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The Problem: Experts know things that the rest of us don't know. They have worked very hard to get this knowledge, and they want to get paid (sometimes, a lot) to share it. Fair enough.

The problem is that folks who don't have the knowledge about a technical or specialized subject, also don't know whether the information the "expert" is giving is good or bogus. We can't judge it and we may not know how to use it. In the worst case, ordinary folks like us are bewildered by the complicated ideas, information or vocabulary of experts. We give up and say, "You make the decision." We let the experts take over.

This is almost always bad. The expert does what the expert thinks is best, but the expert rarely is an expert on us or on our community. We are the experts on ourselves. How can we bring our two very different kinds of expertise to work together?

The Solution: We can get more value from our interaction with experts by using our own expertise first.

1. Define what we know. We are curious about a topic because we know something about it. For example, if we live in a community where the water tastes funny and we know that some children seem to have stomach cramps a lot. We know that there is something going on with the water. But, we are not chemists, biologists, water engineers or lawyers. We believe that if we complain about the water without better information, the public officials will dismiss us as people who don't know what we are talking about. Maybe we know that the local water authority has dismissed concerns about water quality that have been raised by others.
2. Define what we don't know. In the example above, we don't know what is going on with the water, and don't know if it is a danger to our health or not. We don't know what rights we have to demand clean and healthy water.
3. Define what we would do with the information if we had it. In the example above, if we had an expert analyze the water, we would then have information that our community could use to consider next steps. Perhaps the expert could come with us or provide us with a report that we could carry with us to a meeting with the water officials. If we better understood how decisions about water are made and what rights we have in that process, we would know who to take our concern to and what information they would need to act.
4. Define what we want experts to do. Experts will do what they think they should do or what they know how to do unless WE DEFINE what we want them to do. We need to work out, as clearly as we can, instructions for the experts to follow. In the case above, we would need to ask:
• the chemist to see if there are minerals in the water that might explain the funny taste.
• the biologist to see if there is something in the water that might explain the stomach problems.
• the water engineer to see if there is something in the water system design that is the problem.
• the lawyer to explain the water regulatory laws.

If we want them to come with us or support our requests, we need to make that clear.

5. Negotiate with the experts. Before we agree to work with them, we need to be sure that they want to work with us. Everything involving experts is negotiable. We need to ask them:
• Have you worked with grassroots groups like ours?
• Are you able to do the kind of research we want?
• How much will you charge?
• How long will it take?
• Are you willing to be part of our effort to make change?
• Are you comfortable working in a team with other experts?
• Can you help us find other experts, if there are questions you can't answer?

We do not have to accept whatever they offer. We can bargain, and we can keep searching.

6. Get written contracts. Think of technical experts as people who work for you. It is just like working with contractors on home repairs. You have to work out the details, or the job will take a lot longer and cost a lot more than you expect. And, if you're not clear, you might not get what you want.

The Conclusion: Just because somebody has a lot of fancy degrees or titles doesn't mean that they will be able to help you. Experts are useful when they work for you and with you.