IEN initiated Virginia Solutions in Fall 2004, a state-wide initiative for community collaboration and consensus building. In 2005, funded by the Laura J. Musser Fund, two pilot Virginia Solutions projects were completed, one resulting in a Declaration of Cooperation for the establishment of a riparian easement program in Fauquier County. Virginia Solutions provides an easy, cost-effective mechanism for communities to develop community-based solutions to any given community issue. A neutral convener is formally appointed, a stakeholder Solutions Team is formed with the assistance of an experienced facilitation team, and the Team develops an integrated solution strategy that is embodied in a Declaration of Cooperation. In 2005, another project in Loudoun County utilized key components of the Virginia Solutions process which successfully led to the adoption of a Declaration of Cooperation.