How to Create a Community Agreement for Collaboration

1. What is a community agreement? (Definition)

A Community agreement (CM) is a non-legal document that reflects the expectations and values of everyone engaged in a long or short-term activity/collaboration. Community agreements can be valuable in a number of settings: for teams of collaborators, in a classroom setting between students and teachers, as well as for contributors to a project in non-profit or corporate settings. In the Reckonings Project, we work with community agreements when we form teams with partners and when we run multi-session workshops. We find that this process allows participants to get to know one another and increases the sense of responsibility that participants have for the success of the team work or workshop, and their care for another.

The process of establishing a community agreement starts with the outlining of individual expectations and values, followed by group conversations on how to enact them through actions while working as a team. Having the facilitator be part of both the individual and group activities, fosters a non-hierarchical environment, where everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the document. Eventually, the final agreement is signed by everyone in the group. It might be posted on-line as well as in physical spaces. The process of constructing the community agreement and the agreement itself provide a gateway to understanding one another better and supporting a respectful space, in which all participants can learn together, engage with one another, and successfully work in teams.

2. Role of the Facilitator

It is crucial for the facilitator to remain supportive, understanding and culturally mindful. People have a myriad of experiences in their lives and not all of those are positive. For this reason, we encourage the facilitators to get to know their audience ahead of time as possible, and be non-judgmental when someone shares information about their lives. Additionally avoid creating situations with questions or ice-breakers requiring physical touch, including handshakes. For example, while for individuals of European descent handshakes might represent friendliness, for the members of some religious communities the gesture may be inappropriate. This suggestion applies to the facilitators’ expectations for the workshop participants. Refrain from holding on to an unwritten “etiquette” or behavior in the space. If you have something to share, do so in your role as a facilitator/participant.

Lastly, as a facilitator, please avoid asking personal questions, such as, who taught you that value, when and in what circumstances did you learn that a certain behavior was disrespectful. However, we recommend creating opportunities for engagement that are not verbal, for all questions included in the workshop. A written opportunity to respond will allow an alternative option to engage for participants who may be uncomfortable with sharing their thoughts verbally. It is also an accessible way to allow non-verbal attendance to contribute to the common discussion. For instance, in response to the facilitator’s prompt about how to ensure maintenance of respect in the group, the attendees can use a pre-distributed small post-it note with a sentence starter, such as: I feel respected when___________.

3. Creating a Community Agreement in Four Steps and Two Sessions

The process outlined below is for working on a community agreement in person. However, it can be adapted to an on-line setting, for example on Zoom or Teams, by using the chat function, breakout rooms, pencil and paper for individual notes, and Google docs for collaboration. The process outlined below goes over two sessions, one of 40 to 50 minutes, and the second one of about 15 minutes.

Audience: any group of people working or studying together

Number of participants: 10-15, but this process can also work with groups as small as four. For larger groups, management of the process makes it hard for the facilitator to also be a participant in all steps/activities and thus the facilitator may focus solely on facilitation.

Session 1 Duration: 40-50 minutes

Supplies

Pencils
Index cards
Colored markers
A timer (phone or computer)
Large format post-its for group work
Sticky notes (it makes it more fun to have ones that are brightly colored)
Hardcopy of the Participant Handout
Hardcopy of the example of a CM
A computer
A camera or/a phone with a camera
Sample Handouts (printed according to the number of participants and pre-distributed)
- Example of a participant handout: Participant Handout
- Example of A Community Agreement: Community Agreement – A Generic Example

4. Step 1. For the Facilitator/Participant

Prior to offering the definition of a community agreement (CM) given at the beginning of this toolkit, take 1 minute with the group to brainstorm ideas around the meaning of the CM, write down participant responses on a big post-it for everyone to see using bullet points. Keep this step short!

Spend 1-3 minutes to share the responses. Encourage scholars/participants to listen and respond in a non-distracting manner. One effective way of expressing thoughts without interrupting the speaker is using hand gestures. For instance to indicate agreement or disagreement, use thumbs up and thumbs down, or one fist over the other to demonstrate a desire to build on another person’s thoughts. These non-verbal forms of communication could be included into the final CM, if the group decides to do so.

Image 1. Sample Answers: What is a Community Agreement

Goal of this Step: This is a crucial part of formative assessment and will help us understand what the participants know about a CM prior to the current workshop session. These responses are collected for the documentation and can be used at the end of the program to reflect on the progress that has been made after the workshop.

5. Step 2: Individual Activity

The individual activity is designed to foster self-reflection during which the participants (including the facilitator) are given time to think about their personal value systems. The reflection is designed to surface positive values that can be shared with the group in the next phase of the process. To introduce the self reflections, the facilitator leads a group discussion on simple actions that can be undertaken to reflect some of the values identified to effectively work in a group setting.

While offering an intrinsic experience, self-reflection also allows for every person to express different ways of experiencing the same values such as feeling safe, supported and trusted. For example, in some cultures looking someone straight in the eye is perceived inappropriate, making being in such situations unsafe , whereas in the United States, eye contact is a sign of confidence and focus.

After this brief introduction, participants respond to the following question using pre-distributed index cards and writing utensils. The facilitator should model the response. For example, “my top three values are attentiveness, punctuality and inclusivity. I find these values important, since upholding them supports a working relationship where people deliver assigned work in a timely manner while treating each other with respect.”

What are your top three values? Use bullet points. – 1-2 minutes
Why are these values important to you? – 1-2 minute

Image 2.

As seen in image 2, the attendees can record their responses on big post-its for the entire group to see. Participants can also use the colorful sticky notes to write their responses down and put them on a wall for the group to see.

Note for facilitator: Keeping a close eye on time for activity completion is essential. If needed, feel free to reduce or increase the amount of time allocated for the particular activity. Ideally, the attendees of the workshop should not feel rushed. Another valuable thing to consider is feeling comfortable with awkward pauses, especially after addressing a group with a question. People need different amounts of time to process and formulate responses.

6. Step 3: Group activity

Count the number of participants in the group and divide them into groups of 3-4 individuals in one group. If possible make sure to separate people who already know each other. If possible, make sure that the individuals physically move from one location to another in the room to join their group. (For example, dividing a group of fifteen into three groups of five participants each, going around the room and having participants count themselves into a group by saying 1, 2, 3 is a good way of ensuring that participants interact with people other than those they are sitting next to.)

Groups take 1-2 minutes to discuss and identify 3 big values that emerged from the Individual activity in Step 2. Once finished, one of the group members transfers the top values onto a large post-it that is the group’s poster.

For the next step, the group brainstorms 1-3 actionable steps each of the group members can easily take to uphold their listed value systems, which will also be represented on the posters under the appropriate value. Give participants 3-5 minutes and ask each group to identify a scribe before starting the discussion.

Then each group shares the information listed on its poster and explains their decisions out loud to all workshop participants. Make sure to remind participants to listen to one another attentively. Then ask participants to share their observations on some of the similarities and differences which emerge in the group posters. Give participants 1-3 minutes (no need to communicate this timeframe, just make sure most participants get a chance to speak).

Finally, the facilitator invites workshop attendees to walk around the room holding a writing utensil, a pen or a marker, and vote on the values and actions which should be included in the CM for the group. Two symbols are used in voting, O (circle) and * (star). The Circle stands for the actions, while the Star showcases the overarching value. Give participants 1-3 minutes. We have found it useful for participants to place as many circles or stars at any item as they want to.

Image 3. Sample groups responses with individual votes

As facilitator, end this phase by expressing gratitude for everyone’s participation, openness to share their thoughts and perspectives with the group. It might be helpful to encourage all to return for the following session to see the results of their hard work. Finally, applaud the participants and invite them to do the same.

7. Step 4. Follow up by the Facilitator

It is the facilitator’s responsibility to collect, digitize and type up the group responses to draft a Community Agreement. It is crucial that key language generated by the group is preserved and included in the final version of the CM. This includes the list of values and actionable steps discussed and voted on during the last group activity. It is also the facilitator’s responsibility to organize these points into thematic categories, print and distribute them to the participants during the follow-up meeting of the group in Session 2.

8. Session 2: Approving the Community Agreement

The facilitator hands out the community agreement and asks participants to read it and to provide feedback. Review process allows for the participants to familiarize themselves with the CM and share their observations on it. If anyone suggests a change, it is done if approved by majority to the participants in a brief open voter, The voting is done simply by showing thumbs up, for agreement, and thumbs down, for disagreement, respectably. Open-mindedness and flexibility are helpful interpersonal skills for the workshop facilitator to practice during the review process. The facilitator notes the changes on a copy of the CM handout and asks all participants to sign the agreement. The agreement can then be posted in the room as well as on-line.

9. Use of the Community Agreement during teamwork or multi-session workshop

Facilitator/s encourage workshop participants to refer back to the community agreement periodically during their time together.

10. Theoretical Background for Community Agreements

The psychologist and educational theorist Lev Vygotsky coined the term “zone of proximal development” or ZPD, which is a knowledge space between what an individual can learn and comprehend independently and what they can advance with the help of an instructor, facilitator and peers. As per the theory of ZPD, each individual already posits that the values and associated behaviors necessary to function effectively in any given environment. However, with the guidance of the CM facilitator, participants can gain the skills of understanding personal values that together contribute to the effective operation of a group.

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a teaching framework created by psychologist Abigail Housen and museum educator Philip Yenawine to engage students in open-ended discussions in informal and formal learning spaces. VTS is a teaching method that can contribute to the development of higher-level language skills, evidential reasoning, and active listening

The flexibility of the VTS methodology is what allowed us to dive deeper into participant suggestions in the process of creating community agreements. In a VTS fashion, when participants intended to add value or action to the agreement, the facilitator asked them to support their suggestions with specific examples/evidence. Attendees successfully used their active listening skills to understand, build on, add, and/or disagree with someone else’s suggestion. Finally, the facilitator actively listened to the attendees and paraphrased the discussion points using more advanced vocabulary. Both of these skills are derived from the VTS teaching. If you want to learn more about VTS and how to incorporate it in different settings, please refer to the Further Reading section.

Thank you

11. References for Further Reading

Building a Sense of Belonging and Community into an Online Course, Northwestern University, Center for Advanced Teaching and Learning through Research https://learning.northeastern.edu/building-a-sense-of-belonging-and-community-into-an-online-course/
Edutopia. “Using Community Agreements to Start the Year Strong.” Edutopia. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-community-agreements-start-year-strong.
Hailey, D., Miller, A., Yenawine, P. (2015). Understanding Visual Literacy: The Visual Thinking Strategies Approach. In: Baylen, D., D’Alba, A. (eds) Essentials of Teaching and Integrating Visual and Media Literacy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05837-5_3
National Equity Project (n.d.) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e32157bff63c7446f3f1529/t/5f173e26fc1c68058ef5730d/1595358759150/Community-Agreements-Developing.pdf
Uono Shota, Hietane K. Jari. “Eye Contact Perception in the West and East: A Cross-Cultural Study”, Plos One, 10 (2), 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340785/

Washington University in St. Louis. “Establishing Classroom Ground Rules.” Center for Teaching and Learning. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/establishing-classroom-ground-rules/