Public Involvemen

Effective, cost-efficient, innovative approaches have brought consistent project success to clients throughout the Western United States. We design Public Involvement Programs that are specific to your project and embedded with three fundamental principles:

Timing the Public Involvement Process to start at the very beginning of the project.
Identifying and including interested individuals/groups (stakeholders).
Creating a communication loop between project sponsors, consultants, and stakeholders.

Using innovative methods to track stakeholders comments, we produce reports that are especially useful and easy to understand. To do this, we use a database program that accurately records comments and links each record to a physical or geographic address. This allows you to analyze your public involvement comments and, backed by solid information, get the support you and others need in making decisions.

Mediation

An extreme simplification of workplace mediation or organizational conflict management shows two types of conflict:

An isolated instance requiring a mediator or facilitator to help two or more parties resolve a conflict and get back on track.
A conflict that is actually an indicator of a larger, more systemic problem.

CASE EXAMPLES

Department of Energy employee
dispute - Golden, Colorado

Mapping and reprographics
company - Bend, Oregon

Natural energy Family Business

dispute - Madras, Oregon

Nursery wholesale company
Salt Lake City, Utah

Manufacturing facility
Provo, Utah

The first may only need the services of a mediator or facilitator for a one- or two-day session. The second depends on the organization. We share our situation assessment, as well as tools and experience, to help with change. Together the Langdon Group and the client discuss the likelihood of success in a systemic approach. Our goal is to meet the client's needs by doing our job effectively and working our way out of the situation.

Workplace conflict is best managed by the client. Our process or systemic approach helps the client to manage change and conflict internally. We help our clients to develop a system and skill set that reduces instances of negative conflict and increases the ability to manage productive conflict in the future.

Facilitation

Anyone can run a meeting, but with today’s demand for results delivered in a timely manner, meetings must be effective and productive. The Langdon Group facilitators use proven skills in helping groups have effective and productive dialogue, whether in a public meeting, workshop, or planning session. Our facilitators help groups to clearly identify purpose, allowing for the desired results and the decision making process to prevail. We then combine flexibility with a clear agenda to work through processes that encourage participation from all attendees and that stay true to the desired outcome.

Environmental Policy, Public Policy, and Natural Resource Management

Recently, we worked with a Fortune 500 company human resource manager who faced an increasingly common situation. The company was forced to shut down a critical manufacturing facility due to failure to meet an environmental regulation. Company stock price plummeted and the threat of a hostile takeover loomed. The manager was trained in traditional human resource management, not EPA policy, brand identity, and public involvement. This manager needed help immediately from a consultant that understood the range of issues and could provide a holistic approach to the conflict.

CASE EXAMPLES

Endangered Species- U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Bureau of Indian Affairs -
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Federal Highway Administration
Public Involvement
- Rochester, New York

U.S. 36 Environmental Impact
Statement - Boulder, Colorado

Hyde Park/North Logan Environmental
Impact Statement - Logan, Utah

Auger Falls Historical Site
Planning - Twin Falls, Idaho

Union Gap Non-Motorized
Pathway - Union Gap, Washington

Time is, of course, the driving force in today's environmental public policy and having a consultant that can quickly understand the issue and who possesses the necessary experience to help resolve the conflict is vital. The relationship that the Langdon Group has with J-U-B ENGINEERS, Inc. provides an invaluable resource for technical issues in public works, transportation, construction management, and civil engineering projects that deal with sensitive environmental and public policies.

While the Langdon Group is not considered a training organization, we do provide coaching and training in conflict management and facilitation for specific projects. Training may be provided at the beginning of a process and coaching is available during the course of a project.

Strategic Communications

Often conflict within an organization can be narrowed to either an isolated instance or a systemic problem that is creating conflict. While we provide mediation and conflict resolution services for “one-time” conflicts, we also look at the system to see if there might be other factors that contribute to conflict within an organization. Thus, we provide:

System design.
Executive or manager coaching.
Facilitated decision making.
Conflict resolution among individuals, departments, or groups.

Easement and Right-of-way Negotiations

The Langdon Group provides expert land acquisition services to government agencies for municipal improvement projects including roads, sewers, and water lines. Our professionals serve as liaisons between the landowner, involved agencies, and the design team. We help negotiate mutually acceptable right-of-way and easement acquisitions.