Civic Fusion: Mediating Polarized Public Disputes

by Susan L. Podziba

Overview

Bringing together the forces of political debate, this book outlines civic fusion and the process of successful public policy mediation. To help mediators understand how powerful the tool of mediation is and help them reach their full potential, this guide outlines what civic fusion is and provides real world examples of cases with positive outcomes. The book examines what mediators aspire to do, what they actually do, and outlines what needs to be done to bring disparate groups of people together to reach agreements on complicated public policy questions. To help you understand, achieve and sustain civic fusion, this guide:

• Will help you construct the metaphor of civic fusion and describe how passion, power, and conflict provide the energy for it;
• Discusses three projects: the Chelsea charter consensus process; the construction cranes and derricks negotiated rulemaking; and abortion talks;
• Describes what it takes to build a foundation for civic fusion; and
• Much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614387107
Publisher:	American Bar Association
Publication date:	02/16/2013
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Susan Podziba, a public policy mediator for more than 30 years, has designed and mediated scores of cases across the policy spectrum. Most of her projects include working with senior leadership of governments, stakeholders, civil society, and the general public. Her clients have included the United States Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Transportation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Senate, U.S. Institute for Peace, United Nations, World Bank, British Council, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, Emilia Romagna Regional Authority of Italy, and Negotiation Strategies Institute of Jerusalem.

She is listed on the United Nations Mediator Roster and is recipient of a National Partnership for Reinventing Government Award. Ms. Podziba is author of Civic Fusion: Mediating Polarized Public Disputes and Our Cities: From Corruption to Participatory Democracy. She founded the Sacred Lands Project at the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program and is faculty for the senior executive seminar, Advanced Mediation Workshop: Mediating Complex Disputes, offered by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and an expert for the course, Religion and Conflict Transformation, which is organized by SwissPeace at the Universityof Basel.

Ms. Podziba has been a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Peace and Conflict Resolution and has taught graduate seminars on policy mediation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. She has a Master of City Planning from MIT and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the Universityof Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

About the Author ix

Introduction xi

The Contents of the Book xiv

Part I Civic Fusion Described and Defined 1

Chapter 1 Civic Fusion Described 3

Introduction 3

Civic Fusion Defined 4

Essential Conditions for Civic Fusion 7

Design to the Obstacles 8

Results 9

Chapter 2 The Energies That Bind 11

Passion 12

Power 14

Conflict 19

Part II Introduction to the Project Narratives 23

Chapter 3 The Chelsea Charter Consensus Process 25

Need for a Governing Structure 26

The Mediator's Assessment 27

Deliberative Negotiations 32

Outreach and Consultation 41

Special Election 50

Transition to Self-Governance 51

Chapter 4 Construction Cranes Negotiated Rulemaking 53

Background 53

Overview of Negotiated Rulemaking 54

Cranes and Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Committee 55

An Informal Mediator's Assessment 58

The Preliminary Meeting 60

The C-DAC Members and Mediator Entry 63

The Negotiations 66

Chapter 5 The Abortion Talks 75

Introduction 75

The Assessment 76

To Interview or Not to Interview 79

Preparing for the Talks 81

The Participants 82

The Talks 84

Mediator Challenges 93

Results 95

Conclusion 96

Part III Building the Foundation for Civic Fusion 97

Chapter 6 Conducting the Mediator's Assessment 99

Introduction 99

The History of the Mediator's Assessment 100

The Projects 101

The Interviews 102

Gathering Useful Information 107

Synthesizing the Interview-Gathered Information 112

The Assessment Report 121

Chapter 7 Designing the Process 123

Introduction 123

Assumptions 124

Basic Building Blocks 125

The Art of Building the Process 133

Part IV Initiating and Sustaining Civic Fusion 141

Chapter 8 Facing Polarization 143

Confirm Impact 144

Review the Process 144

Beginning to Bond 146

Discern the Common Public Goal 147

Negotiate Procedural Ground Rules 148

Substantive Issues 154

Social Time 154

Chapter 9 Keeping the Substance in Motion 157

Identify the Scope of the Negotiations 158

Workshop the Issues 159

Reaching Tentative Agreements 161

Conceptualize Frameworks 166

Passing on Issues 167

Final Consensus 168

Good Faith Negotiations 168

Chapter 10 From Certainty through not Knowing to Curiosity 171

Certainty 172

Create the Space of Not Knowing 174

Creating Curiosity 180

Chapter 11 Fostering Deliberative Negotiations 185

Promote Mutual Respect 186

Acknowledging Uncomfortable Realities 189

What Should Be Verses What is 191

Chapter 12 The March to Closure 193

Introduction 193

Closure Tactics 195

Substantive Closure Tactics 195

Process-Based Closure Tactics 199

Leveraging Tactics 202

Actions to Sustain Individuals 206

Combining Tactics for Closure 209

Chapter 13 Owning the Future 211

Introduction 211

Building Product Ownership 212

Shifting Skepticism to Ownership and Commitment 215

Mediator Commitment to the Process and Product 217

Conclusion 219

Recommended Reading List 223

Appendix A Talking with the Enemy The Boston Globe 225

Appendix B C-DAC Federal Register Notices 235

Notice of Intent to Establish a Reg Neg Committee July 16, 2002 237

Notice of Establishment of Committee and Proposed Members Jun 12, 2003 247

Notice of Final Committee Membership July 3, 2003 249

Appendix C Ground Rules 251

Occupational Safety and Health Administration U.S. Department of Labor Crane and Derrick Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee 253

CHARTER '94: The New Chelsea Making History Together Charter Preparation Team 259

Appendix D Assessment Reports 263

Final Convening Assessment Report on the Feasibility of a Negotiated Rulemaking Process 265

Final Convening Assessment Report for the Negotiated Rulemaking Process 297

Index 331

Acknowledgments 343