Policy Consensus E-News — February 2009

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In this issue:

President Issues Memo Calling for Transparent and Open Government

The new President Obama administration has just issued a memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies.  In this memo, titled “Transparency and Open Government,” the president calls for more collaborative government.  Of particular interest to those of us in collaborative governance is his proclamation that “Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector.”  At PCI we hope that the new administration will support states’ efforts to join with the federal government to create systems of collaborative governance in solving community issues.  As the federal government continues to debate how to address the difficult issues facing the nation, we see an opportunity to put into place an integrated infrastructure for collaboration between federal, state, and local governments.

- Greg Wolf, Executive Director

Read the entire memo.

Colorado State Senator Peter Groff Joins PCI Board

Colorado Senate President Peter Groff

Colorado Senator Peter Groff has been named to the PCI Board. Senator Groff currently serves as President of the Colorado Senate and is the first African American in Colorado to hold that post and only the third in the nation’s history to hold the post of state Senate President. Mr. Groff became Colorado’s sixth African American State Senator when he was appointed to the Colorado State Senate in February of 2003 and was elected to a full term on November 2, 2004. In January of 2005 he was elected the body’s first African American President Pro Tem. He represents Senate District 33 in the City and County of Denver. Senator Groff was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2000 and was reelected in 2002.  He currently serves on the Executive Committee of Legislative Council, Legislative Council Committee, and the Education Committee.

In addition, Senator Groff is the founder and executive director of the University of Denver's Center for African American Policy. Developed and implemented by Mr. Groff, the Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to work for and achieve a positive change in the present and future lives of African Americans through academics, the arena of public discourse, community and public service. In addition to his role as Executive Director, Mr. Groff is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Denver’s Public Policy Program.

Senator Groff said of joining the Board, “It is clear we are in a transitional era that will need to focus on rebuilding our nation to lead in a global economy, one that will allow healthy, educated citizens to thrive. This mission requires structures and strategies that are conducive to collaboration and consensus across the board. I’m looking forward to the work that we will do to create this type of cooperative culture and move the country forward."

Board Member Jim Clinton Named CEO of Louisiana Economic Development Organization

Jim Clinton

Board member Jim Clinton was recently named CEO of the Cenla Advantage Partnership (CAP), a private organization that focuses on economic development in Central Louisiana.  CAP’s  mission is to generate better jobs and more economic opportunity in Central Louisiana. CAP does that by: helping existing companies grow and expand; starting new companies; and supporting strategic recruitment efforts. CAP’s creation was a joint effort by Central Louisiana’s private sector leaders and the Rapides Foundation.

Prior to joining CAP, Clinton served for nearly a decade as executive director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a non-partisan public policy think tank based in North Carolina. The board develops and advances visionary economic development policies by providing a forum for partnership and dialogue among a diverse cross-section of the Southern region’s governors, legislators, business and academic leaders and the economic and community-development sectors. This unique public-private partnership is devoted to strengthening the South’s economy and creating the highest possible quality of life. It is supported by memberships from 13 Southern states, including Louisiana.

In addition, Clinton also recently joined the Board of the Council for a Better Louisiana, a nonprofit statewide organization whose key missions are to raise citizen awareness of issues, advance public policies, hold government accountable, and to foster civic leadership.  State leaders in Louisiana look to CABL as an active participant in efforts to improve education, economic development and the operations of state government.

PCI Video Series: Conversations on Collaborative Governance

PCI Video Series

PCI has added a second video series to accompany our “Leaders as Conveners” series.  The new series, “PCI Conversations,” will feature interviews with leaders in the field of collaborative governance.  In the first two in the series, PCI Director Greg Wolf interviews Robert Grow, Founder of Envision Utah, and David Marshall, Executive Director of the Fraser Basin Council.

Envision Utah: A Ten Year Experience

Envision Utah provides an example of a collaborative approach, through public and private partnership, to addressing growth management.   Formed in 1997, Envision Utah set out to guide the development of a Quality Growth Strategy to protect Utah’s environment, economic strength, and quality of life.  Envision Utah used scenario analysis and public involvement to develop a strategy to help preserve critical lands, promote water conservation and clean air, improve region-wide transportation systems, and provide housing options for residents.  Grow was selected to lead Envision Utah due to his position as one of Utah’s business leaders, which provided the group with validity, visibility, and influence. Both the public and private sectors offered high levels of support for the process, beginning with the Partnership’s first co-chairs, then Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller.  Envision Utah has identified thirty-two strategies that rely on citizen engagement with local officials, local land-use decision making and more awareness of free market needs in housing choices. Cooperation at the regional level, state incentives to local governments and local government incentives to developers will also be necessary to address issues such as air quality, water conservation, housing opportunities, transportation, and critical lands.

View the PCI Conversations video about Envision Utah.

A Collaborative Approach to Sustainability: The Fraser Basin Council

In 1997, community groups, business and four orders of government, including First Nations, came together to create the Fraser Basin Council in order to advance sustainability throughout the region. Over the past 10 years, the Council and its partners have tackled more than 50 important sustainability issues, and have established a solid track record of getting people together to find practical, common sense solutions to long-standing issues.To achieve its goals, the FBC acts as an impartial, trusted facilitator operating under a unique model of collaborative leadership that is inherently open, informed, inclusive and flexible. A 36 member Board of Directors oversees the work of the FBC and sets strategic priorities. Under this model, FBC Directors from four orders of Canadian government, the private sector and civil society work together as equals to tackle big issues, overcome conflict, find common ground, make informed and responsible decisions, generate long-term solutions to complex issues and take advantage of opportunities to enhance sustainability "on the ground." Support for the Board is provided by an Executive Director and 15 staff members who collectively have wide-ranging expertise in group facilitation, life sciences, planning, communications and business. To ensure that it has a regional presence and is addressing important issues from all parts of the Basin, the FBC has established Regional Committees and offices in each of the Basin's five sub-regions. Dialogue leading to consensus on action is guided by the FBC's Charter for Sustainability a ground-breaking agreement signed by public and private sector interests. The Charter provides the vision, principles, directions and goals that collectively support a sustainable future for the Basin.

View the PCI Conversations video about the Fraser Basin Council.

News for the University Network

University Network for Collaborative Governance

UNCG Fall Meeting Materials on PCI website

A detailed summary of the UNCG Fall Meeting (held in November, 2008 in Austin, Texas) is now available on the UNCG webpages of the PCI website.  Supplementary materials from panelists and presenters are also available in PDF format.

Download summaries of those discussions and presentation materials from the various sessions at the workshop.

Network Centers Partner on Multi-Agency Training

Two members of the Network are partnering to develop trainings for leaders and senior employees of federal natural resources agencies. The National Policy Consensus Center and Sacramento State University’s Center for Collaborative Policy are delivering courses to introduce collaborative governance, the essential skills needed to effectively participate in collaborative approaches, and the applications of these models in public sector settings.

In February, the National Policy Consensus Center hosted a week-long training for employees from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Bonneville Power Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Center at Sacramento State is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Regional Director for California and Nevada to develop a compatible training for agency employees in that area. Anne Badgley with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland has been working with the National Policy Consensus Center to develop this training. "This is exactly the type of training that our agency has wanted, from problem identification and analysis to the implementation of collaborative processes," Badgley said of the training. " We looked throughout the United States for a program to match our needs and could not find one. We are very grateful to the National Policy Consensus Center and the Center for Collaborative Policy Sacramento for enthusiastically responding to our request and tailoring the training to our needs. We are hopeful that this training course will lead to the development of a nationally agreed upon curriculum to be taught to federal, state, local, tribal and non-governmental audiences around the country."

No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners

The Democracy Imperative and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium are hosting a national conference at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH, from July 8-11, 2009.

UNCG is talking with DDC and TDI planners about hosting an event for the Network at the conference.  Stay tuned for further details.

The conference, titled "No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners," will examine new opportunities for educators and practitioners are emerging in communities, in government, and on campuses. The primary goal of No Better Time is to take stock of these developments and to consider future directions for educators and practitioners in teaching, research, and in citizen-centered initiatives.

View the conference schedule.

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