Context:

At its simplest level, the harvest may simply consist of the minutes from a meeting.  However, no one holds a meeting in order to generate minutes; rather, there is some other need to be met, such as a decision, an action, a release of tension, or a fulfillment of obligations to the state. So the harvest is a concrete result that helps fulfill that purpose.

Instructions:

Harvesting needs to be considered well before a process actually takes place. The first step is to get clear on the purpose of the harvest, who will be using it and how. Will it be used mainly by people who were present at the event or is it to share the story with a wider circle? Is the goal of the harvest to establish an official record of what took place? Guide future action? Inspire others to get more involved?  Or all of the above?  Once you get clear on the goal, then you can work on what form it might take.  What kind of records, templates, etc. will help you hold the relevant information or knowledge?  There are many possibilities (see below).

Once you select whatever your method is, make sure you have all the materials on hand to carry it out effectively.  In large groups especially, you need to think through the physical mechanics of sharing information, such as how many microphones you'll need (and people to run those microphones back and forth around the room as different participants speak), how you'll get hundreds of pieces of paper distributed and/or collected, and so on.  For technology-based methods such as mind-mapping on a computer, make sure you have the computer system set up and working in advance. The mechanics are an easy place to lapse and cause unnecessary frustration.

Variations:

Time/Sequence:   Harvesting often happens at more than one stage of a process.  For example, upon first engaging with a group, an outside consultant interviews some of the key people involved in order to find out what the group needs; the information from those interviews is one harvest.  Later when a major group process happens, there will be another harvest.

Who has access/transparency:  Harvests are sometimes shared with the full group and other times held by a consultant or leadership group confidentially.  Both in subgroups and in the full group (see Accordion), harvests may be held with more or less Transparency.  For example, if some protection of anonymity is needed, a group meeting might use a format called a Shelter Scale where a question is asked such as, "How much do you support this proposal?" on a scale of 1-7.  Small blank sticky notes are passed out and each person writes a rating number.  The sticky notes are collected and immediately collated into a bar graph in front of the group, thus providing a quick visual snapshot of the level of support for the proposal.  That information may be useful both in the moment of the meeting in determining next steps (such as whether to amend the proposal) and for informing people who weren't present what happened.

Forms:  While written minutes are most common, harvests can take a wide variety of forms, including:

• graphic recording
• flipcharts or mind-map
• audio- or videotaping of a process
• photographs
• collection of ideas on half-sheets of paper (ICA "snow card" method, aka "card-storming")
• survey results
• verbatim record of what was said
• book of conference proceedings

Consider whether your purpose would be better served by a harvest that is subjective (e.g., stories of what happened) or objective (e.g. transcripts or recordings), and whether pictures are important to evoke and recall feelings or the sense of the room.

Cautions & Caveats:

Where is the wisdom that was lost in information?  Make sure your harvest goes to the core, so that userspeople won't get lost in a sea of data.

If you are using real-time scribing onto flipcharts or an online mind-map, try to avoid getting caught in debates over what the scribe has recorded vs. what the attendees believe was said. The easiest way to do this is to use more of the participants' own words and fewer substitutions. If summaries are needed, strive to be as neutral as possible in framingreframing them.