Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Matching Understanding with Action

Paper to 2nd International Conference onSustainability Engineering and Science

Auckland, 20 – 23 February, 2007

Steve ThompsonChief Executive

Royal Society of New Zealand

Steve.Thompson@rsnz.org

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

RawMaterials

Production Effort

ConsumerGoods

Waste/Pollution

RecycleProduct

RecycleWaste

Landfill

Consumers

Reduce Reduce/Capture/recycle

Leontief Model of the Economy

WaterfillAirfill

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Leontief

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

“Ten years ago we didn’t know about the environment”

“Now it’s all around us!”

Incoming Minister of EnvironmentMaiden speech

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Some simple questions:

Do we as a society understand which of the resources we use are dangerously near to exhaustion?

Do we know which of our natural resources are nearing their pollution tolerance? Are we sure which of our natural habitats are most in danger?

Do firms, and does the nation, report on the state of those resources and habitats, and what their activities do to them?

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Separable to Nested

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Suppose you have to get a message across to people which:

Is doom-laden Is strenuously contested by some scientists Is beyond the comprehension, and certainly the action,

of most individuals Shows few visible or tangible signs of being a problem Is well beyond the planning horizons of politicians Seems to have no clear political solution Is well beyond the budgetary horizons of governments,

local councils and planners Contains no element of sports competition or excitement Doesn’t seem to have any digestible “facts” Is difficult for media reporters to digest into sound bites Can’t be written up in 300-word articles

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Who makes the Decision?

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Litigation = High degree of control by third partyArbitration = ▼Conciliation = ▼Mediation = ▼Facilitation = ▼Negotiation = ▼Dialogue andProblem solving = High degree of control by particpants

Most of the people I represent had the same frame of mind as I did – that we were going to straighten these turkeys out……But all that changed

……Dialogue participant

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Participants are: Advocates Decision Makers

Objectives are: Hear many interests Search for single voice

Approach is: Positional Interest-based

Process is: Predetermined Participant-designed

Relationship is: Little contact Grows over time

Negotiation is: Indirect Face to Face

Consultation Consensus

At the end of the discussionyou could see both sides budgingJust a little bit. I decide to stick withthe group after that……..All of these people who I was told were wingnuts – not so!

……Dialogue participant

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Asessment: Talking about whether to talk

Getting Started: Talking about how to talk

Running the process: Talking

Implementing and

Monitoring the Results: Turning talk into action

Steps to Consensus

We started off being very general andnow we are very specific and hard-nosed.I think that where the trust came from wasThat we had to have an action plan.Each one of us went to the table thinking thatWe had something to teach. I think we all nowKnow that we had something to learn

……Dialogue participant

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Turn negatives into positives Know your own organisation’s interests Avoid surprises Set practical internal deadlines Add dimensions to the solution space. Don’t narrow to win-lose Give useful information Listen and understand underlying interests- even if speaker is not articulate Ask yourself why views differ Create a package proposal. Try it out on “home team” Explain how your package meets other stakeholder interests Ask others how their proposal meets your interests Ask constructive questions Test assumptions for correctness Agreement should remain tentative until all agree Write down and have all sign the agreement

Tips for success:

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Be independent Have no personal stake Deal with process, not content Encourage group to define own rules Treat all stakeholder positions as legitimate Become familiar with the issues Speak plainly and objectively Be able to explain parties’ views to each other Focus on the integrity of the process Maintain trust and confidentiality Be available at critical times

Facilitating Consensus:

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Be independent Have no personal stake Deal with process, not content Encourage group to define own rules Treat all stakeholder positions as legitimate Become familiar with the issues Speak plainly and objectively Be able to explain parties’ views to each other Focus on the integrity of the process Maintain trust and confidentiality Be available at critical times

Facilitating Consensus:

Steve Thompson, Royal Society of New ZealandSteve Thompson, Royal Society of New Zealand

Thank you, and don’t forget to turn the lights out