These challenges require new thinking and new strategies. Interagency as well as intra-agency conflict management requires all stakeholders to explore innovative ways to resolve disputes outside of the courtroom. Conflict is merely a difference of perception. Conflict and differences of opinion can be potentially constructive or destructive. Left to fester, conflict takes on a life of its own and becomes destructive.
Tempers flare, egos grow, and the conflict turns into full-blown litigation at any cost.
Litigation between interagencies tends to pit stakeholders against one another. The results can have a devastating impact in a community, and the cost factor tends to be high. The loss of productivity, attorney fees and delay in accomplishing the end goal adds up each day. Conflict addressed early on and in a collaborative approach, however, brings forth some of the most innovative ideas and resolutions. Collaborative input is constructive in reducing litigation costs as well as red flagging areas of conflict where change is needed within an agency.