Welcome
Overview
The Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) is a free-standing statutory institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston, formerly known as the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution & Public Collaboration (MODR). The office recently changed its name to better reflect its expanded mission which includes consensus-building, collaborative problem-solving and public deliberation, in addition to public policy dispute resolution.
Mission
MOPC builds capacity for conflict resolution and prevention and facilitates collaboration and consensus-building within public entities and across sectors state-wide. MOPC works with government agencies, courts, businesses, non-profits and citizen groups to address complex issues related to economic development, environmental resource management, land use, agriculture, transportation, housing, health care and other important community objectives. MOPC's work results in cost savings for the state and its citizens through reduced litigation and settlement expenses and enhanced capacity for effective problem-solving and civic engagement on major public initiatives in the Commonwealth.
Partnerships
MOPC works in partnership with an affiliated network of nationally-recognized practitioners, university-based public dispute resolution programs and state offices of dispute resolution throughout the country. At the University of Massachusetts Boston, MOPC collaborates with academic investigators, centers and institutes including the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, the College of Public and Community Service, the Urban Harbors Institute, the Center for Social Policy, the Venture Development Center and the Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution. These connections provide the Commonwealth with access to proven and innovative methods of facilitating conflict resolution, collaboration, and civic engagement.
MOPC is also part of the University Network for Collaborative Governance (UNCG), which promotes the roles of college and university centers as neutral forums and resources for collaborative governance. The network consists of centers and programs that engage in service and scholarship in order to enable citizens and their leaders to engage in dialogue, discussion, problem solving, and conflict resolution around public issues.
Services
MOPC provides services that support conflict management and collaborative governance including conflict assessment, consensus building/collaborative problem-solving, deliberative dialogue, dispute systems design, evaluation, facilitation, joint fact-finding, mediation, public participation, regulatory negotiation, training, and workplace climate assessment. Services are provided through highly-experienced conflict resolution and collaboration practitioners who are MOPC staff and affiliates.
Affiliate Practitioners
MOPC maintains a panel of over 40 affiliated practitioners who are qualified to provide conflict resolution and collaboration services. These practitioners work with MOPC on a contract basis. MOPC affiliate practitioners have knowledge, skills and competencies working within legal and regulatory frameworks at all levels of government and in addressing issues at the community level. Many of them have nationally-recognized practices. MOPC has established standards that guide the selection, assignment and conduct of mediators, facilitators, trainers and systems design consultants. MOPC pioneered the development of a comprehensive, performance-based evaluation process using rigorous qualification standards for mediators. In addition to qualifying its own affiliate practitioners, MOPC administers a Request for Responses (RFR) to qualify ADR contractors and expedite procurement of dispute resolution services for Commonwealth agencies.
Funding
Funding for MOPC comes from an annual legislative appropriation, grants and sponsored projects, and fees-for-services. Two types of fees are typically charged for MOPC services: fees for MOPC staff time in designing, convening and coordinating services, and fees for the work of MOPC affiliate practitioners and consultants who provide services.
History
For over 20 years, MOPC has been assisting public agencies and communities to use proven approaches in resolving conflicts and building agreement on contentious public issues. MOPC has designed and operated successful dispute resolution programs for the state trial court and a variety of public agencies, trained hundreds of public officials in conflict management, mediated numerous divisive public disputes, and facilitated consensus building for many important public initiatives. MOPC functions as in-house technical advisor to government agencies in building their own capacity to use dispute resolution and collaborative processes to further their public missions and be more responsive to citizens. MOPC also acts as a state-level advocate and resource for community mediation programs in Massachusetts.
MOPC began in 1985 as a pilot project within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, with funding in part from the National Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Boston Foundation. MOPC was one of the first five state offices of dispute resolution established in the country. After continued growth the agency was established by law in 1990 (G.L. Ch. 7, Section 51). From 1999 to 2003, MOPC led the implementation of Executive Order #416: Integrating Dispute Resolution into State Government, modeled on the federal ADR Executive Order. In July 2005, the office’s functions and personnel were transferred to the University of Massachusetts Boston (G. L. Ch. 75, Section 46), a land-grant university with an urban mission and public service focus. This new institutional base enables MOPC to partner with the outstanding environmental, public policy and dispute resolution programs within the University of Massachusetts system, expands the research and educational resources for students and faculty, and enhances outreach services to local communities. Recently, MOPC became a Kettering Foundation public policy institute for the purpose of partnering with community and civic organizations in framing pressing public issues for public deliberation, convening deliberative dialogues, and training dialogue moderators.
Staff
MOPC staff are experienced professionals who serve as mediators, facilitators, trainers, dialogue moderators, dispute systems designers, program coordinators, and project managers. The breadth of expertise and experience embodied in MOPC’s professional staff assures that recipients of dispute resolution and collaboration services receive the highest quality service. All of MOPC staff have undergone extensive training and/or earned advanced degrees in conflict resolution, process science or public policy. MOPC’s Executive Director and Deputy Director are both lawyers who have dedicated their professional careers to public sector dispute resolution and collaborative governance.