|
| |
Facilitating
and Mediating Organizational and Community Meetings
The Community Building Institute provides
facilitation and mediation services in a wide array of settings. CBI President,
William Potapchuk, brings an energetic and lively presence to meetings where he
helps participants engage in constructive dialogue, often with the goal of
finding practical, synergistic agreements.
Potapchuk has facilitated groups ranging in
size from a half dozen to several hundred. His wide-ranging knowledge of urban
and community issues helps groups dig below the surface in ways that build a
shared understanding of the issues, the challenges, and the opportunities. Many
of the groups with which Potapchuk has worked engage diverse participants who
have not had a history of positive interaction. His style and approach helps
break down barriers and build relationships.
Potapchuk also serves as a mediator in
contentious situations. Mediation has grown in popularity as a proven and
effective way to resolve conflicts and build agreements. The mediation process
helps participants understand the root causes of their conflicts and then work
together in creating shared solutions. CBI helps organizations and communities
that are currently experiencing conflict as well as design or improve their
current dispute resolution processes.
Why Choose CBI?
CBI brings an approach to mediation and facilitation that combines the
theoretical with the practical, the relationships and the task, and a directive
approach with a soft touch. Combined with extensive experience across virtually
any community issue, CBI can help groups achieve results. In addition, Potapchuk
has academic and applied backgrounds in conflict resolution that can be the
focus of the work or subtly infused into situations where there are underlying
conflicts.
With Whom Have We Worked?
Past projects of CBI's President include:
The Wingspread Conference
 |
Potapchuk facilitated a weekend long retreat
in Racine, Wisconsin for elected leaders and senior staff from the American
Association of School Administrators, National League of Cities, the
International City/County Managers Association, the National Association of
Counties, the National Association of Towns and Townships and the National
School Board Association. The meeting led to a collaborative agreement to
support a six organization collaborative, the Local Governance Council for
Children and Youth.
|
City of Baltimore’s Local Management Board
|
In 1997, Potapchuk served
as lead facilitator for a series of retreats for the Local Management Board (LMB)
of Baltimore. The retreats led to a reshaping of board membership and
strengthened linkages with other entities supporting systems reform in the human
services arena for children, youth, and families.
|
National League of Cities Urban Poverty, Economic Development, and Cities
Project
|
Served as lead facilitator and co-trainer for three technical
assistance roundtables in Charlotte, Cleveland, and Oakland. Each roundtable
included 6-13 person teams from three to six cities. Efforts focused on
developing linkages between poverty reduction activities and economic
development programs.
|
Loudoun County (VA) Zoning Ordinance Development
|
Served as facilitator
for an intensive effort to build consensus on a new zoning ordinance for Loudoun
County. Effort occurred at a time when there were intense growth pressures and
significant citizen activity both for and against additional growth. The
consensus building process was initiated after a contentious three-night public
hearing with over 1,000 citizens. The effort concluded with consensus of a
citizen committee on a 500+ page new zoning ordinance that included overlay
zones to protect the environment, streamlined procedures for developers,
improved citizen notification procedures, and new "neo-traditional"
zones to encourage compact development in hamlets and villages. Potapchuk's
tasks included facilitation of a weekly meeting for one year, managing the
agenda, preparing meeting summaries for every meeting, and conducting over 30
public involvement sessions which offered an opportunity for citizens not on the
task force to participate and review draft language.
|
Durham City - Durham County (NC) School Merger Process
|
Served as lead
facilitator of a fifteen person team that facilitated the work of an 82 member
citizen task forces considering how to improve public education and whether to
merge the city and county school districts in Durham, NC. Effort included
designing the process for the task force, facilitating early task force
meetings, providing coaching and guidance to other members of the facilitation
team, and coaching the chair of the task force. The task force produced a
105-page consensus document that included recommending steps toward merger. The
school districts merged after a community-wide referendum several years later.
|
Missouri Psychologists Association
|
Facilitated a conference of the
Missouri Psychologists Association convened to rework Missouri's licensing
requirements for psychologists. Group consensus led to immediate passage of new
legislation and large growth in the Association's membership.
|
Lucas County (OH) Multi-Disciplinary Team
|
Facilitated a daylong planning
retreat for members of the Multi-Disciplinary team who seek to coordinate their
efforts in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse. Members
reshaped their case management procedures, strengthened working relationships,
and began to address numerous "systems" issues.
|
Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati (OH) Neighborhood Improvement Task Force
|
Facilitated the development of $10 million improvement plan for a historic and
economically depressed neighborhood immediately adjacent to downtown Cincinnati.
Neighborhood leaders had highly conflictual relations with City Hall and had
been profiled on the TV news show "60 Minutes" in a feature on
neighborhood activism. Mediated extensive and occasionally rancorous
negotiations over a development plan for the neighborhood. A consensus document
was developed that was adopted by City Council. As of fall 1992, this document
was still the guiding plan for development efforts.
|
Potapchuk also has facilitated numerous planning meetings, focus groups, and
work sessions for clients such as the National League of Cities, International
City/County Management Association, US Department of Housing and Urban
Development,
National Association of Counties, and Maryland Office of Children,
Youth, and Families, among others.
|
