FAQ draft for your feedback
Here is a draft of our Frequently Asked Questions, with answers for all of them. You can read this online as a Google Doc, or if you prefer you can download it as a Word file.
- To read it as a Google Doc, click here
- To download the Word file, click on this link: IdealistNYCFAQ
You can then share your thoughts as a Comment at the bottom of this page, or by emailing me directly at ami@idealist.org (in which case you can also send me the Word file with any edits you’d like to suggest). Whatever works best for you.
Thanks in advance for reading this and letting us know what you think. Every bit will help: Is everything clear? What’s missing? What did we forget? What else would help you there?
As we receive your suggestions, we’ll be editing and adding throughout this week (you’ll see the changes as we make them), and by Friday we hope to have this done.
Thanks again! What you’ll see under those links is the result of hundreds of conversations with all of you, and we couldn’t have gotten to this point without you.
Thanks in advance for any comments, questions, and suggestions. If by Friday we can get to the point where this whole document makes sense to you, we’ll be in very good shape.
This looks great! Now I have a nice list of answers to the questions I’m getting – it makes it much easier to explain.
I’m very impressed with this FAQ. You’ve all clearly done a lot of work and it really shows. As you may have noticed from my feedback at past sessions, I’m a very critical person and I found nothing to change in this FAQ. I’m actually saving it as a reference for a well-done FAQ.
The one thing I’d invite you to consider is developing a clearer process for what happens after the 3Q meeting (Question 14). I don’t think this needs to be in the FAQ, but maybe it can be something you introduce at the meeting. You might have already done this, but I think it would be helpful to have some system for each individual to record their answer to the 3Qs and which type of person they are (the one who’s ready to act vs. the one who wants to have more conversations). And some clear direction of what happens in each of those cases, so people know where they go once they get that momentum. This means of recording information would probably also help you gather that statistical data you mentioned in the FAQ. It could be a paper form the Connectors hand out at the meetings, and people could write their 3Q answers and they could check a box to indicate what type of person they are. It could also be a web form too, and one metric of success from the meetings could be how many other people in the community filled out the web form.
Just a thought. Great work!
Thanks Cori, and thanks Dan! And yes, work-sheets and a few other resources are next. We hope to have some for you to look at later this week. Thanks!
Good Afternoon Ami,
The FAQ sheet(s) is terrific. It thoroughly answered everything I can think of and actually has given me more incentive to move forward with everything. I’m sure things will come up in time , but they are just growing pains and I’m sure we’ll all learn from it. Thanks again!
The FAQ gave me more insight to the project and answered all the questions I have had. Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend all the meetings and this worksheet really helped me to better understand the goals and intentions of this amazing project.
Thanks!
Is it possible to add a hypothetical case study (either within the FAQ or separately)? This document is great but I’m still having a hard time grasping exactly what happens at and after a 3Q meeting. Person A articulates her idea, maybe gets some tips/coaching from a connector, maybe meets someone else with a similar idea…and then it’s all up to her to make things happen? How do we help her navigate roadblocks along the way, etc?
Glenn, glad you like it! As you say, new questions will arise, but it’s good to have this as a base.
Sarah, we hope to see you again soon!
Jennifer,
Thanks for raising that issue. I can see how a case study could be helpful. One idea I like is making a couple of short clips that give examples. The trouble with case studies or examples is that they’re inherently speculative and missing the real-world details that really illustrate the process. Going through the 3Qs is really a reactive process that responds to people’s needs. In that sense we can’t really know for sure what happens after the 3Qs until the people tell the Connector(s) what their needs are. It’s case-by-case.
That being said, I understand what you’re saying – case studies can be illuminating, and can be useful for other conversations like setting the boundaries of how much a Connector does. But rather than us coming up with one in the abstract, we can use the forum to build one from all y’all’s real ideas and experiences. If that intrigues you, I invite you to go to http://idealistnyc.org/forums and continue to share specific questions or areas of uncertainty that we can then all address as a team.
Thanks for asking!
Nicely done! Very succinct yet thorough FAQs
Great resource– very impressive. My only concern is length. I wonder if we can create a shorter, more basic, resource and then have this in addition for more in-depth questions. Food for thought. Great to see so much progress!
-Avi
Hi Avi,
Length is a concern of ours too. We’re working now on putting our first video together, and hopefully that video will answer some of the most basic questions. Hope to have that in a couple of weeks!