Consensus Building Institute latest News and Views

Applying Consensus Building Tools and Skills to Cultural Heritage Management

Stacie Smith — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:11:00 -0700

In this episode, Stacie Nicole Smith and Andrew Maxfield discuss CBI’s work with the Getty Conservation Institute and other organizations that deal with cultural and historical heritage sites and issues.

CBI receives 2008 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award on behalf of the Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3) Partnership

Andrew Maxfield — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:38:54 -0700

CBI was awarded a 2008 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award on behalf of the Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3) partnership. GB3 was selected from 125 applicants and was recognized for achievements in community action. The awards program, established in 2000 at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, annually recognizes and honors outstanding innovative efforts to help make progress in achieving cleaner air. Award-winning entries must directly or indirectly reduce pollutant emissions, demonstrate innovation, offer sustainable outcomes, and provide a model for others to follow. Read the EPA Region 1 Announcement.

CBI Helps Advance U.S. Wind Energy Planning

Andrew Maxfield — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:03:17 -0700

In July 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a report entitled “20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply.” The report results from a collaborative effort between government, industry, and nongovernmental sector stakeholders to explore the challenges and opportunities to achieving a modeled energy scenario in which wind provides 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030.

CBI was recently selected to receive competitive funding to address market and deployment challenges identified in the Report. Working with CBI founder Larry Susskind and partner Jonathan Raab, CBI will help built the capacity of states to advance wind energy through best practices of collaborative planning and siting. CBI will develop materials and convene workshops for state, industry, and nongovernmental organization partners on collaborative planning and siting for wind energy facilities. The training workshops will be hosted at MIT in Spring 2010.

For more information about CBI’s involvement, contact Kate Harvey.

Interactive Summit Builds Coast-Smart Communities in Maryland

Andrew Maxfield — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:53:06 -0700

In April 2009, more than 170 Maryland leaders—including mayors, county commissions, environmentalists, business leaders, and state officials—met in Annapolis for an interactive summit about community-level responses to climate risks that threaten the state’s coast. Led by CBI, the MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the summit centered around an innovative negotiation simulation that demonstrated the challenges and policy options coastal communities face.

CBI Supports Global Aquaculture Standard Setting Process

Merrick Hoben — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:01:22 -0700

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production system in the world, and the trend is projected to continue. Although the industry provides an important opportunity to supplement the oceans’ food supply, it can also cause significant social and environmental impacts if managed improperly.

Many NGOs and civil society groups have raised concerns about the potential for untenable harm to water quality resulting from aquaculture, as well as the spreading of disease, and the promotion of unfair labor practices.

In 2008, WWF asked CBI to help coordinate a global consensus-based standard setting process that will result in scientific and credible social and environmental performance measures at the farm-site level.

CBI is now working with WWF’s coordinators to improve the quality of decision-making among stakeholders worldwide—including scientists, producers, civil society groups, and NGOs. By providing planning and facilitation services for numerous stakeholder meetings around the globe, CBI has supported six global aquaculture dialogues related to shrimp, salmon, pangasius, tilapia, shellfish, and trout.

EPA Network News Highlights Public Apologies

Andrew Maxfield — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:25:25 -0700

CBI Managing Director Patrick Field and Keystone Center Senior Mediator Douglas Thompson contributed an article to the Spring 2009 issue of Network News, an electronic newsletter for public involvement and collaborative problem solving practitioners. Click here to read the article.

Science and Technology Advice for Decisionmakers: Congressional Briefing

Meredith Sciarrio — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:44:27 -0700

There is a critical need for better, more focused research on complex science and technology issues that Congress and the Administration can use as they consider how to best protect and serve soc

Evaluating Systems of Land Use Mediation in Vermont

Meredith Sciarrio — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:01:55 -0700

The benefits of using mediation, including cost and time savings and better outcomes, have been well documented in negotiation literature over the past three decades.

Helping WWF Create a Global Aquaculture Standard Setting Process

Meredith Sciarrio — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:39:37 -0700

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production system in the world, and the trend is projected to continue.

Engaging Stakeholders in the Niger Delta - May 2009 Update

David Kovick — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:14:14 -0700

Oil production in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region has been marked by decades of strained relationships between host communities, oil companies, and the Nigerian government. Vast quantities of oil, valued at billions of dollars, are pumped each year from the swampy lowlands. Yet, despite the revenue generated by oil exports, much of the population remains mired in extreme poverty.

Helping Organizations Negotiate More Effectively

Hal Movius — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:43:02 -0700

The last six months have seen enormous upheaval for many kinds of organizations. Spending has been slashed. Critical partnerships and agreements are in the process of being renegotiated.

What is a “World-Class Negotiating Organization”?

Hal Movius — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:19:26 -0700

In Built to Win Larry Susskind and I argue that negotiation competence resides not just in individuals, but in organizations. What do we mean by that? How can an organization be competent in negotiations?

An organization that rises to the level of ‘world-class’ competence in negotiation does six things, in our view.

New Course Helps Organizations Understand Public Apologies

Patrick Field — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:32:45 -0700

After piloting a new course across three EPA regions and with multiple private and public organizations, CBI Managing Director Patrick Field has something to say about public apologies.

Engaging Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Andrew Maxfield — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:08:40 -0700

The history of oil production in Nigeria’s Niger Delta has been marked by highly contentious relationships between oil companies and host communities, often leading to interrupted operations and violence. Since 2008, CBI has been working with Chevron Nigeria Ltd. and its stakeholders in oil-producing communities to improve and strengthen these relationships.

Patrick Field and Sanderjin Cels ask, "Waar blijft de excuses voor de kredietcrisis?"

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:59:35 -0700