RE: Organization and Convening of Collaborative Processes

[Steve Tarlton <steve.tarlton@state.co.us>]

Sorry I got delayed in joining this conversation. 

We (EPA, DOE and the state) routinely conduct collaborative public processes for the Rocky Flats cleanup, which I oversee for the state. There seems to be a small cadre of effective faciliators here who remain neutral and acceptable to the stakeholders, and they are heavily used. We try new facilitators routinely for shorter processes, and some of them stick. 

We have done processes where one facilitator or group will define the process, then another conducts it, and we have used the same facilitator all the way through. We have used agency staff as facilitators, but this has been most effective in the informational and comment venues.

The key to any collaborative process is defining the decision making process in advance, and the role the public will play in the decision.