APPENDICES
Appendix A. Topic list for interviews (in Dutch) (Chapter 4)
1. Korte introductie
• Functie in gemeente
• Achtergrond (opleiding, ervaring)
• Korte overview project – doel, aanpak, rol erin • Hoe betrokken geraakt
2. De casus
concreet en gedetailleerd, rol respondent • Doorheen lopen (sinds betrokkenheid)
Begin – gevolgen, toen, daarna etc. • Belangrijkste relaties en personen
(Sources of support, resistance, drama, conflict) • Verassingen
• Uitdagingen en dilemma’s • Successen
• Mislukkingen
• Relatie ‘nieuwe’ en ‘oude’ manieren van werken • Wat was nieuw?
• Wat niet?
• Dilemma’s/ botsingen
3. Reflecties
• Hoe kijk je erop terug? • Wat heb je geleerd?
Aandachtpunten:
• Acties – wat deed je toen? • Betrokkenen – wie en wat
deden ze?
• Inner events – wat dacht/ voelde je op dat moment? Wat voor doel had je? • Details – doorheen lopen • Concrete voorbeelden
Practice Key activities
Understanding
the situation Listening: So, I thought: I’ll go visit her, how are things going with her initiative for the elderly? Well, she tells me: ‘The volunteers are not cooperating, and we are not getting that many visitors…’ So many negative things. At some point I thought: there has to be more going on with her… And all of a sudden you are at the table with a crying woman. (interview C4)
Doing research: I checked the zoning plan - legal stuff, long story – however, extensive recreation is allowed in forests, and this place qualifies as a forest. And mountain biking qualifies as extensive recreation. (interview F1)
Doing research: So I went into it and just started to break it down: does it concern maintenance of public places? It concerns spatial planning because we will have to develop this place if we want to do anything with it. Someone from the sewer is involved. [I]f you look at the history, the pond originates from a stream, a stream that is no longer there… but it still has historical value. (interview E2)
Building rapport and trust
Making contact: Then you just strike up the conversation, and I always experience this really helps. I am like that, to just go and meet them… and personal contact is very important, in that respect. So I often get on my bike and go out of the office to meet the people I am dealing with, to get coffee with them. (interview A8)
Keeping contact: When you ask someone to be a contact [for their neighborhood], their first reaction often is: that will take a lot of time, and I am not sure I can live up to it. … I think you need to reward that by really taking them along in the process… and inform them really well, and just drop by and show them you appreciate them. (interview E6)
Listening: there was this woman who wanted to start a kind of family home in [village X] … So I asked her: what do you do now? ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I work in education, and I come across these and these problems.’ I tell her: wow, yeah that seems tough, having ten troubled kids in your classroom. […] So we talk for a little while. … listening, summarizing, asking follow-up questions, you know, so people feel: right; this person is really listening and hears what I am saying. (interview C5)
Developing shared resolutions
Connecting people: Because I have made this map [of all urban farming spots in the city] it was very easy. I could just say: hey, do you know that this and that person is also working on this? You can check the map, or I can give you their contact details. I could make all these connections between citizens and initiatives, and I believe, […] once they connect, they can reinforce each other, making the initiatives even stronger. (interview A2)
Mediating: There are a couple of residents who have filed a reaction: ‘we don’t want people to live there, we don’t want that, and we think the plan should be changed’. […] We had expected some response, but five is quite a lot, so we need to do something. So, we decided: we’ll invite them, all of them, for a conversation with the owner of the place who wants to build the studio and get them into contact with each other. (interview D3)
Thinking along: First, you try to sense what might be acceptable and what is not … then you talk to the developer and get a sense… when it starts coming together, I try to get to come up with a concrete proposal for both parties, like: if we do this, is that acceptable for you? (interview F3)
A
Practice Key activities
Aligning inside
and outside Involving colleagues: For this workshop, I invited a colleague from the sports department because he already knows the clubs here, from the sports policy […] I brought a planner to facilitate the design process and also because he knows just a bit more about how much distance should be between the buildings. (interview A7)
Explaining: If you passionately explain the dream of what it might be, the structure of the trees, the cultural history, the future image, you’ll get everyone on board. You need to inspire… So I explained the boundaries for this park and gave them the building blocks – that is not up for discussion. (interview B5)
Negotiating with colleagues: First, I try to focus on the people I believe I can convince. That is a deliberate strategy; I do not just go up to a manager and say this is not right. I try to make people feel part of the issue, have them acknowledge there is a problem, because that is where it starts. At the point when I think: alright, there is a critical mass who shares my view, then I go and talk to my manager: how can we tackle this issue? (interview B1) Supporting
practically Providing materials: we have developed [this cleaning initiative] together with the village council, but village council is in charge and we facilitate. I make sure they have garbage bags, I arrange for the bags to be picked up after they have collected the garbage; they got wheelbarrows, everything. (interview B6)
Organizing meetings: We decided then to plan an evening where we would talk about the purposes square. Three other initiatives had developed in the meantime, and they could present themselves and how they fit with the purposes. And then leave it open to decide what would be the next step. (interview D1)
Facilitating dialogue: My role in the neighborhood platform is to facilitate the discussion and process. So, really, I don’t do anything myself. I put people in position and bring them together, so they can take action by themselves. I facilitate the discussion and make sure that everyone has their say, that people don’t interrupt one another, and they get to tell their ideas. (interview D2)