Technical Assistance

To help foster sustainable communities and landscapes through inclusive, informed, and deliberative public processes, the Institute responds to requests for technical assistance. Each project is tailored to meet the specific situation and needs of the people involved, and may range from short consultations to one-time meetings to multi-year negotiations. The menu of technical assistance provided by the Institute includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Consultation – Provide information and advice to citizens and leaders on different approaches to public participation, collaborative problem solving, and public dispute resolution.

Outreach – Offer presentations, lectures, and problem-solving clinics; participate on advisory panels and in professional associations.

Assessment – Assess specific situations to identify key stakeholders, the most compelling issues, and alternative ways to engage citizens and leaders.

Process Design – Design public processes that are inclusive, informed, and deliberative. Adapt these principles to public participation, advisory committees, community-based collaboration, administrative rulemaking, environmental impact assessment, resource planning, and legislative policymaking.

Facilitation and Mediation – Provide impartial, nonpartisan assistance to multi-party public processes. Facilitate public participation and policy dialogues. Mediate complex negotiations. Convene processes on joint fact finding, regional collaboration, intractable disputes, and other public policy challenges.

Institutional Design and Partnerships – Assist parties in identifying the goals and objectives of new partnerships and institutions, such as regional, trans-boundary associations. Help people design systems to cut the costs of recurring disputes over land, water, and other natural resources.

Training – Provide skill-building training to improve the capacity of people to effectively engage in public dialogue and public dispute resolution.

Research and Evaluation - Inform and invigorate public policy by conducting participatory, action-oriented research on substantive issues, such as federal land management, land use, and water policy. Gather, analyze, and transfer information and knowledge to citizens and leaders, helping them clarify problems and identify the most effective strategies to integrate social, economic, and environmental interests. Improve the process of public decision-making by evaluating the effectiveness of alternative processes to engage citizens, build agreements, and resolve disputes. Identify lessons learned, best practices, and strategies for adaptive management. Create more responsive systems of governance by integrating inclusive, informed, and deliberative strategies into land use, natural resource, and environmental decision-making processes.