Home  CPC-Public Participation Tools
|
|
|
|
Conflict Resolution & Public Participation Center
|
|
Conflict Resolution & Public Participation Center (CPC)
|
|
The Corps recognizes the value of and need for collaboration, partnering, and public participation in water resources decision making.
To assist the Corps in implementing this collaborative approach, IWR has created a center of expertise on conflict resolution and public participation, the Conflict-resolution & Public-participation Center.
CPC’s mission is to help Corps staff anticipate, prevent, and manage water conflicts, ensuring that the interests of the public are addressed in Corps decision making.
The center achieves this mission by developing and expanding the application of collaborative tools to improve water resources decision making.
Key Center tasks include training, research, and application of collaborative process techniques and modeling tools.
Collaborative process techniques include:
- Collaborative process design (e.g. how to engage different stakeholders during different parts of the planning and decision-making process, meeting formats and structures)
- Conflict assessment and resolution techniques
- Decision-making methods
Collaborative modeling tools are developed through the Shared Vision Planning program of the CPC and include:
- Methods for collaborative simulation and visualization
- Lessons learned from case studies of collaborative technical analysis
- Primers on use of technical tools for collaborative evaluation of results and tradeoffs
The Center believes that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and collaborative planning tools and techniques can and should be used to avoid and minimize conflicts, rather than just employed once conflict emerges.
Learn more:
|
|
CPC activities consist of support to USACE Headquarters, training and outreach programs, and a direct technical assistance program. Specific initiatives include:
- Preparing the Annual Report on the Use of Environmental Conflict Resolution Report for the Council on Environmental Quality.
- Assessing and developing the Corps conflict resolution and collaborative capacity. The Collaborative Capacity Assessment Initiative resulted in various recommendations at the organizational and individual level designed to improve collaborative capacity.
- Launching a Risk Communication & Public Participation Community of Practice (CoP) to connect practitioners and enable the sharing of best practices.
- Creating a roster of conflict resolution and public participation experts that is available and relevant to Corps missions.
- Assisting Headquarters in revising Engineering Regulations, Engineering Circulars, Technical Notes and other statements of USACE doctrine relevant to conflict resolution and public participation.
- Promoting Shared Vision Planning, a conflict resolution method that integrates planning principles, systems modeling, and stakeholder collaboration into a practical forum for making resource management decisions. Most recently, the CPC published “How to Conduct a Shared Vision Planning Process” (pdf, 875 KB).
- Developing improved methods to encourage public involvement in selecting appropriate flood risk management plans. Part of the Corps program “Actions for Change,” this initiative supports Action 10 of this program, which seeks to “Establish Public Involvement in Risk Reduction Strategies.” It is closely coordinated with the Corps National Flood Risk Management Program. The latest framework and methods were documented in the draft report “Public Involvement Framework & Implementation Plan for Flood Risk Management,” for the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force Hurricane Protection Decision Chronology Implementation Team.
- Promoting international collaboration to manage transboundary water resources in Partnership with another Corps center, ICIWaRM. Tasks include preparations for the World Water Forum, improving the capacity of the Mekong River Commission, and working with the International Joint Commission. In 2010, the CPC conducted a week-long Shared Vision Planning workshop in the Chili River Basin in Peru as part of its international capacity-building efforts.
- CPC held a Field Review Group Meeting on October 26-27, 2011 at IWR with representatives from Districts, Divisions, and Headquarters. The meeting used a variety of participative techniques to accomplish the following primary objectives: provide comments on and build awareness of CPC activities and products to date, provide Field input to guide future CPC activities, and brainstorm mechanisms for continuous Field input in CPC activities. Meeting Summary (pdf, 1.5MB)
|
|
- Engineering Regulation 1105-2-100 Appendix B: Public Involvement, Collaboration and Coordination (pdf, 332 KB)
- Planning in a Collaborative Environment (EC 1105-2-409) (pdf, 586 KB)
- Watershed Plans (EC 1105-2-411) (pdf, 893 KB)
- The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996, Pub. Law 104-320 (pdf, 38 KB)
- Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Legislation and Regulations
- Memorandum on Environmental Conflict Resolution by the Office of Management and Budget and President’s Council on Environmental Quality (pdf, 3.06 MB)
- Transparency and Open Government (January 21, 2009, Barack Obama)
- White House Presidential Memorandum on Designation of Interagency Committees to Facilitate and Encourage Agency Use of Alternate Means of Dispute Resolution and Negotiated Rulemaking
|
|
Managing conflicts and engaging the public are key skills for USACE professionals. The CPC enhances these skills and equips Corps personnel to implement collaborative decision-making processes in field operations.
The CPC’s mission is to help Corps staff anticipate, prevent, and manage water conflicts, ensuring that the interests of the public are addressed in Corps decision making. To achieve this mission, CPC offers the following services:
- Training: Programs and educational materials for Corps staff members
- Consultation: Advice and assistance on specific conflict resolution issues
- References: Reports, articles and web materials to inform Corps members about collaborative tools and processes
The CPC’s services help integrate the principles of environmental conflict resolution, collaboration and participation into the Corps’ daily operations. By supplying the knowledge, support and materials that Corps personnel need, CPC works to achieve the USACE goal of implementing collaborative approaches to effectively solve water resources problems.
CPC Services Description (pdf, 172 KB) |
CPC's Shared Vision Planning Program
The Shared Vision Planning program is CPC’s program on the intersection of computer tools with multi-stakeholder collaborative processes – www.SharedVisionPlanning.us
Other Agencies’ Environmental Conflict Resolution Programs
Additional Federal Resources
Facilitator Resources
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Date
Thursday, 9th February 2012
Major Projects
|
