Projects don't happen in a vacuum. Work with groups from other agencies and organizations is often required to successfully plan and implement an integration project. These tools are ways of answering the question, "How can we help the work teams function effectively?" Consensus-finding and building tools are often needed to help your team resolve different views and conflicting objectives or interests. Teams also frequently need models for collaboration, especially if they've never worked together before. Effective teamwork will also involve difficult decisions about details and how to proceed with development, so some decision-making tools and techniques can be useful.

Meeting management methods, ground rules. Managing meetings involves ground rules, agendas, clear purposes, facilities planning and preparation, careful recording of results, notification of members, and communication.

Effective group processes. Group facilitation is one widely used method. A facilitator is someone trained in group process and methods to build the group's capacity for managing its own activity. The facilitator typically works with a group for a limited time to build its capacity for effective work or to accomplish a specific task.

Effective conflict resolution. Conflict is a normal part of group work that can result from adversarial relationships, different interests, or both. Techniques for conflict management include diagnosing the causes of the conflict, mediation, negotiation, and problem solving. Mediation involves helping the parties understand the possibilities, communicate effectively, and recognize opportunity for compromise. Negotiation provides a framework for finding a mix of compromises that will resolve the conflict. Well- understood rules and guiding principles can be particularly effective in conflict negotiation.

Elicit information, brainstorming. Facilitators often use nominal group process to elicit information from the group. In this technique, a facilitator provides an opportunity for all group members to contribute to the discussion and share ideas. The results can be prioritized by voting methods in which all group members have equal influence on the results.

Multi-voting, where each group member can vote for more than one choice or has multiple votes to distribute, can be very effective for complex decisions and help avoid forming factions within a group.

Understand issues, resolve conflicts. Consensus building tools are useful in facilitating the two key requirements for reaching agreements in a work group setting: identifying and understanding issues, and resolving conflicts. Some of the tools for identifying and understanding the issues are described in other sections (SWOT analysis, hopes and fears exercises, strategic framework, and stakeholder analysis).

Effective group process takes time. It is unreasonable to expect new groups to accomplish substantive work immediately. It is usually necessary to invest in building skills, shared understandings, and commitment to the group process.

Vulnerable to disruptive, subversive behavior. Individual members can wreak havoc on a group's efforts to work collaboratively. Without effective internal controls and norms, such behavior can derail group efforts.

Right people at the table. Good decisions on who is involved in group processes are often critical to success. It is possible to have too much as well as too little participation. Choosing the most effective level requires careful consideration of the needs of the group and the participating organizations.