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Washtenaw County Needs You!
To contribute your perspective on how water security issues impact your community! The Washtenaw County Water Security Consensus Conference is seeking participants to serve as Community Representatives. These representatives will participate in a three stage process whereby they will:
Learn about water security issues facing Washtenaw County, and Michigan more broadly. This will involve exploring the science and expert opinions involved in water security discussions, as well as the different perspectives the Community Representatives bring to the table.
Identify and dissect the challenges and opportunities surrounding water security, incorporating not only expert advice but also the values of the local community. This will involve internal discussions amongst the community representatives as well as engagement with various stakeholders and experts on water security.
Craft a report for policy makers that lays out the findings of the community representatives and makes suggestions for how to move forward. The hope is that this process will result in policy making that is more responsive to the needs of local communities and better reflects their values.
The whole idea of a consensus conference is that addressing some policy issues requires more than just technical expertise. The best solutions arise from a process that incorporates the diverse opinions and perspectives of the impacted communities. No particular experience is necessary for participating as a Community Representative, aside from a willingness to learn, represent your community, and engage in open minded dialogue.
You can learn more about how a consensus conference works on our 'Learn' page. You can also see the output from last year's consensus conference on autonomous vehicles.
If you are interested in participating as a Community Representative, please fill out the application form below, or at this link.
The dates for the three different stages of the Water Security Consensus Conference will be:
Phase 1 - April 13, 10am-2pm, Ann Arbor District Library (Downtown Branch)
Phase 2 - April 20, 10am-2pm, Ann Arbor District Library (Pittsfield Branch)
Phase 3 - April 27, 10am-2pm, Duderstadt Center, North Campus, University of Michigan
Community Representatives will be reimbursed for their time at $15 per hour.