A recent brainstorming exercise by more than 260 area residents suggested we can in fact agree on ways to improve life in the community.
Local newsrooms, including Signal Akron, are participating in the We Can Disagree! project, aimed at helping area residents tell politicians what really matters as the November election approaches. Journalists hope to use input from this dialogue to hold candidates and officials accountable on the issues most important to the community.
Participants were given an initial question to answer on the app Polis: “What is needed to help people have a better life?”
They offered more than 270 ideas and voted on each other’s, casting more than 17,000 votes. They were able to watch in real time as ideas and votes were collected.
The computer application grouped people by common beliefs, then identified which of the ideas were most popular across the groupings.
Here are four statements with which at least 90% of all participants agreed:
- “We need leaders who we can trust to address complicated issues for all of us rather than divide us.”
- “We are concerned about jobs for the future.”
- “We need mental health care for police for their tension, PTSD, ability to engage constructively.”
- “We need to work for peace in our homes … and the world.”
Here are four others that at least 70% of all participants agreed with:
- “More people talking to one another, face to face.”
- “Healthy food within easy traveling distance.”
- “Police and community to work together.”
- “Affordable and safe housing.”
The computer application picked up on a main difference between groups, defined by two main beliefs:
- The belief that we have assured reasonable equal opportunity — people just need to work hard to achieve their goals. This is often referred to as “meritocracy.”
- The belief that some people face hardships that impede their attempts at hard work. “Equity” is often used to describe this belief that the community ought to level the playing field.
The current survey results admittedly have limitations. People under the age of 40 are grossly underrepresented, and to a lesser degree, so are people of color. As our Polis work continues we’ll keep seeking diverse participation that more accurately reflects the population in our community.
Polis illustrated significant agreement among the two emergent groups.
The next steps
Now that we have landed on some shared values, we pushed people’s responses into artificial intelligence and asked it to make some simplified, issue-based categories.
We added our own insights to arrive at these eight categories needed to help people have a better life:
- Economic security and opportunity
- Health and wellness
- Education and lifelong learning
- Community and social cohesion
- Social equity and meritocracy
- Public safety and justice
- Civic engagement and governance
- Environmental sustainability and infrastructure
Let’s pick one and go deeper.
We’ll begin with “economic opportunity and security,” which involves so many of the ideas submitted by participants.
Join the next conversation by visiting pol.is/9bvrbxpb4m and answering the question: “What can leaders, organizations or individuals do – or what are they already doing – to create more fulfilling jobs in Northeast Ohio that allow more of us to get ahead in life?”
We’ll compile results, share them and dig deeper still.
More about We Can Disagree!
In addition to Signal Akron, partners in the We Can Disagree! project are the Akron Beacon Journal, Ideastream Public Media and Fighting to Understand, a Northeast Ohio nonprofit with experience designing and holding difficult conversations.
The Akron Bar Foundation and Akron Community Foundation are funders of this project.
The project uses Polis to regularly pose thought-provoking questions that foster community conversation and help find common ground.
Questions can be emailed to Ted Wetzel, ted.wetzel@fighting-to-understand.us, or Doug Oplinger, oplingerdoug@gmail.com.
Editor’s note: The Akron Community Foundation is a funder of Signal Akron.
