Services

How We Work

We endeavor to integrate our engagement process with the project team’s planning process. We tailor our services by:

  • how to translate the subject matter to the public,

  • the level of complexity and nuance of the likely solutions,

  • the community’s social dynamics, and

  • the extent of public consensus required for project success.

We support out clients and their planning teams in delivering three material results:
1) meaningful stakeholder feedback to inform policy and project design;
2) provide the community a .

What We Deliver

Our clients need to craft one of the following deliverables:

Policy
Municipal/county and state policy for land use, environmental health, natural resources.

Spatial policy plans
California general/specific plans, development master plans, marine spatial plans.

Site-specific design
Plan and design for the site, circulation, operations of public-serving facilities.

Implementation programs
Project or program funding/implementation/operations led by single-agency or multi-agency partnerships and JPAs.

Organizational strategic plans

Governance frameworks for public-privatep cooperative project .

Settlement agreements for mediated resolutions

Public Engagement

A woman is giving a presentation in a room with an American flag, audience members seated, and a projection screen displaying a landscape with trees, a path, and a setting or rising sun.

Public engagement establishes a framework for subsequent collaboration and negotiation. Key steps include assessment, participation, and listening to determine who needs to be engaged, how, when, and on what topics.

  • Stakeholder Assessment & Process Design
     Issue inventory and assessment to inform design of an appropriate process.

  • Outreach & Civic Engagement
     Public participation and management to support planning.

  • Facilitated Dialogue
     Facilitated workshops, charrettes, and brainstorm sessions.

Consensus Building

Illustration of eight people around a round table in a meeting or discussion, with a woman standing at the head of the table.

We work with clients and technical teams to design consensus processes tailored to the planning challenge at hand.

We bring a policy analysis lens to deliberations, helping groups understand the economic, social, and environmental implications of draft alternatives.

We place particular emphasis on how information is presented to stakeholders—the written materials, analysis, and graphics—ensuring clarity that supports comprehension, productive dialogue, and informed decision-making.

Our facilitation experience spans broad community engagement, focused stakeholder groups, and agency or municipal decision-making bodies.

  • Consensus-seeking facilitation

  • Task force, advisory committee, and working group facilitation

  • Planning for land use, environmental, and organizational contexts

  • Policy design support

Mediation

Abstract illustration of four people facing each other, with colorful geometric shapes and overlapping circles in the background.

We specialize in high-stakes, highly visible disputes where discord and distrust have undermined collaborative problem-solving.

Our approach focuses on de-escalating tensions, rebuilding trust, and shifting parties from public posturing to confidential negotiation on substance—often through private caucuses and shuttling proposals between parties.

We help disputants focus on their interests rather than their grievances, moving quickly from public conflict to productive negotiation on the issue at hand. We also provide strategic advisory services, representing clients who need guidance and community liaison support through complex entitlement and permitting processes.

  • Mediation of land use, environmental, and organizational disputes

  • Assisted negotiation for binding agreements

  • Confidential dispute resolution and conflict de-escalation

Advisory & Representation

Five people in a discussion in a professional setting, sitting on chairs and taking notes.

We also provide strategic advisory services, representing clients who need guidance and community liaison support through complex entitlement and permitting processes.

  • Mediation of land use, environmental, and organizational disputes

  • Assisted negotiation for binding agreements

  • Confidential dispute resolution and conflict de-escalation