Accord Canada: Negotiating in the Public Interest

Negotiating in the Public Interest

A Great Negotiator Seminar^TM for Public Sector Managers

Public sector managers negotiate for a living. Negotiation is part of virtually every business dialogue, committee meeting, policy session and administrative process. It is how things get done.

Negotiation is a primary instrument of policy and administrative change, problem solving and dispute resolution. It is the engine of governance in democratic societies and the preferred means of resolving everything from budgetary and administrative issues to inter-governmental disputes and high profile public clashes. In the best of circumstances, public managers need to be good negotiators. In the real world of the new millennium, public managers need to be great negotiators!

Negotiating in the Public Interest: A Great Negotiator Seminar for Public Sector Managers is a collaborative learning experience for middle and senior public managers and other professionals in search of the great negotiator within themselves. The seminar brings public sector managers together in a unique learning community designed to

support the exchange of negotiation ideas, innovations, and techniques
stimulate creative problem solving, and
promote self-appraisal by providing a supportive environment in which participants may reflect on and increase the effectiveness of their attitudes, methods, and behaviour as negotiators.

Negotiating in the Public Interest combines face-to-face sessions with online learning forums in an innovative format called the Great Negotiator Seminar¹. This unique approach:

brings the real world into the classroom with a new emphasis on using participants' career experience as a learning tool
enhances the learning experience through an exclusive online forum for web-mentoring, individual assistance and consulting
enables participants to test new skills and approaches in their work environments before coming together again to reflect and build on what they have learned
recognizes the value of learning together, with sufficient time and opportunity for participants to think about what is being learned and experienced.

Who should attend?

Negotiating in the Public Interest is designed for public sector managers and other professionals who need to respond to the complex challenges of public service in the new millennium. Officials at all levels (federal, provincial, and local), who regularly deal with problems, troubleshoot issues, resolve disputes, manage change, or engage in negotiation (formally or otherwise) on a regular basis should attend this seminar.

The seminar is open to intermediate negotiators (those with alternative dispute resolution training or mid-career experience) seeking to become great negotiators - and willing to share their successes, innovations and problems in a collaborative learning environment. Managers with limited negotiation experience may wish to complete our introductory Reaching Agreement course before enrolling in Negotiating in the Public Interest.

What will I learn?

Negotiating in the Public Interest enables participants to

share successful negotiation techniques, styles and approaches
utilize learning communities to analyze negotiation and dispute resolution problems and develop creative, practical solutions
build communication networks to exchange information and ideas within and among government institutions
integrate new theory and research with experience, intuition and reason
enhance communication and negotiation skills
develop capacities for effective problem-solving and negotiation in difficult settings, using creativity, imagination, and symbolic tools (story, ritual, metaphor and myth)
explore a negotiation framework specifically designed for complex, multiparty and intercultural dispute resolution
build collaborative partnerships for ongoing learning
challenge conventional thinking.

What makes the seminar so effective?

Negotiating in the Public Interest is based on the following principles:

The classroom is no substitute for the real world.
Learning to negotiate effectively comes from experience. Negotiating in the Public Interest goes beyond the fundamentals and into the real world dynamics of negotiation in the public sector - drawing on the participants' experience to bridge the gap between negotiation theory and practice.

Personal experience is a priceless learning tool.
Public sector managers have a wealth of negotiation experience. Negotiating in the Public Interest invites participants to share what they know and do - utilizing the collective expertise of the participants to inform the learning experience.

Expert support and an open, facilitative structure empower the learning process.
Negotiating in the Public Interest relies on highly skilled negotiation professionals and expert educators to support the process in keeping with participants' needs, experience and skills. The seminar is a creative sequence of large group sessions, small group discussions and opportunities for reflection. It is designed to keep participants' interest, surface complex questions and provide a rich learning experience.

Peer-to-peer learning maximizes the experience.
Negotiating in the Public Interest creates a collegial and supportive environment, enabling participants to work together - exchanging information and ideas, sharing best practices, styles and approaches and building collaborative partnerships for ongoing learning.

The Internet gives the learning process legs.
Negotiating in the Public Interest goes beyond the classroom to the Internet, utilizing an exclusive online forum to extend the learning experience; facilitate the evolution of peer-to-peer learning communities; and enable expert mentoring, individual assistance and consulting. This ongoing link between the classroom and the real world distinguishes Negotiating in the Public Interest from all other negotiation training courses.

Learning communities offer a dynamic problem-solving resource.
Face-to-face seminars, interim e-learning opportunities and online support provide the structure for dynamic learning communities and evolving problem-solving networks (linking peers and negotiation professionals).

How is the seminar structured?

Unlike other negotiation courses, Negotiating in the Public Interest targets real-life issues, offers online mentoring and builds in timely follow-up and support over a realistic 8 to 10 week learning period. This dynamic approach is reflected in the seminar structure, which includes four interdependent parts.

A pre-course preparation exercise sets the stage for the seminar experience.
An intensive 3-day seminar featuring dynamic, well-facilitated interaction with opportunities for listening, presenting and reflecting. Hot topics that emerge in early small-group sessions define the way ahead, with the participants selecting the topics they want to examine and how they want to explore them. This focus ensures that the agenda meets the learning needs of the participants. Topics for ongoing exploration might include how to:
- break or avoid serious policy impasse
- make better informed policy decisions
- strengthen the skills that are key to negotiation success
- get the most out of an inter-agency / inter-government policy negotiation
- design community consensus-building initiatives
- improve intercultural communication skills
- facilitate collaborative decision-making
- persuade others to work with and not against you
- deal with an angry publics
- develop personal awareness and resources that enhance negotiating effectiveness
- access intuition, imagination and creativity under stress;
- enhance leadership qualities important to successful negotiation
An interim online forum extends the collaborative learning experience, creating a place for participants to explore seminar topics collaboratively or to pursue their own related interests, expanding the scope and content of the curriculum. The online forum also supports expert mentoring and individual assistance from seminar faculty, facilitating more participant-centred, personalized learning. Faculty will be available online to moderate discussions, respond to questions and help resolve problems.
A 2-day follow-up seminar introduces new content and facilitates the ongoing evolution of peer-to-peer learning communities. Research shows that learners more effectively integrate new skills and approaches when they have time to try them in their work environment before reconvening to assess progress and refine skills. The second seminar ensures this opportunity.

After the seminar, graduates may further extend their learning experience, maintain collaborative partnerships and access consulting expertise with an ongoing subscription to the Great Negotiator Online Forum for a nominal monthly fee. The Forum offers continuing online support (including problem solving, web-mentoring, individual assistance, and peer-to-peer networking) as well as access to private, fee-for-service consulting, if required.

Faculty

Craig Darling, Michelle LeBaron and David Reagan are a highly experienced, dynamic team of negotiation professionals and expert educators. Craig Darling is a lawyer and very successful environmental and public policy mediator with many years of executive training experience. He is the founder and managing partner of Accord Canada and principal architect of the Great Negotiator Seminar. Michelle LeBaron, Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, is a lawyer, mediator and author with an extensive background in diversity-related disputes in Canada, the United States and internationally. Dr. David Reagan teaches communication skills at both the university undergraduate and graduate level. His work includes strategies for effective interpersonal communication as well as effective communication within organizations.

Tuition Fee

The seminar fee of $2000 (plus GST, where applicable) includes two face-to-face seminars (5 days in total, including nutrition breaks and lunches), up to 8 hours moderated discussion and additional support online, unlimited peer-to-peer interaction online, and comprehensive seminar materials.

Seminar Schedule and Registration

Negotiating in the Public Interest is offered on a regularly scheduled basis. Please consult our registration page (under 'Seminar Selection: Negotiating in the Public Interest') for seminar dates and registration information.

Location and Accommodation

Negotiating in the Public Interest is offered at Dunsmuir Lodge, which is located on the Saanich Peninsula fifteen miles/22kms north of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Since its inception in 1987, this unique 100-acre site has provided a relaxed yet business-like atmosphere that lends itself to work, dialogue and renewal. Dunsmuir Lodge offers a positive, purposeful learning environment that is complete - tranquility, spectacular natural surroundings and easy access to both regional and global destinations, all facilitated by friendly and professional staff.

Dunsmuir Lodge offers:

an inspirational learning environment
quiet seclusion and privacy
excellent service & amenities
proximity to all the transportation links to and from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.

Accommodation is available on request for an additional fee. For more information about the facility and accommodation, consult Dunsmuir Lodge.

Please contact us to discuss alternative seminar locations for large groups or out-of-province organizations.

Contact Information

Negotiating in the Public Interest: A Great Negotiator Seminar for Public Sector Managers is presented by Accord Canada Dispute Resolution Group, a leading mediation, negotiation training and consulting group working on the forefront of public policy dispute resolution in Canada.

Address: 10611 Madrona Drive, North Saanich, B.C., Canada V8L 5L8
Phone: 250 656 6427 Fax: 250 656 4310
Website: www.accordcanada.com
Email: Please use our online form to contact us.

¹ Great Negotiator Seminar is a trademark of Accord Canada Dispute Resolution Group