NCI’s Holly Madill and MSUE’s Harmony Gmazel co-present session at Michigan Community Development Association Spring Technical Assistance Conference

The Michigan Community Development Association hosted their Spring Technical Assistance Conference on March 14, 2018, in East Lansing, MI.

Attendees working in groups during session.
Attendees working in groups during session.

The Michigan Community Development Association hosted their Spring Technical Assistance Conference on March 14, 2018, in East Lansing, MI.

National Charrette Institute’s director Holly Madill, and Harmony Gmazel, Michigan State University Extension educator, co-presented a morning session on “Public meeting and engagement processes geared toward development of, and/or soliciting input on, Consolidated Plans. 

During this this hands-on and case-study-based session, Madill and Gmazel discussed how to break down barriers in complicated and heated community settings with the National Charrette Institute System approach, using collaborative design-thinking to activate the creative potential of all stakeholders by embedding them in the design process to co-create a transformative plan. 

Attendees explored how to translate the NCI charrette approach for development of a Consolidated Plan, while learning how to:

  • Gain a practical understanding of the exercises effective in public workshops.
  • Understand and practice meeting planning and facilitation.

Although historically used as a strategy for the planning and design of built environments, charrettes are now being utilized for policies, management plans and housing plans. The National Charrette Institute works with governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations and departments within academia to apply this unique co-design tool in realms outside of urban planning and the built environment.

For more information about the NCI Charrette System approach, contact Holly Madill at nci@msu.edu.

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