Accord Canada: Training Programs

Accord Canada offers a professional development program in association with Michelle LeBaron. Our program is designed to build the negotiation, facilitation, mediation, and process design capacity necessary to support interest-based approaches to public policy decision-making and dispute resolution.

All of our courses are structured to help participants build on their existing knowledge and experience as they learn new approaches to resolving complex disputes. The emphasis is on acquiring new skills through simulations, case studies, demonstrations and other experiential learning tools. Each course can be tailored or integrated with others to meet particular needs.

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Reaching Agreement

In this introductory course, participants become familiar with conflict and negotiation theory and add to their skills and capacities as negotiators. Course experiences include practice in bridging cultural and value differences in public policy settings and exercises designed to develop new skills in communication and creative problem solving. Participants also learn how to structure an interest negotiation process.

This is a 'life-skill' course for public managers and agency staff seeking to resolve policy and administrative disputes fairly and efficiently.

Reaching Agreement is offered in a two- or three-day course format. The longer course provides more opportunities to practice interest negotiation.

Please note this course is currently only offered on a customized basis, tailored to the needs of the client group or organization (usually 16-24 participants). For more information, please contact us.

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Turning Conflict into Consensus: Mediation Theory, Process and Skills

This course explores the theory, process and skills of intervention in multiparty public disputes. Participants will explore the roles of third party mediators and facilitators as they build on their communication skills and collaborative capacities that are so important to successful practice. They will integrate understanding of a process framework through experiential exercises and learn specific approaches to deal with strong emotions, power and cultural dynamics in conflict. Other subjects covered include dealing with emotion, power and cultural differences in mediation.

The course is of particular interest to public managers, tribunal members, lawyers and others wishing to enhance their third party intervention skills.

Turning Conflict into Consensus is usually offered in a three-day course format.

Working Together: Designing Shared Decision-Making Processes

This course focuses on designing and implementing multiparty, shared decision-making and other public dispute resolution processes. Participants expand their communication, negotiation and collaborative problem-solving skills and learn how to facilitate the resolution of disputes involving complex social, cultural and economic issues. Participants will also explore the resources of creativity, empathy and dialogic listening as important assets for participants and third parties in public policy conflicts.

This course is essential for government and corporate managers, community leaders and activists seeking an open and transparent way to work together to resolve contentious public issues.

Working Together is usually offered in a four-day format.

Thinking Strategically: Developing Systems to Resolve Conflict

This design clinic provides a forum and structure for government ministries, public agencies, administrative tribunals, and courts to integrate alternative dispute resolution mechanisms with their adjudicative processes to create a dispute resolution system tailored to their needs. The clinic may be structured as a series of one or two-day workshops, often in conjunction with an actual system design initiative.

Thinking Strategically is a must for leaders tasked with the development of a dispute resolution system for their organization.