Key Steps of a Consensus Process

1. How to do an internal agency’s assessment
2. How to do an external stakeholder’s assessment
3. How to select and work with a facilitator or mediator
4. Establishing a representative group
5. Establishing ground rules
6. Disclosing timing and funding constraints
7. Phases of work
8. Finalizing the Agreement

Key Step 2: External Stakeholder’s Assessment

Stakeholders’ assessment

When the agency decides that a consensus process has merit from its point of view, the next step is to discuss the idea with other parties. This involves learning about each stakeholder’s perspective on the situation, answering questions about consensus processes, and gauging motivation. An assessment can also identify issues that are important to stakeholders, the kinds of resources participants will need, and the nature of relationships between parties and how they could affect the dynamics and design of the process. Through discussions with different stakeholders, the agency and other stakeholders learn whether negotiations are feasible. The checklist below provides questions to ask stakeholders.

Who conducts the interviews and what questions are asked can be critical to the success of the assessment. Depending on the degree of conflict and the agency’s relationships with the other parties, an agency employee or one of the parties may be able to conduct the assessment. Sometimes with a large number of stakeholders, two or three people may form a team to carry out the interviews. When the issues are complex and involve many parties, when there is a history of distrust between the sponsor and other parties, or when past efforts at resolving the issues have failed, someone independent of the sponsor should interview the other parties.

For example, some parties may be reluctant to tell an employee of the agency that regulates them that they are not interested if they think agency officials want the process to go ahead; people often are more likely to talk openly with someone who is not associated with the sponsor or any of the parties. And in situations where parties are not familiar with these processes (or had a bad experience with a previous process) it will take an experienced independent facilitator to describe the process in enough detail so that parties can make informed decisions.

Assessment questions:

• What are the issues from your perspective? What would be the purpose of engaging in a consensus process on these issues?
• Are your issues negotiable, or could reaching agreement require you to compromise your interests or values?
• Do you believe you would have something to gain by participating or something to lose by not participating? Or do you think another process or forum would be better for you? What do you think is likely if you do not come to some agreement with the other parties?
• Is your group organized in a way that will allow you to participate? Which spokespersons represent your group? Is there a mechanism for getting input and feedback from your group in a timely way?
• Do you have enough time, money and people to participate effectively? Or might you need assistance, either to cover expenses or to gather or understand information about the issues?
• Who else do you think should be involved to make the effort successful?
• What is the history of relationships among the parties?
  Do you feel you have a general understanding of what a consensus process entails and how it works, or do you have questions about such processes? Do you have specific concerns you would like to address before you will agree to participate?
• What kinds of information are needed to resolve the issue? What kinds of information can you provide to the group?
• How do you think the other stakeholders would answer all of the above questions?