Evaluation Program
The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (U.S. Institute) is a federal program established by Congress in 1998
specifically to assist parties in resolving environmental, natural resource, and public lands conflicts. The U.S. Institute serves as an
impartial, non-partisan institution providing professional expertise, services, and resources to all parties involved in such disputes,
regardless of who initiates or pays for assistance.
The U.S. Institute is firmly committed to evaluating environmental conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving projects and
services. The evaluation system is necessary to (a) measure and report on performance and (b) to facilitate continual learning and
improvement when evaluation feedback is gathered, analyzed, and shared with appropriate audiences.
The evaluation system focuses on seven areas. Specifically, these are:
- Conflict Assessment Services
- ECR and Collaborative Problem Solving Mediation Services
- ECR and Collaborative Problem Solving Facilitation Services
- Training Services
- Facilitated Meeting Services
- Roster Program Services
- Program Support Services
The U.S. Institute has worked in partnership with several state and federal agencies to collaboratively develop the evaluation system.
The sharing of evaluation resources and expertise is advantageous on several fronts: (a) design and development efforts are not duplicated
across agencies; (b) common methods for evaluating collaborative processes are established; (c) knowledge, expertise and resources are
shared, realizing cost-efficiencies for the collaborating agencies; and (d) learning and improvement on a broader scale will be
facilitated through the sharing of comparable multi-agency findings.
Evaluation information is collected from members of the public who are participants in, and users of, these services. Before such information
can be collected by a federal agency, the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) requires approval from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB). The U.S. Institute's current collection authorization expires on December 31, 2011.
The Environmental Protection Agency, Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center (CPRC) received permission from OMB to act as a named
administrator of the U.S. Institute evaluation instruments in 2003, and the Department of Interior, Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute
Resolution was granted administrator status in 2008. The U.S. Institute also has OMB permission to administer evaluation instruments on
behalf of agencies that either do not have the internal capacity to administer their own instruments, or are seeking evaluation assistance
while in the process of launching their own internal evaluation systems.
To view the U.S. Institute's evaluation questionnaires, please follow the appropriate links below.
-
Conflict Assessment Services
-
ECR and Collaborative Problem Solving Mediation Services
-
ECR and Collaborative Problem Solving Facilitation Services
-
Training Services
-
Facilitated Meeting Services
-
Roster Program Services
-
Program Support Services
For further information contact:
Patricia Orr
Director of Program Development and Evaluation
U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution
130 South Scott Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701
Phone: (520) 901-8548
Email: orr@ecr.gov