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The Network held its Annual Meeting this past month in Chapel Hill, NC at the University of North Carolina’s School of Government. North Carolina State University’s Natural Resources Leadership Institute co-hosted the meeting. Over forty representatives from 27 university centers and programs participated in the meeting. UNCG’s meetings allow members to connect with new and old colleagues, to exchange ideas and lessons learned about programs and projects, and develop the Network’s capacity to serve states and communities.
Two university leaders, Dean Michael Smith (UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Government) and Dr. Ed Jones, Associate Director and State Program Leader (Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Community and Rural Development, North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension), welcomed attendees and emphasized the important work that was being done locally as well as across the country to develop universities in their role as neutral forums.
Dan Kemmis (former Mayor of Missoula and Speaker of theMontana House of Representatives) delivered the keynote address for the meeting. He shared his thinking on multi-stakeholder collaboration as an emerging form of democracy, the topic of book he is developing with Matt McKinney (University of Montana Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy). Participants provided feedback and ideas on this work throughout the conference.
The Network continued to discuss a set of principles and standards to guide the work and activities of member centers. Jill Purdy (University of Washington’s Milgard School of Business), Elaine Hallmark (Portland State University’s Oregon Consensus), and PCI’s Chris Carlson presented the work they have been doing to develop collaborative governance standards and center accountability measures. Other Network-wide efforts highlighted at the meeting include the development of management and public engagement skills that public managers and planners need for the practice of collaborative governance and a discussion of how the Network can better support and serve members.
This meeting also featured a series of small group sessions on topics that allowed members the opportunity for small, focused discussions on key issues, such as how member centers are enduring despite tightening budgets; how various member centers are teaching and researching civic engagement; what types of distance learning education members offer; and how member centers are focusing on collaboration for implementation, helping to build states’ capacity for collaborative governance, and how to connect to universities’ role in engaging their communities.
The materials and presentations that were distributed at the conference are available at the event webpage. For additional information and information on specific sessions, please contact Sarah Giles.
The membership present at the UNCG 2010 meeting also elected its new Steering Committee. According to the Network Charter, the Steering Committee should consist of at least 7 and up to 12 members. It calls for institutional and geographic diversity. All Committee members shall serve two-year terms, but are eligible for reelection for up to five terms. Terms shall be staggered. The following program approaches are called out in the charter: multi-part conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving, public deliberation and collaborative governance.
The new UNCG Steering Committee consists of several returning members and a few new members. The UNCG thanks the following Steering Committee Members for their outstanding service and contributions over the first year of the UNCG: Frank Dukes (University of Virginia, Institute for Environmental Negotiation) Sandy Jaffe and Linda Stamato (Rutgers University, Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution), and Jan Summers (University of Texas, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution).
Mary Lou Addor, North Carolina State University, Natural Resources Leadership Institute
Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University, Center for Public Deliberation
Susan Jeghelian, UMass Boston, Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and Public Collaboration
Bob Jones, Past Chair, Florida State University, FCRC Consensus Center
Kem Lowry, University of Hawaii, Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Rob McDaniel, Washington State University / University of Washington, William D. Ruckelshaus Center
Raye Rawls, University of Georgia, Fanning Institute
Susan Sherry, California State University Sacramento, Center for Collaborative Policy
Steve Smutko, University of Wyoming, Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources
John Stephens, Incoming Chair, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, School of Government
In the 2010 Budget, Congress provided a total of $150 million to HUD for a Sustainable Communities Initiative to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase the capacity to improve land use and zoning. Of that total, approximately $100 million will be available for regional integrated planning initiatives through HUD’s Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program. This program is part of the federal government's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities among HUD, EPA, and DOT.
HUD is providing an Advance Notice with a description and framework of the grant program for public comment. HUD will be seeking input from the public, including State and local governments, regional bodies, community development entities, and a broad range of other stakeholders on how the Program should be structured in order to have the most meaningful impact on sustainable regional planning.
The deadline for commenting is March 12, 2010.
For more information and to participate, visit the HUD website.Oregon Consensus (OC) is the State of Oregon's program to provide mediation and other alternative dispute resolution services to public bodies and persons who have disputes with public bodies throughout the state. The mission of OC is to move Oregon to more effective and more collaborative approaches for public decision-making, implementation and conflict resolution. Oregon Consensus is part of NPCC and is located at Portland State University. OC is seeking an experienced professional for its Program Director position to serve in a .5 FTE capacity. Program expansion or reorganization may result in a 1.0 FTE position at a future date. The Program Director will supervise 5 FTE staff, numerous contractors, and a budget of about $1 million. Portland State is an urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, and is known as a leader in community engagement. Portland State enrolls over 24,000 students with over 1,800 students living in on-campus housing.
View a complete position description.
The Rob Williams Award for Emerging Environment and Public Policy Leaders was established in recognition of the late Rob Williams’ commitment and contributions to the field of environmental and public policy dispute resolution and the professional development of its practitioners. The award will be presented to an emerging practitioner who demonstrates the promise to exercise the leadership exemplified by Rob.
Rob Williams emerged as a leader in the field of environmental conflict resolution even as he continued to grow as a practitioner. He was an active member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) Environment and Public Policy Section (EPP), serving on the EPP Leadership Council. In particular, Rob is remembered for his role in helping develop a community of practice for mid-level mediators across the field.
View the complete Award description and eligibility requirements.
Please submit completed application form, résumé, and essay to Jen Peyser and Brad Spangler by 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 26.
The ECR2010 Conference will be a three-day conference filled with training workshops, panel sessions, roundtable discussions, technology fair exhibits, plenary discussions and presentations across various topics within the following three conference tracks:
The ECR2010 Conference begins with pre-conference half-day training workshops offered on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. These training sessions are intended to provide an opportunity for participants to brush up on their skills and learn new techniques and approaches to collaborative problem solving and environmental conflict resolution. That evening, the conference will kick-off with an opening welcome reception and technology fair.
On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 and Thursday, May 27, 2010, up to 30 concurrent, 90-minute, panel and roundtable sessions will be offered on both days. Several UNCG members will be leading sessions, on topics such as developing training programs and a Network-wide set of competencies that public managers and planners need for the practice of collaborative governance.
This year, conference participants will have the option of exploring Tucson on a select number of offsite field trips on Friday, May 28. Details and fee information for these optional field trips will be forthcoming.
View the Conference Schedule and registration information. Registration is now open.
The 2010 Annual ACR-EPP Section Conference will be held on Monday, May 24, 2010 at Loews Ventana Canyon, immediately preceeding the ECR 2010 conference.
The ACR-EPP Section's purpose is to support and enhance the (ECR) field as a whole and to create opportunities to improve skills of its members who are interveners and trainers. The ACR-EPP successful mid-year conferences provide many opportunities for mutual support to enhance the professional capacities of participants. Highlights from these conferences as well as other initiatives and special interest issues, are reported to their members several times a year. ACR-EPP Section members are active in environmental and public policy dispute resolution in the U.S. and Canada.
The ACR-EPP Section Conference is open to all and a separate registration fee will apply. More details on the conference program and registration are coming soon.
Besides electing new Steering Committee members, the membership present at the meeting also voted to make amendments to two sections of the Network Charter. The Charter was formally adopted by the Network members present at the inaugural meeting in March 2008. The amended Charter is available on the UNCG webpage.
Amendments to the Charter were made in Article V Steering Committee, under item 3 "Elections" and item 5 "Officers and Duties." These amended items now state:
3. Elections: New and current Steering Committee members shall be elected or re-elected by the voting representatives of members by electronic ballot in advance of the annual meeting. Steering Committee members will be elected by a simple majority of voting representatives of members voting electronically. The Steering Committee should develop, adopt and post simple and efficient electronic election procedures at least one month in advance of the annual elections.
5. Officers and Duties: There shall be a chair, vice chair, and treasurer chosen by the Steering Committee members. Officers’ duties are as follows: