The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice Manual

good predictors of the interests of the larger world from which we were recruiting participants.
Having an already existing group with this diversity was a major advantage, but had there not
been such a group, it would have been necessary to create one.
Defining Goals.
After brainstorming and discussion, we found we had multiple goals:
• Imparting skills and tools for dialogue, organizing and collaborative action;
• Providing opportunities for structured pro-life/pro-choice dialogue;
• Surfacing and addressing topics of mutual concern and interest;
• Promoting networking and cross-fertilization;
• Providing inspiration and mutual support;
• Drawing out ideas for the direction of common ground.
The statement of goals directed the planning of specific sessions and plenaries and other aspects
of the conference.
Choosing a site.
We set out to connect with academic institutions that would be invested enough in our
goals to provide in-kind support and assistance. We believed that their involvement would lend
credibility to the conference, especially for potential funders. For each conference, we were
successful in making arrangements with a major university that had the needed physical
facilities and publishing/publicity capabilities. Our second conference was co-sponsored by
Syracuse University's Program for the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC), a highly
regarded academic conflict resolution program. PARC'S involvement gave us access to a pool
of volunteer facilitators and to several faculty members who participated and presented at the
conference. In return, we held a faculty seminar and workshop for graduate students during the
academic year.
Handling Costs.
Foundation support was obtained to finance conference planning and to partially
subsidize conference attendance. We realized that the majority of conference participants