Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve put together some of the more common questions we get about the field of mediation and the services and programs we offer. If you can’t find the answer to your question here, please contact us. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
We've organized our FAQs into three topics to help you find the information you are looking for.
General information about facilitation, mediation and collaboration.
Learn more about the profession of conflict resolution and becoming a mediator or facilitator.
Learn more about the conflict resolution/mediation process.
General information about facilitation, mediation and collaboration.
What are collaborative processes?
What are the benefits of collaboration?
What are the benefits of mediation compared to other approaches?
What are the benefits of facilitation?
What are the differences between mediation and facilitation?
What is public policy dispute resolution?
What is community engagement or civic involvement?
What are collaborative processes?
Collaborative processes include a wide range of cooperative conflict resolution and communication processes by which organizations and individuals resolve complex issues. Examples of collaborative processes include mediation, facilitation and public policy dispute resolution.
What are the benefits of collaboration?
- Creates the opportunity for all voices to be heard.
- Provides the opportunity for people to work out their own long-lasting solutions.
- Improves creativity by increasing the breadth of participants.
- May help avoid litigation by including "adversaries" in the process of generating options and reaching mutually satisfactory resolutions.
- Helps create and maintain positive constructive, long-term relationships.
What is mediation?
Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process in which a trained, impartial mediator helps people examine their mutual problems, identify and consider options and carefully consider possible resolutions. Unlike a judge or an arbitrator, a mediator does not decide who is right and cannot "make" either party do anything.
What are the benefits of mediation compared to other approaches?
- The parties retain a high degree of control over the solutions to their situation.
- Mediation encourages creative solutions to the dispute. Parties may benefit in ways unavailable through litigation or arbitration.
- Mediation and mediation solutions are voluntary and private. People feel better about solutions they have crafted.
- Mediation strengthens ongoing work and community relationships with its core concept of encouraging solutions that work for everyone.
- Mediation is often more economically sound than more formal arbitration and litigation.
What is facilitation?
Facilitation is a process by which a trained, impartial facilitator supports a group to accomplish its goals through effective work together. Like a mediator, a facilitator is impartial on the substance of the discussion and does not have decision-making power. The facilitator may guide the group’s process as they identify and solve problems, manage conflict and make decisions.
What are the benefits of facilitation?
- Facilitation can lead to more effective use of meeting time by keeping the group on topic and on schedule.
- A facilitator brings expertise in meeting design and implementation.
- A facilitator trained in many facets of conflict resolution can smooth out tensions within a group.
- A facilitator engages all of the members of a group and can prevent one viewpoint from dominating the conversation.
What are the differences between mediation and facilitation?
The processes of mediation and facilitation involve similar skills and are enhanced by a trained neutral with a background in conflict resolution. Typically, mediation is a conflict resolution process designed for settling an identifiable dispute. Facilitation typically involves multiple parties and is a process for a group to achieve its purposes most effectively—resolution of a dispute, strategic planning, problem identification and project implementation.
What is public policy dispute resolution?
Public policy dispute resolution focuses on the resolution of tensions within issues of public concern, for example education, land use, water quality, species recovery and healthcare. Because the issues are of public concern, there are often a number of stakeholders such as federal, state and local agencies; community groups; nonprofit organizations; and members of the private sector. Often, resolution of public policy issues includes avenues for engaging the communities involved.
What is community engagement or civic involvement?
Community engagement and civic involvement indicate any of a variety of processes by which a group of people affiliated by geography, issue, or special interest engage around common issues. A city may have a series of workshops, for example, to gather community member input on the design of a new library. Community engagement or civic involvement processes span a wide variety of activities and may be sponsored by government entities or grassroots-driven.
Learn more about the profession of conflict resolution and becoming a mediator or facilitator.
How are mediators and facilitators regulated in California?
How do I become a mediator or facilitator?
What are the career opportunities for a mediator or facilitator?
What kind of disputes does Common Ground mediate and facilitate?
What types of conflict resolution training and courses do you offer?
Can you travel to our location for a mediation?
How much do Common Ground conflict resolution and training services cost?
What are helpful questions for me to answer before I call Common Ground?
How are mediators and facilitators regulated in California?
There are currently no training requirements or credentials imposed by the State of California for mediators or facilitators. A person can offer mediation and facilitation services without passing a test, having a special license/certificate or taking a class. Training standards and other requirements can be imposed depending on the person’s profession (for example, the State Bar of California for attorneys) and the venue (for example, practice with court-funded mediation programs). However, it is important to keep in mind that an established mediator and facilitator will have extensive initial and continuing training and experience regardless of any imposed regulation.
There is an increasing trend toward a national, standardized certification program and specialized rosters through professional organizations. In addition, the American Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution and the Association for Conflict Resolution have recently explored a credential for mediators to establish their qualifications via mediator certification.
How do I become a mediator or facilitator?
Becoming a skilled mediator or facilitator requires quality training, practical experience and constructive feedback from a seasoned mediator/facilitator.
There is no single pathway to becoming a mediator or facilitator. Some people enter the field by combining work experience with academic training. Training and academic coursework are available through many public and private institutions of higher education, including adult continuing education programs. Some practitioners move into the field from other professions, such as law, academia, community planning or development, social work, etc.
Many mediators and facilitators start by taking intensive mediation/facilitation courses Once a potential mediator/facilitator has taken the appropriate training, the next step is usually observation or serving as a team member for a mediation or facilitation with an experienced professional. Volunteering for a community mediation program may be a good beginning step in learning and practicing mediation skills. Professional conflict resolution conferences can be a good tool for networking and training.
What are the career opportunities for a mediator or facilitator?
There are several directions to take in the mediation and facilitation fields. Opportunities exist, for example, in the arenas of human resources, labor relations, theology, group and individual counseling, public policy, and law. Many public agencies use facilitation, mediation, and ombudsman programs for conflict resolution services. Many of California’s courts embrace the use of mediation for small claims court and child custody issues. Some private foundations and states sponsor quasi-governmental mediation centers in a non-profit model. Some corporations have in-house mediation programs and private dispute resolution companies are on the rise. Some people choose to work as independent mediators or facilitators in private practice.
Alternately, mediation and facilitation skills can enhance skills in a profession unrelated to mediation and facilitation. For example, a director of a public agency may wish to use mediation/facilitation training to learn work-related collaborative problem solving skills.
What kind of disputes does Common Ground mediate and facilitate?
We mediate and facilitate resolution of conflicts to achieve balanced solutions among diverse stakeholders regarding complex public policy issues including:
- Land use
- Water quality
- Natural resources
- Species recovery
- Health
- Education
- Housing
- Urban Growth
- Transportation
- Agriculture—Learn more about the California Certified Agricultural Mediation Program.
What types of conflict resolution training and courses do you offer?
Common Ground offers courses and customized trainings on conflict resolution for professional, public, non-profit and educational audiences. Our conflict resolution offerings are designed to teach participants to combine effective communication skills with relationship building skills to arrive at resolutions that encompass the interests of all participants. Our training efforts and courses help develop interpersonal and intergroup relationships built on respect, trust and creative cooperation.
View a list of our conflict resolution courses.
Common Ground is pleased to create and deliver a customized training to suit the needs of your organization or community. For further information on customized training services, please contact us at (530) 754-7060.
Can you travel to our location for a mediation?
Yes. We provide training and serve as mediators and facilitators for projects all over California, the western U.S., the nation, and international sites. We would be pleased to arrange for our training and conflict resolution services to be delivered at a location convenient to you.
How much do Common Ground conflict resolution and training services cost?
The costs for our conflict resolution and custom training services depend a good deal on what the client hopes to accomplish. In an initial free call to discuss your situation, we will be pleased to learn more about your goals. In that call, we commonly ask clients to describe their vision of success for the facilitation/mediation or training. We also will explore with you how long you expect the work will take, the location(s), and the approximate number of people involved.
After the initial telephone call to discuss your situation, Common Ground will be pleased to submit a proposal sketching out the scope of work, schedule and estimated budget.
What are helpful questions for me to answer before I call Common Ground?
Common Ground staff would be pleased to talk with you about your specific situation and ways Common Ground could be of assistance. We are happy to work with you as you assess your goals and expectations. Based on experience, we have found answers to the following questions helpful for an initial conversation. You may want to think about the following issues:
- What do you hope to achieve by engaging in this facilitation/mediation?
- Who are the stakeholders?
- What is the history of the situation?
- What are the available resources?
- What is the timeline for a process? (Generally, the more advance notice we have before an event, the more Common Ground can add value.)
Learn more about the conflict resolution/mediation process.
Who can attend a mediation or facilitation session?
Who should be at the table for a multi-party facilitation?
How is the outcome of mediation or facilitation determined and who prepares it?
How long does a mediation or facilitation take?
Does a mediator or facilitator stay neutral and avoid taking sides?
How do I prepare to participate in a mediation or facilitation?
How do I know whether to call and outside mediator or facilitator?
To what degree does the mediator or facilitator need background in the subject?
What is a conflict assessment?
Who can attend a mediation or facilitation session?
Generally, the parties most directly involved in a particular issue are the most appropriate people to be involved in the mediation or facilitation. Legal advisers and other support people may be included in the session with the agreement of the mediator or facilitator and the other parties involved. Some public policy facilitation sessions are open to the public.
Who should be at the table for a multi-party facilitation?
There are several criteria for deciding the most appropriate participants in a multi-stakeholder facilitation. One factor is the degree to which the person's or organization's presence is key to the success of the effort (involved in implementation of agreements, for example) or whose absence would be significantly detrimental to the process. Generally, people or organizations who serve an important role in coordinating, decision-making, developing and implementing the effort and any agreements should be included.
How is the outcome of mediation or facilitation determined and who prepares it?
The parties to the mediation or facilitation control the outcome. The mediator or facilitator has no authority to make an agreement for the parties. Often, the mediator or facilitator drafts an agreement with active participation by the parties.
How long does a mediation or facilitation take?
The length of a mediation or facilitation is determined by a variety of factors including the complexity of the issues, the complexity of the relationships, the number of participants, and the readiness of the parties to explore a mutually satisfying solution.
Does a mediator or facilitator stay neutral and avoid taking sides?
It is vital that mediators and facilitators serve as neutrals on the issues under consideration. Mediators and facilitators who have been professionally trained and have experience remain neutral and impartial and do not serve as an advocate or representative for any party or interest group involved in the matter.
How do I prepare to participate in a mediation or facilitation?
Prior to the facilitation/mediation session, you may wish to:
- Understand fully what you have at stake, or your interests, and the interests of the other parties.
- Imagine solutions that meet the needs of everyone involved as much as possible.
- Prepare to engage constructively by seeing the issues separately from the personalities.
- Ask the mediator or facilitator any questions you have about that role or the process.
My organization is required to include a conflict resolution process as one of our steps to solve problems. How do we create one?
Common Ground consults in the design of conflict resolution processes. Based on experience, we have found answers to the following questions helpful for an initial conversation. You may want to think about the following issues before you give us a call:
- What do you hope to achieve by the conflict resolution process?
- Whose needs does the process need to meet?
- What are your organization's typical approaches to managing conflict and solving problems?
- What are the requirements that your process must meet?
- Does it best meet the requirements to use the services of mediators and facilitators from outside your organization or train staff for the role?
- What is your budget?
How do I know whether to call an outside mediator or facilitator?
Mediators and facilitators from outside your organization can be particularly helpful when significant conflict resolution skills are required, bias or the perception of bias will be a barrier to use of an internal mediator or facilitator, the issues are highly significant to at least one of the involved parties, or personnel from within the organization need to participate fully.
Is mediation confidential?
Generally, mediation is confidential. The parties agree in advance of the mediation session that they will not reveal the issues discussed during the mediation session with others. There are rare exceptions to mediation confidentiality, as in the case of suspected child abuse or to prevent a criminal act.
To what degree does the mediator or facilitator need background on the subject?
Sometimes, parties prefer a mediator or facilitator with little or no special knowledge of the subject. The benefit of this approach is to avoid a mediator's or facilitator's preconceived notions about the situation and appropriate solutions so that the issues and their resolution clearly belong to the parties.
Some situations are technically or legally complex in a way that the parties prefer a mediator or facilitator who understands the context in which their situation arises. The advantage of this approach is that the mediator or facilitator can often understand more quickly the parties' perspectives and guide the process with that understanding in mind. With this approach, the parties need to exercise care that the mediator or facilitator is unbiased toward all parties and appropriate solutions.
What is a conflict assessment?
Conflict assessment is the first stage in the process of conflict resolution that begins by clarifying participants' interests, needs, positions, issues and willingness to engage in a conflict resolution process. The process may include such steps as interviews, analysis and recommendations to the disputants on how best to proceed.
