What is this project about?

The Sitka Assembly tasked the Long Range Planning and Economic Development Commission with the preparation of a Tourism Plan. The LRPEDC recognized that developing a plan embraced by the entire community would require a special process. They have chosen to use a collaborative model to develop to achieve their mission:

To create a plan for sustainable tourism development that maintains Sitkan’s quality of life, recognizing the characteristics that make Sitka attractive to both residents and visitors.

What is the Collaborative Model?

The collaborative model is simply a process for bringing a diverse group of community members together to work on a project. It emphasizes consensus and dialogue instead of advocacy and coalitions. The model that we are using for this project has been developed and refined by David Chrislip.

It operates under a simple, fundamental concept – If you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the community.

Learn more about the collaborative model, visit www.skillfulmeans.org.

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How does it work?

This model has two key groups of people involved: a Steering Committee and a Stakeholder Group. The Steering Committee has no input into the outcome, but will guide the process from start to finish. Their job is to assure that the community understands the process at each step, that the needed perspectives and experiences of the community are reflected in the Stakeholder Group, and that the process keeps moving toward the goal. It will be up to the Steering Committee to define the roles and rules of the process as it progresses.

The Stakeholder Group is responsible for developing the plan through a deliberate process where all voices and perspectives are heard and respected. Their job is not to represent any one interest group, but reflect the various perspectives, experiences, and insight that make up our community. They will have to work together, meet frequently and consistently to get the job done.

In addition to these two groups, there will many opportunities for all members of the public to participate: through public meetings, through outreach from the Steering Committee and Stakeholder Group, and through other ways of gathering information and perspectives that will be defined and refined through this process.

Their are two outside contractors to help with this process. David Chrislip who is under contract as a consultant to the Steering Committee to help guide the overall process. Chris Beck has been contracted to help in gathering information needed during the process, and to help in keeping the process focused on the final product, a Tourism Plan.

See the list of Steering Committee Members and Stakeholders and learn a little about them.

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Who Are Stakeholders?

Either    A) Everyone! All 8800 Sitka residents plus others from the region.
Or          B) A group that:

• has the needed experiences and perspectives
• reflects the community (i.e. demographics)
• is credible to most people in Sitka, including Assembly and LRPEDC
• is committed to the process and consistent in their participation
• will support the process and not block it

Can there be latecomers to the Stakeholder group? Yes, but they need to take the responsibility to catch up with the process.

Can we say no to anybody that wants to be involved? No, and we won’t.

See the steps to identify the Stakeholder Group

See the Stakeholder Grid

See the list of Stakeholders and a little about them.

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What Will the Stakeholders do?

Engage in a consensus process – not voting process – the number of people that favor one side of the issue or the other will not matter. Consensus must be reached by the group before the process moves forward. Every Stakeholder has veto power – if they don’t agree, the group will continue to deliberate until they reach consensus. There are different degrees of consensus – either fully agree, uncomfortably agree, and disagree but won’t block it.

Attend a series of intensive meetings – at least two per month until May, and also in September and October; perhaps some in the summer season, but less intensive.

Engage in ongoing community dialogue – be in tune with the perspectives of others in the community and relay those perspectives within the Stakeholder meetings.

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What are the Steps of the Process?

In developing the collaborative tourism plan the stakeholders will go through four phases, described below. You can also download a one-page diagram. The final phase of planning is implementation. It will be up to the stakeholders and the rest of the community to work towards the vision that is created here.

Phase One – Orientation 
Question: Who are the Stakeholders and what will they do?
Status: Completed

 

Goal: To understand the process that the stakeholder group will undertake.

To identify the core working group of stakeholders.

 

Phase Two – Defining the Issues, Building a Shared Understanding

In this phase, stakeholder answer a series of questions. First:

Question: What are the aspects of Sitka’s Visitor Industry that concern us the most?
Status: Complete

Question: What information do we need in order to make good decisions on these topics?
Stakeholders must gather needed information and present it to the entire group.
Status: Current

Question: What are the  common elements of a good Quality of Life in Sitka?
Status: Current

 

Goal: To come to a common understanding of the current situtation regarding the visitor industry in Sitka.

Phase Three – Defining the Vision

The Stakeholders will answer two questions in this phase. First:

Question: How do we fill in the blanks to this Focus Question?
In light of…
How can we…
So that…

Then:

Given the focus question, what do you see in place in (number to be determined) years as a result of our actions?

Goal: To create a concise statement of the concerns to be addressed through the process, and a consensus of the accomplishments necessary to achieve in the next five years to address these concerns.

Phase Four– Defining Strategy
There are three steps to this phase.

Step 1 - Find the underlying contradictions.

Question:  If the stated vision is to be realized, what are the issues, deterrents, blocks, etc. which must be dealt with?

Goal: Meaningful dialogue and concise statements of the root causes in Sitka that keep the community from resolving concerns.

Step 2 - Identify Strategic Directions

Question: What are the strategic directions in which we must move in order to resolve the contradictions and realize our vision?

Goal: The broad actions needed to address the root causes are identified.

Step 3 - Identify Specific Goals

Question: What are the specific events that must be achieved in order to get the new strategic  directions moving?

Goal: Broad goals that will move the strategic directions forward are identified.

 

Schedule	Visual Process Steps
View

 

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