Cluster 1

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.

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.

“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.

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).

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.