Watershed Achievements Report

Minnesota Watershed Red St. Croix River River Basin River Achievements Basin Basin Report 2008
Watershed Achievements Report Statewide
2015
Snake River Watershed
St. Croix Basin Civic Governance
Training and Civic Policy Pilot
Project need: There is a significant amount of
institutional infrastructure in our current water
management system, but there is a lack of success in
engaging the broad base of stakeholders needed to
achieve water quality goals (households, farmsteads,
businesses, congregations, non-profits, and government)
It has become clear we need a new approach to water
governance and policymaking that can be integrated
into existing systems to increase the capacity to organize
this broad base of necessary stakeholders in the interest
of the common good. The role of “citizenship” is the
common role we all share that obligates us to govern
for the common good. Yet current management
systems do not focus on developing this civic capacity
and infrastructure. Instead the existing infrastructure
has inadvertently caused fragmentation, inadequate
coordination across sectors and organizations,
competition for resources, resulting in increased
cynicism. From the analysis of the need for a new
approach to governance, questions were raised: What
are the barriers within existing approaches to water quality
planning, implementation and governance to achieving
broad based ownership in addressing water quality? Can
individuals within government address those barriers
and institute approaches grounded in civic principles and
standards for governance that would increase civic capacity
and the civic infrastructure needed to impact the scale of the
problem?
Proposed Solution Strategy: Launched a Civic
Governance pilot to test a civic organizing approach
both inside (and between) several federal, state, and
county government agencies that each play a watershed
management role in the Snake River and Rum River
watersheds. Pilot leaders were Kelly Osterdyk (Kanabec
SWCD), Susan Shaw (Mille Lacs SWCD), and Shannon
Carpenter (NRCS) supported by Lynne Kolze (MPCA) and
Peg Michels (Civic Organizing Inc. and the Minnesota
Active Citizenship Initiative).
Goals
The project focused on implementation issues, including:
• Test capacity to organize a Civic Governance organizing
agency (1-2) in the St. Croix Basin linked to existing
civic organizing initiatives.
• Produce a training model that would ensure
investment in educational strategies supporting
the capacity to organize and sustain the base of key
stakeholders needed to address water quality.
• Produce a Civic Governance Policy Agenda based upon
outcomes from practice.
Results that count
• Achieved and exceeded work plan goals and
objectives.
• A core base of leaders (14) implementing water quality
and environmental protection projects integrated
civic organizing disciplines into their existing projects,
have evidence that the approach shows promise
for maximizing the resources already dedicated and
expended in water quality implementation. This
core base formed three civic organizing agencies (a
permanent structure for civic leadership development)
and worked together to learn from practice and
advance findings across watersheds.
• Developed a model for civic leadership development
and a regional Civic Leadership Institute that includes
a four hour Civic Governance Policy Workshop and
provides the opportunity for leaders to take a six
session Introduction to Civic Governance. The outcome
from this training track provides the opportunity for
leaders interested to develop and sustain a permanent
regional civic organizing agency. At all points of this
integrated educational track, individuals can chose to
contribute to advancing Civic Governance in whatever
way works for them. Members of the civic organizing
agency take the lead on keeping the larger network in
the loop on findings; sustain the integrated educational
track; produce and track evidence based upon criteria
for civic organizing; convene members across regions
to expand impact; and govern the initiative. The key
to achieving this outcome is the use of a common
approach to organizing within each region.
• A Civic Governance Case Study co-authored by the base
of leaders that is based upon their practice. Case study
is a work in progress and a method for organizing a
broad base of feedback and ownership of results from
practice.
• A Civic Governance Policy Agenda developed through
the process of civic organizing that produced specific
policy recommendations through workshops,
trainings, and practice by members of each regional
civic organizing agency. Policy recommendations are
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency www.pca.state.mn.us 103