Liberating Structures
Five conventional structures guide the way we organize routine interactions and how groups work together: presentations, managed discussions, open discussions, status reports and brainstorm sessions. Liberating Structures add 33 more options to the big five conventional approaches. When you feel included and engaged, do you do a better job? Do you think teams in which people work well together […]
The Tamalpais Lands Collaborative Case Studies (2014-2017)
By Leigh Goldberg Public land agencies have collaborated for many decades, both informally and formally through inter-agency agreements, to share resources, equipment, staff, and information. Recently, we have seen an emergence of more deliberate partnerships with their own identities and priorities and a commitment to building durable relationships. Interest in partnerships is especially growing where […]
Engagement Wayfinder, USFWS
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Engagement Wayfinder is an orientation to public engagement. Public engagement enables the government to incorporate public concerns, needs, and values into projects and decisions. It is sometimes used interchangeably with other terms like public participation, stakeholder engagement, and community engagement. Central to all of these terms is the idea […]
Lake Superior Collaborative: Enhancing a Partnership in the Wisconsin Lake Superior Basin
Lacey Hill Kastern, USFWS Western Lake Superior Coastal Program Biologist Region 3 Ecological Services Wisconsin
Africatown Connections Blueway: Healing Begins by Reclaiming Our Heritage & Happiness
Liz Smith-Incer, NPS RTCA Field Office Director for Mississippi and Puerto Rico Mississippi
Youth Workforce Development: Two Tribal Partnerships
Danielle Bauman-Epstein, USDA FS Program Specialist – Grants and Agreements Six Rivers National Forest California
Conservation social science: Understanding and integrating human dimensions to improve conservation
It has long been claimed that a better understanding of human or social dimensions of environmental issues will improve conservation. The social sciences are one important means through which researchers and practitioners can attain that better understanding. Yet, a lack of awareness of the scope and uncertainty about the purpose of the conservation social sciences […]
Bringing Social Values to Wildlife Conservation Decisions
Sustainable conservation of wildlife is contingent upon the human context in which it occurs. Humans regularly exert a powerful influence on the survival and persistence of species, yet social-science information is used only sporadically in conservation decisions. Using data obtained from a survey of 46,894 US residents, we developed and applied a spatially explicit “sociocultural […]
America’s Wildlife Values: The Social Context of Wildlife Management in the U.S.
The purpose of the America’s Wildlife Values Project was to assess the social context of wildlife management in the U.S. to understand the growing conflict around wildlife management. It is the first study of its kind to describe how U.S. residents within and across all 50 states think about wildlife, and how changing perspectives shape […]
Elements of an Effective Apology
An apology is a powerful means of reconciliation and restoring trust. However, sometimes even well-intentioned apologies can exacerbate a conflict. It may be helpful to consider what elements to include in a statement of apology to make it most effective and constructive. © 1999 Marsha L. Wagner, Columbia University
