Process

• The Task Force will have a chair and a co-chair
• The Task Force will be facilitated
• The Task Force will include all FGCU stakeholders.
• Stakeholders are expected to keep their constituencies informed of the progress of the Task Force and to act as a link between them and the Task Force
• The Task Force will meet between April and December 2002 for its initial stage
• The Task Force will use the steps and timeline contained in the concept paper
• Participants will agree to ground rules to facilitate the quality of the communication, including:

1. Ground rules for an effective and respectful communication

1. Focus on needs, concerns and interests not positions
1. Agree on what important words mean
2. When speaking explain the reasons behind your statement and ask for feedback from the group
3. Test your assumptions and inferences by asking questions
2. Be sensitive to differences in perspectives
1. Avoid debating issues (discussion, not debate) and assigning blame
2. Do not interrupt others or monopolize the communication. Raise your hand to speak and the facilitator will keep a list with the order (all members are expected to participate with their perspective)
3. Avoid personal attacks, cheap shots or loaded questions. Use open-ended questions
3. Keep discussion focused
1. Keep the focus on agenda items
2. When speaking be brief and to the point (try to give examples)
3. Try to come to all meetings
4. Try to be on time for meetings

1. Ground rules for decision-making

The Task Force will use the procedure of Consensus with Qualification to make decisions. Here consensus does not mean 100 percent agreement on everything by all participants. What it means is that all concerns have been addressed and everyone has been heard and understood. Thus, consensus can be defined as a state of mutual agreement among members of a group where all legitimate concerns of participants have been addressed to the satisfaction of the group. Consensus with qualification works like this:

1. An agenda is developed in advance containing three types of topics:
1. Reports (recent events of work)
2. Open Discussion (problem solving and brainstorming)
3. Proposals (for group decision)
2. Proposals are presented and clarified to the group.
3. Participants grade the proposal as:
1. Totally agree
2. Can live with it
3. Have legitimate concerns (possible consequences of the proposal that might adversely affect the organization, or that are in conflict with the purpose and values of the group)
4. Concerns are listed and addressed by the group. Changes can be introduced to the proposal
5. There is no quorum. Participants present at the meeting can make decisions by consensus regardless of their number
6. If the group fails to reach consensus, participants will clarify their objections and a decision will be made by the Task Force chair with the input from the group.
7. After each meeting the facilitator will prepare a summary of the meeting and a proposed agenda for the next meeting. These documents will be sent to participants before the next meeting.

Roles

• Chair- Coordinate and support the Task Force.
• Facilitator- help participants and the group to follow ground rules, identify, clarify and reframe issues, test parties’ assumptions / inferences, act as expert in dispute resolution procedures, make presentations on this issue to participants
• Participants — Actively participate in the discussion, following the ground rules, working hard on the issues, not the people and providing feedback on reports and future agendas
• Minute-taker — Records points of discussion, decisions made, etc