Who Do We Need?

You cannot ask the whole community to work together with you; where would you put them? So you must carve out those members from the community who can and will help you with your goal or project.

What kind of people do we need?

You may need to form a team (or collaborate) with other people to reach your goal. Or you may only need to get advice (or consult) on your goal or how to reach it. For any goal or project, figure out which community members fit into these groups:

• People who will be affected by what you do or the results of what you do [B4] [B7].
• People who care about the issue or the people it affects [B4].
• People who are different from you and can offer different ideas [B4].
• People who show respect for others with different ideas and are willing to listen [B6].
• People who have the know-how, skills and resources you need to plan and meet the goal [B7].

Make a list of the people or organizations that fit into these groups. The first three groups of people are very important, no matter how you will work together.

People who are affected need to have a say.

People who care are more likely to give time and energy to help you.

People who are different from you and have different ideas can help you see a problem in different ways. They may also have new ways to solve problems that you did not think of.

If some people who fit into these three groups do not show respect, but you still need them, you may need to work together alone with them and keep them apart from your team. This is very important if you are forming a team to reach a goal.

It is important not to ask the same people to be part of a lot of teams or come to a lot of different focus group meetings. This is too much work for them and you will not hear new ideas. Check with other people in your organization and, if you can, in other organizations with the same stakeholders. See if you can find new people who are interested and have time.

Click here to find out how many people you need to meet your goal.

Click here for a list of some groups that Edmonton PDD has worked with.