Opinion Pool*: A group of individuals, randomly selected from the population as a whole are brought together and invited to share their opinions regarding a particular issue.
Using a facilitated process which guarantees that every individual is heard and understood, the diverse ideas are allowed to build and develop together in new ways that emerge from the members of the group hearing one another. While recognizing and respecting the great differences that will undoubtedly exist in the group, the group is allowed to find agreement or discover new, mutually shared insights. Nothing is forced though, and whatever the conclusions are, they are then shared with the population as a whole.
Realizing that this small group of randomly selected individuals has represented the entire population everyone is encouraged to informally continue the discussion. A new capacity to think and act more cooperatively may emerge.
Periodically, new, randomly selected groups are brought together, sometimes with no particular issue pre-established, thus allowing the group to discover what are the truly important issues they share. Again the results are published, and everyone is encouraged to continue the discussion.
*The name Opinion Pool is relative; it is used only to highlight the inadequate nature of Opinion Polls; perhaps we would want to consider other, much more meaningful names.
Comments (3)
Also see "Deliberative Polling," a similar concept and has been an effective tool for understanding where people stand, but also allows for a deliberative process where people share their ideas and learn from one another on major issues.
the best leadership does not follow populist trends except in self interest for more power.
ivanjmd,
I agree that trend following is not leading, however I hope the best leaders would address the essential needs of the population. I believe the proposed idea is meant to help leaders identify those needs and engage the population in addressing them. This would be a form of servant leadership...where the people feel that solutions are of their own making.