionary
The questions still linger, since
Diers provides the first detailed
pragmatism that all our cities need
the data in Rebirth were from the
account of just how innovative the
if they are to become true, labora
Al insky grassroots tradition?
vj
ing—especially faith-based organ
Pacific Institute of Community
In their 1993 book The Rebirth of
-
REVIEWED BY CARMEN SIRIANNI
In
Neighbor
Power:
1980s and some of these systems
system of neighborhood empower-
tories of democracy in the twenty-
appeared to become sclerotic in
ment in Seattle actually has been.
first century. It also shows how city
the 1990s, while the most innova
Diers, Tiimself an organizer in the
government can become a key
tive models in community organiz-
Alinsky
tradition
during
the
player in civic renewal.
| 59
Fall 2005
o
o
v)
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tives from each of the thirteen
The vision behind Seattle's innova
To
tive strategies has been the use of
neighborhood-based and groups
city government to catalyze civic
applying must have open member
initiative^ for productive and col
ship and be democratically gov
laborative solutions to problems
erned. Initially, the groups also
had to be neighborhood-based, but
and according to criteria that
without simultaneously undermin
to counteract the underrepresenta
represent core values shared by
ing the independence of communi
ty organizations. Central to this
tion of immigrants and communi
qualify,
projects
must
be
district councils into which neigh
ties of color in many neighborhood
vision is the idea that wise invest
organizations eligibility was ex
ments by the city enable and moti
tended to ethnic associations and
vate citizens to mobilize their own
assets and create public value tar
similar groups. Projects must be
beyond what municipal staff and
time delimited, or have distinct
borhoods have been clustered, re
views proposals on a competitive
basis for quality and feasibility,
citizens and the city-, civic partici
pation, diversity, self-help, sus
tainability, and collaboration. It is
the intent of the matching fund
not only to yield products of visible
public value, but also to build
civic capacities that will continue
tax dollars alone could do. Seattle
to bear fruit in myriad other waj/s.
took its first steps in creating a
system of formal neighborhood
The vision behind Seattle’s
1987-1988,
innovative strategies has been
representation
in
when it established district coun
cils and the City Neighborhood
Council, both of which represented
citizens,
and
the
Office
of
Neighborhoods, which provided
One cannot walk through the
neighborhoods of Seattle today
^out^r^ample evidence of
the use of city government to
cat^lyie: civic initiative for
productive and collaborative
solutions to problems without
simultaneously undermining
c/ity staff to support their work. In
the independence of comnju-
1989, with a modest $150,000, a
hi^biiMtKattQns.
the collaborative work of its Citie^^ -olt of the matching
(
funds. In its first fifteen years,
C
more than twenty-five hundred
phases that can be broken down
into separate components. On-
of
go.ng programs are not etigible,
reforested hillsides and ^yines,
community centers and gardens,
puWicart^
3t
Government. Soon the concept
hoF cart funds .covem
-cover. PBW
operatingJ
began to spread to other cities.
costs stich as rent or staft sajaries.,
The fund was expanded to si high
Proposals carl go to the Smal I and
of $4.5 million in 200h The core
SinW Projects Fund, with a cur-
grants for neighborhood-generated
projects that commit to matching
these funds with their own in-kind
contributions, cash, and donated
(
G
Wtand a quick
dynamics of ecological^ su^tam-
mbfithty turnaroundor they can
go to the Large Projects Fund. wNv
ability, ft «ry: clearly represents
a current cap of $100,COO. The
City Neighborhood Council, made
the public work of a citizenry creating public space and a public
up of neighborhood■ representa
culture. The fund’s projects have^
labor.
-
| National Civic Review
60
(
and. ..Vl'ct-ai1.ds'
ed an Innovations in Government
Award frorn W Ford Foundation
idea is simple: the city awards
SWife
pre)K)5 w.
established, which soon was grant-
Sdhoot
(
if:
Neighborhood Matching Fund was
’ and ® Kennedy
I
i
-
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-
. ...
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G
G
G
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G
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elicited active involvement from
planning office in contracting for
$100,000 to conduct the second
several tens of thousands of citi
services.
phase of actual planning.
have seen an increase in member
During the initial phase, neighbor
Neighborhoods chose to focus on
ship, and a good number of new
hoods were eligible for $10,000 to
various mixes of housing, open
civic groups have been created as
help them define a vision and
space, transportation, public safe
the result of an ad hoc effort that
involve the broad community and
ty, human services, and business
was first enabled by a matching
all major stakeholders through
district revitalization. The plan
grant.
public meetings and surveys. Each
ning committee of each neighbor
neighborhood was accountable to
hood presented options at an
When local residents resisted top-
the planning office for developing
“Alternatives Fair" to which the
down planning in the mid-1990s,
a detailed outreach plan that
entire community was invited. This
to meet the requirements of the
would engage the full diversity of
elicited fresh ideas and modifica-
zens. Many existing organizations
state's growth management act
tions and drew in additional peo-
Diers convened some 250,neigh
ple to help plan and do further
borhood leaders to develop a col
If there is one overriding ana
outreach. When a draft was finally
laborative planning process that
lytic lesson in the book, it is
ready, it was mailed to all house
would devolve powers downward
that it may be time to "bring
holds in the neighborhood, as well
the state back in.”
as to all businesses and property
but
also
hold
local
citizens
owners^ who either ■ voted for ?%br
deliberative processes, as well as
against theplan
substantive growth targets, f This
its residents. Were minorities and
represents what‘Archon Fung; tn
recent ^imm igrafits represehted?
ballot or at ■ah 'open^meetmg.
Further revisidri^^^T^h^si-
his'important book on community
Youth? People With disabilities?
Were Effected businesses arid
bte and the tinat^Wwa^fcrtt W
thelable? The
.Qffte&^fdLir^ieM This enahl^Uhe
policing and local school councils
V
;
accountable for fair and effective
ad? enclosed
Jn^Chicago (stj[I further evidence
qfihe potential foKciviemnoviato^
' planning off ice: also supplied an
. pHcityj government itself)Kcatis
. ^IH^&h-tbahlrtMt’Witlrideas and
“accountable autonomy." The new
resources (foT example, language
Neighborhood Planning Office,
translation)"for helping engage
held a:public: hedi’ing! in thertieigh‘
hdaded by Karma Ruder, oversaw
those who might normally fall
borhood to deterrYiine whether the
the process rri which hei^pf^
dAder the' raddb, screen and to
cornmuhity did, in fact, have gen
hoods were free,to identify their
address needs that might be spe^
own scope of work and proceed in
cific to sdth grdtij^; Onte thd city
eral consensus on- the proposals.
Between twenty thousand a^thib
holistic fashion, rather than-having
was assured that the i nitial out
ty thbusand^Tesidehts^artieibated
executive toadvise the
. ■ ■■•n
; ■ ■
A. >
x)
J
to tailor their planning to the func
reach was broadly demderatic and
in the various public meeting^,
tions of various city departmehts.
that the scope of proposed plan-
land-use walks, planning work
They could also hire their own
nihg made Sense; the neighbor-
shops, door-knocking campaigns,
planners and were aided by the
hood was eligible for $60,000 to
surveys; and other events at one
)
Fall 2005
61
;/
■-■■■ y'?: :a
time or another. As a result of the
could continue to clarify the vision,
city had been willing to invest in
iterative process based on broad
prioritize recommendations, and
democracy during the planning
outreach and continual revision, as
hold the city accountable for fol-
process, citizens were willing to
well as the opportunity the neigh
lowing through—and all plans and
invest their own tax money in mak
borhood leaders had to consult
periodic implementation updates
ing their neighborhood visions
with relevant departments through
are available on the department’s
become reality.
out, most plans yielded consensus
Website
among all the actors involved,
(www.ci.seattle.wa.us/
neighborhoods) in a striking degree
In th is. wonderful book, Diers cov
though in some instances the city
of democratic transparency. The
ers various other components of
council’s Neighborhoods Commit
mayor also expanded the matching
Seattle’s
tee did have to mediate disputes.
fund to enable groups to get started
including its engagement of citi
All neighborhoods produced plans
on some projects. But since this
zens with developmental disabili
that accommodated, growth as
was still far from enough money to
ties and its extensive P-Patch
envisioned by state law, but did so
implement the more than- four thou-
community gardening program,
in a way they felt they could con
sand recommendations contained
which’ js’ as popelar with immi-
trol. The city: council approved .all-
in.the plans (with a target comple-
grants ethnic, and racial minori
the plans in 1998 and 1999.. ,.
In order to facilitate implemen
tation, mayor Paul Schell (19982001) decentralized various city
i
system,
ties and public housing tenants as
fhfe role of goverdmeht as
civic capacity builder has
been relatively neglected.
departments into six sectors (over
62
innovative
it is with white middle-class
renters , and
horheowners.
(
His
short portraits of projects, as well
as one longer case study of holis
t
tic comrhunity development, pro- .
(
lapping police precincts and most
tion date of 2014), the city placed
vi'ide a sense of the richness of civic
neighborhood district councils) so
on the ballot a series’of’ bond and
work made possible uby city staff
that their local units could work
levy measures that represented
and elected officials.committed io
collaboratively with each other
common requests in the neighbor
grassroots deniocracy, and, clearly
and with the neighborhood stew
hood plans. Citizens passed a
show that there are, indeed, cre
ardship groups that succeeded the .
library bond measure to fund new
ative ways to combine the best of
(
t
planning committees in each of
building, expansion, and renovation
Madisonian representation, admi
the thirty-seven affected areas.
for several dozen branch libraries,
nistrative accountability, and par
Stewardship groups worked with an
as well as a new downtown library,
ticipatory democracy. As I know
interdepartmental team to-ensure
They Voted similar measures for
from my own interviews with
that; multiple plan components,
community centers, parks and open
available resources, and agency
space, with an overall total of $470
neighborhood activists and prdfessional staff in Seattle, the author’s
regulations were well integrated;.
million, more than 90 percent of
leadership was critical to building
L
sector managers hired by DON
which was for specific recommen
this infrastructure and establish
could assist in leveraging other
C
dations in the neighborhood plans.
ing the relational foundation upon
resources from developers and
Citizens also voted to renew the
which it rests. He also assembled
V
foundations. Stewardship groups
low-income housing levy. Since the
the staff—with the commitment
L
National Civic Review
.c
i
F
of several mayors and city council
civic capacity builder has been rel
ticipation, it is that it may be time
members
to "bring the state back in."
Richard
atively neglected. Although we
Conlin, a consistent champion) to
might continue to argue the rela
really invest in staff capacity—
tive merits (and mixes) of inde
(especially
who were able to help train other
pendent community organizing and
staff and a broad^array of citizens
city-supported leadership develop
to do complex relational work,
ment, there can no longer be any
planning, and assets-based com
doubt that city government has the
munity development within and
capability, if it so chooses, to help
across various
neighborhoods,
develop the kinds of civic leader
civic associations, and agencies.
ship skills needed by citizens and
agency professionals alike to grap
Much of the recent debate on civic
ple with a broad range of public
renewal in the United States has
problems in a creative and collabo-
focused on diffuse forms of social
rative fashion. If there is one over
capital, trust, and the benefits of
riding analytic lesson in the Diers
our classic multitiered civic associ
book, as in The Rebirth of Urban
ations. The role of government as
Democracy and Empowered Par-
Notes
Berry, J., Fortney, K., and Thomson, K.
The Rebirth of Urban Democracy.
Washingtonj D.C.: Brookings, 1993.
Fung, A. Empowered Participation.
Reinventing
Urban
Democracy.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 2004.
Sirianni, C., and Friedland, L. A. Civic
Innovation in America. Berkeley,
Calif.: University of California Press,
2001.
(.,armen Striannt ts professor of sociol
ogy and public policy at Brandeis
University.
For bulk reprints of this article, please call
(201) 748-8789.
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