Collaboration That Works: Building Trust for Shared Stewardship

Strengthening the Human Infrastructure of Outdoor Recreation and Land Management

three 2-Hour VIDEO CONFERENCE SESSIONS

Thursdays, April 9-23, 2026, 11:30-1:30 PT/2:30-4:30 ET

Collaboration is at the heart of effective outdoor recreation and land management. Yet even the strongest partnerships can struggle under the pressure of limited time, scarce resources, unclear roles, and competing priorities. This interactive virtual course—developed in partnership with the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals—offers practical tools, frameworks, and case-based learning to help participants build, maintain, and repair the trust that makes shared stewardship work.

Designed for real-world application, Collaboration That Works blends reflective exercises, peer learning, and practical strategy to help outdoor recreation and land management professionals navigate tough dynamics, strengthen relationships, and create durable, trust-centered collaborative structures.

What This Course Covers

Over three live, virtual sessions, we’ll explore what makes collaboration succeed—and what causes it to break down. Together we’ll:

Identify the essential elements of effective collaboration and shared stewardship.
Clarify roles, decision authority, expectations, and accountability.
Diagnose early warning signs of partnership stress.
Learn and practice practical approaches for repairing trust and rebuilding momentum.
Apply tools and templates to a real partnership or project from your own work.

This course is grounded in the day-to-day realities of public agency staff, community partners, nonprofit collaborators, and volunteers who are tasked with working together—often across boundaries, with limited time and shared responsibility.

Who is this for?

Outdoor recreation and land management professionals, partner organizations, community leaders, and volunteers who:

Work across agencies or sectors
Coordinate or participate in shared projects
Support collaborative planning, stewardship, or visitor management
Navigate partnership tensions or unclear expectations
Want to strengthen or sustain trust-centered relationships

Course Format

Three 2-hour live virtual sessions

Highly interactive — includes breakout discussions, scenario work, and case study analysis
Optional pre-work and reflective assignments between sessions
Downloadable tools and templates to take back to your team or partnership
Instructors:

Rachel Franchina — Rachel Franchina spent 20 years working for the U.S. Forest Service as an outdoor recreation planner, program manager, and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail administrator. She also served on the board of the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) for nine years and now serves as SORP’s Executive Director. Rachel is passionate about collaborating across jurisdictions to elevate outdoor experiences and effectively manage natural and cultural resources.
Michele Archie — Michele Archie is a principal of The Harbinger Consultancy. Her integrated approach to outdoor recreation development is built on 30 years of experience with community engagement, community economic development, and destination stewardship in rural and outdoor recreation communities. After a start-up community nonprofit she was part of adopted Formal Consensus as its decision-making model, Michele took a deep dive into consensus and collaborative decision-making. She has trained organization members, boards and facilitators in a variety of democratic discussion and decision-making processes for more than 25 years.

What You’ll Be Able to Do

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Recognize the conditions that make collaboration successful.
Clarify roles, responsibilities, and decision authority using simple frameworks.
Spot common breakdowns before they escalate.
Strengthen accountability and communication.
Use structured tools to rebuild trust when it falters.
Develop a practical plan to improve one real partnership in their current portfolio.

How This Course Is Different

This course goes beyond facilitation or consensus-building skills. It focuses on the human infrastructure necessary for shared stewardship—trust, role clarity, process integrity, and the practical structures that make collaboration resilient. Through real examples from outdoor recreation and land management, you’ll learn how to create partnerships that not only function, but thrive under real-world constraints.

Tools and Takeaways

Participants receive a suite of practical tools, including:

Collaboration Success Factors Worksheet
Collaboration Assessment Diagnostic Tool
Decision Clarity Map & spectrum of decision ownership
Agreement Spectrum Guide (from handshake to governance structure)
Trust Repair Conversation Guide
Collaborative Health Index for ongoing assessment

All tools are designed for immediate use in your workplace or partnership network.

Follow-Up and Support

Participants will have the option to join a follow-up reflection session to share progress, ask questions, and learn from peers. Opportunities to stay connected through SORP’s learning community and through Harbinger’s peer networks provide additional support for ongoing collaborative practice.

Three Sessions

Session 1: What Makes Collaboration Work

This session introduces the core ingredients of successful collaboration—shared purpose, clear process, and strong, trust-based relationships. Participants explore examples of effective partnerships, identify what enables them to thrive, and begin applying simple frameworks to assess the health of their own collaborations. By the end, participants will be able to recognize the conditions that support trust and momentum in shared stewardship.

Session 2: Why Collaboration Fails—And How to See It Coming

In Session 2, participants examine common breakdowns in purpose, process, and trust, and learn how to spot early warning signs before they escalate. Using case examples and diagnostic tools, we explore why collaborations stall, what partners often misunderstand about decision authority, and how to surface underlying dynamics. Participants leave with strategies to diagnose challenges in a real partnership from their own work.

Session 3: Rebuilding and Sustaining Trust

The final session focuses on strengthening collaborative resilience—how to repair trust when it’s been damaged and how to design structures that keep partnerships strong over time. Participants learn practical approaches for accountability, decision clarity, and conflict navigation, and apply tools to develop a “collaborative health plan” for one real partnership. The session closes with commitments and concrete next steps they can put into practice immediately.

FREE LEARNING CREDITS

Through a partnership with American Trails, Harbinger is offering free learning credits for this and selected other courses. Credits are available by request, at no charge beyond the course registration fee, contingent on completing the entire course and a brief post-course quiz. American Trails is a certified provider, and you may request credits for:

American Institute of Certified Planners Continuing Maintenance (AICP CM)
Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES PDH)
CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations

The Facilitator Training course provides 4.00 CM | 4.00 LA CES NON-HSW | 0.40 CEU/4.00 PDH Equivalency Petition, for the main course only.

Session Dates and Times

Three live 2-hour weekly video conference sessions

Thursdays, April 9-23, 2026 • 11:30-1:30 PT/2:30-4:30 ET

Fees & Details

Every class will be presented live and available for replay in case you need to miss a session or want to review.
$525 regular course fee/$425 early registration discount through Jan. 31, 2026
Group rates for two or more participants from the same organization or community — $425 per person regular group rate/$375 early registration discount.
Organizational and other special discount codes offer a discount in addition to early registration and group rates.

SORP Member Course Registration

Please let me know when you offer this course again