Context
An eighteen-strong group of landowners — family farms, grouse moors, conservation charities, and natural capital investors — needed to agree a single legal structure to hold a twenty-year landscape recovery agreement together. Their interests didn't naturally align, and the decision would shape how the land, and the relationships around it, were held for a generation.
Approach
We joined after the process was already commenced, and were tasked with the direction of the decision making workshop, which was significantly constrained due to lambing season. This required an innovative approach as ordinarily our process for large and important decisions is to build relationship between the involved parties and then build informed awareness of the facts and people's own positions so they can discuss and explore it long in advance of the decision making workshop. As this was not possible, we worked fast with the client to produce detailed and digestible materials in various formats including multi-media, to enable landowners to learn and understand the options before the decision making workshop.
Eighteen different definitions of a good outcome had to become one legal structure which a landowner group would adhere to for the 20-30 year life of the scheme
The schedule was extremely fast, and the workshop extremely short due to the availability of all parties owing to their various responsibilities and we learnt a lot through the process about the value of being with a process for the entire duration rather then being injected in late in the day.
What emerged
Comprehensive materials were produced and shared with all members, and the decision making workshop was undertaken, all questions were recorded and answered in full both on the day and also quickly turned into Q&A digest document which was shared back with participants after the decision making workshop, ahead of an anonymised vote being cast one week after the decision making workshop.
Reflection
This reinforces my commitment to enter and support projects as early in the process as possible - so the entire cycle of learning development can happen before decisions on important topics are taken.