What do we mean by "convening"?

Published January 30th, 2008 by Andrew Maxfield

Convening, or the gathering together of parties for a meeting or a series of meetings, is not a skill that depends on training. An agency or organization that has decided to host a consensus building process (and wants to encourage others to participate) can play an important convening role. In a private firm, for example, a senior official might be the convenor. In the public arena, a regulatory agency might want to convene a public involvement process. There is some disagreement about whether or not the convenor or the convening organization is obliged to stay "at the table" as the conversation proceeds. In general, convening organizations want to be part of the dialogue, but we do not feel they must commit to on-going participation in a consensus building process.