The New England region of the US EPA had an annual conference with members of nine Native American tribes in the region where they defined joint environmental programs and priorities. We helped design and facilitate an innovative participatory format for this two-day conference with a focus on pollution prevention. Instead of a traditional conference format with speakers and breakout sessions, over 100 participants moved among six small topic areas in various corners of a large conference room, to brainstorm ideas for action.

Each group had a mix of members of various tribes and EPA staff. After suggesting ideas, each group rotated to the next “station” to give input to every topic. By the end of the conference, participants had identified the priority areas of environmental concern and pollution prevention opportunity for the tribes, determined key action items, and identified how EPA’s various grant programs could support their work.