Leadership and Change

Hi all - this is the article that Nan mentioned in our last class. It informed some of our approach to our recycling project.

• jackie

To the Arts Group: I'm sorry I won't be in class on Tuesday to contribute to the next conversation about our action research project. I'll be in Missouri, and reachable by cell phone if there is anything I can add to the discussion. Mike has the number.

The consulting project I am working on runs parallel to our conversation in a few ways:

• The central issue is to prove individual, organizational, and societal values sufficiently to earn sustainable public funding (we haven't defined the scope of our interest yet, but typically that would be debated Pre-K, K-12, and Higher Education, although there is a new discussion about PreK-16 that you are all aware about. The bummer is that the systems themselves are in distinct silos for appropriation purposes so the structure is far from changed).

• Many benefits that accrue to individuals, organizations, and society are not defined quantitatively or qualitatively in using methods that are agreed-upon by key stakeholders.

• The move toward graduation standards serves to constrain the discussion rather than liberate the discussion. That makes communications tricky. When the frame is "failure," and "lack of adequate yearly progress," then the choice is to operate within that frame or attempt to successfully reframe. Not a small job right now with NCLB reauthorization on hold in Congress and a presidential campaign cycle in full swing with not much being said about public education, arts or no arts.

So I went looking around for resources, primarily on the topic of public value. Mark Moore's book, Creating Public Value, is a great overview. In addition (read on if you want to...)

Howdy. Last night Mike mentioned that last semester in Barbara's Transforming Public Policy course there was a group that used internet tools to facilitate working together. I was in that group and I thought I would share some of the tools we used, so you can try them in your small groups.

how can art influence action?

see extended entry for examples of my own work at the College of Design or read all this article [all the way to the end] http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/peterhall.html

http://www.alrdesign.com/blog/labels/sociallyconsious.html

I don't think I really understand what such a project might look like so the following suggestion is a stab in the dark. I live very close to the most deadly intersection in Dakota County. There are a lot of accidents and even more near misses. Drivers run red lights all the time. When I spoke to the police about it they stated that they really cannot do much about it, except patrol the area and write tickets. I think that is a start, but not enough. I would like to propose a project that raises the awareness about this intersection. In collaboration with the local police and businesses we could develop a flyer that would be posted and made available at local businesses. My theory is that if more people know about what happens at this intersection and how dangerous it is, they will change their driving habits and show more caution. I know that not all drivers who go through this intersection shop at local businesses, but even if a few take notice, it will set an example for others and force them to drive more defensively. Claudia Beermann

Now is the time to formulate some general ideas for the class action research projects. Remember the criteria for project choice:

Creates positive, desirable change

Doable in time frame (between mid-February and April 22)

Modest, but measurable goal

Tasks can be delineated

Doable given other responsibilities

Low budget

Feel passionate about it

Shared leadership/common good

Please use this category of the blog to propose some ideas for class members' consideration. We'll have some time to consider ideas in class next week.

Barbara