Services

Facilitated Solutions Services Overview

If you are looking for a facilitator who has years of experience at building consensus and resolving disputes, give us call.  I have been providing consultation, conducting assessments, building consensus, and resolving disputes for over thirty years.

Building Consensus and Finding Solutions. Consensus is our focus.  Consensus processes have the potential of producing better quality, more informed and better outcomes. Many leaders today understand that diverse perspectives must be taken into account and brought to the table if progress is to be made in finding collaborative solutions to our public challenges. Consistent with our mission, fairness and impartiality are cornerstones of every Facilitated Solutions process, providing opportunities for interactions among all stakeholders that encourage mutual understanding, collaboration and joint problem solving.

Independent Issue Assessment & Process Design

Consultation on How to Proceed. When presented with a challenge, Facilitated Solutions will actively listen to your description of the situation and perspectives on the people and interests involved. We explore: the scope of the problem; possible strategies to address the problem; and clear and realistic objectives. Based on our commitment to impartial consensus building and over years of experience working on public issues, we will propose a course of action that is appropriate for the situation.

Assessing the Situation. If the complexity and sensitivity of the situation warrants, we will suggest that Facilitated Solutions conduct an impartial assessment on behalf of a potential sponsor. During the assessment, we review pertinent information and meet and listen to the people who are impacted by the problem (i.e., those with a stake in the solution) to gain their perspectives on the situation. We ask stakeholders if they would be willing to participate in a collaborative process, and explore their perspectives on possible solutions to a shared challenge. The result is often a carefully thought through assessment report to the sponsor with findings and recommendations on how to best proceed.

Assessment Project Examples

  • Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Strategic Alignment Initiative Assessment. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2019.
  • Apalachicola Basin System Initiative (ABSI) Assessment. Florida State University. 2019.
  • Greater Pensacola Bay Oyster Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Plan Assessment. The Nature Conservancy. 2019.
  • Gulf For-Hire Recreational Fisheries Electronic Monitoring Workgroup Assessment. Ocean Conservancy. 2016.
  • New Leaf Market Organizational Assessment. NLMC. 2015.
  • Building Code System Assessment. DCA/DBPR/FBC. 2010.
  • Lower Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Assessment. SFWMD. 2007.
  • Florida Quota Hunt Program Assessment. FWC. 2006.
  • Construction Practices/Quality Assessment. DCA/DBPR/FBC. 2005.
  • Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code Duplicate Provisions and Overlapping Responsibilities Assessment. DCA/DBPR/FBC. 2005.
  • Staff Problem Solving Training and Education Needs Assessment. SFWMD. 2005.
  • Lee County Land Use Assessment. City of Fort Myers, Lee County. Schwab Mining Company. 2003.
  • Feasibility Assessment Regarding Conducting Negotiated Rulemaking to Establish Efficacy and Performance  Standards for Registering Termiticides for Use as a Preventative Treatment on New Construction. FDACS. 2012.
  • Recommendations to Enhance Building Code and Municipal Code Enforcement Activities. City of Fort Pierce Florida. 2002.
  • Feasibility Assessment Regarding Negotiated Rulemaking for Division of State Fire Marshal. DFS. 2002.
  • Feasibility Assessment Regarding Proposed Negotiated Resolution of Issues Surrounding Schwab Zoning Amendment Proposal (Mining Excavation Limits Expansion). Lee County and Schwab Materials, Inc. 2002.

The date listed is the date the project was initiated. Many of the projects took place over multiple years.

Collaborative Meeting & Process Facilitation

Helping Groups Work Effectively to Build Consensus. Facilitated Solutions collaborative meetings and processes are carefully structured to be well organized, participant-sensitive and results-oriented. Consistent with our public mission, fairness and impartiality are cornerstones of every Facilitated Solutions collaboration, facilitating interactions among stakeholders that encourage mutual understanding and joint problem solving.

In productive well-designed collaborative meetings, Facilitated Solutions’ facilitators guide participants to communicate effectively, define issues, develop and assess goals, and commit to collaborative action. During meetings, facilitators engage meeting participants in exercises that promote understanding and seek consensus on how to address challenges and find solutions. Facilitators work with sponsors and stakeholders between meetings to help them articulate and achieve their interests in a manner that makes sense both for themselves and other stakeholders.

We will help a group get started by helping them with operating procedures and a work plan.  We will help an existing group develop a plan, seek a solution to a problem, or resolve a dispute.  We will provide ongoing support to a group by working with leadership to provide meeting design, meeting agendas, meeting facilitation and meeting reports.  We can help with these:

  • Commissions / Committees / Task Forces
  • Advisory Boards
  • Advisory and Stakeholder Workgroups
  • Visioning Initiatives
  • Strategic Planning
  • Facilitated and Negotiated Rulemaking

Facilitated Solutions’ facilitates meetings of all kinds of groups: committees, commissions, workgroups, boards, and advisory groups. Groups can be convened to draft plans, to develop recommendations on proposed plans, engage in joint fact finding to connect decision making with scientific and technical information or to respond to a discrete set of issues. Some groups, such as advisory groups, meet regularly to provide valuable input to an agency or elected body regarding policy decisions and enhance the working relationship between the agency and the affected or regulated groups.

Collaborative Meeting & Process Facilitation Project Examples

  • Florida Building Commission. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). 1999 – Current.
  • Greater Pensacola Bay Oyster Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Plan The Nature Conservancy. 2019.
  • Apalachicola Basin System Initiative (ABSI). Florida State University. 2019 – Current.
  • Hurricane Research Advisory Committee. (DBPR). 2005 – Current.
  • North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan. Stakeholders Advisory Committee. St. Johns River (SJRWMD) and Suwannee River (SRWMD) water management districts and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 2012.
  • Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council. Department of Interior, NOAA, Department of Defense, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. 2011.
  • Stormwater Management System Design Task Force (DBPR). 2009.
  • Project FishSmart University of Maryland/Florida State University. 2008.
  • Consumer Fertilizer Task Force. (FDACS). 2007.
  • Consumer Fireworks Task Force. (FDACS). 2007.
  • Florida Quota Hunt Workgroup. Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). 2006.
  • Lobster Advisory Board. (FWC). 2005.
  • Blue Crab Advisory Board. (FWC). 2003.

The date listed is the date the project was initiated. Many of the projects took place over multiple years.

Public Outreach & Engagement

Jeff Blair led an initiative by the Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods to design an effective and meaningful process for community engagement for the City of Tallahassee and Leon County Florida. The link below is a download of the process, which is relevant and useful for community engagement initiatives generally.

Community Engagement and Notification Process Plan

Public Involvement. Facilitated Solutions had decades of experience engaging the public in complex and sometimes controversial projects. The needs and interests of the public are an essential ingredient in reaching successful collaborative outcomes. Public participation workshops can be designed to work with stakeholders and affected interests to evaluate a range of issues and options, to help gauge the level of support for a broad range of issues, and to provide valuable feedback and input. A series of iterative workshops allows for the development of greater consensus, with each workshop building on the work product of the previous and offering valuable input to an agency, NGO or corporation. Typical public outreach activities include interactive workshops, public or community meetings, advisory groups, one-on-one meetings, websites, and surveys.

Public Outreach and Engagement Project Examples

  • Deepwater BP Oil Spill Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). NOAA and DOI. 2011.
  • National Recreational Boating Stakeholders Growth Summit. Sponsored by National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). 2011.
  • National Saltwater Recreational Fishing Summit. NOAA Fisheries. 2010.
  • National Bedbug Summit. USEPA. 2009.
  • International Public Health Pesticides Workshop. USEPA/WHO/World Bank. 2009.
  • South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Public Workshop. Department of Interior. 2009.
  • Gulf of Mexico Grouper Forum. NOAA, FWC, and FWRI. 2007.
  • Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study. FWC. 2001.
  • Port of Ft. Pierce Master Plan Update. City of Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County, Florida. 2001.

The date listed is the date the project was initiated. Many of the projects took place over multiple years.

Strategic Planning, Visioning and Organizational Consultation

Our strategic planning approach is to work collaboratively with clients to design and implement a strategic planning process designed as a way to build a compelling shared vision and action plan for the Organization/Association going forward.  Through a professionally facilitated dialogue on a vision of success, and the related challenges and solutions, the process will create an improved understanding of the key strengths and opportunities and build a shared positive vision and commitment regarding the development of a Strategic Plan and associated Action Implementation Plan (Work Plan: with priority tasks and strategies, assignments, timelines and performance metrics) with strategic actions that will help to achieve the Organization’s/Association’s collective vision of success.

Collaborative Leadership and Strategic Planning Project Examples

  • FSU College of Social Science and Public Policy. Florida State University. 2018.
  • Suwannee River Partnership Planning Strategy Initiative. Suwannee River Water Management District and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 2017.
  • Solar Policy Advocates Retreat. Florida Conservation Voters. 2017.
  • Florida Natural Gas Association Strategic Planning Initiative. FNGA. 2016.
  • Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) Strategic Plan. South Florida Water Management District. 2016.
  • Florida Green Building Coalition Strategic Plan Implementation. 2012.
  • Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence—Collaborative Teamwork Training. 2014.
  • South Florida Water Management District—Collaborative Leadership Training and Development Initiative. 2012.
  • Florida Green Building Coalition Strategic Plan Implementation Workshop. 2012.
  • South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Staff Assessment and Training. 2010.
  • Broward County Supervisor of Elections Visioning Workshops. 2002.

Visioning Workshop Project Examples

  • Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM). Florida Emergency Notification System Vision Workshops. 2013.
  • South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Public Workshop. (DOI). 2009.
  • Energy Forum and Humidity and Moisture Control Workgroup (FBC/DCA). 2007.
  • Legislative Strategies for Agriculture’s Role in a Viable and Sustainable Future for Florida. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 2006.
  • Port of Ft. Pierce Master Plan Update. City of Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County, Florida. 2001.

The date listed is the date the project was initiated. Many of the projects took place over multiple years.

Collaboration Skills Training

Training. We provide training to agencies, organizations, and businesses.  Training workshops are designed to meet the needs of each individual audience. Typical topics include: effective communication and enhanced conflict resolution skills, facilitation, managing effective meetings, consensus building, public involvement, and process design.

Examples of Trainings Custom Designed and Conducted

  • Resolving Public Disputes. (SFWMD and multiple private, public, and NGO sector and agency clients)
  • Advanced Mediation and Facilitation Training. (Multiple private, public, and NGO sector and agency clients)
  • Public Involvement Training. (Multiple agency clients, and private, public, and NGO sector clients)
  • Effective Communication and Enhanced Conflict Resolution Skills. (FAU, FIU, City of Fort Pierce and other agency clients)
  • Effective Meetings—Problem-Solving and Process Skills. (FAU, FIU, City of Boynton Beach, AAPFCO, FBC, DBPR and other agency, private, and NGO sector clients)
  • Effective Meetings for Leaders—Meeting Management Training. (FBC)
  • Facilitation Training—Improving Meeting Effectiveness With Facilitation Skills. (DBPR, FBC, and multiple private, public, and NGO sector clients)
  • Skills Building and Frontline—Conflict Resolution and Communication. (FIU)
  • Problem Solving, Communication, and Effective Meetings Facilitation Skills. (USFWS, FCADV, and multiple private, public, and NGO sector clients)