Consensus Building
Consensus Building is an alternative to the ways in which groups typically negotiate and make decisions. While it can be used to generate agreement within organizations, its most unique application is to situations where multiple groups have a stake in a particularly complex or challenging public policy issue.
Typically, negotiation and decision-making methods are top-down and competitive. Besides being costly, these methods result in narrow outcomes that benefit some parties at the expense of others. Instead of resolving differences, these methods damage relationships and make it more difficult for people to work together.
Consensus Building aims to help parties collaborate on mutually acceptable solutions to complex problems. While not giving up what they want, parties share their interests and, together, come up with options that best meet their collective set of needs. The process itself improves communication, promotes trust and builds strong relationships that produce more long-lasting and widely accepted agreements.
A Consensus Building process is facilitated by a neutral “third party” that has no direct stake in the issues or outcomes and is not biased towards any of the participating groups. The role of the facilitator is to:
- Assess whether a Consensus Building process is feasible;
- Help parties create protocols for productive discussion and collaboration;
- Ensure adherence and accountability to the protocols;
- Facilitate communication amongst the parties, assisting them to identify each other’s interests and create options for mutual benefit; and to
- Drive the process, helping parties work through difficult points of contention.
Contact us to learn more about how MCD can help you build relationships with other groups and work collaboratively to make better decisions.
