Presentation used at the #2012waic Conference - Ghent, Belgium

1. Engaging
collec+ve
futures
through
being
and
becoming:
Making
meaning
and
taking
ac+on
Elsona
van
Huyssteen,
Mark
Oranje
evhuyssteen@csir.co.za
Connec+ng
self
to
others
–
from
inner
to
outer
(or
other
ways
around?)

2. Exploring
the
ques+on
within
the
context
of
a
career
narra+ve
study
-­‐
development
prac++oners
(urban
&
regional
planners)
in
South
Africa.
A
community
of
prac+ce
involved
with
‘the
art
&
science
of
planning’
Imagining
&
visioning
Technical
evidence
Ac+on
orientated
Understanding
Collabora+ve
processes
Analyses
Engaging
collec+ve
Management
futures
Always
adap-ng,
different
roles,
muta-ng

3.
What
I
am
‘supposed’
to
talk
about
Is
that
connec+on
evident?
Is
it
significant?
What
I
am
not
really
talking
about
(for
another
day)
Why
does
it
maUer
and
what
does
it
mean
for
‘planning
prac+ces
&
mul+ple
learning
processes’?
What
I
could
not
resist
to
reflect
on,
and
would
like
to
engage
with
you
about
What
does
it
mean
for
me/you/us/AI?

4.
The
ques+on:
What
is
the
nature
of
the
connec+on/rela+on
between
individual
prac++oners
and
the
integra+ve
prac+ce
of
urban
and
regional
planning?

5. A
quick
detour...
More
about
the
‘actual’
study
Origin
–
A
hunch
that
“that”
which
makes
the
some
projects
&
planners
have
a
much
bigger
impact
and
make
a
difference
than
others,
is
not
the
OBE
competencies
extensively
focussed
on
in
training
&
addressing
the
(perceived)
‘huge
skills
gap’
in
SA
in
planning....
Explore
ques+ons
in
rela+onal
context
of
‘whole
person’,
careers
and
life
Using
rich
career
narra+ves
(histories)
&
pre-­‐hypotheses
reflec+ons
Balancing
an
apprecia+ve
approach
and
a
cri+cal
reflec+on

6. A
wide
range
of
fascina+ng
findings...including:
Strong
rela+ons/connec+ons
are
evident
between
THE
PLANNER
&
PRACTICE
Individual
connected
to
collec+ve
(chicken
and
egg?)
…percep+ons
…points
of
departure
…relevance
and
‘impact’

7. Strong
rela+ons/connec+ons
are
evident
between
PLANNER
&
PRACTICE
(cont)
(i)
Ability
to
learn
and
adapt…
(ii)
Beliefs
about
the
ability
to
influence
the
future…
(iii)
Sense
of
purpose,
drive
&
courage
to
‘keep
going’
and
take
ac+on
(especially
in
complexity
of
context
&
prac+ce,
where
challenges
&
failures
starkly
evident)
(iv)
Iden+ty
and
strengths
through
different
approaches
and
roles
(advocacy,
collabora+ve
&
par+cipatory,
highly
technical,
administra+ve
&
law
…)
(v)
Rela+onal
nature
of
learning
processes,
mentoring
etc.
(hard,
difficult
&
advantage
of
hindsight)

8. Implica+ons
of
these
strong
rela+ons/
connec+ons?
Between
PLANNERS
&
PRACTICE
Individuals
&
A/
The
Collec+ve
(the
story
for
another
day)

9. New
ques+ons
about
the
relevance
for
AI
prac+ce?
What
are
the
ques+ons
relevant
to
scaling
up?
Some
personal
reflec+ons…

10. New
ques+ons
that
I
feel
this
might
point
to,
would
be
relevant
for
me
&
maybe
for
“us”
to
reflect
on
in
AI
context?
For
the
individual…
For
a/the
collec-ve…

12. (i)
What
do
I
believe
&
trust
regarding
my
ability
to
make
a
difference,
to
add
value…..(and
to
recover)?
(ii)
Should
I/we
not
some+mes
be
brave
enough
to
“trust”,
to
connect
and
engage
difficult
discussions,
to
challenge
beliefs
on
a
small
scale
to
be
able
to
appreciate
something
else?
(iii)
How
do
I
build
from
my
own
iden+ty,
rich
experiences
and
prac+ces…?
How
do
I
strive
for
strength
in
authen+city
versus
a/the
formula
in
unique
contexts
and
rela+ons…?

13. Engaging
collec+ve
futures:
The
(happy)
mee+ng
of
ways
between
the
individual
&
collec+ve….
Take
care