Election cafes pitch a collaborative approach to civic politics

Local News

By Michael Purvis

Updated 6 days ago

Two experimental election-themed "community cafes," – one online and one in person – will seek to change the way Saultites get to know their municipal candidates.

On Wednesday, candidates for mayor and city council have been invited to join community members online to participate in a collaborative game that will see them discuss and evaluate ideas to move the city forward.

On Oct. 18, at the Art Gallery of Algoma, candidates are being asked to participate in what organizers call "civic speed dating," where those running for office will meet with the public in 15-minute discussions on a wide variety of issues facing the community.

The idea is to see the candidates in action, having real conversations, and using collaborative tools that have proven successful in the corporate world, said Gerry Kirk, whose organization ChangeCamp Sault is running the events in partnership with the Sault Youth Association.

He said traditional approaches to civic engagement, like debates, "just don't work anymore."

"We don't have good mechanisms in place – we're resorting to basic things like sending an e-mail or a phone call, maybe we do a town hall every once in a while, but largely we're kind of shut out from each other and we're not taking advantage of the myriad ways we can connect online, that we use so much in parts of our lives other than community matters," said Kirk.

Kirk, who in his day job coaches businesses and organizations to improve themselves, said he has used these techniques in his consulting work with dramatic results.

Wednesday's Election Cafe will use an online game developed and run by California-based company Innovation Games, which uses its slate of "serious games," to help businesses solve problems.

Trained facilitators will guide participants, who will be broken up into rooms for each ward to evaluate ideas from candidates, community members, and those already submitted to ideas.changesault.ca

At the end, organizers will be able to gather results from each of the wards and come up with a list of the priorities across the community, "or at least across the people who played the game."

The "civic speed dating," event will follow a similar theme.

"People again will have a chance to have real conversations with each other – including candidates – where they have to figure out what are ideas for moving the Sault forward, discuss them, and collaboratively prioritize them," said Kirk.

"In a small way, we're going to see how candidates dialogue and interact with each other and with people in a real situation," he said. "What matters to our city? And they have to make choices, in each room they have to decide collectively, yeah, these things matter more than those things."

He said the concept should resonate with youth.

"They already know the current process doesn't work, they don't have to be convinced," he said.

While Kirk had a hand in Monday's mayoral debate held by Soo News and the Sault Ratepayers Association, he said he is not a fan of the debate format, which he likens to a job interview – a good way to pick a candidate who is good at answering questions, but a terrible way to find the person best-suited to the job.

Better are, "approaches where it's really participatory, it's open, it's collaborative, it's not you-versus-me, it's where we can have in-depth conversation," said Kirk. "You can't get that in a debate, it's an artificial environment to discuss things that matter."

Beyond the Oct. 25 vote, Kirk envisions the Election Cafe concept being scaled to engage hundreds or thousands of people on issues as complicated as the city's budget.

"All of a sudden you're getting real input in a fun way," said Kirk.

Spots at both Election Cafe events are limited, but tickets are free. Register at 2010election.eventbrite.com

Article ID# 2790914

Michael Purvis who nails it again.