A Wisdom Council is a group of 12 -15 people, chosen from an institution, city or province by a process of random selection. It is important that the members participate as individuals, and not as representatives of any group or special interest. This lets them think and speak from the heart, rather than worrying about what others might want them to say.

A Wisdom Council has no pre-set agenda. It decides for itself what issues to address and how to address them. With the help of a Dynamic Facilitator, it reaches a consensus statement on the issue it has chosen. This consensus statement is presented to the institution, city, or province in a public meeting, and then the Wisdom Council is dissolved. The public meeting starts a discussion that engages the broader community.

After a short interval - perhaps three or six months - a new Wisdom Council is selected, and it goes through the same procedure. It may address the same issue, or a different one. The ongoing Wisdom Councils stimulate a continuing discussion of issues chosen by ordinary people, based on consensus statements drafted by ordinary people speaking from their hearts.

Wisdom Councils were developed by Jim Rough, who is also the founder of Dynamic Facilitiation, the facilitation technique used in Wisdom Councils. Dynamic Facilitation quickly helps people determine and resolve what’s really on their minds. The process builds trust, respect, and the spirit of community, and helps people find solutions even for seemingly impossible problems.

Creative Insight Councils (CIC) provide a parallel process, with the key difference being that topics are assigned to the Insight Council. See the description of CICs on this website.