Bipartisan solutions start with engagement in productive conversations, aiming to understand each other’s priorities and a willingness to find common ground. With this in mind, Partnership for a Secure America is excited to kick off its third round of the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program, integrating new methods, case studies, and simulations into the curriculum designed specifically […]
Bipartisan solutions start with engagement in productive conversations, aiming to understand each other’s priorities and a willingness to find common ground. With this in mind, Partnership for a Secure America is excited to kick off its third round of the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program, integrating new methods, case studies, and simulations into the curriculum designed specifically for Capitol Hill audiences.
This joint program with Harvard trains congressional staff in legislative negotiation skills and strategies during two 1.5 day courses. Unlike previous training programs, this iteration is handcrafted specifically for Congressional staff to directly connect negotiation lessons to their unique workplace. Taking place this summer, the first course will use new materials designed by the Harvard Kennedy School to teach the participants legislative negotiation techniques and how such lessons can be applied to their work in the legislative arena every day. Upon the completion of the fundamentals course, the staffers will participate in an advanced lesson this winter.
The participants in the program include individuals from both sides of the aisle in both the House and the Senate.
As a joint program with the Harvard Kennedy School, the Negotiation Program is made possible in part to the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Madison Initiative, a nonpartisan initiative supports organizations that foster bipartisan problem-solving, strive to strengthen Congress as an institution, improve campaign finance, and set the stage for negotiation and compromise in Congress.
On August 7th and 8th, the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program met for the first course in fundamentals in the Library of Congress. Training was led by Brian Mandell, Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project, and Bruce Patton, Distinguished Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project.
Featuring:
Bruce Patton- Distinguished Fellow of the Kennedy School Negotiation Project
Instruction:
The first session covered the application of negotiation techniques to the high-stakes legislative environment. Participants explored how to strategically prepare for negotiations and leverage alternative methods of communication. Instructors also evaluated examples of significant historical negotiations at the state, federal, and international level.
Featuring:
Brian Mandell- Director of Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project
Breakout Sessions:
Throughout the program, participants applied course content to legislative simulations. Staffers divided into bipartisan groups to practice negotiation techniques in a series of guided simulations, each varying in complexity of issues addressed and in the number of parties represented.
On December 13th, Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, met with alumni of the Congressional Partnership Program for an off-the-record dinner, where she discussed today’s foreign policy and national security issues.
This was a closed event for alumni of the Congressional Partnership Program.
Madeleine K. Albright is Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. Dr. Albright was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States.
In 1997, she was named the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. As Secretary of State, Dr. Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated for democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade, business, labor, and environmental standards abroad. From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Albright served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was a member of the President’s Cabinet. From 1989 to 1992, she served as President of the Center for National Policy. Previously, she was a member of President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Council and White House staff and served as Chief Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie.
Dr. Albright is a Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She chairs both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Pew Global Attitudes Project and serves as president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. Dr. Albright serves on the Boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Institute and the Center for a New American Security. In 2009, Dr. Albright was asked by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to Chair a Group of Experts focused on developing NATO’s New Strategic Concept.
Dr. Albright is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir, (2003); The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006); Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership (2008); and Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box (2009).
Dr. Albright received a B.A. with Honors from Wellesley College, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Columbia University’s Department of Public Law and Government, as well as a Certificate from its Russian Institute.
June 13— In the final session of the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program, Robert Bordone, Director of the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinic, reviewed the skills and steps discussed throughout the program and participants presented their final projects to the class. Throughout the program, participants have been working together in small groups made up of House and Senate staffers from both parties to identify possible solutions to a foreign policy or national security problem of their choosing.
During their presentations, the groups discussed their negotiation processes, highlighting what went well, where they ran into problems, and how they overcame them.
Robert Bordone is the Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Founding Director of the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program. He teaches several courses at Harvard Law School including the school’s flagship Negotiation Workshop. Bob also teaches in the Harvard Negotiation Institute and the Harvard Program on Negotiation’s Senior Executive Education seminars.
In 2007, Bob received The Albert Sacks-Paul Freund Teaching Award at Harvard Law School, presented annually to a member of the Harvard Law School faculty for teaching excellence, mentorship of students, and general contributions to the life of the Law School. He was a finalist for the same award in 2012 and 2013. In 2010 the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) awarded Bob its Problem Solving in the Law School Curriculum Award for his innovative work in creating and building the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program. In 2012 and 2013, Bob was selected by the graduating class as one of three Harvard Law School faculty members to deliver a “Last Lecture” to the class prior to graduation.
On April 25th, Dr. Brian Mandell returned to the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program to continue his discussion of negotiation skills. Mandell focused on active listening and emphasized the new school approach to negotiations.
The session consisted of a presentation on negotiation skills and best practices, and also highlighted negotiation mistakes. After the lecture, participants broke into small groups to come to a resolution on foreign policy and national security issues that they face today.
Brian S. Mandell is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Chair of the Wexner-Israel Fellowship Program, and Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project. His teaching and research address the theory and practice of negotiation, emphasizing third-party facilitation and consensus building in domestic and international protracted policy disputes. He writes about contentious disputes and is completing a book on scenario planning for conflict managers and negotiation practitioners. Before coming to Harvard, Brian Mandell taught at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa. Previously, he was a strategic analyst for the Canadian Department of National Defense, specializing in UN peacekeeping and the implementation of arms control agreements. A Pew Faculty Fellow, a faculty member at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation (PON) and at the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership (CPL), as well as a Senior Research Associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Brian Mandell holds a PhD from the University of Toronto.
On March 10, Mr. Jonathan Burks, National Security Advisor to the Speaker of the House, and Mr. John Rigther, Deputy Staff Director, Senate Committee on Health, Education, and Labor (HELP), Minority Staff, met with participants in the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program to discuss negotiating the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In this off-the-record dinner, Burks and Rigther discussed their role behind the scenes and lessons learned from negotiating this bipartisan bill, also known as the Murray-Ryan Budget.
Mr. Jonathan Burks is the national security advisor to the Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan. During his nearly two decades in public policy, he has been the policy advisor for budget and appropriations issues to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the policy director for the House Budget Committee, the deputy policy director for the Romney for President campaign, the director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the senior advisor (chief of staff) to the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, a special assistant to the President of the United States, a deputy assistant to the Vice President of the United States, and a policy analyst on the House Republican Policy Committee.
Mr. John Rigther is the deputy staff director of the Democratic staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, a position he has held since January 2015. In this position, he supervises a staff of 50 to 60 employees and helps oversee a broad and diverse portfolio of domestic policy programs and issues. Prior to his current position, he was the deputy staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, a position he held from 2005 through January 2015, serving two Chairs. In that role, he supervised a staff of 30 employees; helped formulate and enforce the annual budget resolution; and advised the Chairman on budget and procedural issues. From 2001 through 2005, he was an analyst for the Senate Budget Committee, with a portfolio that included general government, commerce and housing credit, and appropriations issues. Prior to his employment in the Senate, Mr. Righter worked for six years as an analyst with the Congressional Budget Office.
On the evening of February 1 participants in the Harvard PON-PSA Negotiation Program convened to hear from Dr. Brian Mandell, Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project. Dr. Mandell focused his presentation on small group negotiation dynamics and the process of developing a “negotiation note card.” After Mandell’s lecture, program participants negotiated through another simulation, discussed their results, and then broke into small groups to discuss and negotiate over issue areas that occupy their time on a daily basis.
Brian S. Mandell is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Chair of the Wexner-Israel Fellowship Program, and Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project. His teaching and research address the theory and practice of negotiation, emphasizing third-party facilitation and consensus building in domestic and international protracted policy disputes. He writes about contentious disputes and is completing a book on scenario planning for conflict managers and negotiation practitioners. Before coming to Harvard, Brian Mandell taught at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa. Previously, he was a strategic analyst for the Canadian Department of National Defense, specializing in UN peacekeeping and the implementation of arms control agreements. A Pew Faculty Fellow, a faculty member at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation (PON) and at the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership (CPL), as well as a Senior Research Associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Brian Mandell holds a PhD from the University of Toronto.
November 9, 2015 Professor James Sebenius joined PSA to expand on principles and concepts of negotiation that David Lax outlined in the day-long refresher session in October.
James K. Sebenius specializes in analyzing and advising on complex negotiations. He holds the Gordon Donaldson Professorship of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Formerly on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Sebenius also currently serves as Vice Chair and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School. At PON, he chairs the University’s annual Great Negotiator Award program, which has intensively engaged with negotiators such as Richard Holbrooke, Lakdhar Brahimi, George Mitchell, and Bruce Wasserstein. He also co-directs a project to extensively interview all former U.S. Secretaries of State—as of January 2016, including James Baker, George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, and Colin Powell—about their most challenging negotiations.
On Sunday, October 18 participants in the 2015/2016 PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program convened for a day-long refresher course administered by Prof. David Lax, Distinguished Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project and Managing Principal of consulting firm Lax Sebenius LLC. The session provided refresher training to those staffers who participated in last year’s program and served as a “crash course” in basic negotiating skills for newcomers to the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program.
David Lax is Managing Principal of Lax Sebenius LLC, a firm that assists companies and governments in complex negotiations and competitive bidding. Dr. Lax was a professor at the Harvard Business School and in 1982, he co-founded the Negotiation Roundtable, an ongoing forum in which hundreds of negotiations have been examined to extract their most valuable lessons. He currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project and teaches in the Advanced Negotiation workshop of the Harvard Negotiation Institute.