When to Use Participatory Decision Making Process

Many groups are now using consensus or participatory decision making process. While these processes have the advantages of increasing stakeholder investment and buy-in into decisions, they can also be time consuming. As a way of maximizing efficiency, some groups operate by consensus in certain circumstances and by other methods at other times. What follows our guidelines for deciding when in might be useful to use consensual decision making:

1. When you do not know who has the most expertise regarding the decision to be made.
2. When implementing the decision will require multiple stakeholders
3. When there are few facts and judgments and opinions are required
4. When the stakes are high and it is important to make the best decision possible.

Adapted from: Team Building by W. Warner Burke (1982).

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