Interactive Agenda

Welcome, Opening Remarks and Presentation of Rob Williams Award

• Ona Ferguson and Jody Erikson, Conference Planning Co-Chairs, will welcome participants and provide an overview of the agenda for the day.
• Brad Spangler and Suzanne Schwartz, EPP Section Co-Chairs, will offer opening remarks on behalf of the EPP Leadership Council.
• Frank Dukes, Director of the University of Virginia Institute on Environmental Negotiation and past EPP Section Co-Chair, will set the context for the day with reflections on the trajectory of the field since the Florissant gathering in 1982.
• Nancy Sharpless, EPP Professional Development & Member Services Co-Chair, will present the 2012 Rob Williams Award for Emerging Environment & Public Policy Leaders.

Complete presentation available here.

Keynote Presentation: Lynn Scarlett on Trends Affecting the Field

Lynn Scarlett, Visiting Scholar and Co-Director, Resources for the Future Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, will share reflections on trends affecting our field and their implications. Conference participants will then discuss which trends are most important for us to be responsive to as we evolve our skill sets and business practices over the next decade.

Complete remarks available here.

Concurrent Sessions: New Approaches to Broaden and Deepen our Impact

• Cultivating the Next Generation of EPP Practitioners –John Fort, Independent Mediator and Trainer; and Amanda Murphy, William D. Ruckelshaus Center
• Helpers or Pawns? Our Role in Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility – Todd Bryan, The Keystone Center
• Reflective Practice: A Model for Collaborative Forest Planning – Gina Bartlett and Debra Whitall, Center for Collaborative Policy, California State University
• Confronting Confrontation: Anti-Government Protest in Public Policy Collaboration – Laura Kaplan, Center for Collaborative Policy, California State University; and Frank Dukes and Tanya Denckla Cobb, University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation

Session materials are available through the session links.

Lunchtime Presentation: David Conrod on Better Communicating Our Services

David Conrod, Founder and CEO of Conrod Associates Communications, will share reflections on how we might better communicate the value, relevance and breadth of appeal of our services to potential clients.

Complete presentation available here.

Plenary Session: World Café – Enhancing our Message, Expanding our Audience

Participants will engage in small group discussions to more deeply examine questions centered on expanding our impact and communicating more effectively about the value we add in addressing complex environmental and public policy issues. Some questions will be derived from topics identified during the January webinar, Tending the Landscape – Growing and Diversifying the Environmental and Public Policy Collaborative Field, sponsored by the EPP Professional Development & Member Services Committee.

Example discussion questions include:

• Diversifying the Field – What are the most promising communication strategies to raise awareness about what we do and to engage a greater diversity of audiences (i.e., new practitioners, new types of clients, new issue areas)?
• Definition of Environment – What do we mean by “environment?”  Are we still focused primarily on land, air and water or have we shifted toward a broader focus on where we live, work and play? What are the implications for how we communicate about our work and the projects we pursue?   
• Storytelling - How can we tell better stories about the value we add to more effectively market our work?
• Corporate Clients - How do we engage corporate clients effectively and appropriately to expand our reach while maintaining our credibility?
• Impartiality vs. Advocacy - Where is the line between impartiality and advocacy, and are we confronting it more frequently today? What are the challenges and opportunities associated with crossing the line?

Plenary Session: Taking Action to Increase our Impact

Participants will engage in a plenary discussion about key ideas generated during the World Café session with a focus on what we can do individually, in our organizations, and through the EPP Section to reach new audiences and create new opportunities to deliver our services and have an ever greater positive impact in the 21st century.

Plenary Session: Building a Roadmap for EPP Together

Members of the EPP Section Leadership Council will lead a discussion of recommendations that emerged during the day to identify potential activities for Section committees and members to carry out in the coming year.

Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks

EPP Section Co-Chairs, Brad Spangler and Suzanne Schwartz, will offer reflections on the day’s proceedings and adjourn the conference.