Negotiating on the Frontlines

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

1. Analyse Complex Environments: Develop your ability to critically analyse political and social environments during public health and other humanitarian crises, identifying key stakeholders, their positions, interests, and the broader context influencing the negotiation process.
2. Strategic Planning and Facilitation: Design and implement a robust plan for professional dialogues on high-stake, contentious issues, incorporating strategic vision and tactical approaches to achieve constructive outcomes.
3. Negotiation Frameworks: Understand and apply various conceptual frameworks for complex negotiations, including transactional, relational, and adversarial models, tailored to specific contexts and relationships.
4. Interpersonal Skills and Tension Management: Enhance interpersonal skills to navigate challenging relationships, employing contemporary tools and methods to manage tensions, de-escalate conflicts, and perform effectively under pressure.
5. Practical Application and Reflection: Leverage insights from seasoned practitioners through experiential learning, simulations, and group work, enabling students to confidently engage in face-to-face negotiations with difficult counterparts and reflect on their personal development and capabilities.

This experiential course is designed to equip participants with essential negotiation skills and tools needed to navigate complex and adversarial environments.

The course is divided in 10 modules over 2 weeks:

1. Engaging with Difficult Counterparts
2. Negotiation Models in Policy Environments
3. Context Analysis and Search for Common Shared Space
4. Stakeholder mapping and influence exercises
5. Value Proposition and Scenario Development
6. Building trust and fostering legitimacy
7. De-escalation techniques in adversarial relationships
8. Mandate Design
9. Risk management exercises
10. Enhancing Negotiation Success

• Full price: CHF 1’700
• Partner rate (MSF, ICRC): CHF 1’360 (20% discount) 
• Special Rate: CHF 850. Available exclusively to nationals or staff from local/national NGOs, CBOs, government, INGOs, or IOs in low/middle-income countries (OECD DAC list) with salaries aligned to local living costs. Proof required.
• Application form for partial tuition waivers
• No scholarships are available.

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a Swiss or foreign university 
• At least three years of relevant professional experience 
• Excellent command of English* 
• *Documents and language requirements for Executive Short Courses

• CV (Resume) 
• Cover letter (explaining what is the reason why you apply for this course and how will the acquired skills help you in your career) 
• Employer’s funding agreement, if applicable 
• Partial tuition fee waiver form, if applicable 
• Highest educational qualification obtained 
• Work certificate or official document of your current job position 
• Proof of English language competence to be dated less than 2 years (see details below) 
• Portrait photo (ID format) 
• Scanned copy of the passport

More information about the application process is available on our admissions page. 

Please consult our cancellation policy.