Everyone's Guide to Achieving Change:
A Step-by-Step Approach to Dialogue with Decision-Makers
Oxford Research Group, May 2007 (6th reprint)
Since 1982, Oxford Research Group has been building trust between
policy-makers, academics, the military and civil society. Along with
our internationally recognised consultants, we combine detailed knowledge
of global security issues with an understanding of political decision-making,
and many years expertise in facilitating constructive dialogue.
This updated handbook, now in its 6th reprint, is designed to introduce
the reader to the dialogue approach to achieving political and social
change. It is based on ORG's 25 years' experience of working through
research and dialogue to progressively marginalise the role and legitimacy
of nuclear weapons in world politics, and to develop realistic non-military
alternatives to the prevailing security orthodoxy. The dialogue approach
was pioneered by ORG in the mid-1980s, and applied initially through
facilitating 80 groups of citizens throughout the UK to engage directly,
by letter or face-to-face, with behind-the-scenes decision-makers
and policy advisers on nuclear weapons, using the non-confrontational
approach outlined in this handbook. The principle idea is simple:
by properly informing oneself on the issue, and then by building relationships
of trust through non-confrontational dialogue with those who make
and shape decisions, bridges of understanding can be built as a means
of developing new ideas and making possible significant policy shifts.
The ORG method has been developed and refined through the successful
facilitation of off-the-record residential consultations and roundtable
gatherings of people in key decision-making positions, and their critics.
The dialogue process used at these meetings allows participants to
reach a deeper understanding of each other on a human level and make
progress towards resolving those political differences which can stand
in the way of progress.
In the ten steps outlined in the present edition of the dialogue
handbook, the examples used mainly apply to nuclear weapons policy,
but the principles of the dialogue approach can be applied to any
issue which concerns an individual or group who wish to work in a
non-confrontational and non-polarising way for political or social
change.
The booklet offers:
- The basic ingredients of the 'dialogue with decision-makers' approach
to achieving change.
- Why it works.
- How to research the decision-making process on a specific issue.
- How decision-makers can be identified.
- How to approach them in a constructive and effective way.
- What may be expected from this dialogue.
- How your skills and the skills of colleagues in your field can
most effectively be used.
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