Page 105 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

collaboration) is a conflict-resolution process used mainly to settle complex, multiparty disputes.

Since the 1980s, consensus building has become widely used in the environmental and public

policy arena in the United States, however it is useful and applicable whenever multiple parties

are involved in a complex dispute or conflict. How else can we have a breakthrough?

The process can be considered ‘liberating’ because it allows various stakeholders (parties

with an interest in the problem or issue) to work together to develop a mutually acceptable solution.

Like a town meeting, consensus building is based on the principles of local participation and

ownership of decisions. Ideally, the consensus reached will meet all of the relevant interests of

stakeholders, who thereby come to a unanimous agreement. While everyone may not get

everything they initially wanted, "consensus has been reached when everyone agrees they can live

with whatever is proposed after every effort has been made to meet the interests of all stake holding

parties (Susskind 1999)”. (Van Den Belt, 2004)

In order to get the core understanding of how Community Conversations can tap into the

potential of public engagement and empowerment resulting from being in ‘I’ awareness, -- I

needed to explore the experience of participating within this type of dialogue and find out what it

is like confronting critical social issue domains like for instance racism or environmental impacts.

The approach used in this research initiative is focused on understanding the exchange

between dialogue participant (and facilitators), their feelings and expressions during the process,

how tension and disagreement were handled, and how new insights and reflections during and

after dialogue gatherings contribute to shifts in perspective which gave me insights. Some civic

deliberative dialogues are for the purpose of seeking consensus among attendees concerning one

or more alternatives for actions. The purpose of the four Albany NY Community Conversations

was to promote greater understanding among the participants and educate about implicit bias and

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