Questions and Decisions

RQP has figured out how to simply and quickly teach these two skills that can be used both for effective self-advocacy and for effective democratic action.

  • How to formulate your own questions
  • How to focus on decisions and use specific criteria for accountable decision-making

These, at first glance, might seem like fairly basic skills that you may assume everyone has in their toolbox. They are, however, deceptively simple and very sophisticated skills.

The skills are essential self-advocacy and democratic skills, but where and when are they ever explicitly taught? And, to whom are they taught and perhaps more importantly, to whom are they not taught?

Questions

The skill of question formulation, alone, for example, is considered so difficult yet worthy of learning that when The New York Times asked several college presidents what a student should learn from four years of college, Leon Botstein of Bard College said the best a college can do is prepare them to ask “strategic questions,” and Nancy Cantor of Syracuse University affirmed that the best a college can do is prepare its graduates to “ask the right questions.” (8/4/2003).

RQP has a different focus. We work with people who don't have four years and a 100 or 200 thousand dollars to learn the skills.

But, how can the skills be taught quickly, informally, and without hours, months and years of training?

We have, through much trial and many errors, developed the Question Formulation Technique, an easy-to-learn and easy-to-teach method for learning how to:

  • Produce questions
  • Improve questions
  • Strategize on how to use the questions

Decisions

We have designed a process that helps people focus on decisions by first learning how to identify a decision and know when it is being made. We have created our Framework for Accountable Decision-Making which makes it easier to look closely at and ask questions about three key components of accountable decision-making:

  • The reasons for the decision
  • The process for making the decision
  • The role you can play in the decision-making process

These three criteria correspond directly to three concepts that are essential to accountable decision-making in a democracy:

  • Legitimacy – the reasons must be legitimate, based on law, official regulation and policy
  • Transparency – the process must be visible to all affected by it
  • Opportunities for participation – those affected by the decision must have a chance to participate in the process for making the decision

By learning to use the Question Formulation Technique and the Framework for Accountable Decision-Making, ordinary citizens begin to expect and require accountable decision-making. They can use the skills on a micro level (see Microdemocracy) and they can be used to participate in democracy on any level.