“Solving complex problems rarely happens among a small group of stakeholders who share many things in common. In fact, when problems cross issue areas, levels of government, and even sectors, solutions cannot be found and successfully implemented without engagement from many stakeholders. These stakeholders may or may not define the problem in the same way, may or may agree on the types of solutions, and may or may not agree on the timing and how to implement solutions. When facing these types of challenging yet critical decisions, the quality of the process can mean the difference between a poor decision (or even a lack of a decision) and a high quality decision worth trying to implement.

This set of tools is designed to help you explore how to structure a decision-making process amid complexity. From understanding when to use facilitated processes versus negotiation and mediation to considering the range of decision-rules that can be applied, the tools will make the options available more transparent along with when they are best used.”