In the natural resource management field, facilitators are in the vanguard of innovation in the way we as a society make decisions for the common good. But they work alone, with few opportunities to talk with other facilitators, and they are hostage to a funding system that asks for engagement but often puts administrative convenience before good engagement process. So what are the prospects for NRM facilitators becoming the innovators in decision making that we need?

Engagement is done on principle, or out of political necessity, but what effect does it have on the quality of decisions and action? I?m helping the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and three other CMAs develop a way to measure the impacts of engagment and social capacity building?on natural resource management. The logic that?emerges?from research and practice experience runs like this:

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