I tweeted earlier that today’s ‘ #UAlberta for Tomorrow’ town hall was not a good use of participants’ time. Let me offer some quick ideas for how to do better. The event started with a welcome (thanks @BFlanaganUofA for the shoutout to my Op Ed with @LynetteShultz) 1/10

Then a long powerpoint presentation then a cursory ranking exercise for questions (waaay too fast to be meaningful) then a small number of questions answered in vague, boosterish terms. I came away having learned little and feeling that my time had been disrespected. 2/10

If this event actually met @UAlberta goals, I have to wonder what these goals were. They could have been met equally well, in any case, by putting a video of the powerpoints online, leaving the shallow question-ranking platform up for a day (it could be used properly then) 3/10

and posting detailed, substantive answers to questions as text or video. We could have watched this on our own time, skipped the powerpoints if we'd already seen them (lots of us had), and might have known a bit more at the end. 4/10

But you had an hour of our time live -- students and staff and faculty and community members with diverse experiences and insights. Imagine what could have been achieved if you'd used our time well.... 5/10

(1) You could have let us talk to each other and with you -- not Q&A but arguments, challenges, building on each other's points. (2) You could have given time to folks with relevant expertise: scholars, members of GFC and other bodies, union leaders, etc. 6/10

(3) You could have given us time in breakout groups with 4-5 others to let lots of voices in, build relationships, test our ideas, build courage to speak. (4) Having heard all this, leaders could have come in at the end to say what shifted in their thinking as a result. 7/10

(5) You could -- gasp! -- let us see other participants, hear other participants, interact in chat with other participants. Of course, all five of these suggestions assume that democratic deliberation is the goal. If you wanted tight control, top-down communication, and ... 8/10

a thin pretence of consultation then, well, I suppose you did it exactly right. Do I sound pissed off? I am. Our whole university and working life is being restructured. This won't go well without both inclusive democratic deliberation at the grassroots and ... 9/10

time for real deliberation by established collegial governance bodies (especially GFC). I've worked with some of the best public engagement specialists in the world and experienced the wisdom and enthusiasm of process done well. It's crushing to see us doing it so badly. 10/10