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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

S.02-11

Senate Committee on University Priorities?

Memorandum

RE:

The Dialogue Institute

DATE: ?

January 23'2O02

Attached is the proposed Strategic Plan and Constitution for The Dialogue Institute, submitted

for consideration by Dr. Robert Anderson, Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee. This

will be a Schedule B Institute reporting to the Vice President, Research in accordance with Policy

R 40.01.

The Senate Committee on University Priorities reviewed the proposal at its January 9, 2002

meeting. The proposal was unanimously approved. Once approved by Senate, the proposal will

be submitted to the Board of Governors.

Motion:

That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the establishment of The

Dialogue Institute as outlined in document

Attachment.

c. B. Clayman, VP, Research

R. Anderson, Chair, Academic Advisory Committee

The Dialogue Institute

Strategic Plan

Purpose

Dialogue is a process of collaborative listening and learning to discover meanings among diverse

participants. If respectful, this dialogic process gives recognition to sources of agreement and

disagreement around complex issues. Dialogue is thus a special form and method of engagement

with others, as well as a commitment to listen and communicate without condition. An emerging

interest in dialogue-related research and education has been identified in a growing number of

disciplines including communication, philosophy, sociology, business, political science and

education.

The purpose of the Dialogue Institute is to promote the study and practice of dialogue within and

outside the University. The Institute is the University's centre for research and education with

respect to the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. It will provide a focus for academic activity

associated with the Centre for Dialogue and will be the point of contact for affiliated institutions,

organizations and individuals.

Governance

The charter and constitution of the Institute provide for an appointed Director and a Steering

Committee, reporting to the Vice-President, Research (see attached).

Steering Committee

The membership of the existing Academic Advisory Committee, appointed by the Vice President

Academic for a two-year term, is as follows:

Robert Anderson (Chair) Professor, School of Communication to 09/01/03

Len Berggren, Professor, Mathematics, to 09/01/03

Joan Collinge, Director, Centre for Distance Education to 01/01/03

Ann Cowan (Secretary), North Growth Management Director of Programs to 01101105

Brian Lewis, Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences to 09/01/03

Mark Wexler, Professor, Faculty of Business Administration to 01/01/05

Yosef Wosk, Director, Interdisciplinary Studies, Continuing Studies to 01/01/05

It is intended that the University will appoint these individuals as Members of the Steering

Committee of the Institute. The Academic Advisory Committee would then dissolve. Additional

appointments may be recommended to the Administrative Officer.

The Dialogue Institute

Strategic Plan

Fellows

The Institute will make special recognition of individuals with great experience in dialogue, such

as:

Dr. Jack Blaney, Senior Fellow. Dr. Blaney is former President of SFU, and is currently Chair,

Fraser Basin Council; a Commissioner on the International Joint Commission; a Director,

Vancouver Board of Trade; Advisor, Vancouver Children's Arts Umbrella and a member of

the Academic Advisory Board of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

Dr. Mark Winston, Fellow. Dr. Winston is Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences

at SFU, and is developing a Dialogue Semester program for undergraduates. Dr. Winston is a

recipient of the prestigious Killam Fellowship from Canada Council for the Arts (2000-2002),

the Science Council of B.C.'s Gold medal in Science and Engineering and Eve Savory Award

for Science Communication, and the Academic of the Year (from the Confederation of

University Faculty Associations of B.C.).

Glenn Sigurdson, Q.C., Research Associate. Mr. Sigurdson has wide experience in negotiation

and dialogue with respect to salmon, mining, residential schools, and other complex issues. He

is recognized internationally as a leader in this field, and is a founder and former President of

the world-wide Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR).

Institute Associates

Simon Fraser University faculty who have agreed to become Institute Associates include:

Dr. Peter Williams, Director, School of Resource and Environmental Management

Dr. Michael Howlett, Professor, Department of Political Science

Dr. Liz Elliott, Assistant Professor, School of Criminology

Dr. Sam Black, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy

Research Partnerships

Alliances for training and research purposes have been established with the following:

The Centre for the Study of Peace & Conflict, University of Toronto

Director: Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon

The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, University of Hawaii

Director: Dr Majid Tehranian

Institute for Environmental Negotiation, University of Virginia

Director: Dr. E. Franklin Dukes

The Dialogue Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Director: Dr. William Isaacs (and President of Dia*logos Incorporated)

Trade Union Program, Harvard University

Executive Director: Dr. Elaine Bernard

The Dialogue Institute

Strategic Plan

• ?

Activities

Research

An emerging interest in dialogue-related research and education has been identified in a growing

number of disciplines including communication, philosophy, sociology, business, political

science, anthropology, and education. The study of dialogue thus has diverse intellectual roots.

As a commitment to communicate without condition, a special form of engagement, and

collaborative listening and learning - dialogue can be studied and understood through a kind of

conceptual and empirical synthesis from different perspectives.

The Institute will study and evaluate dialogues that are planned and held in the Centre for

Dialogue— analyzing, for example, the best composition of large groups, the staging of issues

and timing of interventions, the placement and role of key speakers, and the flow and

interruption of dialogue. Dialogue is an ancient form of communication and each tradition

around the world approaches it in different ways. Members of the Institute will study both the

pragmatics of actual dialogues and the tradition and theory of dialogue. The evaluation of

dialogues will provide insight for training and improved planning of further dialogues. It will

also enable the Institute to use this empirical data to build theory to meet new situations.

Graduate students will be trained through Internships and their experience of dialogue will

provide the basis for theses and dissertations in various departments. This research program will

link the Institute with experts inside and outside the University involved in specific issues raised

•

by the Dialogue Forum and Symposium (see below). Institute Associates, Fellows, and Steering

Committee members will be particularly involved in these linkages. The Research Partnerships

described above are key to the evolution of this program, because international exchange of

research findings and interpretations is essential to the development of the field.

Community Outreach and Public Programming

The Institute will be not only the means to sustain on-going relationships between the University

and its communities; but also a window through which members of the public unaware of the

Centre can learn about it and use it. Through activities outside the Centre, as well as within it, the

Institute will foster an understanding of dialogue and its practical applications. The Dialogue

Forum (see below) is designed to encompass five community-based dialogues, which will

provide opportunities for observation, testing of principles and reporting. Student interns will be

engaged in this process as well as faculty. Faculty will also be involved in the design of each

forum, which will incorporate current theoretical research (i.e., in tourism) and its application to

specific situations (i.e., the Olympic bid and difficult community consultations).

Dialogue Forum

The immediate objective of the Forum is to create effective processes to facilitate dialogue that

leads to action and to test these processes in specific issue-driven conversations. These processes

can then lead to strategic decision-making. This is a continuing Forum for reflection on practice

. ?

and the dissemination of cumulative experience and analysis through publication and public

gatherings.

The Dialogue Institute ?

Strategic Plan

The Dialogue Forum, initiated in September 2001, convened a gathering of senior executives,

professionals, and academics who brought a diversity of experience in the dialogue process.

Together, the group described situations requiring resolution, addressed the state of practice

currently available and identified gaps in knowledge and practice. In 2002 the findings of the

Dialogue Forum will be tested in five dialogues: tourism; mining; transportation and land use;

Canadian youth; and, quality in health care. The results will be reported and reviewed

continuously throughout the year and the initial group will reconvene in September 2002. The

Dialogue Forum is intended to be foundational to the development of the Dialogue Institute.

Dialogue Symposium

The 2002 Dialogue Symposium will be a one-year later follow-up to the Symposium on

Dialogue and Negotiation. The 2001 Symposium opened the Centre for Dialogue and was

oriented to dialogue professionals. This Symposium is to be an annual event, with three

functions: 1) a research-oriented invitational consultation on research and methods; 2) a wide

symposium for dialogue and negotiation professionals; and 3) a public event in the Centre

reporting on progress on examples of dialogue previously presented and discussed. The plan is to

hold this Symposium in the summer, annually.

Through interaction, experts outside the university and Simon Fraser University faculty will

develop collaborative research and development projects, and these proposals will be placed

before SSHRC, foundations, and other funding agencies.

Credit Courses connected with the Institute

The Semester in Dialogue is an interdisciplinary undergraduate semester for a cohort of

exceptional students, designed to develop collaborative learning and problem solving across

disciplines. The Institute and this credit semester have complementary objectives, and there is

opportunity for mutually supportive activity, including the role of Dialogue Semester students in

projects of the Institute.

Negotiation and Dialogue as Communication is a course (CMNS 447) taught regularly by Robert

Anderson in the School of Communication. At the heart of the course is a framework for

analysis of negotiation and dialogue in situations of conflict. In addition, a series of guests

enables students to engage with experienced professionals who are involved with dialogue and

negotiation. These guests will also be involved in other aspects of the Institute's work. There is

additionally a graduate course (CMNS

855)

on Negotiation and Dialogue, also taught by Robert

Anderson.

Professional Development

A model for a series of professional development courses aimed at improving practice in a range

of settings will be developed through the Institute and will provide a source of revenue and

further partnerships with practicing professionals.

The Dialogue Institute

Strategic Plan

SThis kind of training will focus on the themes of the dialogues carried forward from the Dialogue

Forum and Symposium, namely how difficult issues involve parties in adversarial relationships,

how methods of dialogue must prevail over and through these difficulties, and how parties can

find meaning and value in difficult conversations. Professional education seminars will form part

of a revenue source for the Institute.

Publications

The Institute will develop a website with an interactive discussion forum on research and

education and a strategy for publications in popular and academic publications. The Dialogue

Institute has a plan for its website that will include an interactive portal as well as an archive of

academic papers arising from the work of the Institute and a record of dialogues that have

occurred there. It will be a source of information and a place for discussion of issues and

experience. It will connect individuals and organizations engaged in dialogue on important issues

to others and to sources of support for their work.

In conjunction with the CBC, the Institute also plans to develop collaborative projects to engage

Canadians in discussion on important current issues. In addition, a series of reports and

publications is envisioned. Faculty involved in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue will

disseminate information about the project through educational publications, at conferences and

popular media.

Specific publications will include: the annual Dialogue Report; Guidelines for Convening,

Moderating and Closing a Dialogue; the Dialogue Continuum: Understanding the Terms of

Engagement for Important Conversations; Determining Success: How to Evaluate the Outcomes

of a Dialogue; Dialogue Watch; an on-line monthly commentary on world-wide dialogues;

proceedings of the annual Dialogue and Negotiation Symposium; Reports of the Dialogue

Forum.

Presentations

The Director and Fellows will present work developed at the Institute at professional meetings,

and will speak to community organizations.

Sources of Funding

Funding is being sought from foundations, granting agencies, and through project funding. A

grant from the Canadian Pacific Charitable Foundation for the Dialogue Forum, which is a

project of the Institute, for example, has provided partial funding for a research associate and

secretarial support. Start up funding of $10,000 will be provided by the Vice President Academic

in year one and an additional $10,000 considered in year two, if necessary, but the business plan

predicts sustainability in year three.

The Dialogue Institute ?

Strategic Plan ?

The Dialogue Institute

Constitution

The purposes of The Dialogue Institute are to promote the study and practice of dialogue within

and outside the University. The Institute is the University's centre for research, learning and

training efforts with respect to the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

The Dialogue Institute shall be governed in accordance with the University policies including

R.40.01 concerning Centres and Institutes. The Institute will be a

Schedule B

Institute under the

Policy, and its

Administrative Officer

is the Vice President, Research. If this Constitution or the

decisions of the Institute Director or Steering Committee differ from University policy,

University policy shall prevail.

Governance of the Institute is by an appointed

Steering Committee.

The Committee will

have up to nine voting members. Duration of the appointment shall be staggered to ensure

continuity in the Committee. A majority of the members of the Steering Committee shall be

regular faculty in the University. Members of the Steering Committee shall be appointed by the

Vice President, Research, the Administrative Officer for the Institute.

The University shall appoint a

Director,

who shall be ex-officio member of the Steering

Committee. The Director will be a regular employee of the University, and will be appointed by

the Administrative officer, except in the case of the first Director (see 6 below). The North

Growth Management Director of Programs at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue is an ex-

officio voting member of the Steering Committee, and will play a central role in the Institute's

programs.

The Steering Committee may constitute an

Executive Committee

(the Director plus at least

two others) to address committee business. The composition of this Executive Committee may

change annually, so that membership in the Steering Committee does not become onerous. The

The Dialogue Institute

Constitution

• ?

North Growth Management Director of Programs in the Centre for Dialogue (or designate) shall

provide the secretariat for the Steering Committee and the Institute.

The

Steering Committee

will meet at least once per semester, and will approve and forward

an Annual Report to the University on its activities. It will recommend appointment of Fellows,

approve budgets and expenditures, and make decisions on programs and projects. Members of

the Committee may vote on specific issues as necessary. Fellows and Associates of the Institute

may be invited as appropriate.

6. In

the first instance only,

the current Academic Advisory Committee of the Wosk Centre for

Dialogue shall meet following issuance of a Charter for the Institute, in order to identify (by vote

if the Committee so decides) and recommend an individual to become Director. This

recommendation shall be made to the Administrative Officer. Following policy R.40.01

concerning Centres and Institutes, the Administrative Officer will recommend appointment to the

President. The Director and existing members of the Academic Advisory Committee shall

become the Steering Committee, at the request of the Administrative Officer. The Academic

Advisory Committee may then dissolve.

In the case of the

second and subsequent

Directors of the Institute, the Steering Committee

will recommend appointment of an individual to be the

Director

to the Administrative Officer,

who shall review and recommend the appointment to the Governing Committee for Centres. The

term of the appointment shall be for two or three years, renewable. Provision is made for

appointment of an acting Director for shorter periods in special circumstances, normally chosen

from the Steering Committee.

Amendment of this Constitution

shall be by recommendation to the Governing Committee

for Centres from the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall provide reasonable

notice of a motion (and its content) to amend the Constitution to all members, and the Director

and secretariat must ensure that each Steering Committee member knows that such a motion is to

be discussed and decided at a forthcoming meeting.

The Dialogue Institute ?

Constitution