Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution, Department of the Interior

The Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) serves to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department’s operations, enhance communication, and strengthen relationships within the Department and with all customers, constituents, private organizations and businesses, Federal, State, Tribal and local government entities, and local communities with which the Department interacts to accomplish its […]

US Army Corps of Engineers, Collaboration and Public Participation Center of Expertise

The USACE Collaboration and Public Participation Center of Expertise (CPCX) was a response to the growing need for alternative methods of dispute resolution in the management of our nation’s waters. CPCX is an authoritative source for senior Corps leaders, government agencies, civilian, and international leaders from related industries to study and confer on the tactical […]

National Park Service, Stewardship Institute

The Stewardship Institute is a collaborative for change, from the way it is organized, to how it works. The origin of the Institute is rooted in the idea that the National Park Service is an organization of great public purpose and that its people — charged with the stewardship of some of America’s greatest treasures […]

Bureau of Land Management, Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution Program Resources

The BLM’s Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) Program offers tools that the BLM and its numerous stakeholders can use to effectively prevent, manage or resolve conflict as we move forward together to manage the public lands for multiple use and sustained yield. The BLM uses CADR approaches throughout the agency. This enables the BLM […]

One Tam 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 […]

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 […]

Risk Communication and Public Participation

The course is designed to teach participants to better communicate risk, understand and engage various publics, and learn to use the public participation planning process. This interactive workshop teaches participants strategic communication, risk communication and public participation principles and strategies relevant to any issue. Participants learn how to identify missions, goals and objectives; identify and […]

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

Working at the Speed of Trust

Individuals can learn to “see” trust and its measurable impact, which allows them to build credibility, strengthen relationships, and work collaboratively to deliver essential results. When trust is low, people become suspicious, guard communication, speculate, and disengage. As a result, productivity grinds to a crawl, and the costs—whether social, emotional, or financial—increase. We call these […]

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

In this course, students will identify stakeholder needs, conduct environmental analysis, identify stakeholder opportunities which align with USACE capabilities, determine the types of USACE assistance the stakeholder most needs, and create an account plan. This course helps students create account plans that help build and maintain productive partnerships. The course content focuses on stakeholders, their […]