Visions of Community for Community OR

Systems sensitive dialogue intervention

“…Finally, it is proposed that the facilitator of a dialogue intervention should be open about his normative vision (Midgley, 2000;Midgley and Ochoa-Arias, 1999) and not impose it upon others. Rather, in accordance with Midgley (2000) the participants engaged in a dialogue intervention should be encouraged to reflect on their ideological, metaphysical and pragmatic boundaries.…”

Applying OR to problem situations within community organisations: A case in a Danish non-profit, member-driven food cooperative

“…This methodology is useful to enhance sustainable development of complex organisations through the use of complexity management to address governance problems and design viable organisations. This paper contributes to the literature on the use of COR within "localist green communitarianism" (Midgley and Ochoa-Arias, 1999;2004) and "nonprofit management" (Johnson and Smilowitz, 2012;Privett, 2012) by providing an example of how ST and the VSM supported actors in addressing their problem situation, and fostering changes in decision making and the organisational structure of the cooperative. Thus this paper responds to the call by Midgley and Ochoa-Arias (1999;2004) to directly work with local, green community and voluntary organisations with the aim of enhancing their coordination (e.g.…”

“…5 approaches may support democratic and participative decision making, and changes in the organisational structure that may enable coordination and cohesion within community organisations (Midgley and Ochoa-Arias, 1999;2004;Blanc and Kledal, 2012;Cleveland et al, 2014). To address these gaps, this paper (i) qualitatively analyses a case vignette concerning an action research (Huxham and Vangen, 2003;Eden and Huxham, 2006) intervention within a member-driven food cooperative in Copenhagen, Denmark; and (ii) discusses the changes in decision making and the organisational structure of the cooperative as a result of the intervention, and how these changes led to the enhancement of coordination and cohesion within the cooperative.…”

“…There are various forms of communitarianism (described in Midgley and Ochoa-Arias, 1999;2004), in this paper we focus on "localist green communitarianism". This form supports the coordination (e.g.…”

“…In the excerpt below the participants discuss opportunities to deal with passive members. P4 suggests introducing a "team structure" in all KBHFF shops, which requires members to join teams responsible for carrying out specific operational and management activities (turn 1) (according to Midgley & Ochoa Arias (1999;2004) planning enhances coordination). "Joining teams" is seen by the participants as a means to identify which members want to actively collaborate (turn 2), who KBHFF wants to involve as an active member (turn 3), and generally who is KBHFF member (turn 4), thus enhancing participation, engagement and empowerment at all organisational levels.…”