The smallest meeting detail must be viewed in the context of the largest picture: your annual agenda. This is the Nested Set Principle and it’s one of the keys to planning an effective council meeting. In a recent webinar, ICMA’s Kevin Duggan and Mike Conduff shared this and other tactics to help local government managers plan meetings that run smoother and get results for the people.

To explain the Nested Set Principle, Conduff asked the audience to visualize a set of mixing bowls that nest in one another. The largest bowl is a council’s annual agenda, which holds everything in place and keeps the focus on true priorities. By working backward from the annual goals, meetings throughout the year can be organized and “nested” by monthly outcomes, followed by individual meeting objectives, item selection and placement within the meeting, and item presentation.

Conduff and Duggan also discussed the manager’s role, meeting protocol, and myriad ideas to help the audience save time, reduce conflict, and speed decision-making. For example, encouraging questions from council members before the meeting saves time, avoids surprises, and gives information needed to make decisions. Spacing controversial issues when possible helps to avoid “issue overload,” that can stall or even prevent decisions from being made.

Learn more about the webinar.