Neutrals

The Interagency Advisory Council is in the process of creating a shared pool of state employee neutrals,** whose services could be provided, on a collateral duty basis, to other state agencies at little or no cost. This pool will be available to provide ADR services for a broad range of governmental functions, including but not limited to contract disputes, regulation, enforcement, licensing, permitting, policymaking, and intergovernmental relations. State employee mediators have long served in specialized agency ADR programs, such as the Department of Employment Dispute Resolution's workplace mediation program, and the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation's consumer/contractor mediation program. To assure that they can meet the other functional needs of state government, the Council will offer a "cross-training" curriculum for this core group of state employee mediators, to better leverage their ADR skills and experience. This core group can then be augmented as needed by offering the "cross-training" curriculum to additional employees identified by their employing agencies, through the Council's annual surveys, as having training and/or experience as a mediator and/or facilitator.**

** "Neutral" means an impartial third party trained or experienced in conducting dispute resolution proceedings and/or managing a collaborative decision-making process.

"Mediator" means a neutral who assists parties in conflict in exploring their differences, identifying key issues, and developing a mutually agreeable resolution to their dispute.

"Facilitator" means a neutral who assists a group of stakeholders achieve identified goals involving complex, often controversial issues, through a managed group discussion process and collaborative decision-making.