CONCUR Principal Scott McCreary teamed with Honolulu-based colleague Keith Mattson to offer a practical short Joint Fact Finding (JFF) course to Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR) Environmental Planning and Policy (EPP) Conference attendees on June 12, 2018 at the George Mason in Arlington, VA.

Course participants included federal agencies, state regulators, environmental consultants and academics. This course taught participants how to effectively conduct a JFF process for scientifically intensive environmental public policy disputes, as well as disputes involving urban community management.

JFF has been a part of the conflict resolution field for 30 years, yet applying the techniques of collaborative science-based decision-making is easier said than done. Given the current divisive political arena, the need for solid methods to clarify and narrow disagreements while presenting credible technical information is greater than ever.

How can today’s professionals employ JFF to create a platform for well-informed environmental decision-making? What are key steps, strategies, and considerations? In this course, participants gained a comprehensive understanding of the JFF model, how it compares to other current methodologies, when and when not to use it, and how to design, conduct and apply the outputs of a JFF process.

Scott’s colleague and co-trainer Keith Mattson is a specialist in urban planning and policy analysis whose JFF processes have addressed pesticides for GMO crop production, a proposed marine non-commercial fishing license system and a community disputes on street festivals. Keith earned a Masters of City Planning from University of California at Berkeley.

A link to the JFF course description is here: http://www.acrepp.dreamhosters.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ACR-EPP-2018-Pre-Conference-Trainings.pdf