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Human Relations Commission to pilot facilitated "difficult dialogues" with CU group
Summary
The Boulder Human Relations Commission agreed to pursue a trial facilitated dialogue with CU Difficult Dialogues to develop a repeatable model for city-hosted community conversations about polarizing topics, including the Middle East, and discussed scheduling, facilitator options and public-meeting constraints.
The Human Relations Commission on Tuesday agreed to pursue a trial facilitated dialogue with CU Difficult Dialogues to test a model for convening community conversations on divisive issues.
Erin, a commission member who organized the discussion, said she spoke with Jennifer Ho of CU Difficult Dialogues and described a proposal for a trial session involving commissioners and a small group of invited participants. "She's happy to do the first round just, like, totally totally pro bono, just like to try it out," Erin said, describing the group’s offer to run an initial 90‑minute session so the commission can evaluate the process.
The commission discussed using a small, closed convening — roughly six to eight people — as a first step. Members raised the possibility of including city council members and community members who regularly appear at council meetings. Several commissioners said a small group is easier to facilitate and less likely to become volatile.
Commissioners debated facilitator qualifications. Some expressed a preference for facilitators who are experienced at holding multiple perspectives, while others said it could be powerful to have facilitators who are directly impacted by the topic. The commission did not pick a final facilitator; members discussed pairing facilitators or using an unbiased external facilitator if one could be found.
Scheduling and open‑meeting rules were significant constraints. Commissioners identified possible dates for a trial session on Tuesday evenings — Feb. 4 or Feb. 11 — so that the commission could discuss outcomes at its Feb. 18 meeting. Elizabeth, a city staff member, flagged public‑meeting rules and said she would check with the city attorney about whether a closed practice session that includes a majority of commissioners would trigger Colorado’s open‑meetings (sunshine) law.
The commission directed staff and commissioners to coordinate scheduling and to confirm whether the trial can proceed as a non‑public training. If the trial proceeds, members said they would then decide whether to invite a small group of community participants and whether to plan additional public dialogue sessions using the same model.
The item will return to the commission for follow‑up after staff confirms legal requirements and the commission completes the trial run.
