# Prime Produce — event space for facilitation training

## DATES

### Combined

Derived from info below.

**Legend**
:x: Space Booked
:white_check_mark: Great!
:ballot_box_with_check: Ok. conflict or half-booked.
:information_source: For info only

* :x: May 26 (also, David is away that week)
* :ballot_box_with_check: June 1-2 (Fri/Sat) (conflict: CS not avail)
* :information_source: June 5 - CS arrives back
* :x: June 6 (wed)
* :x: June 7/8 (PDF)
* :information_source: June 9 - dzn less busy (PDF over)
* :ballot_box_with_check: June 9-10 (weekend) (half-booked)
* :white_check_mark: June 11-12 (Mon/Tues)
* :x: June 13 (wed)
* :ballot_box_with_check: June 14-15 (Thurs/Fri) (conflict: Allied Media)
* :information_source: June 14-17 AMC - dzn can skip. CS prefers not to.
* :ballot_box_with_check: June 16-17 (weekend) (half-booked)
* :information_source: June 17 - dzn less avail from here on
* :x: June 20-21 (wed/thurs)
* :ballot_box_with_check: June 29-30 (Fri/Sat) (conflict: Liz/Pat away)

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### Possible dates in month of June, after the 5th is when CS becomes available

* June 1-2 (Fri/Sat) (conflict: CS not avail)
* June 11-12 (Mon/Tues)
* June 14-15 (Thurs/Fri) (conflict: Allied Media)
* June 29-30 (Fri/Sat) (conflict: Liz/Pat away)

### Space booked on..
* May 26 (also, David is away that week)
* June 6 (wed)
* June 13 (wed)
* June 20-21 (wed/thurs)

### There is a store front event that doesn't occupy the whole space but could be noisy on..
* June 9-10 (weekend)
* June 16-17 (weekend)

________

## APPLICATION FORM

## What is your organizational mission?
We dream of a future of consent-based governance (be it in a nation or a community) through a hands-on exploration of on/offline tools and consensus-building methods. The small island country of Taiwan, with its long history of occupation, is now leading the world in participatory democracy. Their largely unknown open consultation methods will sound revolutionary to jaded ears in the embattled democracy of the United States. At its core, their facilitation process is profoundly human, yet also finds traction in the 21st century 1) through moments of assistance by an opensource algorithm that breaks people out of echo chambers rather than placing them within one 2) through harnessing the power of digital accountability technologies to create serious conversation, by keeping “receipts” of in-person and remote deliberation. Together these futuristic facilitation practices bring radical transparency to how we collectively decide to govern divisive social issues, producing high-levels of consensus while protecting minority rights and having everyone leave the table with the feeling of being treated fairly.

## How does your event support your organization's mission?
Our project is to engage 3 members of Taiwan's Public Digital Innovation and Service team (PDIS) to bring the facilitation training that Taiwanese public servants rate “99% effective”, to New York City in May 11-12 2018. Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Digital Minister, has committed to visiting NYC to lead the facilitation training event. In this 2 days event we will train a cohort of 30 NYC government officials, community organizers and academics in the vTaiwan methods of facilitation and consensus building. This multi-day training event will also be an occasion to celebrate and share facilitation traditions from diverse fields including governance, law, urban planning, and further grow the community of practice around the vTaiwan process for crafting legislation, which includes simultaneous facilitation for in-person & remote stakeholder meetings, structured conversation, and math-assisted consensus building. We plan to film the entire training event and publish under a share-alike license, to be widely circulated.

## What’s a short description of your event?
A facilitation training event, from May 11-12, run by Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang) and members of Taiwan's PDIS team (https://pdis.nat.gov.tw/) to train a cohort of 30 NYC government officials, community organizers and academics in the vTaiwan methods of facilitation and consensus building.

## Who or what do you want to serve through your event?
Individuals, organizations and communities interested in fruitful methods of facilitation and consensus-building. Event participants will learn about the ORID structured conversation method, the open source algorithm Polis, other open source tools for accountability and transparency in large-scale group decision making, open source tools for maintaining trust and consent, success stories of these methods being deployed at scale.

## What kind of environment would you like to create through your event? What senses/experiences will your attendees your event will engage with, and how?
We would like to create a learning and sharing environment where we role-play a futuristic practice of open consultation that uses on/offline tools and methods to help us, hear and be heard, think deeply together, and come to solutions that are fair and inclusive.

## Why are you interested in hosting your event at Prime Produce?
For a number of reasons — I think members of prime produce have a similar value system as ours (which is very important to us). I met members of the prime produce community through the cybernetics conference and saw kindred spirits. The space is great, the location is great. And you have a lovely artistic sensibility. Also, we would love if some of you will participate in the training and bring your experiences in facilitation and consensus-building to the table.

## What’s your hosting style? Do you let people do their own thing, facilitate a lot, create games, create a jovial atmosphere, etc?
This will be a training event so more structured than free flowing. It will be hands on and interactive though. Also, warm and welcoming, we hope.

## Who are your collaborators/co-conspirators/co-hosts for this event or project?

Liz Barry — [http://lizbarry.net](http://lizbarry.net)
@lizbarry

Claudina Sarahe — [http://itsmisscs.me/](http://itsmisscs.me/)
@itsmisscs

Patrick Connolly is a Canadian civic technologist building a global network of participatory democracy activists. Together, we are the core of “vNetwork,” a group seeking to localize this process to their own gov’t’s.
@patconnolly

Darshana Narayanan — [http://www.dznarayanan.com/](http://www.dznarayanan.com/)
@dznarayanan

CS & DZN’s recent report is published in [civichall.org/civicist/two-weeks-in-taipei/](https://civichall.org/civicist/two-weeks-in-taipei/). Liz Barry wrote on the emergence of vTaiwan in [civichall.org/civicist/vtaiwan-democracy-frontier/](https://civichall.org/civicist/vtaiwan-democracy-frontier/).

## What’s the date / times for the event? Are they tentative or concrete?
All day event May 11 (Friday) & 12 (Saturday). The dates are concrete.

## What are your space requirements?
Table and chair space for 35 people, plus recording equipment. We will bring the recording equipment but will need a projector, speakers and internet (can organize for a projector if necessary).

## Who are your target event participants?
In this 2 days event we will train a cohort of 30 NYC government officials, community organizers and academics in the vTaiwan methods of facilitation and consensus building. They will (hopefully) carry these methods into their respective communities.

## How can we help serve you? How can we help host you?
In addition to hosting the event at your space, we are hoping that you will view this as a collaboration and work with us in any way that is of mutual interest.

## What’s most important to you - bringing in revenue, covering costs, member # attendance, community impact, etc?
sharing knowledge, community building and community impact

## Will this event be open/advertised to the public, or a private event? (e.g. a public workshop, or a private meeting for a team)
As space is limited, specific people/organizations will be invited to the event.

## Will you sell tickets or add a suggested donation? If so, how much per person?
Sell tickets — $100 per person

## What’s the best way to reach you or the person who will be responsible for the event logistics?
Darshana Narayanan (email or phone)

## Please add your name, cell number, email, etc.
email: [e-mail] (cc. [e-mail])
phone: [phone]

## Any other questions, thoughts, comments, advice, quotes of inspiration?
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― R. Buckminster Fuller