Policy Consensus E-News — February 2008

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Editor's Note: Tools For Creating Change

During recent months, our national conversation about government and leadership has been dominated by a desire for change, for leaders who unite rather than divide, and for a place where citizen voices are heard and integrated into the decision making that affects their lives.

At PCI we believe that the best public solutions come when people work together.  We believe that state, local, and federal leaders throughout the country have the power to inspire people to work together to resolve problems for the public good.  We believe in “a politics of integration, rather than the politics of division,” as then PCI Board Co-Chairs Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Governor Jim Geringer of Wyoming wrote in The Christian Science Monitor four years ago.

Today’s complex societal problems require new approaches to resolution.  Demands on public and private resources are increasing, political polarization and gridlock are worsening, our population is growing more diverse, and citizens increasingly expect to have a say in public issues.

On the world’s stage, business, government and civic leaders called “for a new brand of collaborative and innovative leadership to address the challenges of globalization” at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January.  At the meeting mayors, regional governors and the private sector launched the SlimCity Initiative, an exchange program between cities and the private sector to support action on resource efficiency in urban areas, focusing on energy, water, waste, mobility, planning, health and climate change.  The SlimCity Initiative recognizes the important role local leaders can play in issues such as climate change and energy efficiency.

Collaborative approaches to governance have become increasingly important as tools for resolving our most pressing public issues.   And this is not a matter of governmental reform, but of finding better governance mechanisms – ones that enable elected and appointed officials to work effectively in partnership with private-and non-profit sector leaders and individual citizens to solve problems.  The roles of public leaders are changing, too.  Instead of simply making unilateral decisions, today’s leaders more increasingly serve as sponsors, conveners, participants, and sometimes even facilitators of collaborative decision-making processes.

The stories in this newsletter focus on “Tools for Change,” which are concrete, practical tools that help state leaders serve in these new roles and help all sectors work effectively in partnerships.  PCI’s Video Series highlights solutions being made on the ground and the state legislators who have convened the processes that lead to those solutions in their communities.  The new Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance equips leaders with the information and strategies they need to bring about better governance through the use of collaborative practices.  Salt Lake Solutions is one such example of a mayor who has initiated a collaborative governance strategy to address public issues in his community.  And the University Network for Collaborative Governance is a new organization for college and university centers and programs that engage in service and scholarship in order to enable citizens and their leaders to use collaborative practices to engage in dialogue, deliberation, and negotiation around public issues.

We hope that these tools will continue to help leaders and those who provide support for collaborative approaches to effectively find the best solutions to our public problems.

Greg Wolf, Executive Director

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PCI Publishes A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance

PCI has just published A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance, a revision of A Practical Guide to Consensus.  The new guide is a 62-page step-by-step handbook that walks readers through the stages of sponsoring, convening, organizing, and participating in a public policy collaborative process.  The Practical Guide was developed and co-authored by Chris Carlson, founding Executive Director of PCI and a leading authority on consensus building in the public sector.

Since PCI published A Practical Guide to Consensus in 1999, we’ve refined our ideas about what works and what does not for collaboration and consensus building.  Collaborative governance has evolved over the past eight years, and at PCI we’ve uncovered some important insights and lessons about what it takes to collaborate effectively to get to solutions.  We have identified and studied how innovative leaders can convene people from across diverse sectors to work together.  And we have looked at what it takes to create the kinds of mechanisms necessary to overcome the barrier to collaboration presented by traditional structures and procedures.

Designed primarily for elected and appointed government officials and civic leaders, the Guide also is useful for those who provide leaders with the staff assistance, facilitation services, and support they need to employ these approaches effectively.

A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance will help equip more leaders - present and future, in the public, private, and civic sectors - with the information and tools they need to bring about better governance through the use of collaborative practices.

Read reviews of A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance. The Guide is available for purchase ($15 plus shipping and handling) through the PCI website.

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Salt Lake City Solutions Launched

The Steering Committee of Salt Lake Solutions, one of Mayor Ralph Becker’s new initiatives, met for the first time in February.  The group came together to review and determine the initiative’s Community Objectives and launch the first pilot project.

At the meeting, PCI Director Greg Wolf introduced the Committee to the Public Solutions System and Oregon Solutions, which Salt Lake Solutions is modeled after.  Mayor Becker is chairing the Committee, which includes representatives from the business sector, the non-profit and foundation sector, city government, and higher education.

In keeping with the model, Salt Lake Solutions’ Community Objectives will direct the selection of projects.  The Objectives address issues such as environmental stewardship, schools, housing, transportation, and walkable commercial centers.  Projects will be assessed by the Mayor’s office to ensure they meet the Community Objectives.  The Steering Committee will rally resources for community projects that otherwise would not be achieved without the integration of public and private support.

“In addition to identifying and addressing projects in Salt Lake City using a collaborative approach, Salt Lake Solutions also includes a capacity-building component,” says Michele Straube, a mediator / facilitator working with the Mayor’s office to implement Salt Lake Solutions.  “A lot of city department are already using some of these approaches, but Salt Lake Solutions will expand the use of collaborative problem solving by conducting internal trainings and offering assistance on internal projects.”

In Becker’s State of the City speech, he explained, “To improve Salt Lake City government responsiveness to our residents and to help establish an open, transparent, and inclusive approach to decision-making in Salt Lake, I will initiate Salt Lake City Solutions. This approach to Salt Lake City decision-making will establish a new standard and approach for Salt Lake City employees. It will emphasize that we are public servants, here to serve the public. We will adopt an approach to solving problems that engages all segments of our community, follows standards, considers alternatives, and arrives at the best possible solutions. . . .It is collaborative government, one that includes those affected by decisions, considers ideas and options, and arrives at public solutions based on healthy dialog and consensus.”

The Mayor has already designated the first project, to determine the best community use of a historical property along the Jordan River.  The city acquired the property, along with the Fisher Mansion and a carriage house, through a purchase to complete a segment of the Jordan River Trail.Through the Salt Lake Solutions process, the community and other stakeholders will reach a Partnership Agreement outlining their individual commitments and a project timeline.   Becker and City Councilman Van Turner will co-convene the Fisher Mansion Partners Team for the project for the first time at the end of February.  This group will come to an agreement on process and their objectives, standards of conduct, and principles they will apply to the project. The group will consider alternatives and then agree on recommendations for the use of the property.

“Response has been overwhelming within city government and within the community,” says Straube.  “Over 2,000 people attended the Mayor’s Open House at Fisher Mansion and submitted hundreds of suggestions.”

"At the Steering Committee meeting," reported Greg Wolf, "members noted that it is the goodwill Becker has generated that allows the mayor’s office to play the role of neutral forum.”

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PCI Video Series

PCI has continued to expand the PCI Video Series: Legislators as Conveners.  We’ve added two new videos in the past month, both featuring PCI board member and former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe.  Moe has been leading workshop sessions on the legislative power to convene and strategies for being an effective convener for PCI, the National Council of State Legislators, and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation.

In “The Power to Convene,” Moe defines the emerging role legislators are being asked to play as conveners. “By virtue of being elected to a state legislative office, the public has given you a certain authority and one of these is the power to bring people together to provide a safe, neutral place for diverse opinions to reach a consensus,” Moe says.

According to Moe, the role of the legislator has changed, because “legislators are being called into arenas in a different manner.  They have to be both advocates as well as facilitating leaders.  They need to be experts but at the same time engage the public.”

In the second video, Moe shares practical strategies for a legislator interested in playing the convening role.  “The Keys to Convening” provides legislators with a set of eight suggestions for how a leader can be an effective convener.

“This is not only a good process.  If you can get people locally to come together on a solution to a problem, that to me seems to be the best kind of politics,” Moe advises.

PCI will continue to add to this series and is interested in partnering with your program to create a video of a state legislator who has convened a collaborative process to address a public issue.  Please contact PCI for more information.

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Inaugural Meeting of University Network for Collaborative Governance

The newly formed University Network for Collaborative Governance will hold its inaugural meeting March 30 to April 1 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The meeting will begin with a reception and dinner Sunday, March 30 at the Georgian Terrace Hotel.  On Monday, March 31, the meeting will be held at Georgia State University and then on Tuesday, April 1 re-convene at the Georgian Terrace and adjourn at noon.

The workshop will highlight projects and initiatives, training, and research underway in university centers. It will feature discussions about new uses of collaborative processes, including addressing issues such as climate change.  It will also focus on how to work with leaders to initiate new projects and activities. This will also be the organizing meeting for the new Network and priorities will be established for initial Network activities.

Registration fees are $125 for members and $225 for non-members.  Register by March 12th.

Click here for more information about the meeting or download a registration form here.

The University Network for Collaborative Governance consists of forward-thinking centers and programs in colleges and universities that engage in service and scholarship in order to enable citizens and their leaders to use collaborative practices to engage in dialogue, discussion, problem solving, and conflict resolution around public issues.

These organizations share a commitment to building leadership and capacity to engage in collaborative forms of governance in states and communities. The Network will support centers and programs, helping them carry out their mission, connecting them with colleagues, sharing ideas and programs that work, offering consultation and assistance, and holding outstanding conferences.

For more information about University Network for Collaborative Governance membership, and a Member Application Form, contact PCI.

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