Specific small group techniques covered in this section include breakout groups, workshops, seminars, community juries, roundtables, study circles, conflict utilization opinionaires, decision science, delphi, dialogue facilitation, nominal group process, open space technology, Samoan circle, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), synetics, and value analysis. Brainstorming is also used in small groups and is discussed as a separate technique. (See Brainstorming.)

The definitions given here are generated from common practice and various materials. However, the techniques are far from standardized, and their names, conduct, and organization vary throughout the country. Some techniques overlap, or a "hybrid" meeting or process uses elements from each. The key to using them is to identify the element or structure that addresses the needs of the participants and the goals of the meeting.

Why are small group techniques useful?

They encourage broad participation and promote a sense of equality among members. Individuals speak and are heard. Participants ask questions and comment freely.

Small group techniques foster interaction between participants. People are encouraged to speak frankly and openly. Ground rules, such as allowing only one person to speak at a time, help level the playing field between participants. Open and fair meeting processes promote give-and-take and interaction.

They make a larger meeting more efficient and productive. Break-out groups use various techniques to address a specific issue. Many ideas are brought forth in small groups that might not surface in a large gathering. The larger gathering becomes more productive as break-out group findings on specific topics are reported and incorporated.

Small group techniques foster dissemination of information to the broader community. Representatives meet in small sessions, cover issues, and report back to their constituents. The Portland, Oregon, Metro holds small group meetings in neighborhoods throughout the region. Spokespersons from each group report back to their peers, their elected officials, and other people about transit issues.

These techniques usually make meetings more fun and interesting. The interactive nature of small group activities makes them spirited and engaging. People are willing to attend and participate when they know the session will be interesting and productive. The Dallas, Texas, Area Rapid Transit uses small group meetings to obtain candid reactions to innovative proposals. (See Improving Meeting Attendance.)

Small group techniques offer a strategy for achieving a meeting goal. They help keep conversation on track or establish a step-by-step process for handling discussion. They help develop consensus or an action plan. To review elements of its 2020 long-range plan, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) sponsored four issues groups -- economic development, goods movement, and mobility and quality of life -- made up of key stakeholders.

Are there special uses?

Small group techniques are useful on controversial issues. They provide a non-threatening venue for all sides to express opinions and encourage mutual respect and constructive listening. They help reduce tension and defuse polarized groups.

Small groups provide a forum for technical issues. Complex issues and concepts receive needed explanation and review, because each individual has time to absorb material and ask questions. Participants feel more confident in an analysis if they understand the technical issues and methods involved. The Connecticut DOT used small groups of participants organized by modal interest (i.e., those favoring transit and those favoring highway options) to develop alternatives for repair or replacement of a major bridge.

Small group meetings can re-charge a participatory process with interesting and different ways of looking at a topic. Disenchanted group members are encouraged to rejoin if they see a way to achieve goals in a new and focused process. To critique and revise its public involvement program, the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA) called together 60 com munity leaders and organized them into small groups to work on specific elements of the process.

Participants affect the substance of plans and projects through small group work. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission used a small group to simplify its Trans portation Improvement Program for easier understanding by the public.

How are small groups structured?

The style, format, and organization of small group meetings vary. Some techniques are familiar and regularly used; others (frequently with fancy names) are less common. Some use innovative, creative group processes.

Some small groups are established from the beginning, instead of being formed from a larger group. The format is designed specifically to accomplish the goals of the session.

How do people work within a small group?

Problem-solving strategies are essential for small group accomplishment. Small groups need a specific format or process to achieve the goals of a meeting. These alphabetically listed tech niques can be used within the specific meeting structures cited above:

How do agencies use the output?

Agencies use results to refine plans or projects and move a process forward. Small groups generate information, ideas, and opinions. The Wisconsin DOT interviews small groups about preferences and viewpoints. Small groups are a way to achieve consensus.

Small groups provide creative solutions or new ideas and scenarios. In a small group session in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, a local resident architect sketched out a bold idea that became the conceptual design for a major roadway reconstruction. Small groups foster further interaction between agencies and the public, often with a heightened level of trust.

Who leads?

Agency staff or outside experts lead small groups, but training is necessary to lead them effectively. Training overcomes individual worries about acting as a discussion leader.

Community people also lead small groups. A neutral outside facilitator is important for small groups dealing with difficult issues. Some agencies offer training for local residents in leading discussions; others use outside experts. In Wilson, North Carolina, a local bank donated the time and expertise of several senior staff members to supplement agency managers. Working on the county’s strategic planning/visioning process, the bank staff helped facilitate breakout groups focused on specific transportation topics.

Small groups usually have one or two leaders. Co-leaders are chosen from opposing sides of an issue to make sure all positions are adequately heard. This is important when no one group leader is viewed as neutral or objective on the issue being discussed.

The choice of a leader depends on the complexity of the technique. In cases where a specialized technique is attempted, it is important to have an experienced leader.

What do small group techniques cost?

While actual monetary costs are minimal, staff time for preparation and management is sometimes considerable. The staff records events and reports back to a larger group or to the agency. A person is assigned the role of recorder to write down ideas on newsprint or blackboard. In some instances, agency staff facilitate. Triangle Transit Authority in North Carolina used staff members as facilitators of sub-groups analyzing transit potential and land use/development impacts of a new fixed guideway.

Training staff or participants to run small groups is a factor. Training improves productivity and leads to fewer meetings, thus offsetting training costs to some extent. One alternative is retaining consultants to manage small group sessions. Also, with minimal training, participants can play other roles that help cut outside costs, acting as recorders or reporters or in other support roles. These roles reduce the need for staff effort.

Meeting facilities become a cost when a neutral location is desired. To contain costs, publicly-owned facilities such as schools or colleges should be considered.

Equipment, supplies, and refreshments usually have modest costs. Adequate provisions engender good will between a sponsoring agency and group participants.

How are they organized?

The format and organization of small group work need to be carefully conceived. Good preparation is necessary. The choice of technique must be targeted to the intended goals and topics of the meeting and whether the process is short- or long-term. The organization of the process should aim to achieve limited goals within a specified deadline. Policy-makers must beinformed of the process and its goals to assist in its support.

Small group techniques must respond to both agency and participant needs. Agencies may want to solicit opinions, develop action items, and evaluate alternatives, while participants want to explore impacts, suggest various alternative actions, and make their voices heard. To remedy low attendance at large regional forums, the New Jersey DOT sent staff out to hear from certain populations about its long-range plan. Small groups met on Saturday afternoons in senior citizen centers, colleges, and center-city neighborhoods.

Participants need to feel that a meeting is structured well enough to produce results. Audiovisual techniques -- video, overheads, displays, laptops -- are just as important in small groups as in large meetings, particularly when technical information or concepts are being dis cussed. (See Video Techniques.) They help engage participants, grab their attention, and estab lish a firm beginning. Meetings should be dynamic, fun, and interesting for participants. A method of summarizing, documenting, and reporting findings and agreements must be estab lished before a meeting. Even a large meeting that is not well-attended can produce results when participants work in small groups to focus on specific issues or tasks.

The process must be fair and open. All participants need to have equal roles and be treated as peers. A group must be as inclusive of as many points of view as possible. Potential interests and stakeholders must be identified before assembling a small group, so that no one is ignored. If a large number of interests is represented, agencies often hold more than one small group session.

A method for selecting leaders must be determined before a group meets -- whether leaders are to be appointed or chosen by the group. In some cases, it is appropriate to train small group leaders and clarify the responsibilities they are to undertake.

Participants need to understand the process, their role, and the expected outcome of a meeting. As in a larger session, the context, purpose, and goal of a meeting should be carefully explained and understood. If the process is unusual, participants need an animated leader to explain it and carry it forward.

Specialized and unusual techniques have specific guidelines for implementation that should be carefully explained to a group. Before beginning a meeting, it is essential to review the use of small groups, the proposed format, and the procedures, as well as possible issues that may arise and the results anticipated.

Adequate facilities and supplies are important. Groups use easels with newsprint and markers to record ideas. Refreshments help create a comfortable, informal atmosphere. Equipment such as overhead projectors aids in reviewing a proposal. Breakout rooms are desirable for small-group sessions that are part of larger meetings. Supplies must be available for specific tech niques, such as cards for the open space technique.

Implementation validates both the findings and the process. If follow-up is required, staff or appropriate parties make sure it is done. A small group that is part of a larger gathering should be linked back to it. Pennsylvania DOT held large public meetings for its statewide pedestrian and bicycle plan, breaking into smaller facilitated sessions. Participants identified critical design problems as they affect cyclists and pedestrians. The groups then offered possible solutions and reported their key findings to the large group.

How are they used with other techniques?

Small groups must be integrated into an overall public involvement strategy. A regular series of small group meetings ascertains participants’ views. Small group meetings are held periodically to update community groups and interested people on the progress of a planning effort or project development. Such meetings supplement larger group meetings by developing detailed information or exploring specific issues.

Small groups adopt techniques available to larger groups, including charrettes, facilitation, visioning, and surveys. (See Charrettes; Facilitation; Visioning; Public Opinion Surveys.) Alter native dispute resolution techniques such as mediation are used when an impasse is reached. (See Negotiation and Mediation.)

Small groups can meet by teleconferencing. The use of telecommunications brings people together without the need for extensive travel. (See Teleconferencing.)

What are the drawbacks?

Preparation takes time and extends a project or planning process. But small groups also save time in the long run if they provide opportunities for many people to participate and become familiar with a proposal’s its elements and impacts.

Small groups require care and feeding. Space must be available and notices distributed promptly and to the right people. Staff often lead meetings or record their progress. Agencies sometimes provide a neutral site and refreshments for the group.

The support of small groups requires a commitment from both the agency and the public. Both need to be assured that small group meetings are worthwhile, productive, and needed and that the results will be of use in the overall process of public involvement. It is sometimes appro priate to have agency officials participate in small groups or observe the process to demonstrate its utility.

Are they flexible?

Small groups are inherently flexible. They are used in a variety of situations, with a number of different organizing techniques, at various times in the process, at nearly any location, and with a wide variety of participants. They are organized to respond to specific issues and participants. Also, small groups meet just about anywhere. Many meet in public agency offices, schools, or universities; some in private business facilities. Staff members from the New Jersey DOT have met with small groups in private homes. (See Non-traditional Meeting Places and Events.)

Small groups contribute to almost any larger process. The intended use of small groups must be identified early in a meeting process so interested people can comment. In a large meeting, breakout sessions should be identified on the agenda.

When are they used most effectively?

Small groups are effective at many different times in a process. They are effective at the beginning to alleviate polarization and early perceptual problems. When a process stalls, small groups re-start public involvement or move it forward. They are used before issues reach an impasse, or if participants are feeling excluded. They are used in either planning or project development to prioritize issues or work on action items.