What is the Charlotte Assembly?
The Charlotte Assembly is patterned after the American Assembly process, first conceived by Dwight D. Eisenhower. The following will answer the basic questions you may have on the process:
Q. What is an American Assembly?
A. An American Assembly is a structured approach for developing a consensus on a vision for the future or an action plan.
Q. What is the purpose of an Assembly?
A. Its purpose is to develop a vision or action plan to meet the needs of residents in a community, a region, or a state.
Q. How do we develop this action plan?
A. The Assembly has a structured process that allows each member to express his or her ideas and suggestions. By using a fair and open process of consensus building, we can develop a viable action plan.
Q. Why should we use this specific process for consensus building?
A. Because the Assembly approach provides a body of knowledge, a setting, and a technique for bringing thoughtful persons together to discuss issues and voice their concerns in a manner that allows each participant to participate in a meaningful way.
Q. Does consensus building occur only during the Assembly?
A. No, consensus building begins to emerge during the earliest stages of Assembly planning as members of the Steering Committee grapple with basic questions, such as: issues to be discussed, who is included, questions that guide discussion, and budget and fundraising. During the Assembly, consensus building is part of the information exchange, formation of trust, and relationship building. Also, it continues after the Assembly, throughout implementation, as participants continue to build relationships and inform others about anticipated outcomes.
Q. How quickly can an Assembly be organized?
A. Generally, it takes five to six months to organize an Assembly. It takes at least four months to plan the retreat, prepare the background papers, and select participants. Two additional months are required for sending out invitations, waiting for responses, and then sending out additional invitations once the first round of acceptances and regrets are in. It is possible to truncate the total planning process to five months, but this puts a great deal of stress on the Steering Committee.
Q. What takes place during the actual Assembly?
A. The attendees are divided into discussion groups, each with 20 to 25 participants.
There would be a facilitator for each table and a fact sheet with
questions for the group to answer on each topic. There is an effort to avoid voting and instead to develop a
consensus position. After two
full days of deliberations, a general or plenary session is held on the
third day to resolve, through voting, any differences between the
consensus statements of the five tables. The overall facilitator would prepare a
final report, or Policy Statement that contained
the language agreed to on each topic.
Q. How is the Policy Statement written?
A. The final Policy Statement is written by integrating each group's notes into a single document. It should contain the consensus reflected in the group discussions. The Policy Statement is an integrated report, rather than a summary of the separate statements from each small group discussion. The focus is on overall objectives and associated implementation strategies. The drafting team tries to be as detailed as possible without violating the spirit of a single group. Usually, common themes and widely supported policies are easily identified. In cases where there is disagreement on an issue, the drafting team either develops language that bridges the conflicting camps or simply presents the main points of contention.
Q. What assurance is there that the Assembly recommendations will be carried out?
A. There is no guarantee that Assembly recommendations will be carried out. The force of the Policy Statement rests entirely on its practicality, the support it receives from participants, and the perception among the media and the larger community that it is a legitimate expression of community sentiment.
Q. How do public officials react to Assembly recommendations?
A. It is difficult for elected and appointed officials not to respond when a large group of their most active constituents have assembled, openly debated controversial topics, and reached conclusions which respect the interests of all concerned parties
