U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution

The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is a program of the Udall Foundation, an independent federal agency based in Tucson, Arizona. The Udall Foundation was the fourth federal educational foundation established by Congress.

At ECR2010 Conference, the Institute's annual meeting Group Solutions was recognized as one of 3 winners for Innovation in Technology and ECR with an award for use of technology in increasing stakeholder involvement in the Award

The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (the U.S. Institute) announced the recipients of the first "Innovation in Technology and Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR) Award." The award is designed to promote and recognize cutting-edge applications of new technologies within collaborative environmental processes. The award is in line with the Administration's Open Government Initiative, and the U.S. Institute's mission to increase the appropriate and effective use of ECR.

The award concept grew out of the Technology in ECR National Strategic Planning Workshop hosted by the U.S. Institute in May 2009. Close to 90 participants representing the federal government, academia, technology providers, and ECR practitioners participated in the 2009 strategic planning effort. The effort resulted in a series of suggestions including the development of best practices for integrating technologies into ECR processes, the establishment of an annual innovation award, and the creation of Technology and ECR Coordinating Committee.

Fourteen nominations were received for the 2010 award. The U.S. Institute partnered with the National Technology and ECR Coordinating Committee to review the nominated projects and select the 2010 award recipients. The review committee decided to recognize projects in three broad categories. They are:

Decision support technologies that help model complex systems, synthesize often incommensurate information, generate alternative scenarios, understand and integrate differing perspectives, and support stakeholders in analyzing the basis, assumptions, and implications of decisions.

Visioning technologies that help stakeholders think creatively and conceptualize project options to support shared solutions to environmental conflict and challenges.

Collaboration and communication technologies such as collaborative authoring, videoconferencing, and internet polling, that help stakeholder groups work together effectively in-person and remotely.

The 2010 awards were presented at the sixth national ECR conference hosted in Tucson, Arizona, on May 25 – 27, 2010.

In the collaboration and communication category, the outstanding award was presented to Group Solutions, Inc., for Increasing the Effectiveness of Stakeholder Participation with Technology in a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Coastal Improvements Process

for additional information click here:

http://www.ecr.gov/AnnouncementsEvents/AnnouncementsEvents.aspx?Item=69