Evaluation

Evaluating Community-Based Collaboration on Federal Lands and Resources
Matthew McKinney
May, 2008
Society and Natural Resources

The growing interest in community-based collaboration (CBC) has provoked both enthusiasm and skepticism. This article sheds some light on the claims of both proponents and skeptics by presenting data on nearly 50 cases of CBC on federal lands and resources in the Rocky Mountain West. The findings indicate that participants are generally satisfied with the process and outcomes of CBC; CBC tends to open and inclusive of all interests, viewpoints, and stakeholders; CBC fosters informed decision making; CBC is efficient in terms of time and money; CBC produces valuable outcomes; CBC is often better than its alternatives; and CBC is slowly realigning the roles of citizens andpublicofficials.This article also offers some insights on evaluating collaboration.

Food and Farm Policy Project

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The Farm and Food Policy Project (FFPP) was established to allow participating organizations to work collaboratively to advance four interlocking policy initiatives designed to unite diverse constituencies and help to build a more sustainable food and agriculture system in the United States. The Project had four broad goals: 1) promote new agricultural markets and rural entrepreneurship, 2) enhance the economic viability of small- and moderate-sized family farms and ranches, 3) reward environmental stewardship, 4) combat hunger by increasing access to healthy food through community food systems.

CBI Practitioners
Patrick Field