The Art of Convening

The need for effective convenings has never been greater.?

In our rapidly evolving social and political landscape, organizations are faced with an array of increasingly complex social problems that demand collaborative approaches leading to innovative solutions. Convenings—both in-person and virtual—have the unique potential to address these challenges by building trust, bridging divides, fostering teamwork, and cultivating spaces in which lasting solutions can emerge.??

But?effective?convenings require far more than coordinating schedules, drafting an agenda, and sending out notes after. The art of convening recognizes that successful gatherings are the culmination of careful strategic design and implementation, including thoughtful and thorough consideration of objectives, meticulous planning that anticipates the unexpected, and collaborative decision-making at every stage of the process.?

Through TCC Group’s extensive experience partnering with numerous foundation, corporate, and nonprofit clients, we have identified five essential elements of impactful convenings:??

ELEMENT 1. Embracing Complexity?

Too often convenings attempt to avoid or simplify the complexity in the room, based on a belief that this will lead to shared agreement.??

At TCC Group, our approach is to create the space for candid and productive conversations embracing that complexity. We believe this strategy will result in far more durable post-convening connections, which are essential for working together to make lasting change.??

For a convening we coordinated involving industry leaders, academics, and students, we began by meeting separately with each constituency to understand their unique goals for the gathering. This enabled us to share needs and priorities in advance, so that convening participants had?a?clear understanding of the aspirations of others in the room. During the convening itself, we actively reminded participants of the other audiences present, to ensure that all perspectives were represented throughout the discussions.??

ELEMENT 2. Ensuring Inclusivity?

Inclusivity must be top-of-mind from the outset of your planning process,?or it will not happen.??

It is critical to work with not just our client but everyone who will be participating in a convening. Our goal is?to?maintain an intentional focus on who all will benefit from a convening and how to tailor those benefits to the unique needs of the various participants.?

For a convening TCC Group coordinated to generate new ideas and new ways of thinking, we engaged “ambassadors” from the community being served to help develop the agenda, select the speakers, and identify how the facilitation would be conducted. We ensured that this process was not extractive by compensating community members for the time they committed to this process. In the case of this convening, embracing principles of diversity and inclusion enabled?all?participants to harness their collective wisdom and unlock innovative solutions.??

?ELEMENT 3. Building Trust??

Trust between a client host and convening coordinators can be as critical as trust among convening participants. ??

Ongoing, mutual trust among hosts and coordinators relies on more than project management needed to run a meeting. TCC Group?has been exceptionally effective in our role as convening coordinators because we value and center relationships, building trust in our collaborative recommendations on a multitude of convening elements such as conference speakers and approaches to facilitation.??

Moreover, the trust we build with our clients enables us to hold their relationships and represent them effectively with speakers, grantees, and community members, both in the planning process and throughout the convening itself. This trust enables our clients to step back and either participate in a new way or even leave the room when a funder’s presence and power could limit the candor and insights of other convening participants.?

ELEMENT 4. Cultivating Dialogue??

All too easily convenings can devolve into those with greater relative power speaking over those perceived as having lesser power.??

At TCC Group, we embrace strategies to support reflective dialogue and ensure collective sense-making, which are critical to uncovering new possibilities and co-creating actionable strategies. An ideal starting point is recognizing that individuals learn and engage most comfortably in different ways and providing the means for tailored engagement. Facilitation techniques such as appreciative inquiry, design thinking, and dialogue circles can be especially effective in stimulating creativity, encouraging divergent perspectives, and fostering consensus-building.??

For example, rather than conducting a standard panel discussion with time left for a few questions at the end, offer multiple ways for participants to engage. For the convenings we coordinate, this often includes opportunities for engaging in open question and answer sessions, mini debates, world cafe-style sessions, or data walks.?

We have also employed a version of “speed dating,” which has been tremendously successful in generating authentic dialogue and connection among funders, grantees, and community representatives. At an upcoming convening, we will be piloting an opportunity for participants to act out a complex, systemic problem improv-style. This both creates new ways to communicate and keeps participants from losing enthusiasm after sitting for an hour or more without moving.?

In addition, do not underestimate the power of something as simple as playing music or making light conversation as convening participants join you in a space. Providing snacks and beverages, and ensuring there are options for those with dietary restrictions, can also be an excellent way to ensure that participants feel cared for and respected. Creating this mood of warmth and welcoming will only enhance the willingness of participants to speak up.?

ELEMENT 5. Facilitating Impact?

Ultimately, the success of a convening is measured by its ability to catalyze action and drive tangible impact.??

We believe there must be structured checkpoints throughout the convening process for refining objectives, identifying actionable next steps, and developing accountability mechanisms with designated ownership of follow-through.?

In our convenings, we periodically conduct??a “vibe check.” Are participants feeling energized, curious, overwhelmed, hungry, exhausted??Ideally, your planning has anticipated all of these responses . But the only way to know for certain is to check in with participants. You also need to have a strategy in place for addressing any challenges to ensure that participants can feel fully engaged.?

Longer-term, there should be a plan in place to continue to engage with participants after the convening has ended. One approach we use at TCC Group is to have participants write a “next step” for action on a postcard, which we mail to them a week after the convening has ended. We have also engaged a graphic designer to capture participants’ aspirations and shared them back following the convening. Without this type of direct connection, it is far too easy to loose the momentum and energy of even the most well organized and executed convening.?

Convening for Lasting Impact?

These five elements offer a blueprint for designing and implementing convenings that result in concrete change and lasting impact. They also require artful practitioners who can navigate a throughline from conceptualization to collaboration to action. For most organizations, this will entail investing in expert support to coordinate and facilitate the convening process. Given the undeniable importance of joining our strengths if we hope to make systemic change, it is an investment well worth making.?

Reach out?to see how we can help ensure your next convening is powerful,?equitable, and has the impact you intend.