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National Round Table Publishes Landmark Consensus-building Guide

Canada was among the first countries to recognize that building a more sustainable society depends on achieving consensus among diverse and competing interests. This awareness was seen in the creation of "Round Tables" on the environment and economy both provincially and federally. In 1993 these Round Tables produced a short booklet identifying ten key principles for consensus-building. Now, the National Round Table followed up this initiative with a practical book-length account of these principles entitled Consensus-Building for a Sustainable Future: Putting Principles into Practice (Cormick et al., 1996).

Norman Dale, former senior environmental mediator at ESSA Technologies Ltd., was the lead researcher and a co-author of the book. Among the many topics covered are: deciding why and in what cases consensus-building should be used; how to ensure full participation of key stakeholders; framing of ground rules for negotiations processes; securing adequate process resources for all participants; maintaining accountability and making sure that implementation is kept clearly in mind by all negotiators as they move towards consensus. The primary aim of the authors was to make the most current theory of consensus building fully accessible to those caught up in struggles over sustainability.

References:
Cormick, G.W., N. Dale, P. Emond, S.G. Sigurdson and B.D. Stuart. 1996. Building Consensus for a Sustainable Future: Putting Principles into Practice. National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 136 pp.
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