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CSR’s, Frank Carr, Facilitates 19 Partnering Facilitation Workshops in 2018-2019

Bob Randolph — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 21:44:30 +0000

Frank Carr, CSR’s Lead Partnering Facilitator, conducted 19 workshops during the past two years in 6 states and two international locations (Diego Garcia and the Marshall Islands). The list of Frank’s partnering facilitations is set forth below and includes the Eisenhower Memorial on the Mall in DC, the new Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel expansion, reservoir-dam projects, and roads and building construction projects.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Mosites Construction Company; Tuscarora Tunnel rehabilitation Project, Pennsylvania Turnpike, Pennsylvania (10/17/19)

NAS Pax River, NAVFAC, BL Harbert International; P265: UCLASS RDT&E Hangar
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Patuxent River, Maryland (06/12/19)

NASA Langley, Greenland Enterprises; NASA LaRC Compressor 8 Installation Project
Hampton, Virginia (06/03/19)

Bencor Corporation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); Pittsburgh District: East Branch Cutoff Wall Construction Project, East Branch Lake, Clarion River, Elk County, Pennsylvania, Follow-Up Partnering Workshop (05/01/19)

GSA, National Park Service, Eisenhower Memorial Committee, Clark Construction Group, and Gilbane Construction Inc.: Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Project, Washington, D.C., Follow-Up Partnering Workshop (05/02/19)

PC Construction, Jacobs, County of Fairfax, Virginia; Noman Cole Water Pollution Control Plant, Solid Water Processing Phase 2 Project; County of Fairfax, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (05/08/19)

Military & Federal Construction Company, NAVFAC, MBF Architects: P766 F-35 Lift Station Repair Facility Project; FRC-East Cherry Point, North Carolina (01/31/19)

PC Construction, Jacobs, County of Fairfax, Virginia; Noman Cole Water Pollution Control Plant, Solid Water Processing Phase 2 Project; County of Fairfax, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (12/14/18)

Chugach Federal Solutions Inc., NAVFAC NW: West Sound Base Operations Support (BOS) Contract; Follow-Up Partnering Workshop; Silverdale, Washington (11/014/18)

SJC-BVIL (JV), NAVFAC, and KBR; Repairs to North Power Plant Fac. #730
Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean (10/03/18)

NASA Langley, GSA, Hill International, W.M. Jordan, and AECOM; NASA Langley Research Center; Measurement Systems Laboratory (MSL) Project; Hampton, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (09/19/18)

PC Construction, Jacobs, County of Fairfax, Virginia; Noman Cole Water Pollution Control Plant, Solid Water Processing Phase 2 Project; County of Fairfax, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (08/16/18)

San Juan Construction, Inc., U.S. Army Corps of USACE Honolulu District; Echo Pier Restoration, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands (05/18/18)

MEBGC/Haymes Brothers JV, County of Henrico, and County of Cumberland, Virginia; Cobbs Creek Reservoir Dam and Facilities Project, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (04/12/18)

PC Construction, Jacobs, County of Fairfax, Virginia; Noman Cole Water Pollution Control Plant, Solid Water Processing Phase 2 Project; County of Fairfax, Virginia (04/04/18)

Chesapeake Bay and Bridge Tunnel District, Chesapeake Tunnel JV; Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project; Chesapeake, Virginia; Follow-Up Workshop (03/29/2018)

Chugach Federal Solutions Inc., NAVFAC NW: West Sound Base Operations Support (BOS) Contract; Follow-Up Partnering Workshop; Silverdale, Washington (03/022/18)

San Juan Construction, Inc., USACE Honolulu District; Replace Fuel Storage Tanks, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands (02/23/18)

Bob Randolph Appointed by DC to Mediate Complaints Against Police

Bob Randolph — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 17:07:45 +0000

The DC Office of Police Complaints has appointed Bob Randolph to mediate issues arising out of citizen contact with District of Columbia law enforcement officers. Bob brings his previous experience handling administrative grievances to the facilitation of a conversation between the parties to enable each to understand the other’s perspective with the goal of bettering future interactions between community members and officers.

CSR Congratulates Pete Swanson on Taking a Position with FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service)

Bob Randolph — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:27:59 +0000

It is with mixed emotions that CSR announces that we will be saying goodbye to Pete Swanson, a founding partner with 17 years of service with the firm. Pete has decided to take a position in the Federal Service where, as of December 10, 2018, he will become Director of the Office of Federal Conflict Management for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Pete can be reached at 202-606-2222 or pswanson@fmcs.gov. We wish Pete, and FMCS well, as we know first-hand the many sterling qualities and broad experience that he will bring to his new position where he will continue his life’s work of expanding the use of alternative means to resolve disputes. That said, we will still miss him greatly.

CSR Conducted Mediation Workshops in Myanmar in August, 2017

Bob Randolph — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:14:17 +0000

CSR’s Bob Randolph, along with former partner, Pete Swanson, conducted mediation and communications workshops in Myanmar (“Burma”) in August, 2017, for the Myanmar Consumer Protection Agency where they trained complaint processing personnel in the art of resolving consumer complaints. The workshops were funded by USAID and organized by Nathan Associates, an Arlington, Virginia, contractor.

GSA Awards CSR a New MOBIS Schedule Contract

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 02:19:13 +0000

The General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded CSR a new MOBIS schedule contract extending over the next 5 years. MOBIS is an acronym for GSA’s “Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services” vehicle which companies like CSR use to offer consulting and training services to the federal government. Under its MOBIS schedule, CSR is able to offer a range of services to federal government buyers at prices which the GSA has vetted and has determined to be fair and reasonable. The CSR labor categories and price list can be accessed by clicking the following link: CSR MOBIS Price List. These prices are effective from September 13, 2016 to September 12, 2021 with one remaining five year option which, if exercised, will extend the contract through September, 2026. It is noteworthy that GSA has acknowledged CSR’s leadership coaching expertise by authorizing two coaching labor categories and price levels. If you have any questions about CSR’s MOBIS Schedule or want to discuss CSR’s consulting and training capabilities, please contact Robert Randolph at +1(202)-549-4904 or at rrandolph@csradr.com

DIEGO GARCIA PARTNERING WORKSHOP

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 01:11:55 +0000

CSR director, Frank Carr, recently facilitated a two-day partnering workshop on Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. The partnering participants were the U.S. Navy and its BOS (Base Operations Support) contractor. Prior to the commencement of the workshop, Mr. Carr administered a pre-workshop survey that helped the stakeholders focus on their relationship, expectations, mutual goals, and issues at the workshop.

Tribal Government

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 16:19:11 +0000

Pete Swanson recently presented several workshops on negotiations at a Tribal Leader’s conference in Los Vegas

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF DISPUTE REVIEW BOARDS

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 18:47:51 +0000

In 2015, CSR partner, Frank Carr, successfully completed two Dispute Review Boards where the disputes had been pending for a number of years. As Chairman of the Board in Washington, D.C., Frank reports that there were no disputes remaining between the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) and its contractor at the conclusion of the Board. Also, Frank was a DRB Board Member for a subway construction project in New York City between the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Capitol Construction and its contractor that has been completed with no disputes remaining.

CSR’s Bob Randolph Provides Training to NGA on “Unconscious Bias”

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 23:13:14 +0000

Bob Randolph gave a one-day training for the National Geospatial Agency in September, 2014 on the cutting-edge subject of “unconscious bias,” sometimes labeled “implicit bias.” We Americans have traditionally believed discrimination to be conscious and intentional and have worked hard through civil rights initiatives and societal pressures to create a just and equitable society and eliminate conscious bias in the United States. However, research in the past two decades strongly suggests that the problem is not overt bias or racism, but the reality that people who view themselves as enlightened and unbiased hold unconscious attitudes that result in discriminatory actions and behavior, especially in the work-place. For example, we routinely and unconsciously discriminate against people of below average height in allocating leadership positions in our society. William McKinley was the last person of below average height elected President (1900); 60% of all CEO’s are above 6 feet in height. We would all concede that it would be irrational to assign leadership roles in our society on the basis of height; nevertheless, we unconsciously associate height with leadership, and lack thereof with followship, and unconsciously make decisions on the unconscious assumption that there is a correlation between height and leadership ability.

The problem of “unconscious bias” becomes more unsettling, however, as we encounter more and more research demonstrating that we are “hard-wired” with danger detectors that unfairly stereotype individuals of a different color or ethnicity as people to be avoided and that this “hard wiring” can result in disparate treatment of individuals whom we view as different. Validated studies, for example, based on on-line shooter games demonstrate that participants are quicker to shoot at black men than white men. In the employment context, unconscious bias is a serious problem; in the law enforcement context, we are confronting societal tragedies. The good news is that once recognized and acknowledged, we can modify our behaviors to at least ameliorate, if not eliminate the scourge of unconscious bias.
For more information, contact Bob Randolph at rrandolph@csradr.com; 202-549-4904.

CSR Provides International Mediation Training In Brazil

admin — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 23:44:57 +0000

Frank Carr and Bob Randolph have just completed a successful three day international commercial mediation training in Sao Paolo, Brasil (November 15-17), for The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) and CAMARB. CPR (based in NYC) is the leading non-profit independent resource helping global business and their lawyers resolve complex commercial disputes more cost effectively and efficiently. CAMARB (Chamber of Arbitration-Brasil) is one of the three leading dispute resolution providers in Brasil.

Carr and Randolph were training with some of the top lawyers and arbitrators in Brasil, many of whom either represented, or handled arbitrations for Fortune 500 countries. The training was quite well received. In the words of one participant, a senior partner in a major law firm:

“I have to confess that it was a difficult process of negotiation with my wife and kids to participate in the training program and not to travel with them and enjoy the holiday in Brazil, but everything became easier after sharing with them the histories, exercises and my enthusiasm with everything that I learned during the three days. You are great. Be sure that we will spread the word here in Brazil about the quality and professionalism that we experienced.”

It was fascinating to see how easily some of the more adversarial negotiators were able to adapt to a facilitative mediation style. CSR looks forward to returning to Brasil.