Stakeholder engagement brings the right voices to the table. 

We are an organization that knows how to meaningfully engage stakeholders: we are able to incorporate input into decisions. Our inclusive, proactive approach brings win-win results from many voices, opinions, and interests.

We engage the public. At CDR, we provide processes to engage people where they are. From one-on-one interviews to large public meetings, focus groups to online webinars, standing Q&A calls to virtual platforms, CDR ensures that stakeholders have a voice in the process. 

We define parameters. Successful stakeholder engagement begins with defining the parameters within which input shapes decision-making. We work to ensure that stakeholders understand who decision-makers are, why stakeholders are being engaged, and where their input will inform the process. 

We facilitate interagency coordination. CDR supports complex funding, decision-making, and planning processes across agencies, organizations, and representatives. 

We tie input to decisions. We process myriad voices into meaningful, useful input for decision-making. Through the identification of themes, red flags, and outliers, we support the alignment of projects with stakeholder interests.

Examples of our stakeholder engagement work: 

1. CDOT Central I-25 PEL Public Involvement
   The PEL stakeholder engagement process engaged key representatives of affected groups to determine the impacts, both positive and negative, of potential improvements to the corridor. In addition to disseminating information about the PEL to broader stakeholder communities, receiving and incorporating input from affected stakeholders, and facilitating a stakeholder focus group, CDR managed and analyzed the public input survey, which received over 1,800 individual comments on issues ranging from safety and accessibility to environmental protection and public transit.
2. Thornton Comprehensive Plan
   CDR facilitated the City of Thornton’s Comprehensive Plan Rewrite–a process which was selected to receive a 2019 APA Colorado Merit Award in the category of Community Engagement. CDR managed the stakeholder engagement visioning and conducted stakeholder engagement for the project, including community meetings, workshops, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews, to capture input for the community’s vision of the future of Thornton.
   
3. Crystal River Stream Management Plan
   CDR facilitated stakeholder group discussions to develop components of the Crystal River Stream Management Plan. The stakeholder group explored issues on Crystal and identified management actions to address. The goal of the effort was to collaboratively develop approaches that respected local agricultural practices and traditions, preserved existing uses, and enhanced the ecological integrity of the river.

We provide the process to overcome challenges and disputes.

CDR’s very first project, over 40 years ago, was mediating a dispute over a barking dog. We’ve come a long way since then–today, we provide expert dispute resolution services on complex projects around the world.

We are mediators. CDR’s staff is trained in mediation principles, providing a framework for effective dispute resolution in many contexts. 

We are third-party neutrals. Sometimes, conflict needs an independent outside perspective to provide and promote new approaches. We are a neutral intervention in an era of partisanship. 

We are situation assessors. We tailor our approaches to conflict resolution on the situation. Through analysis and genuine curiosity, we bring fresh eyes to a stale conflict. 

We are future-focused. Conflicts can stagnate on issues that happened in the past. Our approach to conflict resolution focuses on action to repair, mitigate, or resolve past grievances.

Examples of our conflict resolution work: 

1. Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Advisory Committee
   CDR led an 18-month facilitation/mediation effort for the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Advisory Committee. The diverse stakeholder group was charged by the Idaho legislature to develop consensus recommendations on a Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan—a highly contentious issue. The Advisory Committee was composed of water-user representatives from across the 10,000-square-mile aquifer area and included Idaho Power, cities, counties, irrigators, conservation and development representatives, as well as state and federal agencies. The Advisory Committee reached agreement on the Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan, and it was passed into law by the Idaho Legislature.
2. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Development of Mediation Program
   CDR supported the Inter-American Development Bank in establishing a new Mediation Office and Mediation Program to support the Bank’s existing Ethics, Conduct, and Grievance Systems. IDB contracted CDR to design and implement a training program for the Mediation Program’s new roster of mediators. CDR designed and conducted a training program focused on the mediation process and skills building, training participants from the IDB and World Bank on communication and conflict resolution skills.
3. Jefferson Parkway Negotiations
   At the request of the Governor’s Office and the Executive Director of CDOT, CDR designed and mediated a series of meetings between the parties to the Jefferson Parkway. The purpose of the negotiations was to address future traffic impacts on state highways within the City of Golden, in the context of the Jefferson Parkway. The complex and sensitive negotiations resulted in development of a blueprint to address transportation, community, and environmental needs in the future.

Facilitation keeps projects moving.

CDR’s team of facilitators brings decades of experience to help leaders efficiently and collaboratively reach decisions, together.

We are communicators. Facilitators are naturally communicative; we pair our communication skills with technology to ensure access to documents and data; shared understanding of action items and milestones; and effective facilitation on video- and tele-conferences. 

We are doers. Facilitation is more than just talk–facilitation results in actionable agreements to move projects and ideas forward. We support implementation. 

We are strategists. We provide guidance and strategy to ensure that our facilitative processes are tailored to the challenge at hand. 

We are project managers. At CDR, we keep projects on task, on time, and on budget. A project’s success is our success, and we ensure that the process is an asset to the project’s goals and objectives.

Examples of our facilitation work: 

1. Nebraska Water Policy Task Force
   CDR successfully facilitated an 18-month, statewide negotiation to review current legislation on surface and groundwater management, and explore options for water transfers, leasing and banking to improve the management and use of the state’s natural resources. The facilitated Task Force was composed of 49 representatives from irrigation, agriculture, power, recreation interests, state agencies, and senators from the State’s Natural Resource Committee. Outcomes of the Task Force’s work included proposals, recommendations, and draft legislation. Proposals were submitted to the State Legislature and passed into law with requested appropriations.
2. Oregon Passenger Rail
   CDR facilitated the Oregon Passenger Rail (OPR) EIS Leadership Council deliberations established by the Oregon Governor, part of the federally designated Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor between Eugene and Portland. The diverse Leadership Council was composed of state legislators, locally elected officials, and business leaders that guided the evaluation of high-speed rail in Oregon. The Leadership Council made consensus recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration regarding a preferred alignment, station locations, and vehicle technology. Oregon is currently pursuing funding for implementation of the recommendations.
3. Federal Navigating Ecological Transformation Work Group
   FedNET is a collaborative group of land management agencies focused on developing guidance around managing federal lands during a time of rapid ecological change and transformation. As natural resource managers increasingly confront potentially transformative ecological change, they are seeking information and evidence-based solutions to help them develop appropriate responses. CDR has provided structure, support, and strategic guidance for the FedNET group to develop their key purpose and ideal outcomes of the interagency collaboration since 2018.

Skills development that supports collaborative engagement.

CDR develops and provides tailored training courses to improve skills in stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, facilitation and decision-making. Check out our public course deliveries HERE.

We are trainers. CDR’s team are knowledgeable, expert trainers with specialities in adult learning. We ensure that training participants are equipped with skills that directly improve their day-to-day work. 

We are learners. We are driven by curiosity. Our projects, partners, and coworkers are constant sources of learning, fostering an institutional culture of growth.  

We are practitioners. Our training and course deliveries are grounded in real world experience. At CDR, we train others in the work that we do every day.

Examples of our training work: 

1. Interamerican Development Bank, Conflict Intelligence Training
   CDR designed, developed, and delivered a conflict skills training tailored specifically for the International Development Bank (IDB). Working closely with IDB’s Mediation Office, CDR designed a training for the organization’s field offices to improve and support workplace culture through skills for effective communication, innovation, and collaboration. The training was paired with “pulse surveys” to measure the adoption of conflict skills in participants over time.
2. Zimbabwe Land Commission Mediation Training
   CDR delivered a 40-hour / 5-day mediation training in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the Zimbabwe Land Commission. The training served 40 Zimbabwean land staff, whose mediation skillset would provide relief for the inundated court system on land rights and ownership cases. Under a tight deadline, CDR prepared training curriculum, agendas, materials, advertising, and custom training simulations. This project was partnered with Landesa.
3. Public Involvement in the Transportation Decision-Making Process NTI / NHI Training
   CDR has delivered this successful and interactive workshop for the National Transit Institute and National Highway Institute in more than 30 states since 1999. The course addresses both the philosophical underpinnings of effective public involvement and the practical applications of public involvement concepts and approaches in the planning, project development and construction phases.