What is dotmocracy?

Dotmocracy is an established facilitation method for collecting and prioritizing ideas among a large number of people.

It is an equal opportunity & participatory group decision-making process.

Participants write down ideas and apply dots under each idea to show which ones they prefer. The final result is a graph-like visual representation of the groups collective preferences.

Read the step-by-step process

There are many variations on the dotmocracy process. This site focuses on the Advanced Dotmocracy process as defined by Jason Diceman of Co-op Tools.

The Advanced Dotmocracy processes defined on this site has been proven to:

• Recognize priorities and direction from rank-and-file members.
• Engage and empower a diverse membership.
• Give a voice to even the quietest of members.
• Recognize and celebrate shared values.
• Focus on solutions while avoiding traditional power dynamics.
• Provide fully documented results that can be easily translated into action plans.
• Garner friendly discussions while efficiently leading to practical conclusions.

The process is fun and takes only minutes to learn and apply.

To start using dotmocracy you first need to download and printout a blank Dotmocracy Sheet and then read the handbook .

Essential Step-by-Step Process

1. An issue is presented with questions.

The sponsoring organization(s) provides a preamble of important information about the issue to be addressed. For example fact sheets, opinion papers and summary documents could be published; experts and key stakeholder could make presentations. Post the key questions to be answered by the dotmocracy process where all participants can see, for example in large letters on poster paper or with a projector.

2. Discuss potential solutions.

In small groups, participants brainstorm and deliberate potential answers to the posted questions. Collectively and independently participants draft many ideas.

3. Post proposals.

4. Fill dots to record opinions. Write comments.

Participants read and consider each idea and fill-in one dot per a sheet to record their opinion on a scale of strong agreement, agreement, neutral, disagreement, and strong disagreement or confusion. Participants sign each sheet that they dot and may optionally add brief comments.

Repeat steps 2 through 4.

Participants review and discuss comments and dotting patterns and post new ideas to be dotted.

5. Formulate a common solution.

The dotting process is called to close and the results are published. The most popular ideas should be celebrated. A small group of trusted stakeholder representatives and decision-makers discuss and formulate a final decision or plan that selects, combines, prioritizes and/or finds compromise between popular ideas with minimal disagreement.

This process should follow the official Rules & Requirements. Facilitators should download and read the complete Dotmocracy handbook.

Rules and Requirements

To have a proper Advanced Dotmocracy session that is fair and effective for everyone the following situations must exist:

Core Rules

1. Official facilitators are authoritative and responsible for the Dotmocracy session and location. They should be in control of the process but neutral on the content.

2. Each participant can only fill one dot per a Dotmocracy sheet.

3. There are no changes to an ideas text inside the idea box once dotting has started. Amendments should be presented as a new complete idea on a new sheet. Comments may be added at any time outside of the idea box.

Facilitator's Responsibilities

1. Everyone has the right to participate.

2. If the outcome of process is important to someone, they should be directly invited and easily able to participate.

3. Everyone who asks for a blank Dotmocracy sheet gets one.

4. There should be no limit on dispensing sheets as long as they are not being wasted.

5. Barriers to participation should be reduced as much as possible within reason and available resources.

6. Dotting start and end times should be publicized to all participants.

7. Dotmocracy sheets need to be used on accessible tables, walls, and/or clipboards.

8. There should be enough writing utensils for all the people who want to participate at any time.

9. Posted ideas or comments should not be censored unless obviously profane, confusing or promoting hate.

10. A Dotmocracy sheet should only be removed from the dotting process according to the official facilitator's judgment.

11. Opinions are anonymous. Participants have the right to privacy from having their identity associated with their dots and comments.

12. The following must be posted:

    1. Process instructions, questions to be answered and any official preamble.

    2. An official policy on how the results will be used by the sponsoring organization(s).

    3. The sponsor(s) and facilitator(s) contact information.

Participants Responsibilities

1. One must fully read and consider a posted idea before dotting.

2. One's dot represents one's judgment of the idea written on the sheet, not the comments, although comments may inform one's judgment.

3. One must sign each sheet she or he dots. Exception: On request, a facilitator may fill a dot and sign a sheet for someone with disabilities or who is not comfortable putting their own signature.

Different Models

Dotmocracy can be facilitated in many different ways, but the three main models are:

1. In a meeting and focused

2. In parallel with a meeting

3. Outside of a meeting

In a Meeting and Focused

An entire meeting or segment of a meeting can be dedicated to a focused dotmocracy session.

Advantages

• Produce and prioritize many proposals in a very short period of time.

• Participants get an opportunity to discuss and reformulate ideas in small groups.

• The preamble can be presented live with engaging media, key persons and can include questions and answers.

• Participants can meet each other and recognize who was involved and help build community.

Disadvantages

• Requires a large venue and large group logistics, e.g. Snacks and drinks, materials for everyone to use at the same time, amplification systems.

• Those we can not make the schedule are left out.

Examples

• A residence group has an adhoc meeting to find solutions to noise pollution complaints.

• An organization has a bi-annual goal setting meeting to give direction to the management.

Suggestions

• Give everyone their necessary materials as the enter or have them already set out on tables and chairs. A few rolls of tape. Scrap paper for everyone.

• Post proposals for people allowing them to continue their discussions.

• Help groups to produce many proposals.

In Parallel with a Meeting

Within a meeting a dotmocracy process can be conducted in parallel with the verbal agenda. After a brief preamble early in the meeting, dotmocracy sheets can be either circulated on clip boards or posted on a wall that is near to the meeting in progress.

Advantages

• Traditional meeting format can be mostly maintained. This can be important if the traditional meeting format is viewed as effective or required.

• Meeting discussion can inform and be informed by the posted ideas and dotting results.

Disadvantages

• Either the verbal meeting or dotmocracy process may suffer from distraction by the other.

Examples

• Organization members brainstorm and prioritize slogans while listening to a presentation about a new initiative they want to promote.

• Audience members write down and prioritize questions for a speaker.

Suggestions

• Have preamble and instructions written for those who may have missed the verbal introduction.

• Have a materials table. E.g. pens (tip down) in a cup, scrap paper, tape, idea sheets, sticky-notes, paper recycling, clip-boards.

Outside of a Meeting

In this model the dotmocracy wall is in progress for many hours, days or even without a planned end. Depending on what group of people the process is intended for, the dotmocracy wall may be in an organization common space such as foyer, lunch room, or hallway, or may be in a public space such as public building, square or park. There may need to be facilitators present to manage the materials and encourage participation, althopugh for experienced organizations, it may be mostly self-managed by particiapants.

Advantages

• Greater opportunity for potential participants with competing schedules.

• Takes only a few minutes for participant at their own leisure.

Disadvantages

• Can take many more hours, days or even weeks to equal the level of participation accomplished in one short focused large meeting.

• Participants generally don't get discuss ideas.

• People are less focused, patient and less likely to consider the proposals within a larger context.

• Time and energy must be invested in promotion of the preamble and getting people to participate well. In a public setting, this could require full-time facilitators assisting in the process within a public space.

Examples

• A 'suggestions' board in a staff lunch room.

• A dotmocracy wall in the foyer of a school for getting input from students on potential changes.

Suggestions

• Have clear instructions posted on the dotmocracy wall next to the sheets.

• Post and handout the preamble. Publish it in an organizations newsletter or other popular media among the participants.

• Have pens clearly accessible near the sheets, ideally in pockets next to the sheets on the wall.

• Be proactive in encouraging people to participate. Ask them for a moment of their time. Hand them a pen. Walk them through the process. Answer questions.

• Position the dotmocracy wall in highly visible and popular area, such as near food or along a common corrador.

Use of Dotmocracy Walls and Clipboards

Like any sheet of paper, dotmocracy idea sheets require a hard and flat surface for being written on. In some cases tables, desks or a smooth floor may be used, with sheets either passed around for dotting or set out so participants can walk to each of them. Co-op Tools recommends the use of a designated dotmocracy wall, clipboards or a combination of the two.

Dotmocracy Walls

Using a designated wall for dotmocracy sheets (and not any other posters) has several important effects:

1. It is easier for a facilitator to monitor and manage the process.
2. The dotmocracy process is further legitimized as something different from other posted papers.
3. Sheets are more visible and recognizable.
4. Crowds can gather around the designated area of a wall to see what it's about, thus promoting discussion and participation.
5. It does not require tables or floor space.

Tips:

• Make sure the wall is smooth and that you can use tape on the wall without removing the paint.
• Plan to have about 40 cm of wall length for every potential idea. The longer the wall, the better.
• Remove obstacles and distractions from around the wall.
• Containers with pens should be stationed on or near the wall.
• Large print instructions can be easily taped on the wall.
• Beware that markers or dark pens may soak through a sheet and leave marks on a wall.
• Pens may run dry if participants are forced to write with pens in a horizontal position.
• Position sheets low enough for even the shortest participant to read and write on.
• Aim to have all sheets in a single horizontal line. Avoid placing sheets vertically above or below each other as this causes participants to crowd around a single area where it may be more difficult and uncomfortable for people to read and write on the sheets.
• After removing a sheet from the wall it may be easier to fold the tape over rather than trying to rip it off.

Clipboards

In a meeting of any size, clipboards with dotmocracy sheets can be easily passed between many standing or sitting participants. Ideally there should be only one sheet per clipboard; multiple sheets decrease the potential for many people to dot simultaneously and may also cause ideas at the bottom of a collection of sheets to be dotted less often.

Clipboards on a Wall

Dotmocracy sheets on clipboards hung on nails, a taut wire, or placed on a ledge against a wall, can be easily moved around and changed. Such a set-up of clipboards on a wall is very accessible: it can be easily used by people at any height and handed to people using wheelchairs or walkers. This arrangement also allows pens to be used in a vertical position so the ink can flow readily. Pens can also be conveniently hung in envelopes on the wall.

Factors That Can Improve a Dotmocracy Process

1. Trust in the facilitation and fellow participants.

2. Diversity of ideas.

3. The larger the number of participants.

4. Diversity of people.

5. The greater the education of participants on the issue.

6. The higher the quality of information available about the issue.

7. The more participants have something at stake from the outcome.

8. The more cohesive the spirit of co-operation and common aims within the group.

9. The more support the people with authority and trust give to the process.

10. The larger the number and wider the variety of well thought out proposals.

11. The more the amount of time for deliberation, reflection and reformulation of proposals.

12. The better ability of participants to recognize and discuss important patterns in the results.

13. The higher the number of iterations of the process. Each stage reflects on previous results and learns from new investigation.

14. The increased number of repetitions of similar and related questions over time and within different contexts. Recognize the continuity and differences among results.

15. The more trusted, knowledgeable and experienced the final decision-making persons.

16. The more useful the concluding action plan.

Each of these factors is rather subjective, but as one becomes more experienced at dotmocracy facilitation it will become more apparent which factors need more attention depending on the situation.

Facilitation Tips

These points, in combination with your knowledge of the dotmocracy process, and experience and skills with group facilitation will help you conduct an effective dotmocracy process. Many of these points relate to an in meeting process, but are not exclusive to that model.

General

• Establish authority over the process starting with first impressions. Have a name tag. Stand by the materials or presentation area.

• Plan each step as part of a time-line within your agenda, leading to a final output. Leave a lot of extra time at the end for reformulation of the final plan.

• Have participants helps distribute materials, e.g. take-and-pass scrap paper and proposal sheets.

• Keep yourself and the group aware of the time and your progress within the agenda.

• Number the posted questions for easy reference. Each proposal should include the question number.

• Ensure all written materials and proposals are legible for all participants.

• Remain aware of tone, body language, moods and feelings within the group. Address awkward situations before they escalate.

• Randomness and a bit of chaos is OK â???? it helps to deter systematic bias.

• Be flexible and accommodating to participant needs and surprising outcomes.

• It good to have fun and keep things light, while still maintaining the legitimacy of the process.

• Reinforce all the rules that have been established. Consistency builds legitimacy and trust.

• Provide space for minority views and critical perspectives. Don't stifle debate or dissent, but also avoid letting it dominate discussion.

• Use short 'energizer' games to get people more engaged and focused.

• Be aware of the expectations of the participants and the desired effect you wish to achieve. E.g. Are these people coming there with a serious intent or casually 'checking it out'? Are aiming to make people feel like this a folksy sharing of ideas or an important decision-making process. Select your venue, materials, presentation and facilitation style to address these questions.
  
  

Producing a useful preamble

• Aim to provide the most essential information and context necessary for making a smart decision.

• Provide a broad set of information without bias or commentary.

• Have key stakeholders author the preamble together.

• Include important facts, research, references, budgets, history, personal quotes, etc.

• When helpful use diagrams and photos.

• Include different perspectives.

• Include the criteria for an ideal solution to the issue.

• Keep it simple and concise.

• When using examples, provide a wide variety to avoid bias towards a singled out example.

• Presentations should avoid opinionated or personal commentary.

• Include what will be done with the results: what level of authority will be considering them; what kind of weight will they carry; and where will they be published?

Authoring the right questions

• Involve stakeholders in the question authoring.

• Keep it concise and clear.

• Brainstorm a large number of options. Then shortlist.

• Test the question on typical participants before presenting to the group.

• If it makes sense, you may want to have more then one related questions, in parallel or in sequence.

Developing good ideas

• Make sure participants understand the question and are informed on the topic.

• In pairs get participants to quickly write down a list of ideas without stopping to discuss and consider any of them. Then in larger groups they can discuss their favorite ideas.

• Use scrap paper for drafting a proposal before publishing it on a proposal sheet.

• Encourage groups to seek consensus on proposal texts, but also invite alternative and independent proposals.

• Stress the need for wide range of ideas. Push participants to go beyond conventional thinking. Use radical examples to demonstrate how far an idea can be taken.

• Encourage building on ideas and seeking ideal solutions for all stakeholders.

• Focus on the quest for solutions.

• Suggest groups don't get bogged down on one idea, but to write it down and move on. While deliberation is encouraged, the goal is to produce a variety of good proposals, not one perfect proposal.

• Have groups break up and form new groups once or more during the brainstorming and deliberation phase.

• Get some informed members to author a few well thought out proposals ahead of time, to help seed the process.

• Each proposal should be clearly associated to its question, although proposals without an associated question should not be censored.

• If a proposal includes many elements and receives mixed dotting results, suggest that each element be given their own dotmocracy sheet. This way you can recognize which elements are the most supported.

Helping the dotting process

• Set-up the dotmocracy wall in a way that makes it easily accessible to the entire group. For out of meeting process, ensure that participants know where the wall is and are requested to use it.

• Get participants to distribute themselves evenly along the wall, i.e. not to bunch up around only a few proposals.

• Maximize space between proposals.

• Ask people to dot independence and intention, Understand what you are doting and why. Be wary of following the crowd.

• Bring attention to newly posted proposals and proposals that lack much dotting.

• Keep the placement of proposals and comments reasonably organized.

• Refinements and combinations of popular proposals should be posted as soon as possible.

• Encourage new proposals based on emerging patterns and important comments.

• Removing proposals only starts to save time when there are more proposals then about Â? the number of participants, i.e. when some proposals have only one or no participants dotting at any time. Remove the duplicate, confusing and objected proposals first.

• If someone is not comfortable signing their own name, a facilitator can sign as a witness.

Interpreting results

• Recognize joke proposals and put a Ha ha or funny face sticky note on them to differentiate from serious proposals.

• 33% objection or 25% confusion after only 12 dots or 20% of dots have been posted (which ever is larger) can usually provide enough of a trend to decide the fate of a proposal for the next stage.

• Judge a proposal results in comparison to the results of others proposals.

• A lack of clearly approved proposals may indicate the need for a different question, more information or further brainstorming and deliberation.

• Pay attention to comments that may indicate the need for further research to inform the process.

• If people write angry or hurtful comments or aggressive debate occurs, a conflict resolution process may required to build understanding, trust, respect and empathy within the group.

• Investigate concerns and whether they can be addressed with discussion or a new (possibly more detailed) proposal.

• Be wary of polarized results, e.g. mostly As and Fs. These are more likely to create conflict than Bs and Cs.

• The final decision for action should be formulated based on the patterns of approval and relationships between approved proposals, not necessarily the single most popular proposal, or least objected.

Concluding with a clear plan for next steps

• While its usually good to have a specific conclusion in mind, such as the creation of a policy or goals for a project, decision-makers should be open new conclusions that best reflect the groups preferences, such as the cancellation of a project, or the need for discussion to address an underlying issue.

• Examples of potential next steps:

• A specific committee will publish a policy that reflects the results.

• Results will be published, further research will be undertaken and a new dotmocracy process will be conducted.

• A project manager will be assigned to carry out the most approved goals.

• The results will discussed by the board and several assignments may be given to the manager.

• Plan for methods of communication to follow through on information sharing and decision implementation, e.g. Mailing lists, newsletters, meetings, web sites, radio.

• When any decisions are presented, include a clear method for giving feedback and process for changing the decision, if possible. E.g. Provide feedback at this phone number and e-mail; this decision can be overturned by a petition by 15% of members.

Appendix 1 - Advanced Dotmocracy Compared to Brainstorming-Voting or Consensus

A common method for large group decision-making facilitation is to collect ideas via a large group discussion and/or brainstorm, organize and refine the ideas to some degree, and then either vote (usually by raised hands) to see which ideas are most popular, or discuss and address concerns until a single consensus is reached.

Advantages of Brainstorm-Voting or Consensus Over Dotmocracy

• Many people are used to traditional models and thus they may have more perceived legitimacy and may be easier to facilitate.
• All the communication is face-to-face, which helps build trust and community.
• There are more opportunities to smile, laugh and cheer as a whole group.
• People can feel heard by the group.
• The final decision is a single choice that may appear to be more decisive.
• A good facilitator may draw out people and ideas that might have not been written on a dotmocracy sheet.

Disadvantages of Brainstorm-Voting or Consensus Compared to Dotmocracy

• The number and detail of ideas is limited to the facilitators' ability to record them. The facilitator is a bottleneck that does not allow the process to scale-up to large numbers of participants and ideas.
• A facilitator may not correctly interpret what a participant is trying to say and thus record the wrong idea.
• The facilitator may have a bias that affects how the ideas are discussed and recorded. For example a facilitator may subtly ignore or downplay ideas they do not like, or give extra time and attention to ideas they prefer.
• There is limited opportunity for commenting and reflection on ideas. Any time spent listening to comments reduces time for new ideas.
• Discussion may be swayed by confident public speakers.
• The final vote is public (i.e. not anonymous) and may be easily skewed by strong personalities, people with authority or status, power relationships, cliquing and cultural influences.
• The process requires participants to do public speaking in order to contribute, which many people with good ideas may be to shy to do.
• Discussions about the process can often take time away from the content of the decision-making.

Appendix 2 - Advanced Dotmocracy Compared to Traditional Dot Voting

Traditional dotmocracy, also know as dot voting, sticker voting or multi-voting, is essentially placing stickers or written marks next to ideas one likes, usually written on easel paper by a facilitator. See an article that fully explains the traditional process.

The Advanced Dotmocracy process, with its specially designed idea sheets, rules and instructions defined by Jason Diceman of Co-op Tools, improves on the traditional dot voting process in several key ways:

• Any participant can present a detailed idea in their own words without the bottleneck and filter of a facilitator. In effect, many more ideas can be posted in a much shorter period of time.
• The distribution of ideas on separate sheets allows for unlimited ideas to be presented and rated at the same time.
• The agreement scale on each sheet makes it clear the levels of agreement, disagreement and confusion for every posted idea. Traditional method of posting dots just for approval does not recognize disagreement or confusion.
• The one dot per person/per sheet provides a much more accurate representation of the participants' collective opinions. For example, using the traditional dotmocracy method, 5 people can put one dot each on an idea, or one person can put 5 dots on the same idea. Reviewing the results, decision-makers can not tell the difference between the two different scenarios.
• There is no concern of vote splitting between similar or related ideas.
• Participants can write useful comments on the sheets.
• Documented rules and guidelines promote consistency and reliability of results.
• The letter-size idea sheets can be easily photocopied and archived in a binder or folder. The traditional process uses large easel paper which is awkward to store and review.
• There is no need to purchase the dot stickers that the traditional process requires.

The main advantage of traditional dot voting over advanced dotmocracy is that it is simpler to learn and apply.