Data Synthesis

How we synthesized findings from surveys, forums, and peer-to-peer interviews to inform the recommendation.

A series of data synthesis sessions (Synth Sessions) were held with the broader ReVisioning team. Members of the data and core ReVisioning team facilitated the sessions, which followed themes organized around the sections of the Recommendation Report. For each session, key tensions had often been pre-identified as focus areas for data synthesis. While attendance at these sessions was open, their primary focus was for people who had been involved in data collection and processing to share and integrate findings from the survey, forum, and P2P data.

Primary Purpose and Value

Two sessions were focused on identifying primary purpose and value.

During the first primary purpose and value session (June 28) participants were asked to provide data-grounded statements about things that should be part of our primary purpose & value statement and things that should definitely NOT be part of our primary purpose & value statement. A Google Doc with key quotes and tagged survey and forum responses related to the second, generally most favored, pathway was provided as preparation for this session. The group also identified topics with disagreement or uncertainty for further discussion or clarification. A version of the Mural board from this session is available here. This version has been organized by grouping related comments together and giving them a label.: Purpose & Value 1.

A second session (June 29) and asynchronous time were devoted to this essential work of defining primary purpose and value. This session framed the discussion around the questions of Who? What? And How? A Mural board reflecting this work is available here: Purpose & Value 2.

Strategies

The third session (July 6) was devoted to strategies. Four focus areas had been pre-identified: partnerships, organizational structure, advocacy, and geography. Google Docs of thematically organized key quotes and tagged responses for each focus area were provided as a resource. A working version of the primary purpose and value statement was centered on the board: “Who: Civic leaders who are inspired by the values & ideals of empathy, equity, and inclusion; What: Advance technology-inspired & people centered vision and practices for a thriving civic space; How: By partnering directly with community to offer our practices and vision.” Green stickies indicate data-grounded statements about things that should be part of a strategy and red stickies indicate statements that should not be part of a strategy. Yellow stickies provide definitions from the codebook. Meeting time focused on the first three areas because geography did not feature in this version of the primary purpose and value statement. Mural board input was also collected asynchronously. The resulting board is available here: Strategies.

Accountability and Success, Relationships, and Resources

The fourth session (July 12) focused on three main categories: accountability and success, relationships, and resources. Google Docs for Success (Connections, Equity & Inclusion), Relationships (Brigade to Brigade, Brigade to CfA, and Community) and Resources (Partnership Support, Training) were provided as a resource. Participants worked in small groups in breakout rooms based on their primary area of interest. Groups were encouraged to bring in ideas from previous Synth Sessions. A working version of the primary purpose & value statement was centered on the board: The purpose and value of the brigade network is for civic leaders who are inspired by the values & ideals of empathy, equity & inclusion to advance technology-inspired & people-centered vision and practices for thriving civic spaces by partnering directly with communities to build solutions with, not for, the people the products are designed to serve. Key questions for each category were provided on purple stickies. The small groups focused on identifying key themes, recommendations, and a desired end state for each category. The results of this session, and additional asynchronous input, can be found in the top and left halves of this Mural board: Success/Relationships/Resources/Change Management).

Change Management

During the fifth session (July 13) the participants focused on identifying recommendations for change management. The facilitator had summarized themes from the previous session in the lower right quadrant of this Mural board: Success/Relationships/Resources/Change Management). At the start of the meeting, stickies grouped by theme and color populated the Where We Are and Where We Want to Be columns. A document describing the current context was provided as a resource: Contextual Resources for Change Management. Participants started the session by working together to populate the Ways to Get There - Implementation Priorities column for resources themes, then worked in small groups to bridge the gaps for themes in their categories of interest. Participants were also invited to add stickies for additional key themes. Asynchronous input was also invited.