Here we are, in need of the benefits of visioning, but not able to reach them. How do we go from here to there? What do we need to get started? What makes visioning go?
I don't think there is a single answer to these questions. Chattanooga had a desperate situation and was large and industrial enough to find the seed money. Their situation brought them together and their internal wealth provided the capital. Other communities seem to try visioning out much like a intellectual exercise, with a large sponsor like the city or an important local corporation.
Oak Ridge is not desperate enough nor wealthy enough to easily move from no go to go. But we do have a lot of human capital. The questions in my mind include, "What will it take to organize volunteers to substitute for monetary costs?" and "Can we count on that local talent to substitute for an experienced consultant to lead such a project?" Sure, we can get some organizations to support and sponsor the project and even kick in some cash or at least do some fund raising, but the concept has to be sold. People in the city have to turn out and participate. What they find when they do turn out has to be satisfying, because we would need their participation all the way through to the end.
So if we are to try a D.I.Y. visioning in order to reduce costs and make it more palatable politically, we need a workable plan like the National Civic League's Community Visioning and Strategic Planning Handbook, some capital to plan the process and kick it off, and about 15 people, representing the community, committed to initiating visioning. The rest will come from the work of those 15. This seems doable.
For completeness, let me outline what the rest of the work involves. The initiating committee must define our process using the National Civil League's guide. They must recruit and train a facilitation team to support the visioning process. They must arrange the logistics of the visioning meetings. They must recruit 100-120 people, committed to visioning, to conduct the bulk of the process. They must be accountable for any remaining fund raising to match the plan they develop. And through these steps, engage the community.
Right now we don't have the kind of support to fund those kinds of decisions up front. I think we do have enough support to get started and we will just have to trust that the rest will be figured out.
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Chamber PAC Questions and my responses
7 years ago
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I am afraid that getting this community to agree on any path forward is not likely. There are too many organizations with contradicting agendas. It is going to require an outside force that is beyond the reach of these groups to drive change. When that occurs, momentum will gather strength and a sense of purpose and identity will come back to Oak Ridge. If this fails to occur, the internal conflict will remain and the future of Oak Ridge will fall to the growing perception that Oak Ridge is a destination for retirement. Business is already seizing the opportunties and services are increasingly geared to the elderly.
It is very unfortunate to watch a city that once had tremendous pride and purpose, slowly fade into obscurity and irrelevance. I hope and pray something will change before it is too late.
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