Consensus Decision-making - Rhizome

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A few examples are:• Many co-operatives and community groups suchas the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra (www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/1497/tulsa-symphony)and, of course, us at Rhizome.• Co-housing projects and housing co-operativessuch as the Threshold Centre in the UK(www.thresholdcentre.org.uk/) or Heartwood Cohousingin the USA(www.heartwoodcohousing.com/).• Grassroots protest movements and nonhierarchicalcampaigning groups such as the Campfor Climate Action (www.climatecamp.org.uk/), theOccupy movement(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement),Earth First! (wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_First!), andStop New Nuclear network(www.stopnewnuclear.org.uk/).• Entire communities such as the town of Casper,California(casparinstitute.org/lib/artConsensus.htm), USAand the Fristaden Christiania in Copenhagen(wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania),Denmark.Consensus Decision-making – Why?Why does consensus deliver a superior form ofparticipation and democracy? Partly because it'soften used where there is strong sense of group,which it then strengthens. Partly it’s down to thestated intention to treat all people as equals. Partlyit’s down to quirks of the method, prime amongstthem giving all participants in the process an equalright of veto over any and all decisions. Partly it’sdown to consensus being a facilitated approach. Andpartly it’s down to people’s experience of consensusdelivering high quality decisions that the wholegroup feels comfortable with (if not inspired by).Sense of groupConsensus is used by groups: not loose or accidentalformations of people, but by groups that have adefinite sense of themselves as a group (at least inthat moment, if not in the long term). In her bookTruth or Dare Starhawk calls this sense group mind.(www.starhawk.org/writings/truth-dare.html) Otherterms for it include common ground, shared values,and group vision.Case Study: Heartwood Co-housingConsensus decision making is one of thecornerstones of Heartwood. In majority rulesdecision making, participants align themselves ondifferent sides of an issue in opposition to eachother and then try to persuade the undecideds tojoin their side. There are clear winners and losers.Consensus decision making turns that process onits head. Rather than expending energy onpersuading why your position is right and theother is wrong, energy is focused on hearing all ofthe wants, needs, and concerns and then workingwith those to sculpt a proposal that best fitsthem... It is a wholly different process, one whichvalues deep listening, cooperation, and maturity.Consensus does not mean everyone getting theirway. That’s where the maturity comes in. Everydecision is looked at from the perspective ofwhat’s in the best interest of the community as awhole... And because there are no losers, everyonehas buy-in in the decision and supports theimplementation. We move forward together withno disgruntled minority left behind.We do have alternative decision making optionsavailable if consensus is not appropriate for aparticular decision (urgency, conflict of interest,etc), but we rarely go to those alternatives.Consensus is about much more than makingdecisions. It’s really a reflection of the quality ofrelationships that characterize Heartwood...Weare all on this journey together and we supporteach other in the process. Taken fromwww.heartwoodcohousing.com/Whatever the phrase a group uses, it’s a conscioussense of the group being more than the sum of itsparts. That sense of the group being able to achievefar more than any one individual makes itworthwhile for individuals to allow the groupprecedence over their personal ambition. This makesconsensus the perfect approach for many cooperatives,community groups, or activist affinitygroups. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_group)www.rhizome.coop4 Consensus Decision-making
But groups don't need to be long-term to useconsensus. A group could come together to organisea one-off community festival and use consensus aslong as they had clear purpose, that sense that theycould achieve more together than apart, and acommitment to using consensus.The best of intentions – supporting diversityConsensus is an explicitly egalitarian andparticipatory process and as such it attracts userswho already have a commitment to behaving in thatway. So consensus is the preferred option for manyanti-discrimination groups, and those for whomhierarchy is a problem – such as some co-operatives,anarchist groups and networks. But it's not exclusiveto those groups.Participation and deep decision-makingMany groups or organisations are looking for aneffective way to make decisions that maximiseopportunities for participation They don'tnecessarily have an ideological objection tohierarchy. It's by no means impossible for suchgroups to use formal consensus decision-making.The state of mind and the process of formalconsensus enshrine deep participation.They provide the opportunity to makeuncommonly strong decisionsbecause each proposal emergesfrom the breadth of the group’sexperience and ideas, and becauseeveryone's consent is required forthat proposal to become a decision.A local authority or communitycouncil could use consensus in adecision-making dialogue with the publicover services, for example, as long as the remitwas clear (which decisions were on offer and whichwere not), and as long as the authority agreed to bebound by the decision. In fact it would be ideal whena high level of commitment to the outcome wasrequired. And of course there are alternatives toformal consensus that share many of its qualities.We'll come to these later.aspire tobuild a cathedralrather than simplycarve a block ofstoneThe block – supporting equalpower and preserving group visionIn consensus every individual has the right to blockany proposal at any stage if the proposalundermines the cohesion or integrity of the group.That’s a huge amount of power and a hugeresponsibility. It's also one of the attractions ofconsensus. Although the block can be verycontentious, it's a great leveller.For those groups who haven’t achieved thenecessary shared state of mind it can also be a hugeproblem, with people vetoing proposals forindividual reasons and not with a sense of group inmind. But used well, and well facilitated, the blocknot only equalises power but keeps a group true toit's stated aims, and principles. And that makes theblock a radical safety valve that keeps groupsworking to their highest shared ideals.Facilitation – supporting co-operationConsensus assumes facilitation - that is a consciouseffort to make the process easier for its participantsby paying attention to the emotional and physicalwell-being of the group, by intervening to ensurethat discussion flows and is genuinely opento all. For most groups this entailsappointing one or more individuals tolook after the process. Some groupsmay say they reach consensuswithout facilitation. More likelythey do so without a facilitator, butthey’re functioning well enoughthat they share the roles of facilitatorwithout even thinking about it. Inother words they're collectively doingfacilitation.The use of facilitation in consensus provides somereassurances that the process will be more equitable.It’s far more than simply deciding between a goroundor a full group discussion for the next stage ofthe agenda. In a consensus setting having afacilitator or facilitation team in place ensures thatsomeone out there is consciously monitoring thelevel of equality and is challenging informalhierarchy or any oppressive behaviour. More thanthat, they can gently and regularly remind themeeting to work towards their highest intentions, toco-operate rather than compete, to aspire to build acathedral rather than simply carve a block of stone.Consensus Decision-making 5 www.rhizome.coop
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