A briefing by a qualified expert on the natural resource issue under study;
How the Program Works
NRLI is an eight-month long program that includes seven three-day seminar and activity sessions, a practicum, and a graduation session, eight sessions in all. In activity sessions, Institute Fellows study personal and group leadership skills, communication skills, and conflict management techniques, and learn about environmental issues, concepts and policy. Activity sessions also include tours of key natural resource sites around the state and discussions with managers, leaders, and policy-makers directly involved in natural resource issues. Fellows learn to delve into the science, policy, politics and perceptions behind natural resource issues and explore alternatives for addressing them. The practicum is a “real world” project through which NRLI Fellows apply skills and concepts learned in the program to actual conflict or leadership issues in their professional settings.
Each NRLI “content” session includes:
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An on-the-ground tour of the issue site; |
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An open discussion with stakeholders representing various points of view on the issue; |
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Skill and concept training in leadership, communication, consensus-building and conflict management; |
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Techniques and strategies for working with diverse groups of stakeholders |
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Facilitated discussion among class Fellows on lessons learned and questions raised or answered at the venue, and |
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Directed work on individual practicum projects. |
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The Practicum
To make the Natural Resources Leadership Institute applicable to the work and experiences of participants, a practicum is built into the class sessions. In carrying out the practicum, participants develop collaborative solutions and approaches to problems and issues impacting Florida’s natural resources. Working in groups or individually, participants apply the skills and information gained through the program. At the graduation session, Fellows present practicum project results to their classmates, receive their diplomas and interact with NRLI alumni from preceding classes.
Attendance and Participation
Graduation from the program is contingent on your involvement in all workshop sessions and the successful completion of a practicum project. Each 3-day workshop will begin at noon on a Thursday and end after lunch on Saturday. Fellows are expected to be present from the beginning of the first session to the end of the last session. The sessions will be held in different parts of the state to provide direct access to a variety of natural resource issues and settings. If a session is missed due to unexpected events, arrangements must be made to make up the missed work.
Building Professional Networks
One of the most valuable aspects of NRLI is the relationship that class members develop with each other. Fellows enter the class expecting to encounter a group of people with an adversarial mix of values, ideas and goals regarding the use and protection of Florida's natural resources. Despite differences in specific interests however, class members are pleased and a little surprised to discover that they are all in substantial agreement about the importance of natural resources in Florida and the need to protect them now for the future. During the course of NRLI training, class members develop deep friendships and invaluable working contacts that will prove extremely useful for years to come. Upon graduation, NRLI Fellows are able to pick up the phone and quickly contact a trusted colleague in government, agriculture, academia, the environmental community and the private sector from almost anywhere in the State.
