see-saw co-development
A glossary of See-Saw Co-Development
Terms appearing in this glossary are Capitalised to help cross-reference.
- See-Saw
- The image of the see-saw means several things:
- the two roles in Conversations, Individual and Initiative, are balanced
- in each Conversation, there are two Participants, one with each role
- Participants spend part of their time in each role
The words "See" and "Saw" also can be thought of as acronyms (or "backronyms") for the two Briefs:
- SEE stands for Summary of Engaging Enterprise, and "see" suggests vision
- SAW stands for Summary of Ability and Willingness
- Participant
- A Participant in the See-Saw process takes two roles or positions. One is as themself as an Individual; the other is as a representative or proponent of an Initiative that is valued by them.
- Individual
- In the See-Saw process, the position of Participants as Individuals is that they want to offer a collection of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, to add value to good Initiatives. Individuals may offer what they believe they have at present, or alternatively what they intend to offer in the future, after more learning and experience.
- Initiative
- Initiatives in See-Saw are ideas for action in the world that contribute to the common good. Many people are likely to consider the ideas worthwhile, and so may be willing to help develop them. Initiatives may range from small projects to large organisations, may be short term or long term, and they could be at any stage of development from an idea that is just a twinkle in the eye, to an organisation, business or venture that is already up and running.
- Stage
- There are three Stages in the See-Saw process:
- a reflection Stage, when people are helped by Guides to write their Briefs;
- a conversation Stage, of Conversations arranged within a physical Meeting;
- a moving on Stage, when people move themselves and their Initiatives onwards.
- Guide
- A Guide in See-Saw is someone who helps people, in the reflection Stage of See-Saw, to reflect on their needs and their ideas, towards preparing the Briefs for a Meeting. To be able to do this, a Guide needs to understand the process as a whole, and to share an exploratory sense of what other people will find helpful in Briefs. There are notes for Guides.
- Brief
- See-Saw Briefs are used in the conversation Stage to describe both Individuals and Initiatives. They need to be short, so that they can be read quickly, but rich enough to convey the essential aims and values of the Individual or Initiative. In the See-Saw process, Briefs are limited to 150 words, so that they should be able to be read properly in under a minute.
- A Brief for an existing Initiative could describe its nature and purpose; for an Initiative idea that is still in the imagination, the Brief can take any approach — from something like a vision statement, to a description of how the Initiative would actually operate. This is a "SEE", a "Summary of an Engaging Enterprise".
- An Individual Brief either describes the Individual as they are at present, or as an Individual that they could imagine themselves becoming in the foreseeable future. It is a "SAW", a "Summary of Ability and Willingness" of an Individual.
- Good briefs are a key to the whole See-Saw process. More guidance on how to prepare a brief is given in the explanation of the reflection Stage.
Briefs may stay the same through a whole Meeting, or may be changed between Conversations.
- Meeting
- The focal event in the See-Saw process is the Meeting. In an See-Saw Meeting, a number of Participants have Conversations with each other, each taking the positions or roles of an Individual and of an Initiative. In a Meeting of 7 people, each Participant would meet with the 6 others, both ways round, so each Participant would have 12 Conversations.
- Conversation
- In one See-Saw Conversation, a Participant taking the position of an Individual holds a Conversation with a Participant holding an Initiative. They start by both reading each other's Brief. They may then ask questions, and proceed to a discussion in which they mutually agree on the most useful role that the Individual could play in that Initiative, in keeping with the values of both Participants.
- The Individual is looking for a role that would be most valuable to themselves.
- The Initiative is looking to identify the role through which the Individual would add most value to the Initiative.
Before the end of the Conversation, they agree a short statement of the Best Agreed Role that they have found together.
- Best Agreed Role
- The outcome of each Conversation is a short statement of the best role that can be agreed at that time to suit both the Individual and the Initiative.