Below is an example of an agenda for the first day of the community conversation based on the goals and desired output of Day 1. This outline serves as a guide for future facilitation of this community conversation, rather than a prescriptive agenda. Also, notice that the agenda is planned based on a 3-hour session including time for food. Further directions and details for group activities could be found on the page "Day 1 Activities".
Food: Light Dinner
If this session is held after work hours, for example 5 - 8 p.m., providing a light dinner would incentivize participation and provide energy for participants throughout the conversation. The light dinner is offered at the beginning of the meeting as participants enter the space and throughout the first and second section (welcome and introduction and creating group norms), which would allow for about 30 minutes of time for participants to eat.
Welcome & Introduction (5-15 minutes)
A. Identify yourself and the team - Clarify your role
B. Provide the context of the conversation - Why are we having this conversation and why is it important?
C. Frame the conversation - What do we hope to accomplish at the end of the conversation?
D. Provide facility amenity information - Where are restrooms, water stations, and other amenities located?
E. Have participants do individual introductions
Transition: Thank you everyone for introducing yourselves. We appreciate everyone taking time out of their day to be here. Your presence and contribution is valuable for this work. Before we jump into our conversation today, let's set some ground rules to create a safe and productive shared space for everyone.
2. Create group norms (5-10 minutes)
Discussion Question: What behaviors and expectations do we have for each other as a group throughout the next two days of this conversation?
Activity: Large Group Discussion
Transition: This list of group norms will help to guide this shared space for today and tomorrow's conversation. We hope that everyone will be mindful of the agreed upon group norms here. Now we will move on to our first discussion activity for today.
3. Group Activity #1: Gather the audience’s general understanding of a Creative Economy (30 minutes)
Discussion Question: What is a creative economy?
Activity: Think-pair-share
Record participant answers so that everyone can see. Emphasize that there are no wrong or right answers since participants may have varying levels of knowledge of a creative economy. The purpose of this exercise is to gather everyone's ideas and gain awareness of the group's understanding of a creative economy.
Transition: Thank you everyone for being willing to share your thoughts. We will take a 10 minute break. After the break, we will work together to co-create a creative economy framework for Duluth based on the ideas we have gathered.
4. Break (10 minutes)
5. Group Activity #2: Co-create a framework of Duluth’s creative economy (1 hour)
Discussion Question: Who or what are creative industries/occupations? Who or what are not creative industries/occupations?
There are a variety of activities below that could be used to explore this question. This section is the bulk of the first day of the community conversation. Ensure to allow enough time for large group discussion and meeting general consensus at the end of the activity before moving forward.
Activity A: Creative Economy Matrix
OR
Activity B: The Frame
Discussion Question: What does the framework we have created here tell us about who or what constitutes a creative economy? What are the boundaries of the creative economy?
Activity: Small table discussions
Have groups discuss at their tables the result of the first activity before turning into a large group discussion.
Transition: This was the most challenging part of our discussion today. Thank you everyone for your ideas and participation. We have made so much progress within an hour. Now that we have put in the hard work to establish a framework for Duluth's creative economy, let's take a 10 minute break to refresh for the last activity for this evening.
6. Break (10 minutes)
7. Group Activity #3: Brainstorm exemplars of creative businesses in Duluth (30 minutes)
Discussion Question: What local businesses in Duluth are examples of creative industries based on our creative economy framework, and why?
Activity: Large group discussion
Record a list of examples from participants by industries/occupations based on the result of the previous activity (Group Activity #2). As participants give examples, have them explain the reasoning behind their answers.
Transition: We have worked together to identify a list of exemplars using our co-created framework of Duluth's creative economy. This list will help guide our conversation for tomorrow.
8. Closing (10 minutes)
A. Prepare participants for Day 2 - Overview of the purpose and goals
B. Take a group photo to celebrate and record the work completed.