A number of university centers and nonprofits across the country carry out important work in the areas of dispute resolution, consensus-building, and environmental law. Relatively few, however, bring deep subject matter expertise on both consensus building and dispute resolution as well as land use, natural resources management, and environmental and climate policy. Demand for and access to public dispute resolution services continues to outstrip supply, particularly among disadvantaged communities, their residents, community-based organizations, and community partners. For more than ten years, CLEANR has offered high-quality, multi-party dispute resolution services in the form of Policy Workshops (formerly called workshop roundtables), which mimic complex mediation and collaborative problem-solving approaches and attempt to improve upon them. Policy Workshops include situation assessment and initial consultation including confidential interviews, detailed analysis of the history and evolution of a conflict as well as circumstances that allow for collaboration, proposed structure for collaborative process, additional information necessary, key issues, interests, challenges, and opportunities, time frame, and sponsor and funding mechanisms. Situation assessments form the basis for training, capacity building, joint fact-finding, or more complex multi-party processes. CLEANR faculty and staff have decades of experience building the field of public dispute resolution and include neutral facilitators with strong skills and understanding of group dynamics and consensus building. CLEANR views a well-designed process as one that ensures that core values of public participation and conflict resolution are advanced, such as good-faith participation, mutual understanding, inclusive solutions, and shared responsibility. For more information, please contact Dr. Gregg Macey, CLEANR Director or Professor Alejandro Camacho, CLEANR Faculty Director and Chancellor’s Professor of Law.
