Inspirations: Bliss Browne
Young
people are particularly at risk today as they try to make
sense of their lives in a society in which they are often
isolated and poorly educated. They struggle to find constructive
communities in which they are valued and expected to make
a meaningful contribution. How can we awaken and cultivate
their hope and commitment? How can we sustain it?
 These
questions compelled Bliss Browne, an Episcopal priest, mother
and former corporate banking executive, to create Imagine
Chicago in 1992. What would it take, she wondered, to create
a vision and action plan for the city's future that was owned
by the people of Chicago? How would it be possible to create
a city economy in which no one was wasted, in which everyone’s
contributions mattered?
Browne’s
questions led her to convene a group of 65 experienced community
builders in Chicago for a 2-day conference in October 1991.
Together, they explored "Faithful Economic Imagination",
or how individuals might collectively steward the city's resources
to sustain life for everyone. The highlight of the conference
was an exercise which challenged people to imagine visions
of Chicago's future considered to be ultimately worthy of
human commitment, and to identify what would be necessary
for those dreams to become reality.
On
the strength of the energy and conviction that emerged from
this conference, Browne resigned from a sixteen-year corporate
career at the First National Bank of Chicago. She decided
to work full-time on discovering what might be an effective
process for "faithful economic imagination" to become
a way of life in Chicago.
Browne
dedicated nine months to learning Chicago history, listening
to people's concerns and hopes about what might constitute
an effective visioning and economic development process in
Chicago. Browne visited other cities with emerging citywide
initiatives (such as Atlanta and Pittsburgh). She worked with
the Council of Religious Leaders on articulating their vision
for Chicago's future. During that time, an informal network
of Chicago leaders began to gather around the questions at
the heart of Browne's inquiry. In September 1992, twenty of
them -- educators, corporate and media executives, philanthropists,
community organizers, youth developers, economists, religious
leaders, social service providers -- were convened as a design
team for the project, which Browne had already initially conceptualized
as "Imagine Chicago". The John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation supported Browne to pursue the work
of designing the project's first phase, testing the project's
viability, and getting the project organized and institutionalized.
From
September 1992 to May 1993, the design team created a process
of civic inquiry. This was the starting point for engaging
the city of Chicago in a broad-based conversation about its
future. Two ideas emerged from the design phase that shaped
the ultimate process design. First, that the pilot should
attempt to discover what gives life to the city, and second,
that it should provide significant leadership opportunities
for youth, who most clearly represent the city's future.
It
was hoped from the outset that positive intergenerational
civic conversation would provide a bridge between the experience
and wisdom of seasoned community builders, and the energy
and commitment of youth. The hope was that a common search
for purpose would yield deeper insights into the collective
future of the community.
Two
types of pilots were designed and implemented in 1993-1994:
a citywide "appreciative inquiry" process to gather
Chicago stories and commitments, and a series of community-based
and led processes. "Appreciative inquiry" is a change
methodology, developed by David Cooperrider of Case Western
Reserve University, which fosters innovation in organizations
through gathering positive stories and images and building
on them to construct the desired future. Imagine Chicago’s
citywide interviews exemplified this approach.
Young
adults and community builders in Chicago came together to
share their hopes and commitments, within a setting of mutual
respect. Intergenerational teams, led by a young person in
the company of an adult mentor, interviewed business, civic,
and cultural leaders, about the future of their communities
and of Chicago. The interviewer asked positive questions about
high points in the lives of citizens who had made a difference
and their hopes for the future. The youth distilled the content
for public view in ways that inspired public action and reinforced
commitment. The premise was that young people could be effective
agents of hope and inspiration, if released from the negative
stereotypes held by themselves and others.
Moving
from Citywide Interview Pilots
to Sustained Change Strategies
In late 1994, a formal evaluation gathered feedback on the
effects of Imagine Chicago's appreciative inquiry process.
Both the power and the limitations of the intergenerational
interview process became clear. The inquiry process was successful
in establishing a lively sense of shared civic identity, creating
effective methods for constructive intergenerational dialogue,
and expanding the sense among the young people that they could
make a difference. However, there was no holding structure
to move the participants from inspiration to action or to
sustain the connections.
Building
the future requires a visible outcome as well as conversation.
In Imagine Chicago‘s citywide intergenerational interview
program, Imagine Chicago recognized that the appreciative
intergenerational interview process would be more effective
if it happened within structures that could move more readily
to action.
Therefore,
Imagine Chicago spent 1995 designing structured intergenerational
initiatives that gave participants a chance to be city creators
in more concrete and sustained ways. Each initiative moved
toward visible outcomes through dialogue, curriculum development
and network formation. This enabled individuals and organizations
to develop skills which deepened their hope and helped forge
meaningful civic connections.
Imagine
Chicago designed a framework for individuals and organizations
to recognize and build their own capacity to make a civic
contribution as they considered three fundamental questions.
These questions, relevant to any situation but especially
relevant to Chicago's future, are: What is? What could be?
What will be?
Through
ongoing structured dialogues and opportunities for joint action,
citizens connect to Chicago as they ask the fundamental questions
and learn how their own visions, choices, and commitments
can help shape broader systems and communities in the city.
Imagine
Chicago has been able to build upon the initial city dialogues
to develop innovative initiatives -- with institutional impact
-- that create meaningful connections across generations,
cultures, and neighborhoods and which develop responsible
citizenship. The focus has been on education, leadership formation,
and community development programs that support the important
process of personal development for public service. Since
the first Imagine Chicago dialogues in 1993, Imagine Chicago
initiatives have expanded to include more than 1500 individuals
in more than 40 neighborhoods and to create partnerships with
more than 100 community organizations and schools. Many of
these organizations have now incorporated the vision and approaches
of Imagine Chicago into their own work.
Visit
ImagineChicago.org
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