ABSTRACT
In the 1970s,
the Institute of Cultural Affairs began to create community development
projects around the world. Initially, 24 were created, one in each time
zone. Human Development Training Schools in which local people who participated
in those projects showed people in surrounding communities how it was done
followed these demonstration projects. The methods developed by the Institute
are now called the Technology of Participation. Using these methods, communities,
businesses, government agencies, schools, and private voluntary organizations
have built leadership capacity and teamwork. All around the world, using
these methods, people have reflected, planned, solved problems, and implemented
programs.
THE INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
The current
interest in new agoras is an exciting development in an academic society,
the International Society for the Systems Sciences (Espinosa and Umpleby,
2003). It suggests a willingness to reach out beyond the classroom to people
in their workplaces and communities. The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA)
undertook a somewhat similar effort in education, research, and service
in the latter half of the 20th century. We believe that much can be learned
about promoting participation on the local level from the experiences of
ICA. This article provides a history of this very unusual organization.
THE FIFTIES
The Institute of
Cultural Affairs was founded in the 1970s, but the organization that
became the ICA had its origins in the years following World War II.
At the middle of the twentieth century several trends led to a new view
of human society. Technological advances in communication and transportation
and the global movements of people during World War II led to an awareness
of global interrelatedness. The United Nations was established, and
colonialism came to an end. In churches there was a wave of writings,
study, and discussion.
The 1954 meeting of the World Council of Churches, in Evanston, Illinois,
made a resolution to begin a center for the training of lay people in
North America, taking as an example the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey,
Switzerland. In 1956, Christian businessmen in Chicago founded the Evanston
Institute of Ecumenical Studies and invited Dr. Walter Leibrecht to
come from Germany to be the director (Stanfield, 2000).
During this time, a group of faculty
members and students
at the University of Texas began to study the relationship between their
faith and contemporary life. Dr. Jack Lewis founded a group called the Christian
Faith and Life Community. Dr. Joseph Mathews and others created a curriculum
for students and laity. The Community began to work on the role of churches
and congregations in society. In 1962, when Dr. Leibricht returned to Europe,
Joe Mathews was appointed dean of the Ecumenical Institute in Chicago. He
brought with him a group of people, seven families, who had been experimenting
with a disciplined life of worship, study, and service (Stanfield, 2000).
THE
SIXTIES
When the seven families
moved from Texas to Chicago, their focus was primarily on developing curricula
for church renewal. However, in 1963, they relocated from Evanston, Illinois
to the west side of Chicago and gradually began an experiment in community
development.
From the premise that
local communities constitute the basic building blocks of society, the Institute
began working in a ghetto neighborhood on Chicago's west side, which became
known as Fifth City. Door-to-door interviews and neighborhood meetings provided
a way for the local residents to review their many problems and to begin
to design practical solutions (Stanfield, 2000).
The work of the Institute
was a combination of training in religious and cultural studies. Half of
the courses were theoretical and half were practical. In courses and communities,
a frequently used method was Focused Conversation, a way of discussing a
subject thoroughly so that factual, emotional, rational, and action-oriented
considerations would all be covered in a natural sequence (see Figure 1
for a diagram of the structure of the Focused Conversation method). [figure
1 about here] The seven families, and others who joined the Ecumenical Institute
residential staff, developed an educational program taught throughout the
nation and around the world, beginning in 1965. They also built a community
organization in Fifth City, where others had failed. This was done with
extremely limited financial resources. In 1965, the first annual summer
programs were begun. In 1971, these became Global Research Assemblies. These
assemblies brought together ICA staff from around the world for several
weeks to reflect on the year's experiences - what had worked and what had
not worked. They then revised their methods and programs and made plans
for the coming year. The new programs and methods were tried in practice
and then subjected to analysis and revision at the next summer research
assembly. Some of the later research assemblies drew 1000 people from around
the world.
A Self-supporting Financial Structure
What provided significant
momentum for the work of the Ecumenical Institute and later the Institute
of Cultural Affairs was the full-time, volunteer, residential staff, who
became known as the Order: Ecumenical. This group of people was similar
to a religious order such as the Franciscans, Jesuits, or Benedictines.
The Order: Ecumenical was a self-supporting secular / religious family order,
committed to a mission of service in church renewal and community development
(and later, organizational development). Members of the Order lived in shared
housing and subsisted on a stipend equivalent to the poverty level of the
country in which they were working. Certain members were assigned to take
secular jobs. Others were assigned to further the research and program activities.
Assignments rotated based on what was needed to advance the mission of service.
All income was pooled. Individuals, churches, corporations, foundations
and other grant-making organizations made charitable contributions to support
the program activities (Crocker, 2003).
The Importance
of Images and Culture
President Derek Bok
of Harvard University in a private meeting with Joe Mathews, in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, in the early 1970s, said he believed that the gap between
the 15% of the world's population who have access to knowledge, resources
and decision-making power and the 85% who do not have access constituted "the moral issue
of our times." Subsequently the staff adopted
the 15% - 85% dichotomy as a powerful image of the deep societal contradiction
ICA programs were intended to help resolve (Crocker, 2003). The people in
the Institute felt that the solution to the gap was not fully addressed
by the community activism of Saul Alinsky, which was popular in Chicago
at the time, or economic development as taught in universities. They felt
that "human development" was what was needed.
The Institute staff
was familiar with the power of images to influence human behavior (Boulding,
1956). At the time, they were using the social process triangle - political
system, economic system, cultural system. The purpose of the triangle was
to emphasize the importance of culture in development, an aspect of the
social process that tended to be neglected. The ICA was always concerned
with the entire social process, but they felt that culture was key. (Crocker,
2003) Perhaps the greatest contribution of ICA has been that the Institute
developed ways of dealing with cultural issues as part of meetings devoted
to problem solving and planning.
THE SEVENTIES
During the 1970s, the
Ecumenical Institute continued to offer curricula through the World Council
of Churches. In 1973, the Ecumenical Institute created a new organization,
the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). The Ecumenical Institute had been
working with churches in the U.S. on community building. As they began to
work increasingly with people from other religions and with secular people
in corporations, the title "Ecumenical Institute" seemed to be
an obstacle. The Institute was perceived as a church organization attempting
to spread a particular faith. But what they were trying to do was build
communities. Hence, the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) was established
as a sister organization to avoid the religious connotations of the title,
"Ecumenical Institute."
Initiating
Community
Development Projects Around the World
After careful study
of the methods and programs that had been successful in Fifth City, the
Institute accepted invitations to begin similar projects in Australia and
the Marshall Islands. These efforts were intended to test the applicability
of the methods developed in Chicago in very different settings. On the basis
of promising results from the projects in Australia and the Marshall Islands,
ICA decided to further test the model of local socio-economic renewal in
diverse settings around the world. To ensure comprehensive application of
the development model, the ICA obtained invitations from communities in
24 locations representing each of the 24 time zones. After obtaining the
blessing of national and regional leaders, community residents joined with
national and international consultants to conduct a weeklong conference
to identify needs and to create a plan to realize the community's vision
for a new future. Perspectives from both inside the community and outside
were critical in developing a plan for a Human Development Project. Participants
included a cross-section of village residents, resource persons in various
disciplines from the host nation and resource persons from outside the nation
(Crocker, 2003).
Each project was intended
to demonstrate comprehensive village development. There were economic, social
and cultural programs dealing with all the problems in the village and involving
all the people in the village. Day care centers, small businesses, sports
teams for young people, activities for seniors, health clinics, and experimental
agricultural plots were established where they were needed. After the planning
conference ICA assigned a group of staff members, usually about three couples,
to live and work in the community for one or two years, occasionally longer,
to do leadership training and to teach the methods of community development.
The first 24 Human Development
Projects were established in Fifth City, Chicago; Oombulguri, Australia;
Majuro, Marshall Islands; Maliwada, India; Kelapa Dua, Indonesia; Ivy City,
Washington, DC; Cano Negro, Venezuela; Kwangware, Kenya; Kapini, Zambia;
Isle of Dogs, London, England; El Bayad, Egypt; Inyan Wa Ka Gapi, North
Dakota; Delta Pace, Mississippi; Hai Ou, Taiwan; Ijede, Nigeria; Kreuzberg
Ost, West Berlin; Kwangyung Il, South Korea; Lorne de L'Acadie, Canada;
Nam Wai, Hong Kong; Oyubari, Japan; Sudtonggan, Phillippines; Sungai Lui,
Malaysia; Termine, Italy; and Vogar, Canada.
As the Institute of
Cultural Affairs began to establish community development projects, it greatly
expanded its staff. In 1968, there were 100 people on the staff, all living
in Fifth City, Chicago. By 1974, the staff consisted of 1400 adults (counting
600 children in their families) of 23 nationalities (Stanfield, 2000). In
the mid 1970s, the staff lived and worked in over 50 locations around the
world. Coordinating centers were established in Bombay, Caracas, Hong Kong,
Chicago, Brussels, and Kuala Lumpur. The staff became more global in composition
and included non-Christian staff members.
Courses and programs
continued to reach new audiences (teachers, social workers, business people
and professionals). In addition to the Institute's staff, many professional
and business people took part in the development projects as volunteer consultants.
Their interest in the work of the Institute led to the development of LENS
(Leadership Effectiveness and New Strategies), a participatory, facilitated,
planning seminar, which has been used by non-profit organizations, government
agencies, and private businesses around the world (Spencer, 1989).
Converting
Village
Projects into Training Schools
Human Development Training
Schools were intended to take what had been learned from the first 24 Human
Development Projects and spread the experiences and methods to other communities.
The first Human Development Training School was started in India due to
an invitation, which was actually more of a challenge. Following the Maliwada
consult, the head of the State of Maharastra, Chief Minister Chavan, was
presented with the consult document. He said, "One renewed village
is but a curiosity. However, I have 60,000 villages." This statement
prompted serious reflection. As a result a Human Development Training School
(HDTS) was established in Maliwada to train community organizers from other
villages. The first HDTS reached out to leaders in several other villages.
Through the training school, the village of Maliwada eventually sparked
development in 232 villages in Maharashtra state.
An even more extensive
village movement involved 1000 villages in Kenya, following the successful
project in Kawangware, a 'slum' near Nairobi. At one time, ICA had 350 staff
people in Kenya, mostly young people from project villages assigned to other
parts of the country. Less extensive replication programs were carried out
in Indonesia, the Philippines, and with 12 diverse communities in North
America. Replicating a community development project is not easy. Many supporting
factors were critical to replication. In both India and Kenya (and other
nations), replication was possible because it coincided with movements to
renew villages that were already present on a national scale. The exodus
from villages to cities had for many people intensified the cycle of deprivation.
ICA village development work contributed methods and organization to movements
that were already operating (Crocker, 2003).
Using the Human Development
Projects as the base, Human Development Training Schools were conducted
by ICA staff, volunteer consultants, and local people to train community
leaders, village volunteers, and government field workers in many countries.
Since 1975 the methods have been used in over 1500 communities (Stanfield,
2000).
Town Meetings
At the same time that
the multi-year Human Development Projects were starting, ICA developed a
way to take the message of local development to many more villages and towns,
not just in developing countries but in the U.S. and Europe as well. Town
Meeting, or Community Forum, was a one-day program intended to recover the
original idea of a town meeting. Town Meetings used the Consensus Workshop
method (see Figure 2) to clarify community concerns
and create practical plans to tackle local problems by using the community's
available resources and cooperative efforts. From 1975 to 1977, in conjunction
with the United States bi-centennial celebration, ICA organized one or more
Town Meetings in every county in North America, resulting in 5400 events.
(Stanfield, 2000) The goal of Town Meetings in the US was to use the excitement
of the Bicentennial to encourage community visioning, social analysis, and
action planning on the local level. What happened was unique to each community.
ICA staff worked with organizations such as the Rotary Club, Lions, Elks,
Bank of America, etc. Town Meetings were an early venture in partnering.
Partnering would become an integral part of the operating pattern of ICA
later on. In holding Town Meetings, ICA obtained support from corporations
such asA.B. Dick, McDonalds, and many others.
Town Meetings became
global after the U.S. Bicentennial Celebration in 1976. Over 1000 were held
in 13 countries in Europe (Stanfield, 2000). A Town Meeting was sometimes
an opening event to select a community for participation in a Human Development
Project. Town Meetings were also held to carry the experiences of Human
Development Projects to many other communities. Their primary purpose was
to awaken local residents to the possibility of effective and cooperative
local action.
The same workshop methods
were adapted for use by groups whose concerns often required a special approach.
Other programs, such as the Global Women's Forum and Community Youth Forum
were developed. For about eight years, ICA conducted Global Women's Forums
in countries around the world.
THE EIGHTIES
In the early 1980s,
several programs were being conducted in parallel and reinforcing each other.
The Regional Consultation was developed as a way to link the work being
done in local communities. A series of 62 Regional Consultations were held.
Town Meetings continued to create new activities in communities in many
parts of the world. Human Development Training Schools continued to train
more local leaders for community development work. The European volunteer
movement sent many young people to work in villages in countries around
the world (Stanfield, 2000).
Another program focused
on unemployed people in urban areas. Training, Inc. was launched in Chicago
as a 13-week program in job training and placement. It was replicated for
the first time in Chicago in 1979. Thereafter, it was expanded to sites
across the US. The training was designed for people who had their high school
certificates but were not able to find a job. The program gave them training
in computers, accounting, billing, sales, word processing and data entry.
In addition to job skills the program focused on changing self-image, personal
grooming, behavior, work habits, and life skills. These programs gained
a reputation for the depth of their training and their success in job placement
(Stanfield, 2000).
Documenting
Innovations
in Rural Development
In 1982, work began
on the International Exposition of Rural Development (IERD). The program
was co-sponsored by several UN agencies. Workshops were held to document
hundreds of successful projects run by many organizations around the world.
The best projects in each area were chosen to be presented at the regional
level. The best projects of a region were chosen to be presented at a country
conference. Finally, five hundred representatives from projects met in New
Delhi, India, in February 1984 for the concluding IERD conference to share
their project descriptions. A series of books were published to document
the lessons learned from these projects (Institute of Cultural Affairs International,
1985, 1987, 1988).
The members of ICA then
began to publish books based on the years of social work in urban communities
and rural villages (West, 1986; Bergdall, 1993; Pesek, Elizondo and Dunn,
2000), on ICA's methods of participation (Spencer, 1989; Williams, 1993;
Stanfield, 2001; Stanfield, 2003), on the use of the methods in business
(Troxel, 1993), in government (Troxel, 1995), in education (Nelson, 2001),
in civil society organizations (Burbidge, 1997), and on foundational understandings
(Stanfield, 2000).
In the 1980s ICA first
packaged its participatory methods for transfer to others, trademarked as
the Technology of Participation, or ToPâ. The basic group facilitation
methods include the Focused Conversation and Consensus Workshop methods
mentioned above and a short-term Action Planning process (see Table 1).
[table 1 about here] Over 30,000 facilitators and change agents have benefited
from learning and applying these methods in the US alone. The ToPâ series includes
numerous advanced courses. The most popular is Participatory
Strategic Planning.
A New Financial
Model for ICA
In 1984 there was an
ICA conference for the entire global staff in Chicago. Expansion throughout
the world was creating different local patterns of success and crisis. The
rush to do the Human Development Projects and the IERD was over. It was
a time for reflection on what ICA had become. Some ICA staff members had
begun facilitating problem-solving and planning activities for corporations.
They realized they had choices outside of ICA. It had become harder to hold
one focus for the organization. Some people were interested in education.
Some were interested in women's issues. Some were interested in youth. And
there was the growing international component. Most of the innovative work
on community development by the ICA was being done outside the U.S. The
U.S. and most of the "first world" people were college educated
while many of the staff members from the rest of the world were agricultural
workers.
Another factor was that
long-term financial questions had not been solved. The small personal stipends
(roughly $100 per month) were inadequate as children were going to college,
parents were retiring and health costs soared. The economics did not work.
ICA needed to devise a new financial model for the now global organization.
In 1988, ICA changed
its organizational structure from groups of families (the Order: Ecumenical)
to a more conventional non-profit organization. Rather than being dependent
on professional salaries to support spouses working as community volunteers,
ICA now had to think about hiring staff and paying salaries. It changed
its method of operation to fit a non-profit organization. Furthermore, the
decision was made to divide ICA into separate country-based organizations.
As a result, ICA in the U.S. began to reorient its services. After 1988,
programs were staffed by paid employees, many of who had once been full
time volunteers. ICA did not radically change its mission or philosophy,
but it did change its staff compensation model. This change had a great
impact on what it was able to do. The Institute was no longer able to do
unfunded projects.
THE NINETIES
In the 1990s, ICA's
work continued through ICA organizations in 34 countries. The work in the
U.S. focused increasingly on facilitation, consultation, training, collaboration,
and partnering with other organizations. Each country organization now operates
autonomously, under the guidance of a local Board of Directors. Some coordination
of the national offices is provided by the secretariat of ICA International
(ICAI) in Brussels. The national offices share courses and methods and new
ideas.
Some websites are www.ica-international.org , www.ica-usa.org , www.icacan.ca/institute , www.icajapan.org, and www.ica-uk.org.uk.
In 1994 the International
Association of Facilitators (IAF) was created by current and former ICA
staff and volunteers and many practicing consultants (http://www.iaf-world.org).
IAF has an independent voluntary steering committee. Currently IAF's membership
in the U.S. is much larger than ICA-USA.
There has also been
change in the summer research assemblies. Beginning with the IERD there
was a shift from the summer Global Research Assemblies in Chicago to international
conferences every four years.
RESEARCH
The ICA conducted research
to develop programs that served individuals, organizations and communities
worldwide. They were very aware of other approaches to religious studies,
personal development, community organizing, and economic development. The
religious courses of the Institute were based on the work of Bultmann, Tillich,
Bonhoeffer, Neibuhr, Kirkegaard, and many other authors. The secular courses
used the work of Hermann Hesse, Jean Paul Sartre, Joseph Campbell, Kenneth
Boulding, Carlos Castaneda, Paolo Friere, Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu, Margaret Mead,
William Irwin Thompson, and many others. The curriculum and subsequent programs
were extensively researched and each had a long bibliography. These materials
were discussed in the summer research assemblies in Chicago from the 1960s
to the mid 1980s. At the summer meetings, they invited speakers such as
Jean Houston, Fritof Capra and Willis Harmon as well as leaders from the
UN and other countries.
CONCLUSIONS
The Institute of Cultural
Affairs is a very unusual organization. Over the years it has changed its
name, its organizational structure, its methods, and its sources of funding
in order to adapt to new challenges. Three groups of people have been affected
by ICA and its work: 1) The full time staff who initially lived as families
in group housing and were self-supporting and who now, in smaller numbers,
serve as staff of many non-governmental organizations. 2) Past volunteers
who participated in events and programs such as opening a Human Development
Project and who then went on to use the methods while taking on leadership
roles in their organizations and communities. 3) People in thousands of
communities and organizations who have experienced the methods and have
taken part in the programs established in the planning exercises.
ICA has worked with
many kinds of organizations - universities, churches, communities, corporations,
other NGOs, international organizations, and government agencies. Few organizations
have touched so many people at all economic levels around the world. And
few organizations have been so innovative in creating new means for promoting
human development. Critical to its work has been the ongoing process of
reflecting on, sometimes naming, and empowering new social movements that
take shape in the world. The organization has been innovative in the content
and methods of its programs, the networks and partnerships it has formed,
and the organizational structures it has created to deliver its programs.
As the members of the International Society for the Systems Sciences consider
how to increase the use of the methods they have developed, the experiences
of ICA illuminate several issues: methods that have proven to be effective
in increasing participation, problem-solving, and planning in communities
and organizations in many countries; the pros and cons of different organizational
structures for delivering these methods; the magnitude of resources (people,
funds, and political support) required to introduce facilitation methods
in countries around the world; and sources of support for such an endeavor.
Learning from the experiences of ICA would increase the effectiveness of
future efforts.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This article borrows
heavily from the history of ICA included in Brian Stanfield's book, The
Courage to Lead. We have also incorporated comments by Marilyn Crocker on
an earlier draft. We are grateful to Gordon Harper and Marilyn Oyler for
their reflections on the history of ICA and to Lawrence Philbrook for comments
on an earlier draft. For a short history of the Institute, see Van Ruller
(2003). For a detailed history, see Griffith (1994). Any errors of fact
or interpretation are the authors' contribution.
REFERENCES
Bergdall, Terry D. 1993. Methods for Active Participation:
Experiences in Rural Development from East and Central Africa. Nairobi,
Kenya: Oxford University Press.
Burbidge, John, (ed.). 1997. Beyond Prince and Merchant:
Citizen Participation and the Rise of Civil Society. New York, NY: Pact
Publications.
Boulding, Kenneth E. 1956. The Image. Ann Arbor, MI: University
of Michigan Press.
Crocker, Marilyn. 2003. Personal Email Correspondence.
Espinosa, A. and S. Umpleby. 2003. "Reflections on
the New Agoras Project," Proceedings of the annual conference of the
International Society for the Systems Sciences, Crete, Greece, July 2003.
Griffith, Beret E. 1994. "A Chronological History,
1952-1994, of the Ecumenical Institute and the Institute of Cultural Affairs."
Institute of Cultural Affairs International, Brussels (ed.).
1985. Directory of Rural Development Projects: Project Descriptions Prepared
for the International Exposition of Rural Development. IERD Series Vol.
1, Munich: K.G. Saur Verlag.
Institute of Cultural Affairs International, Brussels (ed.).
1987. Voices of Rural Practitioners: Self-Analysis of Local Rural Development
Initiatives Worldwide. IERD Series Vol. 2, Munich: K.G. Saur Verlag.
Institute of Cultural Affairs International, Brussels (ed.).
1988. Approaches That Work in Rural Development: Emerging Trends, Participatory
Methods and Local Initiatives. IERD Series Vol. 3, Munich: K.G. Saur Verlag.
Nelson, Jo. 2001. The Art of Focused Conversation for Schools:
Over 100 Ways to Guide Clear Thinking and Promote Learning. Gabriola Island,
BC, Canada: New Society Publishers.
Pesek, Betty, Elizondo, E. and Dunn, D. eds. 2000. The Circle
of Life: Stories of Ordinary People and the Gift of Spirit. Boulder, CO:
Johnson Printing Co.
Spencer, Laura. 1989. Winning through Participation. Dubuque,
Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
Stanfield, Brian. 2000. The Courage to Lead: Transform Self,
Transform Society. Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs, Toronto, Canada.
Stanfield, Brian. 2001. The Art of Focused Conversation:
100 Ways to Access Group Wisdom in the Workplace. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada:
New Society Publishers.
Stanfield, Brian. 2003. The Workshop Book, from Individual
Creativity to Group Action. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers.
Troxel, James, ed. 1993. Participation Works: Business Cases
from Around the World. Alexandria, VA: Miles River Press.
Troxel, James, ed. 1995. Government Works: Profiles of People
Making a Difference. Alexandria, VA: Miles River Press.
Van Ruller, H. 2003. "A History of the Institute of
Cultural Affairs," received from Lawrence Philbrook.
West, Donna Marie. 1986. What More Can We Ask For? Indianapolis,
IN: Pratt Printing Co. Inc.
Williams, R. Bruce. 1993. More Than 50 Ways to Build Team
Consensus. US: IRI/Skylight Training Publishing Company.
|