Discovery & Action Dialogue
Discover the everyday solutions already present in a group by walking through seven questions about a shared problem, in small groups. Adapted from Liberating Structures (https://www.liberatingstructures.com/discovery-and-action-dialogue), licensed CC BY-NC 3.0.
2 parts · 9 phases
Name a host to keep the conversation moving and make sure each question gets addressed, and a scribe to take notes. Work through the seven questions one at a time, giving equal time to each.
- When is the problem present?
How do you know when the problem is present?
- How do you help solve it?
How do you contribute effectively to solving the problem?
- What gets in the way?
What prevents you from doing this, or taking these actions, all the time?
- Who succeeds — and how?
Do you know anyone who is able to frequently solve the problem and overcome the barriers? What behaviors or practices make their success possible?
- Any new ideas?
Do you have any new ideas for solving the problem?
- What needs to happen — and who'll do it?
What needs to be done to make it happen? Who volunteers to take these steps?
- Who else should be involved?
Who else needs to be part of this?
- Recap highlights and next steps
Each group's scribe highlights the "wow" stories, behaviors, and actions they discovered, and shares next steps. Then decide together who else to invite next time.