Dealing with NIMBY using SDIC and the 4 Advanced Public Outreach Modules
Stop letting vital plans die in political gridlock and turn your fiercest opponents into constructive participants using the ethical, transparent method trusted by 40,000+ professionals to earn legitimacy from even the most polarized public.
Your program has proven to be the most valuable training that I have received in my career.
What is the
Dealing with NIMBY using SDIC course?
NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard
SDIC: the Systematic Development of Informed Consent
Your chance to learn a proven method for getting out of intractable conflict.
You’ll learn why asking for “buy-in” from some interests is too much, and yet why ignoring them leads to political gridlock.
In this course, you’ll discover a systematic way to get your recommendations approved that results in credibility, trust and respect – instead of mutual frustration and stalemate.
Get all your projects through the finish line
Imagine your working life with more…
- Progress, Not Gridlock Your vital plans moving through the steps of being adopted, funded, and implemented rather than languishing on a shelf.
- Professional Respect: Being trusted and respected by the very interests who used to attack your competence or accuse you of having a “hidden agenda”.
- Effective Leadership: Providing a steady hand when policymakers and the public are headed in a dangerous direction.
- Professional Fulfillment: A career that isn’t dominated by the frustration and despair of seeing your expertise lost to a distrusting public.
- Constructive Conflict: Turning opponents into constructive participants who conclude your process was so fair and transparent they can “live with” the outcome, even though they’re not “supporters”.
Course Testimonials
“This course is amazing! The ideas are great, putting them to work — I think — will be hard but rewarding.”
– Erin Stang, Enviro. Prgm Specialist
AK Dept of Environmental Conservation
“Superb! After 27 years as a consultant, I now have the reasons why some projects I’ve done succeeded and other didn’t.”
-Sharon Donnovan
Director of Planning & Project Development
“Awesome and eye-opening. I see the errors I made in the past.”
-Jeannine Fleegle, Wildlife Biologist
Pennsylvania Game Commission
“At the risk of sounding immodest – over the years I’ve been complimented on my ability to communicate to the public and other non-govt entities, gain their respect and work out differences. Actually, it’s you [the Bleikers] who deserve the most credit because I learned from you the fundamentals that allowed me to be the best I could be.”
-Raymond Werner, Chief
Air Programs Branch, EPA
“Outstanding! It’s a paradigm-shift!”
-Mike Higgins, Assistant City Manager
Eau Claire, WI
“There’s no comparison between this course and other continuing ed training. You have encouraged me to become a better public servant.”
-Adrian Early, Dir. of Operations
Covington Housing Authority, KY
“A fabulous communication program. This training can be life changing if practised.”
-Lillian Abbott Operations
Township of Huron-Kinloss, Canada
“Your courses convinced me that ‘Informed Consent’ makes the difference when diverse groups attempt to resolve contentious issues.”
-Chuck Phillips
Environmental Facilitation
Breaking the Cycle of Polarized Opposition
The Dealing with NIMBY using SDIC course will help your team understand and handle…
Why Most Outreach Backfires
Understand why rallying the “silent majority” or working to get “buy-in” is often a waste of resources that makes matters worse. And why your meetings are best attended by opponents, not supporters.
Limited Resources
Take the guesswork out of who is your “public”. Use our laser-focused approach to ensure you’re reaching the key interests and not making the mistake of trying to “communicate with everyone.”
Extreme Reactions
Navigate organized opposition, anti-government sentiments, strong emotions and even irrational reactions to your proposals while getting key points across to those very interests.
Contentious Issues
Know how to prevent and handle third-rail issues so you’re not always on the defensive. Learn how to communicate about controversial concerns in a way that causes highly energized opponents to see your work differently.
Credibility Issues
Develop an understanding of what threatens your team’s credibility. Use an approach to consistently earn legitimacy in the minds of the most unlikely interests, including political figures.
Key Outreach Objectives
Stop wasting resources on engagement that is useless or counterproductive. Know how to only use tools and techniques that result in a more collaborative opposition by identifying specific outreach objectives. Use our systematic approach to be both efficient AND effective.
Is the Dealing with NIMBY using SDIC course right for me and my team?
This course IS FOR YOU if…
You’re proud of your team’s technical work, yet your recommendations are consistently delayed, shelved, or watered-down. You’ve been told to “do another study” or “get more input from the public” when you know that won’t change the outcome. You’ve seen plans like yours make it through a long technical process only to end up as a pawn that gets lost in political gridlock. Policymakers urge you to get more “buy-in” when the people who will benefit from your plans won’t get involved or show up in support. You hesitate to engage with the public because members of your team have been targeted by criticism, misinformation, and personal attacks. You’re eager to learn identify which techniques will bolster your credibility and avoid those that destroy the public’s trust in your team. You’re open to discovering how (even with the best intentions) your outreach can create a very hostile or a very collaborative environment, depending on the method you use. You can visualize yourself becoming highly effective, where others fall into despair.This course is NOT for you if…
You’re looking for ways to “spin”, manipulate, or dominate public opinion. Your technical work isn’t based on a legitimate public need or opportunity. You’re not willing to change communication techniques based on their effectiveness. You think you need to “beat” or “overwhelm” those who oppose your proposals. You have a hidden or personal agenda. You think there’s only one way to do public outreach. You’re exercising authority you don’t legally or legislatively have. You’re unwilling to change your existing outreach methods and learn another approach.Join the 40,000+ public-sector professionals across North America who have stopped the guesswork and started using the only method designed to earn Informed Consent.
Course Offerings
NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard • SDIC: the Systematic Development of Informed Consent / Consent-Building®
Same curriculum, two ways to learn.
Both delivered virtually, you can choose the Self-Paced Bundle for maximum flexibility and independent study, or join the Facilitated Workshop for live group sessions, realtime coaching, and direct mentorship from Jennifer Bleiker.
*In-person sessions reserved for advanced Coaching students
Self-Paced
+
This comprehensive bundle combines our foundational training with our deep-dive advanced modules. It is designed to take you from the initial “paradigm shift” to becoming the go-to expert in your organization for projects that have “gone off the rails.”
Part 1: Intro to Dealing with NIMBY using SDIC
This foundational course provides the necessary shift in perspective to understand why plans are easily derailed. We’ll share the core of Consent-Building and show you how to apply the 15 Fundamental Objectives in a systematic way to every aspect of your work.
Part 2: 4 Advanced Public Outreach Modules
Once you have the foundation, these four deep-dive modules provide the “How-To” for handling extreme opposition and structuring complex outreach.
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Strategic Module: Learn to identify key issues and interests before they become roadblocks, ensuring your team isn’t blindsided.
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Tactics Module: Navigate the DOs and DON’Ts of outreach tools so you never unintentionally undermine your own efforts.
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Respect and Legitimacy Module: A roadmap to deep leadership. Gain the trust of your opponents—and your boss—even when the public is headed in a dangerous direction.
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Values Module: Understand the role of values in public work and how to handle organized anti-government opposition.
Best for
- Those new to Consent-Building
- Returning students who need to revisit how to systematically develop Informed Consent
- Those who are taking the course solo, without colleagues
- Individuals who are self-directed and will consistently set aside time to complete the entire program within 12 months
What You’ll Get
- An immediately actionable roadmap to develop Informed Consent for each of your planning efforts
- Clear steps on how to identify the Key Issues and Interests
- Diagnostic tools to assess what your outreach priorities are for each specific plan or project you’re working on
- Specific Citizen Participation Objectives you need to achieve
- A process for identifying which Tools and Techniques will help you fulfill those specific Objectives
- Personalized feedback from the Bleikers on integrated exercises and assignments you submit for their review
- 12 hours of video lecture on the fundamentals of SDIC: the Systematic Development of Informed Consent
- 27 hours of video lecture on the Advanced Public Outreach Modules (Strategic, Tactics, Getting Respect & Legitimacy, and Values)
- 1 year of access to complete the program
- A Certificate of Completion for each portion of the program you complete
Facilitated
Get the best of both worlds: personalized instruction with the ability to review and advance at your own pace!
Learn the fundamentals of Consent-Building in an online group setting with direct mentorship from Jennifer. We’ll teach you what it takes to become systematic in your outreach and how to develop Informed Consent at every step of your existing planning process.
Unlike the self-paced option, this facilitated version allows Jennifer to tailor each session to the needs of the class and offer exercises, discussion points, and coaching in real-time.
After attending the facilitated portion of the course, we’ll invite you to four coaching sessions (at no additional cost) with Jennifer.
These sessions offer you a chance to get individual mentoring, revisit key concepts, and guidance while applying Consent-Building as your strategy to steer recommendations to completion (i.e., from your planning process through the steps of getting adopted, funded, and implemented by decision-makers).
Bonus: You’ll have 1-year of full access to revisit the key concepts covered in the facilitated portion of the course (as well as go deeper into the fundamentals of Consent-Building).
During that year, you’ll set your own pace to go deeper into the application of Consent-Building with access to the Four Advanced Outreach Modules (Strategic, Tactics, Getting Respect & Legitimacy, and Values).
Receive personalized support and mentoring from Jennifer as you apply Consent-Building to your real-world work using the exercises within the course material, at no additional cost during your year of access.
Best for
- Those new to Consent-Building
- Returning students who need to revisit and master how to systematically develop Informed Consent
- Teams of two or more students from the same organization
- Professionals working on highly sensitive, controversial, or urgent plans (projects, programs, policies, etc.)
- Those who’ve experienced threats to their organization, budget, jurisdiction, and/or role
- Teams who’ve suffered from misinformation, smear campaigns, threats of violence, and/or personalized attacks
- Professionals who experience a double-standard in what they can say versus what opponents can claim
- Those who worry their technical work will be hurt by political manuevering
- Professionals with tight timelines and/or serious consequences at stake
*For those experiencing a crisis situation, please get in touch for immediate support and conflict coaching
What You’ll Get
- An immediately actionable roadmap to develop Informed Consent for each of your planning efforts
- Clear steps on how to identify the Key Issues and Interests
- Diagnostic tools to assess what your outreach priorities are for each specific plan or project you’re working on
- Specific Citizen Participation Objectives you need to achieve
- A process for identifying which Tools and Techniques will help you fulfill those specific Objectives
- Personalized feedback from the Bleikers on integrated exercises and assignments you submit for their review
- 12 hours of video lecture on the fundamentals of SDIC: the Systematic Development of Informed Consent
- 27 hours of video lecture on the Advanced Public Outreach Modules (Strategic, Tactics, Getting Respect & Legitimacy, and Values)
- 1 year of access to complete and review the program
- A Certificate of Completion for each portion of the program you complete
- Personalized coaching during the facilitated portion of the course
- 4 hours of group coaching after the facilitated portion of the course has been completed (at no additional cost!)
- A full-year to receive mentoring and feedback from the Bleikers as you adopt and apply the Consent-Building approach to your daily work
Find What Fits You Best
Experience Level
All Levels
All Levels
All Levels
Format
Live Online
Self-Paced
Live Facilitated Online Sessions with Jennifer + Self-Paced access to review and continue through Advanced Modules, with 1-year of access to each Session and Module within the course
Core SDIC Theory
You’ll get a 30,000-foot view of the basic concepts
Yes
Yes (Live and for review on own)
Advanced Tactics
Yes + with opportunities for asynchronous feedback
Yes (self-paced) + opportunities for asynchronous feedback (included in tuition)
Coaching Sessions
Available Separately
Available Separately
Yes (Four 1-hour sessions after the facilitated portion ends, plus additional opportunities through online exercises for personalized feedback)
Access to Material
Handout with fundamental concepts
1 Year with a complete Student Notebook
1 Year with a complete Student Notebook, and individual Session Handouts
Price
$1980/group
$1897/student
$2,097 per student (public workshops)
$45K private (up to 25 students)
$75K private (26–60 students)
Learning Hours
Up to 3 hours
38 hours
Minimum of 18 facilitated hours, then access to an additional 38 self-paced hours
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to complete this course?
We’re compressing 40+ years of research, development, and experience into a handful of hours for each portion of the training. It really depends on the urgency of what you need to accomplish (e.g., get Board members to adopt, fund, and implement your recommendations by the next scheduled meeting), and your appetite for trying an approach that differs from the average outreach strategies.
Below, you’ll find how many lecture hours are involved in each portion of the training – but it’s your application of what you learn that will facilitate and expedite your ability to absorb each tidbit we’re offering you.
We recommend pacing yourself to keep digesting all of this information by setting aside 1-2 hours a week to view the lectures and then another 1-2 hours to apply that material to your actual work or by completing the incorporated exercise.
- Facilitated Live Workshop Intro to NIMBY > minimum of 18 hours that combine lecture, discussion, live exercises, and micro-learning assignments. Students then gain access to review all the material included in the self-paced version (see below)
- Self-Paced only NIMBY > 12 hours of video lecture, 15 lessons
- Each Module (self-paced for all students)
- Strategic > 6 hours of lecture and 6 sessions
- Tactics > 7 hours of lecture and 6 sessions
- Getting Respect & Legitimacy > 7 hours of lecture and 11 sessions
- Values > 6.5 hours of lecture and 9 sessions
Self-paced: 38.5 total hours of instructional video
We recommend pacing yourself to keep digesting all of this information by setting aside 1-2 hours a week to view the lectures and then another 1-2 hours to apply that material to your responsibilities at work, personal life or by completing the incorporated exercise.
It is and takes practice!
How much does your training cost?
- Self-Paced: $1,897 / student
- Facilitated: $45,000 for groups of up to 25, $75,000 for groups of 26-60
Included with each option is 1-year of access to review instructional material, coaching sessions, individualized feedback and support.
We recognize most organizations must tighten their belts and that our tuition doesn’t come at a nominal financial or time commitment. That said, consider how many dollars and personnel hours will be lost if your work gets delayed, vetoed, or litigated versus approved, funded and implemented?
*What students have told us is even more costly than our tuition and coaching advice? The well-intentioned but bad advice they received elsewhere.
Do you offer in-person training?
Yes, we have customized training and roleplaying events for students we’re currently coaching (semi-monthly or weekly).
Is this training useful for private-sector professionals?
A large portion of our student and coaching clients work as consultants, contractors, as well as staff within private organizations such as;
- Public Utilities
- Mines
- Hospitals and Medical Centers
- Agricultural Companies
- Resource and Environmental NGOs
- Veteran Support Organizations
- Non-profits that address issues related to: Housing, Poverty, Homelessness, Resource Management, Veteran Services, Energy, Hazardous Material and Waste Management
Do I need a college or graduate degree to digest the material fully?
Not at all. While the material might make your brain hurt at times, it’s because you’re using muscles you have, but might not exercise enough.
After decades of experience teaching this to all levels of education and expertise, we can safely say there are many advantages to the mindset of a beginner over an expert, so take that as a word of encouragement!
Those with more experience have learned some lessons the hard way, so they’re attuned to learning from those experiences more than from their academic knowledge.
Who teaches the courses?
As the creators and sole-source providers of this content we don’t permit others to teach, reproduce, nor replicate our material.
The three of us, Bleikers (Hans, Annemarie and Jennifer) have studied, developed and designed all of the material. As Hans and Annemarie are semi-retired, I (Jennifer) will coach and guide you through the material, often taught through video lectures of all three of us.
For years, I was told I could never “be like Hans” and those critics were right – but that’s never been my objective. Hans and Annemarie have gifts and knowledge I couldn’t dream of mimicking, but we have successfully harnessed their contributions through all of our material.
Instead of simply regurgitating what Hans and Annemarie created, I have the opportunity to add my own insights and knowledge by generating new material, courses, and learning environments for our students.
If you have doubts about learning from anyone other than the original developers of Consent-Building (Hans & Annemarie), I understand and invite you to a free exploratory call with me.
Where did this training, theory, and material originate?
What started as an anomaly during Hans’ PhD research in Urban Planning became a series of insights as he and Annemarie (an Urban Anthropologist) studied a tiny percentage of professionals who were highly effective while their counterparts (some in the same community) failed.
They call these professionals “Implementation Geniuses”, not for their intellect, but their ability to get the public, policymakers, and even opponents to adopt, fund, and implement their recommendations.
We (Bleikers) have continued to study and train how any professional can help or harm their effectiveness, depending on the outreach approach used.
Read more on Our Why page.
What’s covered in Modules?
This is more of a hands-on training that won’t make sense unless you’ve had the fundamentals covered in Dealing with NIMBY using the Systematic Development of Informed Consent (SDIC).
In other words, this is HOW you become systematic – but it will feel inconsistent with your assumptions about public engagement if you don’t understand the WHY that’s covered in the introductory course.
Strategic Module: is where we’ll show you the actual steps of identifying what makes your work (plan, proposal, project, policy) most vulnerable to political gridlock and misinformation. Once you’ve clearly identified those vulnerabilities, you’ll learn how to design your public outreach to effectively reduce and resolve those vulnerabilities. *This is what makes Implementation Geniuses far more effective AND efficient than their (equally intelligent) colleagues.
Tactics Module: We help you think through the actual tools, techniques and tactics (which are meta-techniques) as you carry out your public engagement plan.
Getting Respect & Legitimacy: This mini-leadership course gives you a view on how to offer guidance when that isn’t really your role. Whether you need to help steer those at the top of your organization to a more responsible tack, bolster the fortitude of policymakers under political pressure, or provide leadership to a public that is headed for disaster – this is your roadmap of how to navigate a way to provide leadership even if you aren’t “in charge”.
Values Module: This is where we invite you into a handful of thought exercises to consider what happens when an opponent knowingly goes along with a proposal they’re still opposed to (i.e., gives their Informed Consent)…? When do you do this in your personal life? Why not in other, similar situations? Why do some opponents become collaborative while others become radicalized and even resort to violence to stop proposals? If we don’t look inward, we might miss what occurs beneath the surface when the change agents we’ve studied and created through this training make happen with even the most vehement opponents.
How can my team get trained in Consent-Building?
- Self-Paced (do it on your own)
- Facilitated (have Jennifer accompany and mentor you)
- In-person training is reserved for students engaged in semi-monthly or weekly coaching sessions
References?
See the list of some of the professionals we’ve trained and served. Please let us know if you have a specific questions or needs that necessitates direct contact with some of our clients.
Like you, our students have heavy workloads, so we try not to burden them with these requests unnecessarily.
What disciplines and areas of expertise do your students come from?
More than we can list… but you’re welcome to review some of the professionals we’ve trained and served.
What ALL our students and clients have in common? Their expertise is at risk of being dismissed, discarded, or diluted by the public and policymakers. They’re motivated to prevent the dire consequences this can have – for them professionally, personally, and the community at large.
One other overlap our students share: ALL are working on legitimate issues on behalf of their stakeholders. Their work is technically sound and does NOT misuse their expertise to pursue a hidden agenda.
Do you offer CEUs?
Not only does getting accredited for CEUs cost us administrative time and money – we’ve discovered students who look to our training as a means to fulfill their CEUs are rarely a good fit for the time and energy we pour into this material. Which is why we no longer offer CEUs….
Professionals who are motivated, even desperate — to resolve polarization, personalized attacks on staff, and the inability to get anything meaningful done are the best suited to learn Consent-Building. And those students, aren’t worried about CEUs…
Who else offers this training?
As the creators and sole-source providers of this content we don’t permit others to teach, reproduce, nor replicate our material.
We’re resolute about this, not only because it’s our life’s work, but because those who’ve tried to impart it to others have done a great disservice to their own integrity, and in every instance we’re aware of – mislead other professionals to unfortunate outcomes, while distorting the art and science of Consent-Building.
Unfortunately, often people we’ve considered friends have found it so appealing they’ve done just that. (The most egregious, even copying hand-drawn material!)
Help us protect those individuals’ reputations and the integrity of our work by letting us know (anonymously if you like!) if someone needs a reminder of our terms of use.
Many states and organizations have recognized us as the creators and sole-source providers of the Consent-Building approach. Please let us know if you need us to establish a “sole-source” standing with your organization in order to pursue training options for your team.