Our Local Work

Navigating Local Challenges with CBI

Local issues call for local solutions that address community dynamics, citizen needs, local government, business concerns, and more. Across the United States and beyond, CBI has brought that attention to complexity in work on a range of local processes. We work with large cities and small towns, local elected officials and municipal staff, municipal committees and commissions, and broader public engagement. We’ve worked with communities on agricultural issues, water quality and quantity, energy planning and siting, climate resilience, post-disaster planning, transportation, Superfund cleanup, strategic planning, and much more. We’ve also trained thousands of local officials in managing meetings, mutual gains negotiation, and conflict resolution. Our services include: 

• Facilitation and mediation
• Citizen engagement
• Skill-building training
• Strategic planning

Read more about examples of these services below.

Facilitating Efforts to Support an Urban Forest

Through well-designed collaborative processes, our mediators help leaders seek mutually beneficial options, resolve conflicts, and engage in dialogues that lead to strong agreements and partnerships.

Working with The Nature Conservancy, we've facilitated the efforts of Forest For All NYC, a coalition of dozens of New York City organizations committed to growing the city’s tree canopy. In this work, we've brought together community institutions and environmental organizations from all five boroughs. This has led to various milestones, including the release of the coalition’s Urban Forest Agenda.

The result: The coalition and its agenda have won growing recognition. The work of Forest for All NYC has been presented at the United Nations, and the city has established its annual City of Forest Day, in partnership with New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. 

Engaging Citizens on the Management of an Estuary

We seek to design forums with robust participatory structures. The goal is to foster meaningful dialogue, shared understanding, and engagement that contribute to joint problem-solving and new ideas. 

In Florida, we've supported the Tampa Bay Estuary Program 's efforts to bring together communities with the goal of shared, community management of the bay. Coordinating an effort of this scale and scope means sustained work to gather a range of perspectives, and CBI has been providing this program with training in facilitation and conflict resolution.

The result: The program is advancing community involvement in the management of the bay, with workshops addressing community outreach, barriers to participation, and more. 

Building Skills for Working with Communities on Climate

CBI helps local efforts to collaborate with communities creatively, thoughtfully, and effectively.

Since 2019, we've worked with the City of Somerville, Massachusetts, to codesign and co-lead its Climate Ambassadors program, in which residents learn about climate priorities and local action, discuss theories of change for climate action, and conduct small projects that engage and educate the wider community.

The result: Participants have produced a range of projects: a household climate action plan, a community climate change literacy survey, a portable solar panel, a “biking with kids” workshop, and an environmental justice-focused tour of city parks.

Strategic Planning for Downtown Housing

Local challenges can prompt big questions—about goals, about decision-making, and more. By supporting collaborative leadership and engagement with the community, CBI’s facilitators can help leaders draw from a range of views to design strategic plans that respond to those urgent questions.

In Palo Alto, California—which has had a substantial lack of affordable and mixed income housing—CBI has facilitated a Downtown Housing Plan effort. This has involved organizing a Community Advisory Group, bringing together residents, property owners, business owners, and developers.

The result: The plan has recently led to the completion of an assessment report, indicating the possibilities for developing housing specifically suited for seniors.