Decision Conferences



IDI uses a facilitated approach to analysis of many problems using extensive subjective judgment and subject matter expertise. This approach, known as decision conferencing, attempts to combine the best of both internal and external analytical approaches by bringing together a small group of subject matter experts and key stakeholders who provide substantive expertise, with external facilitators who provide process expertise. The result is a series of intensive meetings that seek to identify key issues, evaluate alternatives, and introduce an implementation mechanism.

Decision Conferences can be viewed as decision facilitation with the major effort being accomplished in several days through a series of very intense group meetings in which key players interact to explore the decision process as well as the decision itself. The expertise of the organization is absolutely essential for success, and the level of expertise needed is typically that which resides in the heads of staff and key experts. While supporting information is important, it is supplemental to the process rather than being its focus. During the decision conference, computer-based models often are used as a focus for group discussion and the structured conference process allows participants to debate issues constructively while forcing the group to represent its collective judgments in a logically consistent and easily communicated fashion.