Date: December 16, 1999

To: ABCD2 (Association for Better Community Design and Decision Making) Planning Team Participants

From: John Cleveland

Re: Notes From Our December 2 AM Planning Session

Below is my summary of the notes from our planning session at the end of the TCDDM III conference in Stuart, Florida. They cover:

  1. Overall points of consensus.
  2. Next step agreements.
  3. Draft description of ABCD2.

Overall Points of Consensus:

By my recollection, the group seemed to reach general consensus on the following points:

  1. Create a structure. We should create a structure to facilitate on-going interaction between developers and users of community-based decision support tools.
  2. Call it ABCD2. The proposed name for the organization is Association for Better Citizen Decision Making. Another proposed name is ABCD2 or "ABC Design and Decision Making" or the Association for Better Community Design and Decision Making. This keeps design in the name - an important part of the discussion at TCDDM III - and using "community" is more encompassing than using "citizen."
  4. Define the niche. Clearly enough define the niche so that ABCD is not competing with other organizations.
  5. Focus on citizen empowerment. The focus should be on empowering citizens to more effectively participate in community-based decision making.
  6. Start planning now. The group agreed to a number of short-term planning activities. These are described in "Next Steps."

Next Steps:

The table below summarizes the next steps that participants agreed to.

 

Activity

Team

(Bold = Convener)

Timelines

Business Plan:

  1. Draft a business plan
  2. Do an email inventory on projects
  3. Circulate to others for comment
  4. Incorporate

Core Design Team

Scott Bernstein

Peter Katz

Jeff Winston

Summer Rutherford

Michael Kwartler

Ken Snyder

Susan Boyd

John Lambie

Kendra Briechle

May/June 2000

Communications:

  1. Create a web site for communications
  2. Set up a list serve
  3. Integrate web work with livable communities, Aurora Partnership, and DOE TCDDM websites

John Lambie

(through FICUS)

May/June 2000

Taxonomy:

  1. Agree on a taxonomy for both types of data, and types of decisions

Taxonomy Team

Bill Miller

Michael Kwartler

Roice Nelson

Tom Gunther

John Lambie

Not specified.

Trade Show:

  • Plan next trade show for users.
    		•

    Tom Gunther

    Ken Snyder

    Within one year.

    Regional Resource Centers:

  • Develop the business plan design for Regional Resource Centers
  • Develop 2 pilots
    		•

    RRC Team

    Ken Snyder

    Susan Boyd

    Mark Wolcott

    Tom Gunther

    Summer Rutherford

    John Lambie

    National Steering Committee Meeting set for May 25

    Case Studies:

    1. Begin developing an inventory of case studies that use community decision-support tools.

    Terry Osborne

    Cindy Conway

    Peter Hawley

    Not specified.

    The next direct communication you will receive will be a draft business plan from the "Core Design Team."

    ASSOCIATION FOR BETTER COMMUNITY DESIGN AND DECISION-MAKING (ABCD2)

    Draft description based on 12/2/99 Meeting and Edits by Ken Snyder (5/11/00)

    (John Cleveland)

    Proposed Mission:

    To increase the availability and use of knowledge-based decision support tools that empower citizens to participate in community-based decision-making.

    [NOTE: See the attached list of mission statements that individuals proposed at the 12.2.99 planning meeting.]

    Issues:

  • What is the definition of "knowledge-based tools" or "decision-support tools"?
  • Should this be focused on community decisions about growth and planning issues (as opposed to all community decisions)?

    • Assumptions:

    1. Emerging information technologies can enable broad citizen participation in community decision-making processes that have become increasingly complex.
    2. Broad access to and use of these technologies could radically democratize what are often dysfunctional and expert-driven processes at the community level
    3. The development of these "decision-support tools" is at an early stage, and it is difficult for potential users to understand and get access to them.
    4. To maximize their utility, the "tool kit" available to citizens and community organizations should have the following characteristics:
      1. Be accessible to users at multiple skill levels
      2. Be adaptable to local conditions
      3. Be easy to maintain with local capacity
      4. Address both local and regional scale of issues
      5. Provide a wide variety of visual imaging capabilities
      6. Be accessible in a distributive way
      7. Be affordable
    5. The "kit of tools" will include both computer-based technologies that allow analysis of data and information; and more general "process technologies" that enable large groups of citizens to be engaged in decision-making processes, whether or not they involve analytical or simulation technologies.
    6. The primary application for decision-support tools has been planning and natural resource decisions involving growth and development issues. However, these tools can also be adapted to apply to a much broader set of community decisions, including education, social services, economic development, etc.

    Core Strategies:

    The Association will pursue its mission by:

    1. Networking. Creating a forum for tool developers and users to interact with each other.
    2. Information. Developing and sharing information about decision-support tools.
    3. Education. Developing and delivering education and professional development on tools.
    4. Standards. Working on the development of common standards.
    5. Demonstration projects. Enabling work on pilot projects that demonstrate the use of decision-support tools.
    6. Organizing demand. Helping organize demand for the availability of these tools at the community level.
    7. Advocating. Advocating for public decision-making processes that promote citizen participation.

    Structure:

    1. Non-profit 501 c3 organization.
    2. Potential for-profit subsidiaries.

    Customers:

    The primary customers of the Association would include:

    1. Providers of tools and the data they use, including federal and state agencies; non-profits and foundations; and for-profit providers. ABCD2 would help promote the use of decision support tools as well as provide tools developers with information on communities’ needs and potential improvements.
    2. Users of the tools and processes. At the local level, these will typically include:
      1. Public decision-makers (elected officials; planning commissions; design review boards; etc.)
      2. Public staff
      3. Private for-profit organizations such as developers, architectural firms, planning firms, etc.
      4. Community-based organizations
      5. Citizens

    ABCD would provide users with consumer union-type information on the strengths and weaknesses of various tools and potentially consult communities on what might be the most appropriate set of tools for their community.
      1. Federal Agencies – ABCD would provide Federal Agencies with feedback on how to improve their tools and data resources and recommendations on how Federal resources could be integrated with State/local and private resources.

    Products and Services:

    The following ideas about potential products and services emerged during the TCDDM III conference in Stuart, Florida:

    Category

    Potential Products and Services

    Networking
    1. An annual trade show to bring together providers and users.
    2. Periodic meetings of the Association, preferably at a demonstration site.
    3. Communications tools – web site; listserve; newsletter, etc.
    4. Provide a forum for sharing lessons-learned
    5. Provide a forum for users to share tools, models, algorithms

    Information
    1. Tool inventory
    2. "Consumer reports" on tools – what users like and don’t like; strengths and weaknesses; costs of implementation and maintenance, etc.
    3. Case studies of tools use
    4. Data coverage inventory

    Education
    1. Professional development offerings for users
    2. Courses for K-12 education

    Standards
    1. Development of a common taxonomy for data and analysis
    2. Participation in standards development for data storage and "interoperability" of software

    Demonstration
    1. Develop the design for Regional Resource Centers
    2. Implement two RRC pilots
    3. Create a "project market place" to allow ABCD2 members to collaborate on projects

    Organizing Demand
    1. Package products that help organizations and agencies meeting their citizen participation requirements, and create new standards for measurement and evaluation
    2. Package products to reduce developer uncertainty in the permitting process

    Advocating
    1. Work to develop standards for public meetings and hearings that enable citizen participation
    2. Work to promote the interoperability of tools and models for community decision-making

     

     

    Organizational Structure and Processes:

    [TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE CORE DESIGN TEAM]

    Budget and Development Strategy:

    [TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE CORE DESIGN TEAM]

    Year One Implementation Plan:

    [TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE CORE DESIGN TEAM]

     

     

    ABCD2 Mission Statements

    (From 12.2.99 Planning Session)

    To improve participatory community-based processes and decision-making through applied tools and knowledge-based systems.

    To coordinate resources and foster access to decision-support technologies in order to empower greater community decision-making.

    Foster technologies and processes that enable citizens to effectively direct growth and change in their communities and regions.

    To promote greater citizen involvement in community and regional improvement through the effective use of decision and decision-making tools.

    To facilitate the process of empowering citizens to participate in and better understand growth at a community level.

    To develop and apply knowledge-based systems that enable communities to see and evaluate the impacts of their design and planning choices.

    To advocate for and educate on new methods for better community decisions and greater citizen involvement on the future of place.

    To deliver revolutionary tools to citizens.

    To develop and apply knowledge-based systems that enable, enhance and empower collective community-based decisions.

    To facilitate the development and application of resources that enable, enhance and empower collective community-based decision-making.

    To increase awareness and effectiveness of tools and practices that enable, enhance and empower collective community-based decision-making about

    growth at the community level.

    To advocate the development and application of, and universal access to, place-based information and decision-support tools and processes that enhance and empower community-based decisions.

     

    MISSION STATEMENT ANALYSIS

    Do this…

    …to these kinds of tools

    …that allow citizens to do this
  • Develop and apply
  • Improve
  • Coordinate resources
  • Foster access to
  • Promote
  • Advocate for
  • Educate on
  • Deliver
  • Facilitate development of
  • Increase awareness of

    • Decision support technologies

    Decision making tools

    Knowledge-based systems

    New methods

    Place-based decision support tools

     

    Participate in community-based processes

    Be empowered in community decision-making

    Be involved in community and regional improvement

    Better understand growth at the community level

    See and evaluate the impacts of their design and planning choices

    Engage in collective community-based decisions

    Have greater involvement on the future of place.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Do this…