Core Values - Judging in Progress

Congratulations to everyone who has made a submission to this year's Core Values awards. Our judges are busy reviewing submissions from UK, USA, Canada, Thailand, Ghana, South Africa and Australia.

The judging team is led by Geoff Wilson, winner of last year's Project of the Year, with Capital Health, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Geoff is joined by:
Dr Patricia Wilson, University of Texas, Austin USA
Chad Foulkes South Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia
Lynne Gillette, US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, USA
Sandy Heierbacher, National Coalition for Deliberation and Dialogue, USA
Sandra McBrayer, The Children’s initiative, San Diego, USA
Dr. Alice Siu, Center for Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University USA

Julie Wilcox from last year's Organisation of the Year, South Nevada Water Authority reflected on the value of acknowledging public participation and the value of sustained engagement with these words: " Since its creation in 1991, the Authority has demonstrated a sustained commitment of engaging the public in major policy decisions. Indeed, the best decisions are often made when the public is involved in shaping them.

As you all know, consensus-based decision making is never easy. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to set-aside personal interests for the sake of a greater good. The Authority itself was established, to put an end to the in-fighting and competition that was occurring among water agencies in Southern Nevada’s Las Vegas Valley. Under General Manager Patricia Mulroy’s direction, the Authority was designed as a consensus-based cooperative agency, focused on managing water on a regional – not local – basis.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority includes in its membership the seven largest water and waste water agencies and each has one member on the Board of Directors. Each agency – no matter the size – has a veto power. So the smallest member, which only delivers 2 percent of the water, can not be taken advantage of. Consensus is required in all administrative decisions.
In Southern Nevada, we rely on the Colorado River to meet 90 percent of our water supply. Nevada received the smallest allotment of Colorado River water under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 – less than 2 percent of the River's water – because the Colorado River was allocated primarily on the basis of agricultural potential. But Nevada and its arid lands discovered a different way to develop as a community.

The American West today bears little resemblance to the West of 1922. The entire West has exploded with population increases and is suffering from a devastating 8-year drought. In order to meet the challenges this brings, we must seek to involve all interests in finding solutions to complex problems. We must do this regionally by working with our neighboring states and locally by engaging our citizens because the best decisions include the voice of the community.
We are so very proud to be recognized by those who, like us, value and demand opportunities for public participation in policy issues of any community. We applaud all here tonight for embracing this vision and we are proud to pursue it with you. Thank you for extending to us the Core Values award of IAP2 Organization of the Year.

Based on recommendations of its citizen committees:
· The Authority successfully developed a funding plan to build more than $2 billion in regional water infrastructure just in time to meet community needs. Because the plan had been vetted and supported by a broad-based group of stakeholders, it received 72% of the vote when the plan was considered during a general election..
· The Authority achieved its goal of 25 percent conservation of total water use four years ahead of schedule. Following the completion of this goal, a subsequent committee set a new goal, which we are on track to achieve ahead of schedule. This year, Southern Nevadans are using 15 billion gallons less water than they did five years ago, despite the addition of 400,000 new residents during that span and more than 40 million annual visitors.
· We have also developed and implemented the largest direct-injection artificial recharge program in the nation to protect the Las Vegas Valley groundwater aquifer.
· The Authority stepped up and began coordinating efforts to restore the ecological functions of the Las Vegas Wash, which conveys treated effluent and stormwater back to the Colorado River. These efforts have included construction of 10 erosion control structures (reducing total suspended solids by more than 50 percent), stabilization of 5.5 miles of bank, and revegetation of more than 175 acres of wetland.
· We are currently in the process of implementing major recommendations to develop additional supplies to meet future demands. This has included successful negotiations with other states for increased flexibility on the Colorado River and the development of unused groundwater supplies that are available in our state.

Public participation shapes nearly every policy decision considered by the Authority. Even today, we still rely on the recommendations and policy directions of current and past public processes. The best decisions are made when they account for the voice of the community as a whole. Thank you again for extending to us the honor of IAP2 Organization of the Year."

We look forward to announcing this year's batch of winners and celebrating their success at this year's Core Values event in San Diego as part of 17th International Conference.