The Agenda Pool is a way to keep track of all the topics we are prepared to talk about. We use it at the start of every meeting.
What do we need?
- Time
- Gathering space
- A way to take and share notes with the group
- Waiting Pool
- Agenda Ranking Tool
- Meeting Agenda
Who do we need?
- Facilitator – The Facilitator helps the group follow the steps in order.
- Recorder – The Recorder takes notes and shares them, as needed.
- Participants – The Participants decide when to add topics to the Agenda Pool. They also decide how important they are to talk about.
How do we do it?
- The Facilitator shares all topics in the Waiting Pool. Participants talk about what we need to achieve the purpose of each topic. If we have everything we need, the Recorder adds the topic to the Agenda Pool. If we do not have everything we need, the Recorder returns the topic to the Waiting Pool.
- The Facilitator shares the Agenda Pool.
- The Facilitator gives each Participant an Agenda Ranking Tool.
- Participants rank each topic in the Agenda Pool. Rankings go from “most important that we talk about today” to “least important that we talk about today.”
- Participants give their completed Agenda Ranking Tools to the Facilitator.
- The Facilitator compiles the results. They put the topics in order from “most important” to “least important.” The Facilitator adds the topics to the Meeting Agenda in this order.