Partner roles to support a successful Local Voices Network conversation project with Cortico
When partnering with Cortico to contribute conversations to the Local Voices Network (LVN) , we have identified the following roles to be most supportive in implementing a smooth and impactful LVN project. We invite partners to assess areas where there is existing capacity, and areas where support from Cortico staff may be beneficial. Cortico provides many resources, trainings, and one-on-one support and coaching to support you in ensuring your LVN conversation project is sustainable and successful. All trainings listed below are also available to be customized for the needs of your organization and conversation project.
Conversation Organizers
Conversation organizers leverage their current networks and relationships to gather people to participate in LVN conversations. The person in this role will be your point person for conducting intentional outreach and inviting participants to your conversations. We encourage partners to intentionally include a wide range of perspectives with a special emphasis on including members of the community who otherwise may be underheard.
Qualities for organizers: People in this role should be well connected with the community with whom you are hoping to coordinate conversations, comfortable with outreach, and detail-oriented with experience organizing community events a plus.
Support materials for organizers: Recruitment Tip Sheet
Trainings available to support organizers: Community Engagement & Outreach Brown-Bag (every other month). In this hands-on workshop, LVN staff share lessons learned regarding what has been more (or less) successful in bringing people together for conversations.
Conversation Facilitators
The role of a conversation facilitator is to guide the conversations, make sure that everyone in the group has a chance to be heard, and to assist people in bringing their thoughts to the surface. Facilitators do not need to be experts in any topic area, they simply need to hold space for respectful listening across differences. When guiding small groups through the LVN conversation process, facilitators utilize the LVN Conversation Guide and the LVN principles.
What is the job of a Facilitator?
Support Materials for Facilitators: Facilitator Handbook, Qualities for LVN Conversations, Facilitator Learning Modules
Trainings available to support facilitators: Facilitator Orientation (monthly). In this interactive training, participants learn about the Local Voices Network Conversation model, tools specifically for facilitating virtual conversations, and participate in a sample conversation.
We have often found that it works well for the same person to play the following two roles, but they can be separate depending on your team’s capacity:
Conversation Technical Assistants
Conversation Technical Assistants attend the conversation and provide technical support for facilitators and participants when necessary. The person in this role may read the intro language and consent language at the beginning of the conversation, and they may also play the highlight during the conversation. Ideally, they allow the facilitator to focus on facilitation by handling the logistics of the conversation.
Qualities for Technical Assistants: people in this role should be comfortable with the technology being used to host the conversation, and they should be good listeners so they can be responsive to needs that may arise during the conversation.
Support Materials for Technical Assistants: Using Zoom to Host LVN Conversations
Trainings available to support technical assistants: Local Voices Network Platform Demo (every other month). This session includes a brief demo of the Local Voices Network platform and case studies of how our different partners have utilized the Local Voices Network platform to advance their mission. Cortico staff also provides individual tech training for our partners.
Conversation Curators
Conversation curators access the LVN website following conversations and create highlights to be used in other conversations and to support the goals of your project and mission. Curators have an interest in reading and listening to conversations about people’s hopes and concerns about life in their community, and assist us with both ensuring accuracy in conversations as well as amplifying critical concerns across conversations.
Qualities for Curators: people in this role should enjoy listening to, and amplifying, diverse community voices. Curators should also be innately curious people who see value in listening and learning from people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Support Materials for Curators: Amplifying your Conversation, Tips for Highlighting
Trainings available to support curators: Highlight & Amplification Workshop (monthly). In this training, you will learn about: the importance of protecting the voices of participants, different types of amplification, how to identify one's audience, different types of highlights and how to use the highlight feature across the organization's platforms.
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