David M. Fairman
Vice President, Consensus Building Institute, Inc.
131 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel. (617) 492-1414 ext. 20
Professional Experience
Feb.1997-present
Consensus Building Institute
Cambridge, MA
- Vice President (7/99-present)
- Senior Associate (2/97-6/99)
Facilitator, trainer, researcher and manager for non-profit dispute resolution consulting firm. Facilitate negotiations among government, business and civil society stakeholders on economic and social development, environmental protection and natural resource use. Design and teach training courses on negotiation, mediation and consensus-building for public, non-profit and private organizations. Recent and current project conveners include World Bank, Asian Development Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, Council of State Governments, American Cancer Society, United Way of America, Harvard University.
Feb.2000-present
MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program
Cambridge, MA
Associate Director
Initiate and direct research projects on application of dispute resolution/consensus building principles and strategies to public policy arenas. Develop strategies and materials for teaching negotiation and dispute resolution skills in secondary, university and professional education settings.
1991-1996
Private practice
Cambridge, MA
Conflict Resolution Consultant
Designed and taught executive training courses on strategies for using negotiation and consensus building to integrate environmental, social and economic objectives in national and international policy-making. Analyzed and recommended strategies for policy integration at the national and international level. Clients included Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment; UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UN Development Program; U.S. Agency for International Development.
1989-1991
Endispute, Inc.
Cambridge, MA
Public Policy Mediator
Assessed public policy conflicts at national, state, and local levels; developed and implemented consensus-building and conflict resolution strategies. Managed stakeholder consultation on siting process for low-level radioactive waste facility. Taught negotiation and conflict management skills to public officials. Clients included American Energy Assurance Council; Maine Low-level Radioactive Waste Authority; Massachusetts Dept. of Industrial Accidents; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
1989
Somerville Community Development Corporation
Somerville, MA
Landlord-Tenant Mediator and Counselor
1987-1988
Harvard College
South Asia Sheldon Fellow
Education
1998
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Ph.D., Political Science. Dissertation examined negotiation strategies of advocates for natural resource policy reform in developing countries, based on extensive field research on forest policy reform in Philippines and Thailand.
1987
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude in History and Literature.
Awards: Phi Beta Kappa, Sheldon Fellowship for postgraduate study, E.C. Cumming Prize for outstanding thesis, History and Literature Prize for academic achievement, Adams House Arms Citation for contributions to residential community.
Professional Affiliations
Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Board member. Chairman, Education and Outreach Committee.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Senior Mediator, ADR Roster
U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution: Senior Mediator, Roster of Conflict Resolution Professionals.
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: Faculty Associate
Association for Conflict Resolution: Practitioner Member
Council on Foreign Relations: Term Member
Selected Assessment and Facilitation Projects
(References available on request)
Asian Development Bank, Chasma Right Bank Irrigation Project Social Assessment. 2001-02. Senior advisor for assessment of unresolved social issues relating to major irrigation project in Pakistan. Developed assessment strategy with CBI field consultant (Prof. Adil Najam); reviewed and edited draft assessment report; advised on agenda and work plan for consultative workshop; provided continuous oversight and advice to CBI field consultant.
National Public Housing Assessment Policy Dialogue. 2001-02. Lead facilitator for national policy dialogue convened by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on public housing assessment. Issues included legal basis for assessment, assessment criteria and methods, and use of assessment results. In parallel, facilitated meeting of public housing industry organizations to develop industry proposals on assessment. Participants include HUD Deputy Assistant Secretaries and staff, four national housing industry associations, three residents’ associations, and technical analysts from National Academy of Public Administration. Dialogue is ongoing, pending submission of industry proposals.
National Energy Policy Initiative. 2001-02. Project manager and co-lead facilitator for convening and facilitating a national energy issues assessment and an expert workshop, in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Assessment gathered and synthesized views of 75 leading energy policy stakeholders from business, government, advocacy and academic institutions. Workshop involved twenty-two of the country’s leading energy policy experts in joint drafting process. Facilitated drafting process to produce 25-page consensus report and recommendations to inform current Congressional and Administration development of national energy policy. Gave Congressional testimony and participated in Congressional briefing and media outreach on the report.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Phosphorus Rule Development. 2001. Co-lead facilitator for rule development process to resolve 12-year controversy over management of phosphorus run-off from agricultural lands into Everglades Protection Area. Issues include maximum permissible phosphorus concentration, compliance test procedures, and permitting/enforcement action to be taken in event of non-compliance. Participants included Federal EPA and National Parks Service, State DEP, regional Water Management District, agricultural producer groups, regulated municipalities regional, state and national environmental groups, and scientific researchers. Process narrowed range of disagreement on scientific and technical issues.
PAVE PAWS Upgrade Issues Assessment. 2000. Lead assessor of potential for dialogue and consensus building to resolve conflict over health and safety risks of military radar installation at the Massachusetts Military Reservation; conducted 40 stakeholder interviews, prepared assessment, facilitated public meeting and development of recommendations for further action. Process led to commitment by public agencies to joint health effects study.
World Bank Forest Policy Evaluation Workshop. 1999-2000. Advised on development of agenda, participation guidelines and ground rules; co-led facilitation of 2-day workshop event; and drafted post-workshop report for global workshop to review World Bank’s Evaluation of its forest policy. Issues included balance among environmental, economic and social goals in current policy, and impacts of policy implementation in over 100 countries worldwide. Participants included World Bank staff, donor and borrower governments, forest conservation advocacy groups, commercial timber companies and forest researchers. Participants reached consensus on numerous strengths and weaknesses of Evaluation report, and on recommendations for further action by the World Bank and other forest policy stakeholders.
Selected Reports and Publications
Reframing the Forest: The Politics of Tropical Forest Policy Reform. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future Press, forthcoming 2003.
“Integrating Conflict Resolution into the High School Curriculum: The Example of Workable Peace.” Co-author with Stacie Nicole Smith. In N. Noddings, ed., Educating for Global Citizenship: Challenges and Opportunities. New York: Teachers College Press, 2003.
“Fulfilling the Promise of Environmental Conflict Resolution.” Co-author with Lisa Bingham, Dan Fiorino, and Rosemary O’Leary.” In L. Bingham and R. O’Leary, eds., Evaluating Environmental and Public Policy Dispute Resolution Programs. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future Press, forthcoming 2003.
Consensus Building and Conflict Resolution Toolkit for National Standard Setting Processes. (IKEA-WWF Cooperation for Forest Stewardship, 2002.
National Energy Policy Initiative: Expert Group Report. Snowmass, CO: Rocky Mountain Institute, March 2002.
Juan F. Consent Decree Issues Assessment. Confidential report to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, Juan F. Next Friends (child welfare plaintiffs) and the Office of the Court-Appointed Monitor. January 2001.
Convening Report for Proposed PAVE PAWS Stakeholder Working Group. Cambridge, MA: Consensus Building Institute, March 2000.
"Producing Consensus."Co-author with Sarah McKearnan. In The Consensus Building Handbook, L.Susskind et al., eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999.
Reforming Natural Resource Policies in Developing Countries: The Politics of Forest Policy Reform in the Philippines, Thailand and Costa Rica, 1980-1996. Cambridge, MA: MIT Department of Political Science (dissertation), 1998.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioners Guide. Co-author with Scott Brown and Christine Cervenak. Washington, D.C.: United States Agency for International Development, 1997.
"The Global Environment Facility: Haunted by the Shadow of the Future," In Robert Keohane and Marc Levy, eds., Institutions for Environmental Aid: Pitfalls and Promise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996.
"Old Fads, New Lessons: Learning from Economic Development Assistance." Co-author with Michael Ross. In Robert Keohane and Marc Levy, eds., Institutions for Environmental Aid: Pitfalls and Promise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996.
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