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Section B:

Choosing The Level:
The Bradford Participation Tool

LEVEL 3: DECIDING TOGETHER

Deciding together is a difficult stance because it can mean giving people the power to choose without fully sharing the responsibility for carrying decisions through.

Basics

• Deciding together means accepting other people's ideas, and then choosing from the options you have developed together.
• The basics of consultation apply, plus the need to generate options together, choose between them, and agree ways forward.
• The techniques are more complex.
• People need more confidence to get involved.
• The time scale for the process is likely to be much longer.

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Where appropriate

Deciding-together may be appropriate when:

• It is important that other people `own' the solution.
• You need fresh ideas.
• There is enough time.

Deciding together is inappropriate when the following apply

• You have little room for manoeuvre.
• You can't implement decisions yourself but also need joint implementation. In other words the stance that needs to be adopted is 'acting together'.

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Methods

Consider the following methods:

• Information-giving methods to start the process.
• Stakeholder analysis to identify who should be involved.
• Brainstorming, Surveys to develop some options.
• Cost/Benefit Analysis to make choices.
• Planning for Real, and other simulations as powerful overall techniques.
• Action planning to decide what next.

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Guidelines

• Plan the process before you start. Give yourself enough time.
• Define clearly the roles and responsibilities of the different interests - who has a say, who will take action.
• Be open and honest about what you want to achieve, and any limits on options.
• If you set up any organisational structures, agree clear terms of reference and powers.

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Checklist

Before taking up a deciding-together stance consider:

• Are you prepared to accept other people's ideas? What are the boundaries?
• Are you clear whom it is appropriate to involve?
• Are you clear about what you want to achieve, and the boundaries to any ideas you will accept to get there?
• Do you have the skills to use joint decision-making methods?
• Do you have the authority to follow through with solutions that are decided with others?
• Have you involved colleagues who need to be part of the solution?

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