Civil Discussions During an Election Year: Bridging Divides

Civil Discussions During an Election Year: Bridging Divides
In this online workshop (held Monday, September 21, 2020), participants learned how to de-escalate difficult situations and move challenging public issues from conflicts to solutions.

Presenter: Dave Bartholomay, Program Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Administration, Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution

Part 1: Bridging Divides (Political Polarization, Overview, Understanding Conflict, Problem-solving Mindset, Interest-based Problem solving)
Part 2: Bridging Divides (Emotion & Identity, Communication Skills, Reframing, Problem solving Process, Public Engagement, Summary)

Bridging Divides Handbook
In this workshop, Dave recommends Brene Brown’s TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability

Learn more about AMC’s Bridging Divides Initiative

Learning Objectives:

De-escalation
Managing strong emotions
Increasing mutual understanding
Building consensus
Effective communication techniques for difficult situations

Description: Join county, city, township, and school board leaders for this free “Bridging Divides” informational workshop with Dave Bartholomay from the Minnesota Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution. Learn what to do when emotions run high and positions are deeply held.

During this workshop, participants explored how to:

Identify what other people need to move forward even when they aren't saying it;
Provide support during difficult situations;
Manage emotions; and,
Develop solutions that get implemented because they integrate the needs of everyone involved.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Dave Bartholomay is the Program Coordinator for the Office for Collaboration and Dispute Resolution. He is a qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice for the District Courts and has previously led a successful community dispute resolution program serving suburban and greater Minnesota. He has a Master’s degree in Political Science and extensive public sector leadership experience at the federal, state, and local government level.

The Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution (OCDR) is a unique statewide resource that helps resolve difficult public issues. We do this through our work on individual projects and through training and capacity building so that all of Minnesota has access to new and innovative methods to work through today's challenging issues.

We accomplish this through the use of innovative collaborative processes because we believe the best public solutions come from people working together on issues. We use structured, facilitated dialogue to help people examine diverse viewpoints and interested so they can build the consensus that leads to better solutions. Our neutrality, expertise, and experience in leading successful projects across the state make OCDR an effective state-level resource. To learn more about OCDR and the services they offer, visit the OCDR.

Our services include assessment, process design, mediation, facilitation, convening, consensus building, training, and more. OCDR specializes in working with public sector entities. Our approach is to uncover the core concerns and goals of the parties underlying the issues in dispute so that they become invested in solving a common public problem by developing creative options to address the concerns and goals of all involved with the ultimate objectives of reaching an actionable, sustainable solution which improves working relationships and the efficiency and effectiveness of government.