Exercise 2: Creating A Vision

THIS DOCUMENT WAS PRODUCED BY THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM.  IT IS POSTED BY THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES FOR PUBLIC
USE.  THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE CONTENTS.  FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO THE USERS GUIDE.


                          EXERCISE TWO
                        CREATING A VISION

          Number of people:        3 to many
          Minimum time:            15 minutes
          Materials:               newsprint, felt pens

Now is the time to recruit as many people as possible for some
creative thinking.  The purpose of this activity is to generate as
many ideas as possible about programs/activities for your group.

1. Invite group members, staff, and even the community at large to
a "Where do we go from here?" meeting.  Write one of the following
questions on newsprint or on a large sheet of paper and hang it on
the wall:

     þ    What should our group be doing?
     þ    In the best of all worlds, with unlimited resources, what
          could our group do over the next few years?
     þ    What are some project ideas that might help us carry out
          our purposes?

2. Start brainstorming ideas.  Spend no more than 15 minutes on
this; the point is to get a lot of ideas out, fast.

You may want to keep the list posted for several weeks to provide
a chance for late additions.  You will probably find that a number
of your brainstormed ideas are actually programs that have been run
by other organizations.  This is probably the most common source of
program ideas, and you may want to develop more ways to learn about
other groups' projects.  Common sources of information are
newsletters, conferences, support groups, phone calls, and the mass
media.

3. Toward the end of a brainstorm, the facilitator can provide a
little prompting:  "Have you heard of other groups doing projects
that we might want to try?"

For the long run, the question is whether your group wants to
maintain closer touch with other groups tackling the same issues,
and if so, who will do it and how?

4. Once you have a long and varied list of project possibilities,
narrow your choices and select the best. 

• Lois M. Frey, UVM Extension, RR #4, Box 2298, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-2389, email: lfrey@sover.net
• "Group Development: Creating Group Effectiveness" by Duane Dale, DFD Associates, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3402 (moving to 764 South East Street, Amherst, MA 01022 after 8/1/98);
• Bob Biagi, 142 Cherry Lane, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 549-1412;

Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98