A major role of the County Advisory
Council is to set program priorities and guide the staff in identifying
the most important needs to be addressed in the plan of work.
Three techniques are frequently
used to help groups determine priorities as a part of the decision-making
process in a variety of settings.
Brainstorming is the foundation for each of the three that will
be described below. It provides the means for groups to generate
a lot of ideas in a short period of time and encourages creativity
as a part of the process. Three processes for narrowing the ideas
into manageable numbers and allowing groups to seek additional
information before final decisions or choices are made will be
shared via techniques of 100 Votes, Multivoting, and Nominal Group
These three techniques are frequently
used in strategic planning groups, futuring committees and organizations,
councils and boards which must set priorities for activities and
For additional background information
review the handouts, slide notes, lesson plan and instructor's
comments integrated into the lesson.
to the group you have wonderful news. The County Extension
Service has received a gift from a wealthy "friend of
Extension" for the purchase of a new vehicle for every
Advisory Council member. The only hitch is you must all purchase
the same vehicle.
Ask the group to identify all the decisions that must be made:
What kind of vehicle - SUV? Sedan? Farm equipment (tractor)?
Sports Car?, etc.
options? Leather? Automatic Transmission? CD Player, etc.?
- Council members present? Ex. Officio members? The County
Discuss ways you could make the decision, i.e., voting, one
person decides, committee, etc.
Share the sad news (they probably figured it out) that alas,
there is no wealthy friend of Extension, but the reality is
we often find ourselves in situations where we have to make
choices or set priorities for a group. If we understand and
use priority setting tools, we will be able to have greater
input and, ultimately, make better decisions.
the PowerPoint "Skilled Group Leader" slides 29-34
and the corresponding notes pages to guide the presentation.
- SETTING PRIORITIES
#29 - 3 Techniques for Setting Priorities
(See slide notes.)
Comment: All three
techniques for setting priorities begin with Brainstorming
so this technique will be discussed first.
and Summarize Handout: "Brainstorming"
#30 - Guidelines
for Conducting the Brainstorming Activity. (See
- 100 VOTES
and Summarize Handout: "100 VOTES"
(See slide notes.)
SLIDE #31 - Guidelines for
Conducting the 100 Votes Activity. (See slide notes.)
and Summarize Handout: "Multivoting"
SLIDE # 32 - Guidelines for Conducting the
Multivoting Activity (See slide notes.)
- NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE
and Summarize Handout: "Nominal Group Technique"
SLIDE #33 & #34 - Guidelines for Conducting
the Nominal Group Technique Activity
- Discuss the Process:
Review with participants the process, ease of use, types
of priority setting where the method would work, success
in setting priorities with their assigned situation and
Activity - Distribute
"It's Your Turn - Role Play
Topics For Setting Priorities"
into groups of 6-10 persons. Assign each group a technique
for setting priorities: 100 Votes; Multivoting; or Nominal
Group Technique. Using the assigned technique, each
group works through the process of setting priorities
for the situations.
Pfeiffer, J. William and Jones,
John E., Editors. Structured Experiences Kit. San Diego,
CA: University Associates, 1985.
Forest, Laverne B., Working With
Our Publics: Module 4, Situational Analysis. Raleigh, NC:
North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service and the Department
of Adult and Community College Education, North Carolina State
Butler, Ava S. The Trainer's
Guide to Running Effective Team Meetings. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill,
Adapted from Delbecq, A.L., Van
de Ven, A.H. and Gustafson, D.H. Group Techniques for Program
Planning: A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes. Glenview,
IL: Scott, Foresman & Company, 1975.