The PON Clearinghouse offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises. Rockwell Quarry is a five-party, multi-issue negotiation among elected officials, property owners, and a gravel company over a permit for a gravel quarry in a recreationally valuable canyon.
The Rockwell Quarry Complex Environmental Negotiation is a five-party, multi-issue simulation that allows students to negotiate a struggle between property rights and quality of life issues surrounding the permitting of a gravel quarry in a scenic and recreationally valuable canyon along the Front Range of Colorado. The simulation epitomizes a struggle that is occurring throughout the American West. The game is designed for groups of five, but it can also be played with a facilitator in a sixth role.
The game highlights the following issues:
- The complexity of technical and financial information;
- Inventing options in a complex environment;
- Turning or tipping points that shift negotiation dynamics;
- Accountability when one party possesses important yet confidential information that constrains options;
- Compensation that enables parties to leverage resources and bring in outside issues;
- Coalitions that shift when turning and tipping points emerge;
- The dynamic role of the “honest broker.”
The game also highlights the basic tenets of interest-based negotiation, with an emphasis on the complexity of players’ BATNAs.
To purchase this role simulation, click here.
