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Q: Can different kinds of organizations partner together?
Q: Can more than 2 groups participate on a particular common ground project?
Q: Can any group participate?
Q: Does every member of every group need to agree to participate?
Q: Do all projects need to be new projects or can some of them be projects already ongoing in the community?
Q: When you speak of a "community", what does that refer to exactly?
Q: Is there a required length of time that groups are asked to partner together?
Q: Do all projects need to be completed in order to be successful?
Q: What happens if there is conflict between the groups in the middle of the project?
Q: What happens when the common ground project is completed?
Q: It seems like this concept involving people of differing beliefs working to better their communities is already going on with the work that service groups and other organizations do. What does The Convergence Project offer that is any different?
Q: I'm a conservative, and to me, The Convergence Project seems like just another liberal idea. Why should I participate?
Q: I really like this idea and would like to bring it to my community. How would I go about doing that?
Q: Can different kinds of organizations partner together?
For example, can a for-profit organization and a non-profit or a civic club or a trade organization work together? Yes, most all groups in any combination can utilize TCP training to find common ground to complete their process.
Q: Can more than 2 groups participate on a particular common ground project?
How about if 3 groups wish to work together? More than 2 groups may work together as long as they find common ground and as long as they all are comfortable that they have not sacrificed their beliefs or values.
Q: Can any group participate?
Most groups can participate in the process. TCP does not condone any form of discrimination nor will it allow any group that discriminates or whose message is one of hate to participate. Groups must also agree to be respectful and non-judgmental of other group members during all phases of the process.
Q: Does every member of every group need to agree to participate?
Part of the answer depends on the rules of your group. For our purposes, not every member of every group needs to participate. However, it is most beneficial if at least 8-9 people can agree to work consistently to accomplish a task.
Q: Do all projects need to be new projects or can some of them be projects already ongoing in the community?
Groups can choose to create a new project or lend their efforts to existing community projects. Again, community need should determine this answer.
Q: When you speak of a "community", what does that refer to exactly?
The Convergence Project generally favors projects that support the greater community in which you live, like a town or city. Certainly, in larger cities where large communities exist, selecting projects to benefit those communities could constitute benefiting the greater community.
Q: Is there a required length of time that groups are asked to partner together?
A general guideline is to select a common ground project that can be completed in one to four months. This allows more time to give detailed attention to the task the groups have chosen. However, shorter projects may certainly be chosen as well, if time constraints require that.
Q: Do all projects need to be completed in order to be successful?
The goal for common ground projects certainly is completion. Yet obviously there are circumstances that may sometimes prevent completion. The Path Guides who serve as facilitators are available to troubleshoot situations that may occur.
Q: What happens if there is conflict between the groups in the middle of the project?
Path Guides are trained to deal with conflict between group members. Not all conflicts are resolvable, but if participants stay task-oriented, most problems can be overcome and the task can be completed.
Q: What happens when the common ground project is completed?
It would not be an unlikely outcome to find that participants benefited from the process so much that they wish, having made an ally, to continue to work with the other group in some capacity. Participants who had a positive experience may wish to "nominate" another group in the area to experience what they have by telling them of their TCP experience and motivate them to partner with a group to make a stronger community.
Q: It seems like this concept involving people of differing beliefs working to better their communities is already going on with the work that service groups and other organizations do. What does The Convergence Project offer that is any different?
Certainly, groups exist in communities that do good works and are comprised of people of differing values and beliefs. In these groups, differences between people are usually not acknowledged in order that the task can be accomplished. Unfortunately, the differences don't go away, and the task is often compromised to the point where the project fails. The Convergence Project is different in that it actually seeks to take people out of their comfort zone somewhat by asking them to examine those differences. So instead of working on a project where differences are ignored or minimized, TCP actually uses those differences to reveal the common ground the groups share and to forge strong links between the groups.
Q: I'm a conservative, and to me, The Convergence Project seems like just another liberal idea. Why should I participate?
Nonprofits, like The Convergence Project, are somewhat unique in that they provide services that, in other countries, are typically provided by the government. While there are some government grants available to nonprofits, much of the funding that is available comes from foundations made up of wealthy individuals and families who believe in a cause. Nonprofits are truly people helping people, an idea that resonates well with both conservatives and liberals. The Convergence Project takes the value of helping others even further by asking people to go beyond ideology to find common ground that serves their greater community.
Q: I really like this idea and would like to bring it to my community. How would I go about doing that?
The Convergence Project is based on the premise that individuals who live in a given community know more about the needs and workings of a community than someone who does not live there. Toward that end, we offer training to individuals who live in the communities that they wish to benefit and who believe in the process. This training allows them to become facilitators or Path Guides for their communities. To find out how to become a certified Path Guide in your community, click here. |
