CPW: It’s a Process Thing by Paul Hicks, Project Coordinator

Leading a graduate team through a Community Planning Workshop (CPW) project requires the juggling of competing emotional, logistical and experiential realities. Navigating these elements towards the development of a successful end product often relies on the strength of a collective “process.”

In defining the importance of process I’ll paraphrase climber Yvon Chouinard who once compared achieving a great goal to the quest for the Holy Grail. Chouinard neatly points out that at the end of the day, who really cares what the Holy Grail is; it’s the quest that is important. The quest or “process” of discovery provides for a transformation of self. In CPW, this transformation is realized through experiential learning, and experiential learning is all about the process.

I often find myself emphasizing the importance of “process” to our student team. Each project begins with an idea, a need, a contract or a requested deliverable. While articulating the substance of a community’s desired need is difficult enough, the real struggle lie in designing a process that meets the needs of community, client and student simultaneously. If these three elements are aligned through mutually beneficial processes, the depth of learning is poised to exceed the bounds of any classroom. Below is a “process” tour across project aspects likely to be encountered in CPW project involvement.

Teamwork

Without the team we are dust in the proverbial wind. Building a team is an exercise in vision, patience and listening, explanation, understanding, and setting realistic expectations. If these elements are balanced in tune with the dynamics of the team then confronting a community based or regional challenge becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. If the process of team building is neglected, team cohesion can get messy and the delivery of results becomes a substantial challenge.

Methods

The methods are the guts of the thing. From the outset of the project I work hard as a project manager to ensure that methodological processes build across project steps to continually encourage new levels of learning for the student team.  The process must not only reach the desired end result requested by the client; but, must also lead students through an experience that highlights their learning goals.

Writing

Learning to write as a team doesn’t occur through osmosis. From the beginning phases of any project, team members develop and agree upon a writing process that articulates their strengths and desires for improvement. As a manager, I’m attentive to the needs of the individual while guiding the brainstorming, drafting, writing, editing and polishing process towards a high quality product without sacrificing the learning goals of the team. Again, serious attention to process acknowledged here.

Community Partnerships

In brief – if no process exists to interface with community partners we are doomed from the start. Any project requires an understanding of the needs of the client and the community. Doing so enables the development of a successful process for engagement. In CPW, this concept is the backbone of our work.

Experiential Learning

At the end of the day experiential learning isn’t conduct through a “Lord of the Flies” approach. Students, project managers, and CPW staff give serious thought to designing a process that elevates learning through meaningful experience. It is the process that ensures students, clients, and community learn through collaborative and mutually beneficial aspects of the CPW project design.

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)