CBI in Action: Winter 2025

A State-wide Strategy for Commercial Fishing, Tribal Fishing, and Offshore Wind 

Anticipating offshore wind as a future energy source, the California legislature passed what is known as Senate Bill 286, which included tasking the California Coastal Commission, through a Fisheries Work Group, to create a state-wide strategy for commercial fishing, Tribal fishing, and offshore wind. Partnering with Kearns and West, CBI worked across sectors on this process to hammer out a state-wide strategy, the first of its kind in the nation. CBI facilitated numerous subgroups over the last year. The resulting strategy includes guidance on better practices for communication, pre-construction survey mitigation, common mitigations for offshore wind’s expected impacts, a socio-economic methodology for calculating offshore wind’s impact on commercial and Tribal fisheries, and a framework for creating a compensating package for fisheries. The group affirmed support for all sections of the strategy in November 2025. It will go before the Commission for approval in the spring of 2026.

The International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been advancing its commitment to safety for Olympic Movement athletes, volunteers, and officials with the development of an International Safeguarding Framework (ISF). The ISF is a major consensus building initiative convened by the IOC’s Safe Sport Unit and facilitated by CBI. With a target completion of mid-2026, the ISF aims to establish unified principles and standards across the Olympic Movement to prevent and address harassment and abuse. 

The development process is highly collaborative. It features a Core Group, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and composed of representatives from International and National Federations, National Olympic Committees, safeguarding experts, and civil society, along with athletes who have experienced interpersonal violence in sport. A broader global consultation process has been gathering input from diverse geographic regions, sporting disciplines, and roles. The goal is to produce a consensus draft ISF for consideration by the IOC’s Executive Board in mid-2026.

Indian Pilot Program on “Advancing Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development: Pathways to Consensusand Shared Solutions”

India's national commitment to expanding its renewable energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 requires an unprecedented pace of utility-scale project deployment, creating significant new pressures on land and marine spaces and in rural areas with deeply established traditional livelihoods and both formal and informal economies. This dynamic creates potential for conflicts over space (both land and sea), associated environmental and socio-economic issues, and the distribution of costs and benefits deriving from large infrastructure projects. To address these challenges, the School of Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi) and the Rajasthan-based Center for Energy, Environment and People (CEEP) partnered with the Consensus Building Institute to co-develop and deliver a pilot course on collaborative problem-solving for renewable energy development in India.

The pilot course convened professionals from industry, public utilities, local authorities, civil society, and academia from across India at IIT Delhi in August 2025 for an intensive, multi-day program. Participants examined global trends in renewable energy conflicts, explored India's policy and regulatory frameworks, and analyzed approaches emerging in India including dual land-use options, meaningful community engagement, and benefit-sharing practices. Through negotiation simulations, case study analyses, and expert panels featuring diverse stakeholder perspectives, participants practiced interest-based negotiation skills and deliberated on strategies for designing collaborative processes to address complex public disputes. This highly interactive, cross-sectoral training is somewhat unique in Indian higher and adult education. The program successfully demonstrated strong appetite for structured, multi-stakeholder approaches to renewable energy conflict management, and participant feedback is now informing curriculum refining and further tailoring a course within India’s complex culture, government, and regulatory context for a second iteration planned for late 2026.

Solar Energy Development in Egypt

Egypt has set ambitious targets to expand its renewable energy capacity, aiming to generate 42% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The construction of the Abydos II solar project, developed by AMEA Power and funded by the International Finance Corporation, is a significant step toward that goal.  

CBI was contracted by the International Finance Corporation to provide targeted support to address stakeholder need and strengthen grievance responses. Working with AMEA Power's social team and IFC advisors, CBI is conducting stakeholder assessments, facilitating internal alignment workshops, and delivering capacity-building training using its AARC Framework (Acknowledgment, Agency, Reciprocity, Clarity) both virtually and on the ground in Aswan, Egypt. The work focuses on practical tools: clearer communication protocols, more responsive grievance mechanisms, and conflict-sensitive engagement strategies. 

A Construction Advisory Group for a New School in Massachusetts

In Somerville, Massachusetts, the condition of two older schools—one decommissioned with students displaced, another over a century old and in precarious condition—prompted a need for an updated facilities plan. The City applied to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for funding for both projects and secured funding to help pay for a portion of one new facility, but not two. The City then had to decide whether to include capacity for both schools in the project, as well as where to locate the school. Because this question has significant implications, the City committed to a broad community process to allow Somerville parents/ guardians, educators, and community members to weigh in meaningfully on these questions.

Since last summer, CBI has developed and facilitated a Construction Advisory Group process, bringing together representatives from a range of perspectives to develop recommendations for the Mayor. The process was designed to coincide with and not delay the existing timeline for rebuilding the school. Over monthly meetings, the CAG’s efforts have included a deep dive on relevant data and information, such as educational needs, municipal finance, walkshed maps, enrollment trends, and other school and municipal capital needs, as well as a tour of the older school and participation and analysis of findings from a community survey and focus groups. The group is currently finalizing their recommendations, which will be sent to Somerville’s mayor, after which the City will bring its plan to voters in a debt exclusion vote in 2027.