Conflict Assessment and Resolution

Many conflicts escalate because stakeholders lack a shared understanding of the issues, interests, and relationships involved. Our conflict assessments, often conducted through our “Landscape Assessment” methodology, identify the roots of conflict, key participants, and potential pathways toward resolution. 

Through facilitation, partnering, coaching and the convening of structured dialogue, we help organizations move beyond entrenched positions and develop solutions that stakeholders can support and sustain.

Case Study – Public Hearings for Surface Mining, (Various Sites in Kentucky)
Using structured interviews and extensive regulatory research, Consensus Solutions designed workplans for public hearings on surface mining in eastern Kentucky. The hearings focused on EPA’s objections to 37 NPDES draft permits for surface-coal discharges in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Under 40 CFR 123.44(e), EPA was required to hold a public hearing on draft permits receiving an EPA objection when requested by the state. The hearings represented a significant and unprecedented event for the NPDES program.

EPEAT:  US EPA Office of Solid Waste
Consensus Solutions worked with EPA’s Office of Solid Waste to assess the collaborative environment for developing the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. The Conflict Assessment mapped the interests and ideologies of stakeholder groups involved in end-of-life management of electronics products in the United States. Drawing on his experience facilitating sector-based environmental initiatives and his involvement with the EPEAT Steering Committee, we developed recommendations for a project roadmap

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning processes often require organizations to align leadership, clarify priorities, and make decisions about complex and sometimes controversial policy issues. Consensus Solutions designs and facilitates strategic planning initiatives that help organizations translate diverse perspectives into clear goals, actionable strategies, and shared commitments.

Our approach emphasizes internal (and sometimes thought leaders from those external to the client organization) stakeholder engagement, careful facilitation of dialogue, and the development of implementation strategies that translate planning conversations into measurable outcomes.

Case Study – Great Lakes Commission Climate Resilience Framework
Consensus Solutions facilitated a multi-state dialogue resulting in the development of a regional Climate Resilience Framework endorsed by representatives from eight states and two Canadian provinces. The process balanced economic, environmental, and community priorities while producing a shared policy framework for future action. 

Case Study – Gullah Geechee Commission Strategic Planning
A facilitated planning process helped the Commission develop a strategic framework addressing cultural preservation, land ownership, and community resilience across multiple southeastern states. The resulting strategic plan provided clear priorities and a roadmap for implementation. 

Case Study – City of College Park (Georgia) In the midst of COVID19 restrictions, Consensus Solutions designed and guided a virtual process in which City officials aligned a strategic plan and performance standards for City Council and the leadership team.  Through extensive digital communications, the City’s strategic plan was updated and goals, objectives and key tasks were connected to the appraisal and evaluation systems used by the City.

Community Engagement

Effective community engagement requires more than public meetings. Consensus Solutions designs engagement strategies that help organizations understand the values, priorities, and concerns of the communities affected by policy decisions.

Our processes include stakeholder interviews, facilitated dialogue sessions, public meetings, and structured engagement activities designed to ensure that diverse voices are heard and that input meaningfully informs decision-making.

Case Study – Africatown (Alabama) Following the discovery of the scuttled Clotilda, Consensus Solutions and the Institute for Local Innovations facilitated several community engagement sessions in which community leaders, government officials and area businesses were given the opportunity to weigh in on priorities for environmental improvement in this historically significant community.

Case Study – Navassa Kerr-McGee Site  (North Carolina) Consensus Solutions worked closely with the Mayor, Town Council and other community leaders to decrease internal conflict and improve decision making in advance of final cleanup activities in a key “operating unit” of the Kerr McGee Superfund site. The redevelopment of the entirety of the ~150-acre property will transform Navassa. This valuable site is located along the Brunswick River and proximal to the Port, interstate highway and rail and has remained dormant since the 1970’s. Land use decisions will be made based upon internal shifts in conflict management and a charette led by Consensus Solutions staff in which participants were guided into agreements on a straw proposal.

Public Involvement

Public involvement processes are essential when decisions affect large communities or sensitive policy areas. Consensus Solutions facilitates large scale public meetings and hearings that allow federal, state and local leaders to gather meaningful input while maintaining orderly and productive discussions.  We design engagement strategies that encourage participation, improve transparency, and help decision-makers understand community perspectives.

Case Study – U.S. EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Public Meetings
Consensus Solutions facilitated national public meetings involving thousands of stakeholders to inform EPA’s multi-year research study on hydraulic fracturing. The process provided opportunities for scientific dialogue and public input that shaped the scope of the federal research initiative. 

Case Study – Bureau of Land Management Grazing Regulations Engagement
Consensus Solutions designed and facilitated public meetings across multiple western states as part of a national regulatory review process involving hundreds of participants and complex policy questions related to public lands management.