Methodological Guidelines by l'Université du Nous

• Taking a decision together by consent (meaning no one has an objection).

Duration : 90 minutes

> Step 1 : GETTING TO A PROPOSAL

Listening to the centre
One after the other, invite participants to share their views, values, thoughts, etc. about the topic.
This is a space for back and forth discussion and collaborative process to help crafting a proposal.

Crafting a proposal
Drawing up a topic
After listening to the centre, ask for someone (or for 2 volunteers) to phrase a proposal. (Alternatively, you can ask the circle members to set up an improvement group to work on a written proposal.)
Advise them to make a very simple proposal to begin with. It will evolve with collective intelligence through the decision by consent process.

Bringing forward a proposal
The circle member(s) make(s) a proposal as (a) proposer(s).
Only one proposal is dealt with at a time.

Criteria for a valid proposal

• It takes into account the point of views and ideas expressed when listening to the centre ;
• It is clear and understandable by each circle member ;
• All circle members agree to start with it as a basis for further work ;
• It do not belong anymore to the proposer(s) once it has been brought forward and clarified.

> Step 2: CLARIFYING QUESTIONS

Is it clear enough? Do I fully understand ?
Anyone can ask clarifying questions to better understand the proposal. The proposer(s) answer(s) the questions and clarifies the intent of the proposal. The objective is to remove any doubt or possible misinterpretation about the proposal.
The proposer(s) do(es) not answer questions starting with “Why”. Reactions and opinions are not expressed during this round (it will be done in phase 3).

> Step 3: REACTION ROUND

Does the proposal contribute to my needs, or the needs of the project through the organization?
Each participant shares reactions (impressions, feelings,…) about the proposal, one person at a time. It is a perfect phase for providing different perspectives and suggesting improvements to the proposal so that the proposer(s) can integrate those changes in phase 4 if they want to.
The proposer(s) try(ies) to get a sense of what is emerging from the centre.

> Step 4: AMENDING

After the reaction round, the proposer(s) is(are) invited to either :

• re-clarify the proposal or the intent of the proposal
• make amendments to the proposal : they can modify the proposal
• withdraw the proposal, if it turns out to be not relevant.
  

If the proposal is withdrawn, the group goes back to phase 1 with a new proposal.

> Step 5: OBJECTION ROUND

An objection is not a preference, nor another perspective / proposal.
It is what I believe would either not respect my limits or jeopardise our organisation / project.
One at a time, ask each participant if they have objections to adopting the proposal.

• If there is no objection raised, the proposal is adopted. You can go directly to the celebration phase.
  
• If there is one or several objections raised, address them one after the other, following the order in which they were expressed.
  

Ask the members who have an objection to give it a name (using a keyword) and write it down on a board, along with the name of the “objector” (=the person raising the objection).
Remember all participants that raising an objection is not bad ; rather it is a gift for the group. Thanks to it, the group can then go further exploring other parts of the proposal that were not discussed so far.

TESTING THE OBJECTIONS

First, discard an objection if it cancels out the proposal. If so, go back to phase 0.
As the facilitator of the meeting, you cannot decide if the objection is reasonable or not. You can only ask questions to help the objector to present reasonable arguments.
You may consider the objection is reasonable if :

• it leads to an improvement through collective intelligence within the circle
• it cancels out the proposal, making it irrelevant (the group will then save time and start with a new proposal)
• it is clearly well-argued
• it does not hide, consciously or unconsciously, a preference or another proposal.

Questions you may ask, as a facilitator, to test the objection:

• “What are the arguments?”
• “Is it a preference?”
• “What will prevent me from being efficient when applying the proposal?”
• “If the proposal is adopted, will it jeopardise the group / the project?”
• “Can I live with this proposal?”

> Step 6: IMPROVEMENTS

Address objections one at a time. Objections stated to the centre belong now to the group. This is a space for back and forth discussion and collaborative process to help resolving the objection.
Check now and then if the objection is resolved for the objector or not. If a discussed solution may resolve an objection, the person who raised it informs the group.
Once all objections are resolved, move back to the objection round to check for new objections.
When there is no objection left, the proposal is adopted by mutual consent.

> Step 7: CELEBRATION

Time for celebration ! Pat each other for this milestone reached together!
Up to the group to choose the best way to celebrate (applause, meal, party…)

• A flipchart
• Markers of different colors.

Click here to access to the Consent Decision Making guidelines designed by l'Université du Nous and there to access to the graphic resume they drew of it.