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.

President Obama’s healthcare reform game plan is classic “3-D Negotiation,” a strategy developed at the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

We have no idea whether the President or his aides are students of the Harvard approach, as set out by Prof. James K. Sebenius, vice chair of the Program on Negotiation, and co-author David Lax, in their book “3-D Negotiation” (Harvard Business … 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 »

Dr. Rebecca Wolfe is a Senior Program Officer with Mercy Corps Conflict Management Group. She is responsible for developing and implementing conflict management programs, including writing proposals, designing assessments, conducting evaluations and designing and delivering trainings. Since joining Mercy Corps, she has spent the majority of her time working in Asia, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan and Indonesia. She is … read more »

Join the Program on Negotiation for a discussion on major challenges facing the U.S. as it tries to improve relations with key Muslim countries embroiled in regional conflicts. Key questions include whether and how to negotiate with armed non-state groups, how to engage effectively with fractious and failing governments, and how to manage influential constituencies within the U.S. who may … read more »

Panelists will discuss the negotiation challenges presented by the banking crisis, GM’s restructuring, and the policy making process.

Moderator:
Robert Mnookin, Chair of the Program on Negotiation and Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School

Panelists:
Howell Jackson, Acting Dean and Professor, Harvard Law School
Robert Pozen, Chairman of MFS Investment Management and Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business … 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 »

The quality of our democracy presumably rests on the deliberations we are able to promote and sustain among individuals and groups with contending interests and views. The responsiveness of our elected and appointed officials also presumably hinges on our ability to involve a wide range of stakeholders in policy-making and a range of administrative processes. To the … read more »

Another round of global climate change negotiations (following the Kyoto Protocol) will begin in 2009 in Copenhagen. New rounds of negotiations regarding possible changes in dozens of global environmental agreements are also planned in the coming year. The “system” of global environmental treaty-making is still in a rather primitive form. There is much we can do to help enhance … read more »