Cross Collaborate

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The collaborative approach to water resource planning has been growing over the past 15 years, especially where urban, agricultural and environmental needs are straining the local supplies. Like many other public water managers, the Sonoma County (California) Water Agency faced a decline in groundwater supply throughout the Sonoma Valley as pumping steadily increased because of [...]

Anyone who’s worked at building consensus on public policy knows the frustration of trying to reason with someone who just won’t change a position or even consider alternative possibilities. They may refuse to accept any evidence that seems to disprove their positions and become aggressive and disruptive in the face of challenges. Sometimes, it’s possible [...]

This is the nightmare scenario for any consensus process: After months of hard work by 20 or 30 participants, one or two holdouts, perhaps representing narrow or personal interests, block agreement and frustrate the entire effort.
That is possible if the only route to agreement requires unanimous consent. There has to be a way to [...]

Power differences among members of a collaborative effort – whether conceived as a network or a consensus building process – have long been a major concern of observers and stakeholders alike. One of the basic characteristics of these groups is their voluntary, non-coercive nature and the equal voice accorded to each participant. The fear is [...]