Community Consultation Tour

We think there is a crises in community consultation and we have thought long and hard about some new approaches.

Introduction. We believe that one of the causes of the crises in community consultation is a simple oversight: people do not have a singular, unified set of values. For example, as a motorist, a person loves speed. As a resident, the same person wants to remain 'resident' and hates speeding traffic. Current consultation techniques force people to adopt a singular set of values, resulting in either a win/lose outcome or a lose/lose outcome. We believe that people's contradictory values can be harnessed as the drive to more innovative win/win/win strategies. We also believe that these internal value contradictions cannot be resolved through a rational discource (the basis of current approaches). Finding a way of straddling our own internal contradictions (without ignoring or destroying them) requires a playful approach, which is why we refer to our strategies as 'games'. We are totally committed to assisting residents and the city to work in partnership on forging new ways of tackling pressing social issues and becoming a truly creative city.

Stop 1. Issues. Under Issues you will find a whole section dedicated to community consultation. Here you will find articles that explain the background to our approach to community consultation. This gives an excellent base for you to begin implementing the new approaches we advocate. You can also get to these articles by clicking articles.

Stop 2. Games. The game designed for community consultation is the Third Space (Group) game. Click it to get details of how the game is played and how it addresses the issue. You will also find detailed instructions on how a city can set up a Third Space Program, along with any support we offer you in setting up the program.

Stop 3. City Directory. Cities running any of the games on this site can establish a page in the city directory. Here you can place details of what support you are offering your residents and neighborhoods to implement these programs along with details of how to access that support. If there are people in your city already registered with us to play that particular game, we will email them on your behalf to let them know that you are offering support. You can link your city directory page to your official city web site. The City Directory is accessible from a particular game or through Search.

Stop 4. Play Pages. The Play Pages is where people record their experiences of playing the various games. You can do a search to see who is playing the Third Space game (or any other game) in your city, and what kinds of things they are doing.

Stop 5. The Games Incubator. Watch new games being hatched, some of which may be relevant to community consultation. You can even lodge an idea for a new community consultation-related game. The games incubator is located in the games section.

Stop 6. Citizenship. In order to set up a City Directory Page, participate in forums, or post articles, your city will need to become a Creative Communities Corporate Citizen. You may also like to personally take out citizenship so that you get access to your own personal page called 'My Place'. My Page enables you to keep track of the games you are playing, the favorite play pages you like to visit, and all the other places on the site that you like hanging out at. Personal citizenship is free but there is a charge for corporate citizenship.

Stop 7. About Us. This is a member-driven site dedicated to incubating and disseminating social innovations. While we, the founders, try to provide an ongoing creative spark, the real creative genius of the site is supplied by visitors and members. The considerable costs of running this site are paid for by cities and individuals who buy our products and use our services. Creative Communities International is a registered company in Australia.

Stop 8. Info Center. Finding your way around a new neighborhood can be a little daunting. At the Info Center you will find a map of the neighborhood, and useful tutorials on activities such as how to set up a City Directory Page, submit an article, or set up your own personal play page.

Stop 9. Employing Us. If you need assistance in setting up your Third Space program we can help. We can provide you with art for materials or have the materials produced for you. We also offer a coaching service and training workshops.

We haven't shown you all the features, but this should be enough to get you started. We hope that Creative Communities and your city can establish a great working partnership in helping your city pioneer new and more creative ways of doing community consultation. Welcome.