Introduction: "The presenting problem and issues that people talk about are rarely the ones that are most significant. What looks like one set of issues will almost always end up being another set of issues." Frank Dukes of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at the University of Virginia talks about the dangers of an intervenor assuming he or she knows what a particular conflict is about.

This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).

Lessons Learned
Frank Dukes
Director, Institute for Environmental Negotiation, University of Virginia
Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

...Don't assume I know. I assume just the opposite because I don't really understand until I have really had a chance to talk with people. The presenting problem and issues that people talk about are rarely the ones that are most significant. Two lessons I have learned are: what looks like one set of issues will almost always end up being another set of issues and learning over and over again the value of preparation.
Beyond Intractability Version II
Copyright © 2003-2006 The Beyond Intractability Project
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Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
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