Inquiry Café
Solving specific complex problems with all stakeholders, café style.
Typically, if a business or community sets out to solve a specific problem they generally call for a meeting of the minds or a town hall meeting where a select few address the group to present the problem with maybe some proposed solutions. They may even ask the participants for their input. Attendees may be advocating for their position, have various motivations, and already have their "right" solution to the problem.
Inquiry Café, a/k/a World Café is a methodology that incorporates the voices of all stakeholders in the group whether it's for a business or a community. Once the meeting is called everyone is asked to sit in small groups of 4-6 or more depending on the size of the group. Most importantly there are no specific "leaders" of the group, only facilitation. Everyone is treated as an equal stakeholder. The problem is then presented to everyone simultaneously. Collaboration ensues within the small groups by presenting their ideas to solve the problem while someone keeps track of the results. This gives everyone at the table a voice to be heard. The group consolidates the best ideas, then everyone at the meeting rotates to different tables. This may happen several times to ensure a good mix of ideas and solutions while everyone feels like they've been heard and are integral part of the whole.
At the end of this inquiry we harvest the results. We accumulate all the best ideas to solve the problem by asking each table to report their consolidated results. Their may be new and exciting results, duplication, etc. A new inquiry session may be necessary to narrow the possible solutions to one or more. The philosophy here is, when people collaborate with each other as equals with respect for everyone, answers to problems will be discovered collectively from within the group. At Intus, we believe solutions to simple and complex problems will be found from with in.
Inquiry Café, a/k/a World Café is a methodology that incorporates the voices of all stakeholders in the group whether it's for a business or a community. Once the meeting is called everyone is asked to sit in small groups of 4-6 or more depending on the size of the group. Most importantly there are no specific "leaders" of the group, only facilitation. Everyone is treated as an equal stakeholder. The problem is then presented to everyone simultaneously. Collaboration ensues within the small groups by presenting their ideas to solve the problem while someone keeps track of the results. This gives everyone at the table a voice to be heard. The group consolidates the best ideas, then everyone at the meeting rotates to different tables. This may happen several times to ensure a good mix of ideas and solutions while everyone feels like they've been heard and are integral part of the whole.
At the end of this inquiry we harvest the results. We accumulate all the best ideas to solve the problem by asking each table to report their consolidated results. Their may be new and exciting results, duplication, etc. A new inquiry session may be necessary to narrow the possible solutions to one or more. The philosophy here is, when people collaborate with each other as equals with respect for everyone, answers to problems will be discovered collectively from within the group. At Intus, we believe solutions to simple and complex problems will be found from with in.
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