Guided Visioning

Summary

Guided Visioning is a process that allows participants to open their minds and create a vision of the future of their community and the necessary steps to manifest it.

Tool Description

A facilitator typically guides people in relaxation, asking them to close their eyes and bring themselves into a certain situation—the town as they remember it twenty years ago, or the town as they envision it in twenty years, or perhaps the town today as seen by someone else in the community. Participants may be asked to envision specific aspects, such as the best place to sit and relax, or to imagine what the main street will look like in the future.

The results of these sessions have the potential to be great insights into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that face the community in question. Community planners, for example, may use information from a Guided Visioning session for ideas and suggestions for the town's future, as well as to identify the places that people value and should therefore be protected and enhanced.

Summary of Costs

$0-99
Associated Costs
  • Facilitation

Strengths

  • This technique enables a facilitator to “bring people into the moment,” encouraging reflection and careful thought prior to discussion
  • Guided visioning may bring out opinions and values that would not otherwise occur to participants, or allow them to break out of entrenched viewpoints
  • It is an extremely simple and inexpensive technique, but does require an experienced facilitator

Limitations

  • Some participants may have difficulty engaging themselves in the process, be unwilling to try, or may find it a waste of time
  • There are few examples of communities using guided visioning for planning purposes, and few consultants experienced in it
Submitted By: svannostrand
Last Updated: August 6, 2012, 12:43 pm

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