Community Building and Conflict Resolution (CBCR)

One of the best ways to prevent unproductive conflict is to build skills, relationships and trust. CBCR offers team and community building, providing the following services that can be used for professional development, team activities or retreats:

• Community Building Circles – Developed to create deeper connections amongst the team.
• Strategic Community Planning – Use the Art of Hosting process to create customized strategic community conversations about topics such as goals/mission/vision, community agreements, assessing community priorities and imagining the future.
• Training – Our workshops can be used to build skills in preventing conflict or promoting resolution when conflicts arise. 

CBCR uses a community-based approach to address conflict, with a focus on restoring relationships, accountability and social support to all parties involved. Our work is based on professional practice and academic scholarship. Restorative services can now be found working in tandem with criminal justice systems, K-12 education and higher education.

CBCR seeks to resolve conflict, and:

• Rebuild community
• Re-establish and strengthen relationships
• Recognize the core humanity and dignity of all involved
• Support accountability and communal problem solving
• Are completely voluntary
• Emphasize learning, growth, and support to all parties involved
• Align with The Ohio State University’s Shared Values and learning goals, and support student and employee development and retention

Our process: 

Units or individuals can contact our office for support. Human resources, Compliance or a related unit can also refer a concern to CBCR. Our next steps include: 

1. Initial Consultations – To determine if a restorative process is appropriate. If so, we then contact all of those involved to invite their participation.
2. Preparation Process – CBCR staff will meet separately with individuals involved in the conflict using a structured preparation process to understand concerns and collaboratively develop a restorative circle or conference based on those concerns. Once all parties agree to the format and feel ready to meet, we will schedule the circle/conference.
3. Conference/Circle – Parties engage in a facilitated dialogue known as a conference to work toward a resolution. In some cases, we use a community building circle focused on specific topics to process challenges, or a combination of both.
4. Evaluation – Participants will be asked to evaluate the process via electronic survey.

Once we receive a request, a staff member will reach out to schedule a 30-minute consultation. Participation is always voluntary, and participants can leave the process at any time.