How CBI Helps Government Agencies

Government agencies must continually address the competing interests of diverse stakeholders, ranging from other agencies to advocacy groups and local communities. In order to work effectively, agencies must be able to identify their stakeholders and the best forums, tools, and opportunities for collaboration.

Our Areas of Expertise

Land Use and Development

CBI helps public officials, developers, mediators, and other constituents balance social, political, economic, environmental, and health concerns in resolving land use disputes.

Natural Resources and Environment

CBI specializes in environmental planning, public land, air pollution, and water management. Combining process skills with technical acumen enables us to manage multi-party negotiations in the public arena.

Social Policies and Programs

CBI designs public input processes, administers meetings, and enables groups achieve consensus on issues such as housing, criminal justice, and diversity.

Case Studies

Reducing Air Toxics in Cleveland
June, 2002
In June 2002, the Cleveland Air Toxics Working Group reached consensus on over a dozen projects that will reduce risks of air toxics posed to children, families, and adults in two of Cleveland’s urban neighborhoods.
Re-Integrating Ex-Offenders Into Communities
November, 2001
Across the country, two decades of effort to “get tough on crime” through increasingly strict sentencing laws, prison conditions, and parole rules have produced the highest incarceration rates in U.S. history. Since very few prisoners serve life sentences, these policies have also led to the highest prison release rates in history.
Massachusetts Military Reservation - Cleaning Up Upper Cape Cod’s Sole Source Aquifer
Since 1996, the Consensus Building Institute and Environmental Mediation Services (EMS), have assisted in the cleanup of Massachusetts Military Reservation, one of the largest Superfund sites in the country.
Streamlining Community Planning in Falmouth, Maine
January, 2008

In January 2007, the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) lead a collaborative process to evaluate and improve the integrated functioning of the various entities that play a role in a growing Maine Town’s planning “system”. The process engaged over one hundred and fifty citizens, land owners, and professionals, and many stakeholders expressed interest in exploring additional options for educating and engaging the public in land use and other important Town governance issues.


Meriden City Center, Connecticut - a Comprehensive Plan for Revitalization
April, 2005
The Meriden Economic Resources Group hired CBI to undertake an assessment of public opinion and concerns regarding obstacles to downtown development, including flood control, transportation barriers, economic development, and more.
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Our Services

CBI helps leaders, communities, organizations, and governments worldwide find better ways to work together on important public issues. We offer in-depth knowledge of group dynamics, multiparty negotiations, and intercultural interaction. Using mediation, facilitation, and a range of specialized tools we have developed for assessment, evaluation, process design, we help our clients integrate thought and action to achieve wiser, more stable, and fairer results.

Facilitation

With expertise in group dynamics and many years of facilitating meetings and problem-solving processes of various kinds, CBI helps constituents identify, implement, and evaluate shared objectives.

Mediation

CBI’s professional mediators establish a collaborative environment, avoid escalation, and create value—leading to more efficient, wiser, and more stable results.

Process Design

We help design processes that range from public participation to stakeholder engagement to agreement-building.

Research and Evaluation

CBI engages in cutting-edge research and evaluation, engaging stakeholders in goal setting, data collection, analysis, reflection and practical problem-solving.

Stakeholder Assessment

CBI has helped define the practice of stakeholder assessment for many global, national, state, local, and inter-organizational disputes.

Select Clients

City of Boston
City of New York
City of Providence, RI
City of Somerville
Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Park Service
National Security Council, Executive Office of the President
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
South Florida Water Management District
State of Connecticut
State of Delaware
State of Florida
State of Maine
State of Massachusetts
State of New York
Tampa Bay Water Authority
Texas Parks and Wildlife
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
U.S. Climate Change Science Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Institute for Peace
U.S. State Department

News & Views

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