Wicked and Tame Problems

Wicked and Tame Problems The art of public deliberation YOUR LOGO

Saturday Night Live explains “debating”

Page § 2

YOUR LOO

Dr. Martin Carcasson

§ Communications professor at CSU § “Basics of Deliberative Perspective” § Provides guidance and ground rules for participating in public discussions in ways to avoid adversarial dead lock and just arguing § Seen as a new and necessary next step in communications tactics to avoid the grid lock exemplified by current national politics § Understanding tame and wicked problems is at its core

Page § 3

YOUR LOO

Tame Problems

§ Technical in nature and can be solved through scientific needs § Divisible into manageable parts § Efforts to solve them are primarily judged in terms of efficiency - How few resources were spent to solve the problem?

Page § 4

YOUR LOO

Wicked Problems

§ Inherently involve competing underlying values, paradoxes, and trade-offs § Cannot be solved by science § Every solution creates a new set of problems § Require tough choices § Must be managed rather than solved § Require adaptive changes rather than technical ones § Need effective collaboration across multiple perspectives

Page § 5

YOUR LOO

The problems facing education are increasingly complex, wicked problems We would be happy to help.

Page § 6

YOUR LOO

Three primary forms of public problem solving

§ Adversarial - competitive, pro/con, activists, interest groups, agendas, votes, elections, coalitions, campaigns, firm perspectives

§ Expert - data focused, research, facts, technical solutions, bureaucracies, highlyeducated/specialized perspectives

§ Deliberative - Cooperative, participatory, collaborative, transformative, civic focused

Page § 7

YOUR LOO

Drawbacks of adversarial processes

§ Focuses on “winning” vs. problem solving § Relies on narrow values § Focuses on blaming (them) vs. accepting accountability (us) § Plays into the flaws of human natures § Favors entrenched, loud voices § Negative effects of polarization, cynicism and apathy § Prescribes narrow role for citizens - Voters, consumers, or spectators

Page § 8

YOUR LOO

Drawbacks of expert-dominated processes

§ By definition, experts are focused on a specific aspect of the problem § Focus on being value free – can tell us what something is or could be, but not what it SHOULD be § Relies on data, but wicked problems aren’t solvable by data § Undermined in a polarized environment § Data-driven expert solutions don’t change behavior § Shuts out the public and non-experts

Page § 9

YOUR LOO

Meanwhile…

§ We face serious problems without technical solutions § They involve paradoxes, competing values, and require compromise and tough choices § They need productive collaboration, innovation, and coordinated action across perspectives from many areas of society

Page § 10

YOUR LOO

The deliberative process

§ Involves citizens, not just experts or politicians § Often works with facilitators to help citizens come together and consider relevant facts and values from multiple points of views § Listens to multiple points of view and thinks about the various options before forming opinions § Considers underlying tension, tough choices and varied consequences § Is will to refine and adapt their opinions and interests

Page § 11

YOUR LOO

Drawbacks with the deliberative process

§ Not including enough divergent opinion leads to false consensus - Dissent not heard, wishful thinking supported, decisions faulty or unsustainable, and attract strong opposition

§ Premature closure leads to false polarization - Sparks misunderstanding, distrust, one-sided solutions, fact wars, wishful thinking dominates, spirals of conflict

§ Time consuming § Expects a lot of the public § Difficult to attract diverse audiences § Still difficult to move from talk to action

Page § 12

YOUR LOO

What we want from the Insider’s Academy

§ Move beyond disconnected, simplistic, input sessions so you can engage with us and each other to understand tough choices § Establish a shared understanding of our operational challenges and framework of decision making § Develop better trust, social capital, and stronger civic networks to provide positive feedback loops § Align understanding and actions across individual, public, private, and non-profit lines § Engage with problem-solvers § Increase the qualities of decisions being made

Page § 13

YOUR LOO

Do You Have Any Questions?

We would be happy to help.

Page § 14

YOUR LOO