“He had long ago stopped believing that he brought the solutions to a place’s woes, but he had grown masterful at asking the questions that helped reveal constructive ideas.”
—Samantha Power’s description of Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General
You’re not talking!
Conflict, politics, contradictory information, distrust. Truly constructive negotiations don’t happen easily under these conditions. An independent mediator can facilitate talks, handle tensions, and reach agreements under challenging circumstances.
CDR’s team of experienced mediators works in the middle of controversy, whether resolving a development conflict, an ethnic dispute, or a water war. From the precarious center, we search for ways to help others:
- Bridge deep and bitter divides
- Craft fair, long-lasting solutions
- Obtain equitable benefits, dignity, and justice.
We also recognize that people usually know best how to solve their problems. Rather than providing answers we pose the big questions, design a roadmap, and help you discover “your” best ideas.
We lend hard-won insights learned from decades of experience mediating hundreds of disputes to your unique situation. Having mediated in more than sixty countries, we are particularly well versed in assisting groups from different cultural, professional, technical, and organizational backgrounds when building trust and promoting effective working relationships are central to bringing the conflict to closure.
Our fundamental belief in the wisdom of the group, our independence, our understanding of technical issues, our expertise with tough problems, and our ability to gain the trust and respect of the people who sit at the table make us well suited for the job.
CDR mediation services provide:
- An independent, objective third party without decision making authority who can talk to all actors
- A process road map for settlement based on ongoing input from stakeholders
- Well organized deliberations
- Proven practices to smooth relations, reduce tension, and promote trust and respect between groups with long-standing and volatile conflicts
- Masterful questions that help reveal wise ideas
- Joint fact finding to promote shared understanding of technical information and mutual learning
- Tools and techniques for generating options and reaching closure
- Expertise in working from the center of controversy for the benefit of all
- Commitment to principled neutrality and a professional code of mediator ethics
Examples of CDR mediation services:
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison federal resources water rights negotiation
- Mediation between groups in professional schools, university departments, and secondary schools
- Organizational professional practice disputes including conflicts within law firms and medical practices
- Republican River Interstate Compact Negotiations
