A person on a cleanup project team who has learned and practices the skills of collaboration is a great asset to that team. A major change in personnel is less likely to impact priorities and approaches in a project that uses collaborative decision-making processes than in a project that does not. Scientific and technical issue resolution and decision making are defined, understood, and considered important. The value of both collaborative skills and approach in the environmental cleanup process is less clear and, therefore, gets less attention. The cited problems are often not the real problems .
People have difficulty identifying or are uncomfortable fully expressing underlying problems.
Individuals or agencies with apparent need to improve working relationships resist the use of collaborative methods for a variety of reasons. One party may perceive itself to possess unilateral decision-making ability. For example, a Congressional mandate may be the reason behind one party proceeding independently. This perception of such an important mission preempts other missions and can cause a breakdown of a cooperative approach. Lack of clarity with respect to roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority may create disparate autonomous factions within one party.