Intro
This set of material is designed to teach negotiation concepts using public sector context. They were created to help current and future city officials build capacity through analysis and practice of negotiation skills, particularly applied to relevant scenarios that include other local officials, state officials, private sector actors, and/or citizen groups.
Each of the six cases focuses on different negotiation concepts, starting with fundamental ideas such as the Best Possible Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) and building in complexity up to multi-party negotiation.
These cases can be used sequentially in a curriculum or as individual, standalone cases for specific learning objectives.
Cases:
1. In the Weeds: Securing a Grass-mowing Contract in Stockton, California
Concepts: BATNA, ZOPA, anchoring, reservation, and target points
2. You Get What You Pay for: Reforming Procurement in Naperville, Illinois
Concepts: distributive vs. integrative: pros and cons, application of each
3. Many Ways to Get There: Securing Public Investments in Richmond, Virginia
Concepts: creating and claiming value; interest-based bargaining
4. Beyond the Table: Infrastructure Development in Kampala, Uganda
Concepts: stages of negotiation: set, manage, close (3-D Negotiation Framework)
Concepts: balancing power, institutionalized/formal vs. informal power; building power
6. In the Green: Negotiating Rail Expansion in Somerville, Massachusetts
Concepts: multi-party complexities, coalitions, spoilers, process, sequencing