Community Solutions

Paper: CONSENSUS BUILDING, MEDIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Learn More About Community Solutions' Work by Following These Links...

• Sustainable Natural Resource Management
• Social Planning
• Community Consultation and Facilitation
• Consensus Building, Mediation and Conflict Resolution
• Advocacy Support
• Organisational Diagnosis and Development
• Provision of Policy Advice

Consensus Building, Mediation and Dispute Resolution

The processes used in mediation are needed in many different parts of our lives. Mediation is not just about resolving disputes. The processes are also relevant to consensus building among people who come to an issue from differing perspectives. As partners in Community Solutions we use mediation skills in most of our projects. Sometimes a mediation can take the form of bringing people from different interest groups together to work on a particular project. At other times, we can play a role in helping groups or individuals to move past a point of conflict, working out where their areas of agreement lie and how they can address the areas of disagreement. And there are many other areas where mediation skills play a part.

There is no magic to mediation. Collecting information about the issues is the crucial first step, and may involve interviews with individuals and groups, researching the topic, and undertaking site visits. This initial process will help determine how the rest of mediation proceeds - or whether in fact a "mediation" as such in necessary. An important part of mediation is "diagnosing" what needs to be mediated. While a client may have an idea about what is needed, we can provide valuable external advice, and on occasions, a more objective viewpoint based on our experience in other situations.

Group facilitation is a crucial part of many group processes - helping groups of people to work together, and at times, providing skills training, is an important part of our work. Working together Jane and Judy can provide both facilitation and record-keeping, which allows us to provide you with a written record of your discussions.

Where possible, we try to follow-up from our mediation work - offering the opportunity for a review some time after the conclusion of the project.

Examples of our consensus building, mediation & conflict resolution services

During recent years Community Solutions has facilitated a diversity of workshops and planning forums in which consensus building was an essential element. Groups as diverse as Ocean Watch, Chipping Norton Lakes Authority, the Burdekin Association, Lachlan-Bogan Regional Vegetation Committee and the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre have used Community Solutions skills in these areas. Among these projects, consensus building has taken a variety of forms, including

• Researching opportunities for project development in rural Australia which involved bringing a diversity of interest group representatives together to discuss ways that they might work together, and projects in which they all would have an interest and involvement.
• Reviewing the performance of an organisation experiencing difficulties - particularly examining the roles of the different parts of the organisation, and facilitating several meetings at which these roles were reviewed.
• Advising a government authority on the best way to consult with a section of the community, taking into account the needs of that sector, the resources available and the existing levels of hostility felt by the sector towards the government.
• Facilitating a process of mediation between interest groups with a history of antagonism, including a research phase, consultation with different individuals and groups within the sectors, advising on the most appropriate form of mediation - and the best people to conduct it - and providing a written report.
• In 2006 and in collaboration with Nina Harding Mediation Services, Jane conducted a very sensitive case-management of the relocation of retired Salvation Army Officers from their retirement village to allow for upgrading works on the village.
• Also in 2006 and again in collaboration with Nina Harding Mediation Services, Jane worked with a diversity of University of New South Wales student bodies and senior management to address the challenges posed by the introduction of voluntary student unionism, a project successfully conducted under the duress of potent time constraints.
• Ongoing work with several Boral businesses to facilitate community engagement process in the local communities in which they operate, and to train company employees to sustain that engagement (work carried out in collaboration with Nina Harding Mediation Services)

Jane and Judy are both experienced facilitators. Jane has a Master of Dispute Resolution, and in 2005 she completed a PhD in Public Policy Dispute Resolution in 2006. Jane is a member of the International Association of Facilitators (see www.iaf-world.org and also www.janeelix.com)