Step
10, Monitor and Follow Up |
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Now that the solution
is operating , make sure it continues to solve the problem.
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Purpose
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- Adapt to changes
- Monitor to ensure that the solution continues to work
- Maintain support
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Why?
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Keep track of the solution so your investment
pays off. |
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Monitoring the performance of the solution
is Reclamation's best investment bet for future credibility
and effectiveness. Monitoring focuses the attention on what
does work and what continues to work. Participants, clients,
and customers will see that you can and do adapt the solution
to fit the changing needs . They will
thus be more willing to work with you on a continuing basis,
increasing your effectiveness and ability to solve problems.
This will help lay the foundation
for future processes. |
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How?
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Do what you said you were going to do
and continue to do it until someone gives you a good reason
to stop . |
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The level of monitoring and followup will
vary for each process. Examine how the solution works and interacts
with other processes. Get with participants to determine the
best procedures for monitoring your solution. Some questions
to consider are:
- How often will you monitor check the solution?
- What criteria will be used?
- How will you determine what changes and adaptions need
to be made?
How will you make those changes?
Monitoring and adapting can become less and less frequent
over time but this decrease depends on the level of performance
and public trust that has been built and can be maintained.
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Scoping
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If you've never had a process break
down, then you won't know when it is working. (Think about
the oil pressure light in your car.) |
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Now that the solution is a reality, people will see it in
a very different light. Do some scoping to figure out whether
the solution still meets the needs. Areas to consider include:
- Participants.
- Identify the decisionmakers you will need if anything
changes. What will they decide? What do they need to know?
How often do they need to be involved? Have participants (e.g.,
State legislators, water masters, environmental organizations,
and political appointees) changed? Have agendas
, priorities , or strategies changed?
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- Effectiveness.
- Do participants think the solution is working? What does
work? What could be improved?
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- Related problems.
- Are there other actions in the area that keep the solution
from being effective? Can you address these?
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- Effects.
- What are the solution's effects on the community and
area? Have any problems been created by the solution? How
will you address these?
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- Commitments.
- Review the commitments made throughout the process. Are
they still valid? Have you met these commitments?
The solution's purpose and scope may be redefined due to
changes in laws, court interpretations, funding and authorizations,
etc.
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Documenting and Tracking
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If the solution works, don't fix it--just
keep folks informed. |
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Collect data and monitor progress to see if the solution
is working. You may run into some resistance. (Documenting is
a waste of time! We've already solved this!) These records,
however, will help new players and
be valuable resources in other solutions.
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Adapting
and Changing |
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The solution may not work as depicted on the
drawing boards--it may need to adapt to the real world. Keep
track of what has changed. Can the solution work within the
changed parameters? Can the solution address changes in needs
and resources? Going through the decision
steps to address these changes will help find balanced,
effective methods of dealing with the changes. Update the action
plan. Include people who can support
and make the changes. You might expand your scope to work with
new groups and organizations.
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Take
Stock
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Long-term management is as much a part
of the job as evaluating alternatives
, signing the record of decision, or driving the bulldozer.
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Use the information you have gathered throughout the
process and the latest scoping to develop flags for reviews.
These may be formal or informal, depending on the solution.
Flags may be linked to events or may occur at certain intervals.
When a flag is triggered, review the process by asking:
- Who has jurisdiction now?
- Who are the players?
- Do they understand the solution?
- Do they understand the agreements?
- Has anything changed in the community that requires changes
in the process?
- Does everyone have fair, open, and easy access to information?
Review cycles need to be tailored to the problem and goal.
If things happen daily, a weekly review of daily results might
be appropriate. With an annual cycle, a 5-year review might
be useful. Schedule reviews far enough apart so you can have
an overall perspective and yet close enough together to remedy
any problems. Think about how long it will take before an identified
problem can be resolved. How long can problems go without being
addressed? How long will it take to address them? Keep decisionmakers
in the loop--they need to be fully informed about monitoring
results and to participate in adaptations.
Monitor your progress closely when there is time to address
problems and when problems would matter most. For example, on
a flood control project to contain spring runoff, you might
meet regularly when snow accumulates, much more frequently during
the critical spring runoff period, and once during the year
to review and plan. Holding meetings to review and plan when
nothing is going on is critical--you need time when you can
calmly review the program.
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Tools
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The major tool here is time and commitment
to keep people informed. |
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Workshops
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Workshops at regular intervals provide an
indepth format to let newcomers know what is going on and remind
participants. Particularly, invite staffs of newly elected officials,
people who have moved into the community, and newly formed organizations.
Review the problem, explain why (and how) the solution was developed
and put in place, and go over changes that have occurred. Figure
out if the solution is still working and determine what actions
need to be taken so that it continues to be effective.
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Issue
Tables |
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Use the issue tables generated in Step
8, Select , and updated in Step 9,
Implement, to continue to keep track of the progress. Using
the same tables throughout the process keeps a continuity so
that new players can follow what has been done and all players
can work with a familiar process. (New issues may need to be
added to these tables.)
Sample Issue Table
Issue
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Resolution/ decision
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Implementation
plan |
Implementation
notes |
Followup
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Briefly discuss
the issue |
What you decided
to do about it |
Who will do what
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Who did what,
what happened |
Was this satisfactory?
What changes needed to be made? |
Sedimentation |
Put in erosion control measures
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Contractors will compact side slopes
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Contractors compacted
sides, added riprap for further control. |
Continue to look at South shore for
potential problems |
Chemicals in the workplace |
Measure levels of chemicals |
Contractors will institute measures
x and y |
State lab monitored for QA/QC standards
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Agree on standards and techniques. Laws
changed in the middle of process-work with lawmakers.
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Safety |
Safety training and drills |
Each office will develop training and
schedule drills |
Training was provided to safety officers.
Drills worked well. |
Provide further training during a staff
meeting or time when people will be there. |
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Look Forward
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Debrief
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Now everyone has 20/20 hindsight. Use this knowledge
to start developing a library of case studies and a treasure-hold
of advice to:
- Help people understand and analyze the decision process
- Show how the process worked--rather than keeping it shrouded
in a black box
- Strengthen other actions
- Create the opportunity for flexibility and adaptation
based on new information
- Build credibility by focusing on solutions
Please add your insights to the discussion
groups .
You really need two separate debriefing processes:
- Internal.
- This gives implementors a chance to honestly critique
the process (e.g., we could have worked together more smoothly
if we had done things differently). Using this information
to help improve the process will show that you are serious
about solving the problem and promote support for the next
effort.
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- External.
- Debriefing participants helps forge support and credibility
for the next process by providing vital insights into what
works--and what doesn't. Ask:
- What happened in the process? (Various versions of
the same events can help put the process into perspective.)
- How were the most important concerns identified and
tracked? Was this effective? Why or why not?
- What materials and actions were most useful?
- What was effective? Why?
- What could have been done more effectively? How?
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Apply
Elsewhere
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Share the findings with others in related or similar
processes and discover what others have done. Consciously apply
what you have found to your next process. Evaluate how it works.
Continually experimenting with new ideas and techniques
will help:
- Adapt your processes to technical, social, and political
changes
- Find effective methods of implementing workable solutions
- Keep solutions working
Recognize what has been accomplished, keeping in mind ways
to handle success and failure
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Celebrate!
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Go On
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Executive
Summary Tour Implement
< -- ->Celebrate!
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Process Tour Implement
<--->Handling Success |
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