Economic Development

Harvard Consensus Building and Group Process Training
Harvard Law School
Posted: 05-11-2010

Description
The Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinic, in conjunction with Delta Directions
Consortium and the Tri-County Workforce Alliance, offered a two-day course entitled “Harvard Consensus Building Workshop” on Friday, May 7th and Saturday, May, 8th in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

In this program, participants learned the best practices of Clarksdale community leaders, as well as some new techniques and strategies for building consensus around an initiative. The workshop was very interactive, with multiple negotiation exercises. Participants also received materials including a handbook that they can use to train other groups and future leaders.

This training followed up on a session held last fall entitled “Harvard Negotiation Basics” and covered more advanced material related to multi-party negotiations and consensus building. The Consensus Building Training was created specifically for the Clarksdale-Coahoma County community based on a series of interviews conducted with community leaders from the local community.

Objectives
1) Interview local community leaders to learn about best practices in consensus building and community development, as well as any barriers to consensus building

2) Prepare and implement training for community leaders and other interested individuals about these best practices and other suggestions for consensus building and group decision making

3) Disseminate materials to help future leaders in Clarksdale/Coahoma County and other communities to succeed in consensus building efforts

Dates
Beginning: 01-25-2010
Ending: 05-08-2010

Status
Ongoing