Page 043 - unbiased direction.
Source section: Section 3 - Sustainable Thinking at Work - New Processes for Building Green PDF page: 43 Guide page: 36 OCR quality: high (530 words)
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team, particularly stakeholders in the community, might need encouragement to attend anda commitment that their voices will be heard. One-on-one conversations prior to the event are often useful in gaining initial trust and confidence. An educational component can ensure that participants with varying levels of knowledge all have an adequate understanding of the topics under consideration. The combination of brainstorming, different perspectives, and a focus on results distinguish the charrette from other types of meetings. Because charrettes are highly structured, they require a strong facilitator, who may come from outside the core project team. The ideal candidate is an excellent listener who can distill the big picture from multiple viewpoints. It is critical that this person guide the conversation in a productive and unbiased direction. Since charrettes are generally designed to result in a concrete product, an agenda and clear goals are needed. Discussion questions and activities must be designed to meet those goals. However, the charrette also needs to be flexible enough to allow for the emergence of extraordinary ideas. In advance, the project owner or developer may draft a statement that establishes the goals of the charrette and its relevance to the project. The statement inspires the team to reach the goals and also assures participants that their work is important and will influence the final project. Clear goals and specific deliverables and outcomes help all participants understand the purpose of the charrette and set the foundation for an effective agenda. Each agenda needs to be tailored to the specific project, but in general, a charrette takes the following form: ¢ Background briefing, to ensure that all participants have the basic information on the project and topics to be discussed ¢ Brainstorming, small-group work, reports, further brainstorming, and subsequent reports structured around discussion questions and specific tasks
- Synthesis of work, development of recommendations, and identification of deliverables
- Initial response from the owner or developer to the recommendations, affirming the commitment to sustainable approaches and ideas ¢ Infollow up, a written report documenting the charrette and identified action items should be sent to all participants TEAM MEETINGS can allow the group to work together creatively on new synergies. For example, the development of an integrated water conservation system might require collaboration between the landscape architect, the civil engineer, the structural engineer, and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) 3 designer. Meetings are more effective if facilitated by a neutral party who encourages all team members to 3 speak up. Ww & SMALL TASK GROUPS provide opportunities to explore particular topics, conduct research, and refine ‘ the ideas for presentation at a later team meeting. They are generally composed of existing team members i but may require outside experts. They do not need to be multidisciplinary unless appropriate for the task. s Task group members should view their work as exploratory and consider all ideas, even those that appear a to be poor choices or infeasible. Investigation of high-risk ideas can lead to the most innovative aspects of a a project. Many of the specific strategies discussed in Section 4 of this guide require task groups to flesh out zZ ideas and determine appropriate application. O e STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS are held with neighbors, community members, and others with a vested 8 interest in the project. They enhance a project team’s interaction with and understanding of community a wy =a 36