In a country marred by deep conflict, city, county, and state officials face mounting pressure to engage diverse stakeholders in resolving contentious and complex public policy issues. The Convergence Learning Lab’s training and consultation services empower leaders with the necessary skills to bridge these divides resulting in more productive public meetings, more constructive community engagement, and, ultimately, better outcomes for constituents.
Lab services are built on our unique, evidence-based collaborative problem-solving methodology which has been used to successfully address seemingly intractable political, social, organizational, and community-based issues.
Design public meetings on controversial topics to ensure constructive dialogue
Foster constructive public engagement on contentious issues like eminent domain, land use, zoning changes, siting new energy facilities, and school curriculum changes
Build the capacity of local state or tribal governments to navigate and address divisive issues
Design task forces, advisory committees, and other stakeholder groups to move beyond lowest-common-denominator compromises toward higher-ground solutions of mutual benefit – solutions that really meet the needs of all stakeholders
Our customized services can be delivered on a one-time basis or as an ongoing engagement to meet the needs of your community.
Participants will strengthen their knowledge and skillsets as follows:
Our consulting team will work with you to design a specific collaborative problem-solving process for addressing the unique challenge you face. Whatever the issue, a broad range of leaders, employees, and other relevant stakeholders will be engaged in producing better, more informed, and more inclusive decisions.
We can also help you design systems and processes to make your community resilient in the face of our growing division, including systems for effective conflict management and productive stakeholder engagement.
Convergence is the leading organization bridging divides to solve critical issues through collaborative problem-solving across ideological, political, and cultural divisions.
Since 2009, we have convened leaders and doers to consistently build trust, find common ground, forge consensus solutions, and move forward in unlikely alliances for constructive change. It is this evidence-based approach to collaborative problem-solving, informed by continued advances in contact theory, neuroscience, and psychology and refined by 15 years of successful practice, that forms the foundation of the Learning Lab.
To learn more about how the Convergence Learning Lab can work for you and get started on a unique program designed for your needs, contact Hannah Ollenburger,
Senior Manager of Executive Operations, by filling out our contact form.