Public Dispute Resolution

Consulting and Assistance

PUBLIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION ASSISTANCE FOR N.C. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government offers assistance to elected and appointed officials in resolving public disputes. The School’s services include:

• Consulting on public disputes. The School can help evaluate different options for addressing a public issue, including task forces, public meetings, mediation, facilitation and other techniques to assist parties in productively resolving their disputes. Individual concerns about situations of mistrust, high emotions, and how to negotiate/problem-solve more effectively can be addressed confidentially.
• Locating mediators and facilitators. The School can provide mediation and facilitation of public disputes to a limited extent. We can help secure services from local mediation centers, councils of government and other impartial providers.
• Teaching. The School offers short courses on managing conflict collaboratively, and facilitative leadership. We work with NC government agencies to provide or broker training in negotiation, mediation, and stakeholder consensus-building techniques focused on inter-governmental or community issues.
• Providing a clearinghouse of information. The Guidebook to Public Dispute Resolution in North Carolina, identifies the benefits and limitations of using mediators in public disputes, includes case summaries of NC public disputes, guidelines for selecting an impartial third party, and a directory of potential public dispute mediators and facilitators. There is an online index to examples of facilitation and mediation in North Carolina and across the United States: http://www.sog.unc.edu/programs/dispute/cases.htm

For more information, contact:

Dr. John B. Stephens
Coordinator, Public Dispute Resolution Program
School of Government
Campus Box 3330, Knapp-Sanders Building
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330
(919) 962-5190 – voice   (919) 962-2705 – fax
stephens@sog.unc.edu
http://www.ncpdr.unc.edu

FRAMEWORK FOR CONFLICT ASSESSMENT

Updated April 2000
John B. Stephens
Institute of Government, UNC-Chapel Hill
© Institute of Government 2000

1. Parties (a constituency and their spokesperson(s) or representatives)

2. Issues

3. Relationship between parties

4. Positions

5. Interests

6. Resources for pursuing the conflict

Definitions of Terms for Assessing Conflicts

1. Party: A person, group or organization that is involved in a conflict. A party has a stake in the outcome of the conflict, i.e., the conflict affects what they want or what they wish to avoid. "Parties" are also called "disputants" and sometimes "stakeholders."

Constituency: the formal or informal group of people for whom a party seeks to help through advocacy, negotiation or other means. Examples: a parent acting on behalf of his/her child, a religious leader representing members of a church. Spokesperson(s) or representative(s) - The person or people acting on behalf of a party in a conflict. Representatives have the authority to negotiate, commit others in the organization to an agreement, or take other actions to influence the conflict. A spokesperson usually can only make commitments after checking with the leader(s) of the party.

2. Issues: the topics on which parties have different positions.

Examples: the appropriate level of funding for a program; requirements for issuing a permit;

Important: how issues are defined makes a big difference in thinking about potential solutions. Issues can range from material resources, to people's behavior, attitudes, or feelings. Issues can be linked together (e.g., certain issues have to be settled in sequence), or as separate concerns. Issues can change over time.

3. Relationship between the parties

How have past interactions affected the views of the parties?

Is the relationship set by law, tradition or only defined by the particular conflict?

How formal and fixed, or informal and flexible, is the relationship?

Does one side have more power? If so, what kind of power?

Factors that define parties' relationships include: proximity; work/financial links; characteristics such as race, gender or ethnicity; professional specialty.

4. Position: a specific request, proposal or demand.

The "what" of disputants' claims or needs. The amount, level, rule or other particular, detailed part of what disputants' want.

Examples: A 6% pay increase. Issue the permit without restrictions. Locate the halfway house away from my home.

5. Interest: the goal(s) or reason(s) behind a position.

The "why" of disputants' claims or needs. The need, objective, desire or general wish of what disputants' want.

Examples: A 6% pay increase in order to pay higher child care costs. Issue the permit without restrictions to begin construction quickly. Concern about safety and posible effects on property values from having a halfway house near one's home.

Usually there is more than one position that can satisfy an interest. Similarly, a particular position may relate to more than one underlying interest.

6. Resources: the kinds of things that can be used to pursue a conflict.

Examples: money; people (e.g., number of members in a group, allies who vote together, or special relationships); appeals to moral standards; expertise or information; a formal position of authority; access to publicity and the media.