Meeting Facilitation Support

Description

Effective meetings are pivotal for successful governance and organizational frameworks, helping optimize collaboration, decision-making, and engagement. The Meeting Best Practices guide provides standardized best practices and guidance to support effective meetings across all levels of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s (CBP) organizational structure. These practices are designed to enhance coordination among program units while building trust and aligning goals throughout the partnership. Meetings should balance scientific expertise with practical implementation considerations and ensure comprehensive stakeholder input in decision-making processes to support the implementation and attainment of the goals and outcomes under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Discussions should be relevant to CBP business. 

These meeting best practices collectively emphasize purposeful planning, effective time management, comprehensive engagement, transparent documentation, accessibility, and continuous improvement. Their formal incorporation into the Chesapeake Bay Program Governance and Management Framework is intended to strengthen the efficacy of meetings, align with adaptive management goals, and support the well-being and productivity of all participants.

These best practices are intended to complement and reinforce existing governance structures, decision-making processes, and adaptive management cycles outlined in the Chesapeake Bay Program Governance and Management Framework. Implementation of this guidance is expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and collaborative effectiveness across all partnership meetings. Guidance is not intended to, nor does it overrule any federal, state, or local law or policy. 

These best practices shall be implemented immediately across all Chesapeake Bay Program meeting structures, with regular review and updates to the Chesapeake Bay Program Governance and Management Framework as the program evolves beyond 2025. All partnership groups are required to adhere to these best practices. Groups are encouraged to explore innovative approaches and collaborate with their leadership and members to potentially broaden and improve our shared understanding of best practices. 

In addition to the best practices, standard agenda and meeting minutes templates are provided in the sidebar for use by all CBP groups.