The Dispute Resolution Directory brings together information on a rich selection of courses and learning opportunities in the greater Boston area for people interested in negotiation and dispute resolution. The Directory is published by the Dispute Resolution Program and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The Program on Negotiation is a community of scholars from a variety of disciplines and professional schools, including Harvard, MIT, and Tufts University. This community shares a belief that although conflict is inevitable, individuals, organizations, and communities can learn to do better at settling disputes.

The educational institutions of Greater Boston are leaders in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution, attracting scholars, students and practitioners from around the world. Fifteen colleges and universities, three of which offer degrees in dispute resolution, have courses listed in the Directory. In addition, there is information on internships in public and private nonprofit organizations for gaining practical experience.

As we struggle to deal with challenges posed by war, globalization, human rights abuses, school violence, environmental crises, business and labor disputes, and family conflict, the field of alternative dispute resolution continues to grow in importance and relevance.
We hope that you find this a welcome and useful guide, whether you are a teacher, student or practitioner. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

As the use of mediation continues to grow, researchers continue to examine what makes mediators effective and what the impact of mediation is on parties in dispute. Four articles in the July 2009 issue of Negotiation Journal provide an in-depth view of mediation effectiveness, with some interesting findings.

In the first article, Stephen Goldberg, Margaret Shaw, and Jeanne Brett follow up … read more »

When interests collide, some managers dig in their heels: You get your way or I get mine. Others go for a compromise where the plan is to give up as little as possible. Neither strategy is likely to lead to the best outcome. But businesses, nonprofits, government agencies … and even rock ‘n’ rollers … … read more »

Registration is now closed for the NP@PON Mediation Pedagogy Conference.

Professors Lawrence Susskind (MIT) and Michael Wheeler (Harvard Business School) are pleased to announce a Mediation Pedagogy Conference to be held by Negotiation Pedagogy at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (NP@PON). This two-day Conference will be held Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16, 2009, on the campus … read more »

Director
James K. Sebenius

Founder and Director Emeritus
Roger Fisher

Associate Director
Daniel L. Shapiro

Global Negotiation
William Ury, Director
Joshua Weiss, Associate Director

Distinguished Fellow
Bruce Patton

Fellow
Jason Cheng Qian

Senior Adviser
Mark Gordon

Affiliates
Sheila Heen
Douglas Stone

The Project, or HNP as it is commonly known, was created in 1979 and was one of the founding organizations of the Program on Negotiation consortium. The work of faculty, staff, and students associated with HNP routinely … read more »

Families in business, whether pre- or post- a major liquidity event, often face difficult family and business conflicts over sharing assets, family participation and roles, operational decisions, inheritance, etc. Professor Peppet will focus on the skills and perspective that dispute resolution professionals can bring to such families, and on the common pitfalls that a “dispute resolution” mindset may create when … read more »

In August 2008, Sage published a four volume set entitled Multiparty Negotiation edited by Susskind and Larry Crump. They will also co-edit a special issue of the Journal of Conflict Management Research that will reprint the introductory and summary articles from the Sage collection. The first volume of the set deals with the interdisciplinary foundations of multi-party negotiation theory. The … read more »

Susskind and Herman Karl, Co-Director of the MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative (MUSIC) have finalized a contract with the U.S. Department of the Interior that will support the training of eight MIT graduate students each year for the next three years in collaborative environmental management — particularly adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Building on the many books, articles … read more »

A team of Harvard Law School, MIT and Harvard Divinity School students has prepared a series of papers on “Using Traditional Peace-making in Navajo Nation to Address Land and Natural Resource Management Disputes.” With support from the Program on Negotiation, PDP has built a long-term relationship with the indigenous peacemakers in Navajo Nation. Harvard Law School’s Clinical Program … read more »

Dan Shapiro was featured in a New York Times article by Steven Kurutz on how to haggle for furniture at New York’s high-end showrooms…

Before I began, I had to overcome a stumbling block: I’d never haggled in any retail store and wasn’t sure how to go about it. Like many people, I don’t relish negotiating, especially when it involves money. … read more »