design an engagement plan
For groups
Designing an engagement plan for decision-making about computer use gives you a format and a vehicle to structure your strategies and tactics. The core elements of an engagement plan are:
- Defining the timeline of the project
This step establishes the timeline of a decision-making process. How long will the process take? Some examples of projects with timelines: the establishment of a new committee to manage issues of computer use, the creation of an internal computer use policy, a campaign organized around a proposed regulation, engagement with an upcoming procurement.
It is ideal to have three rounds of collective conversation as part of decision-making in these cases, with two being the minimum.
Identifying the purpose of the discussion(s) as well as the potential objectives and outcomes
Following the examples above, this could be the creation of a new committee with established protocols, the development of a new operations document, suggested clauses for a new regulation, or the development of requirements for the procurement of a new software program. As per the strategy "computer as choice", the outcome may be not to do the purchase, not to support a new law, etc.Mapping the engagement mechanisms you'll use for discussion against the timeline and rounds of discussion.
These mechanisms include surveys and polls, meeting online and in-person, publishing discussion papers and draft versions of the final products, and/or communications through trade press, organizational channels, and media.
An engagement plan helps you create structure around conversations for decision-making that are informed by strategy rather than reactiveness. By structuring a plan and sticking to it, you operationally enact the tactic of friction, slowing down decision-making for long enough to shift the frame from pressure to power.