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  • simulation

    Greenhouse Gridlock (2 party)

    From positional horsetrading to creative problem-solving

    Greenhouse Gridlock is a two-party negotiation simulation to introduce fundamental negotiations concepts, and specifically the difference between positional bargaining and interest-based bargaining. In this fictionalized simulation, two country representatives are aiming to find an agreement on how often to report greenhouse gas emissions, a critical issue reflecting real-world dynamics in global climate governance throughout the early-mid 2000s.

  • simulation

    Greenhouse Gridlock (3 party)

    From positional horsetrading to creative problem-solving

    Greenhouse Gridlock is a simulation designed to introduce and enable participants to practice fundamental concepts in negotiations including in particular the different dynamics of positional and interest-bargaining that aims for creative resolution of differences. As a three-party exercise, it also introduces coalition dynamics. The simulation challenges participants to look beneath seemingly incompatible positions, to identify shared interests.

  • exercise

    Partnership against Plastic Pollution

    Understand basic coalitional dynamics

    Partnership against Plastic Pollution is a chameleon exercise in that it can be used for a variety of purposes: It can be used at the beginning of a training to get people used to role plays, it can be used after discussing two-party negotiations to introduce multiparty negotiations, or it can be used to explore specific concepts around coalition-building, fairness, power, and/or the need for process management in negotiations (and specifically in multiparty contexts).

  • exercise

    What’s up with Coal?

    Listen well and ask good questions to really understand them…

    What’s up with coal is a simple two- or three-party exercise that focusses on the capacity to cultivate understanding across differences. Each party receives a short briefing that captures environmental and economic considerations of each of those countries or group with regards to a coal phaseout. The three countries/groups have fundamentally different perspectives backed up by specific interests and deep-seated beliefs about what it just and fair.

  • case

    Towards a New Climate Alliance: The Cartagena Dialogue

    Creating informal learning spaces to develop new ideas and strategize to get them into the formal process

    After the spectacular failure of the Copenhagen COP, an informal alliance across traditional coalitions formed to explore better solutions. The case highlights principles of effective diplomacy through following the story of its formation, how the groups developed the norms to facilitate better dialogue and exploration, and the strategies they pursued to change outcomes.

  • case

    Bad COP and Not Much “Hopenhagen”

    The tricky challenge of managing a good negotiation process when many parties negotiate many issues

    This case tells the story of the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit highlighting the critical nature of strong process management for negotiations. It describes how secretive negotiations and the neglect of multilateral norms lead to distrust and ultimately a diplomatic disaster, despite the possibility for substantive agreement.

  • case

    From the Copenhagen Disaster to the Cartagena Dialogue: Crafting a New Climate Alliance

    Influencing outcomes by navigating the formal and informal process

    This case study explores pivotal moments in international climate negotiations, focusing on the ill-fated Copenhagen COP and the subsequent formation of an informal alliance. Despite high expectations, the Copenhagen summit ended in a diplomatic disaster. A key contributor to the failure was poor process management and the reliance on what was perceived as exclusive, behind-the-scenes negotiations.

  • case

    Sequencing for Sequestering Negotiating REDD+

    Strategize to build a deal-driving coalition

    This case focusses on effective coalition-building, with a focus on effective sequencing to build winning coalitions and block counter-coalitions. Participants practice the actionable skill of constructing an effective stakeholder map. The case can be taught with a short extension that focusses on multi-issue complexity. The case can also be taught together with a “multi-issue” extension lasting an additional 30 minutes.

  • simulation

    Disaster in Tuvalu

    Everyone answers to someone…on negotiating on behalf of others

    Disaster in Tuvalu is a two-round negotiation simulation to introduce concepts of crafting mandates and navigating the tensions inherent when negotiating on behalf of someone else. The simulation’s structure allows participants to experience both internal negotiations and subsequently external negotiations. They must come to an agreement based on instructions that were drafted by a different team.

  • exercise

    Positioning for a Position Paper

    Create value by knowing how important different aspects are for you and for them

    “Positioning for a position paper” is a short simulation to introduce basic techniques of preparation and negotiation to effectively trade across issues. Participants practice managing the complexity that arises by negotiating several issues. They first need to understand how important various issues are to the different negotiators and then practice making mutually beneficial trades by leveraging the fact that different parties want things with different importance.

  • simulation

    Finding the right words for COP28

    Deploy thy words carefully & facilitate effectively

    Finding the right words for COP28 is a 6-7 party negotiation exercise that introduces participants to the complexities of facilitated negotiations in a formal setting. The exercise can be used for a variety of different purposes and teaching points depending on the specific purpose, that the instructor wishes to emphasize. It can be used to introduce complexities that arise in multi-party and multi-issue negotiations such as coalition building and management, process structure and management, and making trades across priorities.

  • exercise

    Funding the Future

    Cultivate composure when things get tense

    Funding the Future is a simple two party exercise that help participants navigate difficult interactions and strong emotions and understanding what might produce them. In this exercise two parties with vastly different perspectives, with one party in an intense emotional state engage have to navigate a conversation. If participants showcase understanding, learning, and acknowledging the other side’s perspective, participants will find a basis for a potential future agreement.

  • other

    Gender and Negotiations

    How do gender and other status-linked identities show up in negotiations?

    Hannah Riley Bowles, an expert and renowned research on gender intersectionality and negotiations, explores when gender differences arise in negotiations and what organizations and individuals can do about it.

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