Conflict resolution

Danida Fellowship Centre

– Conflict transformation course

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ideas2action has since 2013 organised the Danida Fellowship Centre course on conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Participants are MPs, civil servants and NGO staff from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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The objective is to enable participants to contribute to transformation of the conflicts they, their organisation or country face. For more information regarding the course please refer to https://dfcentre.com The next course is in December 2021.

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Conflict coaching

Conflict coaching is a set of skills and principles used to support conflicting parties’ ability to resolve conflict. The conflict coach works one-on-one with a coachee offering the coachee help to talk about the conflict with a neutral (or rather non-partial) third party, in order to better understand the dynamics of the conflict, consider options for resolving it, and design an approach to discuss the conflict with the other party or parties.

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The role of the third-party neutral is, unlike many conversations between a person in conflict and a third party non-neutral colleague or friend, not a matter of agreeing and showing that “you are friends” but a matter of helping one or both parties deescalating the conflict by asking questions and at times challenging the conflict story told by the coachee.

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Conflict coaching can be used as a stand-alone process in cases where the parties based on the coaching together manages to build contact and understanding and find useful solutions. If they do not succeed, mediation is often the natural next step. Conflict coaching elements can also be practiced with each of the parties in separate meetings leading up to or during mediation.

Conflict coaching is generally used after one or both of the parties have tried all options, they can think of in order to resolve the conflict but have failed. The conflict prevails. It is also used in situations where one of the parties feel emotionally unable to initiate a fruitful conflict resolution conversation with the other party or simply feels he or she lacks the necessary skills.

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In such circumstances, the conflict coach will be the confidential listener, facilitating the coachee to see the conflict from other perspectives, identifying new options, and come up with a plan of action to resolve the conflict. At times, the coachee is also helped to understand her own reactions, feelings and needs better. Finally, the coach can assist the coachee rehearse a conflict resolution conversation with the other party.

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Conflict coaching can take place face-to-face as well as online via MS Teams, Zoom etc.

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Mediaton

Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution methodology that unlike a more traditional juridical approach to conflict resolution seeks to help both or all parties obtain their goals. Thus, not creating a winner and a looser. It is not trying to identify who is right and who is wrong, and guilt, shame and punishment are not key concepts in mediation.

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Mediation is a voluntary and confidential conflict resolution methodology where an impartial third party assist the conflict parties identifying and negotiating their own solutions through a structured process. It generally aims at the parties both finding concrete and practical solutions to disagreements and challenges as well as repairing damaged emotional relations between them. Building bridges over divides.

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Ideas2action mediates between individuals and groups, in workplaces, housing areas and in families. Methodologically we generally take a facilitative approach to mediation but are also inspired by narrative mediation. When relevant we also combine mediation with other conflict resolutions activities like individual conflict coaching, developing a workplace’s code of conduct regarding conflict resolution and more.