Any conflict? Massachusetts Municipal Conflict Resolution Needs Assessment

Please join us for an enthralling talk by conflict resolution expert Professor Akiko Ishihara on conflict resolution, public engagement and public policy in Fukushima, Japan in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. We will talk about a host of issues, including nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation in the region and disaster management in post disaster situations. The talk is hosted by the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance at UMass Boston. Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance University of Massachusetts Boston - McCormack School of Policy Studies

Fukushima, A Divided Community: Its Conflict Transformation Strategies - Colloquium - University of Massachusetts Boston The oceanfront campus is minutes from downtown Boston and nationally recognized as a student-centered urban public research university.

MOPC is pleased to announce the release of the Final Report of the MA Municipal Conflict Resolution Needs Assessment Study commissioned by the MA Legislature in the FY 2015 state budget. You can download the Full Report here http://scholarworks.umb.edu/mopc_pubs/14/, and the Executive Summary here http://tinyurl.com/jbx5wzw. For a full overview of the study, please click here https://www.umb.edu/mopc/needs. The study was a multi-year effort led by MOPC, with assistance from MOPC affiliate practitioners, public officials, university leaders and graduate students.

The study was commissioned in outside section 204 in the FY 2015 State Budget, and was a unique combination of needs assessment and assets mapping. While needs assessment identified gaps in results, assets mapping identified existing resources and strengths that can be leveraged to provide solutions to issues. Although these two processes can be complementary, they had rarely been combined prior to this study.

Before commencing the assessment, MOPC formed a core committee of experienced advisors in municipal government with access to major stakeholder groups to guide the study. Data collection was carried out through three statewide surveys; eight regional focus groups and eighteen interviews. The first needs assessment online survey collected 226 responses. The second survey collected 36 responses as feedback on the Interim Report released in January 2015. Fifty-one municipal officials participated in the eight focus group discussions held in Pittsfield, Taunton, Newton, Shrewsbury, Greenfield, Holyoke, Boston and Orleans. The 18 semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with experienced municipal officials, other regional and state government leaders as well as members of constituent groups.

Subsequently, an 11-member Solution Strategies Group (SSG) deliberated, prioritized and refined the findings and recommendations. A third statewide survey was launched to obtain broad input on the prioritized findings and recommendations, which resulted in 380 survey responses. MOPC formed a committee of prominent scholars and academics to review the study, which included experts from the fields of public policy, conflict resolution and needs assessment.

The study documents critical needs of Massachusetts municipalities and communities for conflict resolution skills and resources to prevent and manage destructive public conflicts that are undermining trust in government, promoting incivility, causing financial costs to communities, and discouraging citizens from participating in public service.

The study recommends a review of state laws and regulations that create conflict for communities, an expansion of training and education for municipal officials and managers to include conflict resolution and leadership skills, and the establishment of a state-sponsored technical assistance grant program to help municipal leaders convene conflict resolution and public engagement processes and gain access to online tools and technology for broadening public participation in community problem-solving.

MOPC is currently seeking resources to implement components of two out of the three final recommendations: a public collaboration institute in furtherance of the recommendation for institutionalizing conflict resolution training and education for municipal officials, and a municipal conflict resolution technical assistance grant program in furtherance of the recommendation to provide expert technical assistance and tools to municipalities for conflict resolution and public engagement projects.

"Legislative Study: Massachusetts Municipal Conflict Resolution Needs A" by Massachusetts Office... The destructive public conflicts documented in this study caused dysfunction and harm to Massachusetts local governments and communities. The report documents how municipal officials are managing conflicts and the impact of current approaches to dealing with destructive public conflict. The needs th…

Assessing Municipal Needs for Addressing Destructive Public Conflict - University of... The oceanfront campus is minutes from downtown Boston and nationally recognized as a student-centered urban public research university.

The recommendations from the study

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Will you please help Massachusetts municipalities effectively deal with destructive public conflict? By completing this survey, you will contribute to the various approaches to dealing with destructive public conflict in Massachusetts! Participation in this survey will take about 10 minutes. Please click this secure link to access the survey: http://svy.mk/1PRkBlv

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MAMunicipal

Massachusetts Municipal Conflict Resolution Study Survey

The Solutions Strategies Group
Eleven committed municipal officials from across the state serve on our Solutions Strategies Group (SSG) to refine and prioritize the Interim Report findings and recommendations, to invite other stakeholders and relevant experts into the discussion as appropriate, and to recommend specific implementation strategies for inclusion in our final study report to be filed in late 2015. They are as follows:
Tim Dodd - Westborough Selectman
Kimberley Driscoll - Salem Mayor
Mary Greendale - (former) Holliston Selectwoman
Rocco Longo - Marshfield Town Administrator
Sherry Patch - Hardwick Town Administrator
Barbara Searle - Wellesley Selectwoman
Michael Sullivan - South Hadley Town Manager
Jennifer Tabakin - Great Barrington Town Manager
Sheila Vanderhoef - Eastham Town Administrator
Carol Woodbury - Dennis-Yarmouth Superintendent
Michelle Wu - Boston City Councilor
These SSG members were selected from individuals who participated in our regional focus groups and interviews for the Needs Assessment phase of our study and from municipal leaders recommended to us by our Needs Assessment Committee (NAC), who will continue in an advisory role during this next Solution Strategies phase of our work.

Madhawa Palihapitiya on Aligning the institutional bottom-line with the societal bottom-line for... Hi! I’m Madhawa “Mads” Palihapitiya, Associate Director at the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration at UMass Boston. We recently concluded the first phase of a statewide municipal conflict resolution needs assessment study commissioned by the state Legislature.

Read our Interim Report on municipal conflict resolution needs in Massachusetts.

"Legislative study: Massachusetts municipal conflict resolution needs a" by Massachusetts Office... All across Massachusetts, municipal officials are at the front line of dealing with today’s complex problems in such areas as budgets, education, land use, environment, economic development, public works, public safety and public health. In addressing these complex problems, local public officials t…

Executive summary also available: Read our executive summary of the municipal study interim report

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Destructive conflicts cause dysfunction and harm to local governments and communities: Read our interim report on Massachusetts municipal conflict resolution needs.

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