John S. McCain III
National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution

Webinars and Online Resources

The National Center provides impartial collaboration, consensus-building, and conflict resolution services. As part of this work, the National Center’s training program seeks to develop skills and build workforce capacity. Products developed through project support and training services, including webinars, reports, and other resources, may be found on this page.

(Please note that some of the following resources might reference the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, which is the prior name of the National Center, as well as a legacy website.)

Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution for Federal Agencies Webinar

Federal agencies frequently address complex environmental challenges that impact a range of stakeholders. This work requires strong collaboration and problem-solving skills. This webinar from the National Center provides an overview of Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR) processes and approaches for environmental managers, decision-makers, scientific experts, and stakeholders who navigate multiparty environmental issues. National Center staff share insights into practical collaborative approaches and techniques and an understanding of resources available to Federal personnel and their partners.

Click here to access a recording of the webinar.

Click here to access the slides from the webinar.

Virtual Facilitation Webinar

Virtual meetings are an increasing part of many of our day-to-day realities. This webinar from the National Center explores best practices and lessons learned for facilitating engaging and productive virtual meetings. National Center staff discuss considerations for hosting virtual meetings, challenges of engagement, and share some tips and techniques to facilitate better engagement and productivity in a virtual setting. This webinar is geared towards those who are new to running online meetings and other online meeting organizers looking to learn additional tips and tricks.

Click here to access a recording of the webinar.

Click here to access the slides from the webinar.

Principles for Effective Stakeholder Engagement in Marine Planning Report

Marine planning is a comprehensive, integrated, and complex process that often seeks to coordinate decisions and activities across numerous ocean stakeholders. As such, it is essential that marine planning processes are designed to engage stakeholders in a manner that meets the needs of planners, process participants, and the stakeholders themselves. This report from the National Center explores principles and best practices for stakeholder engagement in marine planning. National Center staff examine the benefits and challenges of engaging stakeholders and the public and share a range of tools and techniques available to enable positive stakeholder engagement.

The full report is available here, and a shortened version of the report is available here.

NEPA Next 50: Reflections on the National Environmental Policy Act — Dialogue on Engagement and Consultation

The National Center and The University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (Udall Center) hosted two virtual forums as part of “NEPA Next 50: Reflections on the National Environmental Policy Act — Federal Agency Dialogue on Engagement and Consultation” October 20-21, 2021. The virtual learning forums were convened to better understand how Federal agencies are adapting to evolving trends in NEPA and continuing to effectively collaborate with Tribes, partners, and the public in the context of NEPA implementation. The two forums were titled, “Engaging Stakeholders and the Public in the NEPA Process” and “Engaging Native Nations and Incorporating Government-to-Government Consultation in the NEPA Process.”

A meeting summary for the forums can be found here.

A third event in the series, “Intergovernmental Relations in NEPA Processes: Tools, Resources, and Considerations for Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples Working with Federal Agencies,” was held on September 8, 2022. The National Center partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice to convene a virtual dialogue to explore collaboration between Federal agencies, Tribal Nations, and Indigenous Peoples, including tools and approaches that may enhance partnerships between Tribal Nations and the Federal Government in the context of NEPA implementation. Click here to access a recording of that event.

Understanding the Roots of Conflict: Indigenous Law and Science

This webinar explores tools and resources for creating ethical spaces in ECCR and for incorporating best practices from Indigenous reconciliation in intergovernmental negotiations between Native Nations, the Federal Government, and others. Webinar participants discuss the importance of centering Indigenous perspectives and values in multiparty conflict resolution, such as placing value on storytelling and other forms of recording traditional knowledge.

Click here to access a recording of the webinar.

ECCR in Support of Federal Climate Initiatives

In this webinar, National Center staff provide an overview of findings from the “Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR) in Support of Federal Climate Initiatives: An Assessment of Opportunities” report and share collaborative approaches that have been used successfully to address climate-related challenges.

Click here to access a recording of the webinar.

Connecting Generations: ECCR in Indian Country

The National Center’s Native American and Alaska Native Service Area hosted a series of webinars to increase awareness and build collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills among emerging Native American ECCR practitioners. The webinars integrate perspectives from seasoned and emerging practitioners to share and explore best practices, lessons learned, and new opportunities. The webinar series expands critical conflict resolution capacity in support of existing and future environmental and natural resources challenges involving Native Nations, the Federal Government, and others.

Click on the following links to access the webinar series recordings:

• Session #1: Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution in Indian Country.
• Session #2: Federal Indian Law and Policy.
• Session #3: Stories from the Field.

Additional ECCR Resources

This section includes links to additional ECCR resources from the National Center and external providers, including reports, products, and presentations. Some of the following links connect to external websites that are not part of or associated with the Federal Government or the Udall Foundation. The Udall Foundation is not responsible for the content of these external links. The links are provided for general information only and are not intended as an endorsement by the Udall Foundation of the source or the content therein.

The following resources are provided by the National Center:

• Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution and the National Environmental Policy Act.
• How Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution Can Help You.
• Using a Situation Assessment to Initiate a Collaborative Process.
• Spectrum of Engagement.

The following resources were developed by others:

• Basic Principles of Agency Engagement in Environmental Conflict Resolution and Collaborative Problem Solving.
• The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management Offices of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) Memo on Virtual Public Meeting Needs and Lessons Learned: Dialogue Synthesis and Recommendations.
• Collaboration in NEPA: A Handbook for NEPA Practitioners.
• Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR): Enhancing Agency Efficiency and Making Government Accountable to the People.

Other Federal Government ECCR Centers

• Collaboration and Public Participation Center of Expertise within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Institute of Water Resources.
• Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution Program within the Bureau of Land Management.
• Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Dispute Resolution Service within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
• Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution within the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Professional Associations

This section includes links to relevant professional associations for ECCR professionals. Some of the following links connect to external websites that are not part of or associated with the Federal Government or the Udall Foundation. The Udall Foundation is not responsible for the content of these external links. The links are provided for general information only and are not intended as an endorsement by the Udall Foundation of the entity or the content therein.

• Association for Conflict Resolution’s Environmental and Public Policy Section.
• International Association for Public Participation.
• University Network for Collaborative Governance | Kitchen Table Democracy.