Message From Mary: Building Capacity To Do Good
The CSI team is weathering this time of uncertainty, and we hope you are as well. To help mitigate the effects of the continuing insults to our wellbeing as a society we continue to build capacity to do good. What do we mean by that? And how do we do it?
“Do-gooders” continue to work daily, against so many odds, to solve the issues that hold us back. Researchers, advocates, and practice experts work to define the critical challenges we face as a society. Access to health care, the twin epidemics of mental illness and substance use disorder, the quality of life of people with chronic conditions, social justice and the voices of those seldom heard are a few of our challenges.
How does CSI support “do-gooders?” In this era of COVID, that stifles our ability to work together, Concept Systems supports researchers and practitioners at every step to explore the issues that matter. CSI’s methodology, Group Concept Mapping, is perfectly aligned with our efforts to learn the experience and potential solutions that the “more knowledgeable others”—those who have lived experience of these issues—can help define. GCM asks people to share what they know or believe, and to help shape a common frame prioritizing the problems and solutions of a group.
COVID has also shaped the ways that CSI supports such critical work. We’ve conducted training in Group Concept Mapping Design and Practice for almost 30 years by inviting our clients and colleagues to our home for 2 ½ days with the CSI team. But in 2020, we have already hosted a completely Web-based GCM Training course 4 times, and have two more courses scheduled.
This training captures and shares the best of GCM practice, developed through the CSI team’s experience. But just as importantly, it is an open forum for attendees to learn about each others’ work, and their commitment to doing good in their own field. The experience of learning from each other is one of the highlights of the training course. Community land-use planners, mental health researchers, government program managers feed the quality of each other’s efforts to “do good.”
CSI is proud to support them.
“I am thoroughly enjoying and inspired by the course so far.” – Current trainee
