Consensus Building Institute

“'A problem well put is a problem half-solved’ is a famous mantra attributed to American philosopher John Dewey. But what can be done when a group of people cannot agree on a problem statement to begin with?" In this 2022 paper, CBI board member Hannah Riley Bowles and co-authors look at early-stage factors that impede or contribute to the success of multi-stakeholder teams/initiatives at the city level: https://lnkd.in/eqDnFf7Z

For five years, CBI has been supporting Forest for All NYC, a growing coalition that aims to foster a healthy and resilient urban forest that justly and equitably delivers its many benefits to New York City’s diverse neighborhoods. The group just celebrated its 3rd annual City of Forest Day, with 85+ events across all 5 boroughs. There have been legislative successes, too: New York’s City Council has passed two pieces of legislation prompted by Forest for All NYC. The first calls for developing a plan for the city’s 7 million trees spanning both public and private property, and the second piece of legislation has set a clear goal for the city’s urban forest: 30% canopy coverage by 2035. Next up:?Helping the Coalition develop a funding and resource strategy to keep the Coalition strong in the years ahead.

In April 2020, the Sacramento Water Forum embarked on a new journey to review and revise the historic Water Forum Agreement, signed in 2000. The original agreement, which took seven years to negotiate, will expire in 2030. For the past four years—through a global pandemic, massive societal and political change, and the emerging impacts of climate change—Water Forum members have continued their work on the negotiations, facilitated by CBI, called Water Forum 2.0. This fall, Water Forum members came together in Plenary to discuss individual agency proposals on how they could contribute to the Water Forum’s objectives to provide a reliable and safe water supply through 2030 and preserve the fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River. ? Read more here: ? https://lnkd.in/eXQ-5HRb

CBI has been privileged to be part of the hard work of the fishing industry, offshore wind developers, states, and the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) to launch the Regional Fund Administrator to compensate the fishing industry effectively and more efficiently for impacts due to offshore wind. Read more about this regional fisheries mitigation program: https://lnkd.in/dUru7qT9

Starting in spring of 2023, CBI facilitated the strategic planning process for the Pacific Institute, which addresses global water challenges. Now the institute is releasing the result: a strategic plan through 2026, focusing on water resilience. Find the strategic plan here: https://lnkd.in/gWXYnHXV

The Mystic River watershed connects 21 cities and towns in the Greater Boston area. The Resilient Mystic Collaborative is a voluntary organization that unites municipalities, agencies, businesses, and community-based organizations in developing and implementing projects that make people and places in the watershed more resilient to climate change. To that end, the collaborative has been working on a vision for the lower Mystic River waterfront, and CBI is proud to support the effort. This weekend we took a boat tour of the lower Mystic’s working waterfront, joined by representatives from waterfront industry, local communities, non-profit watershed and engagement groups, and the cities of Chelsea, Boston, and Everett. Learn about the Resilient Mystic Collaborative here: https://lnkd.in/gJrUbWyu

CBI is proud to be?partnering with WRT on community outreach and engagement for?the City of Palo Alto’s Downtown Housing Plan, designed to address?the lack of mixed-income housing in the city. The project launched this summer with a stakeholder assessment, and on October 10th, there was a community open house. This fall, CBI is helping to organize a Community Advisory Group that will bring together residents, property owners, business owners, and developers. Read more about this project here: https://lnkd.in/gWBMMadr

Liderar la transformación energética del país requiere fortalecer la relación en los territorios donde desarrollamos proyectos. Con esta convicción, junto a nuestras empresas socias, realizamos el último taller 2024, en el marco de nuestro esfuerzo para mejorar la gestión conjunta con contratistas y proveedores. Este trabajo, desarrollado desde 2022 por Generadoras de Chile fue liderado por nuestra gerente de sustentabilidad, Macarena álvarez, y la consultora senior de Consensus Building Institute (CBI), Paola Berdichevsky, quienes guiaron el proceso participativo para establecer los lineamientos 2025 en concordancia con los “Principios orientadores: contratistas y proveedores de empresas generadoras”. ?? ?Muchas gracias a todos y todas por su participación! #ElFuturodeChileesRenovable #LiderandoLaTransiciónEnergéticadeChile

Thanks so much to all the experts who participated in our Living Shorelines Workshop hosted by the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, The Nature Conservancy, and the Consensus Building Institute in Portsmouth, NH yesterday. Together with experts from state, local, and federal government agencies, environmental consulting firms, academia, and non-government organizations, we shared valuable lessons learned about the design, construction, and monitoring of living shorelines projects in New England. The weather was no match for Tom Ballestero and his team from UNH who lead three separate tours of the Wagon Hill living shorelines project in Durham, NH. What a great success story - thank you for sharing! #livingshorelines #NortheastRegionalOceanCouncil #coastalresilience #WagonHill

From working with coastal communities to prepare for rising sea levels to supporting planning efforts in New England that resulted in the first ocean plan in the country, CBI has helped advance progress on challenging coastal and ocean issues. You can read more about this work at our site: https://lnkd.in/e3dwGWSj