All files classified under: Public Disputes

CBI is working on a holistic approach to community planning and development with residents, local businesses, non-profit organizations, and municipal and state agencies in three Rhode Island communities. Initiated by Rhode Island Housing, a quasi-public agency that focuses on critical housing issues in the state, KeepSpace is a new approach to planning for and directing investment that supports communities where neighbors meet, people work, and children play.

The Consensus Building Institute offers a new approach to public relations and crisis management that builds on a proven approach outlined in the award-winning book, Dealing With an Angry Public, by Lawrence Susskind and Patrick Field.

Corporate social responsibility has firmly established itself as a buzzword over the past decade. But far from being an empty phrase, CSR is constantly evolving to better address conflicts that arise between businesses and communities. Today's global CSR discourse is moving beyond the need for reporting on CSR compliance, toward a focus on the question of effective remedies. CBI has been working with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative to explore the role that mediation and other problem-solving approaches play in resolving disputes over business impacts on society. Explore CBI's innovative research and participatory design work in CSR.

Informed consent is a basic premise of civil society. However, the notion of informed consent in the multi-party, political arena of public sector mediation is challenging for several reasons.