Negotiation in Practice
From the beginning, NCRC was built on a conviction that the best negotiation theory is only as valuable as its ability to travel — and that the journey runs both ways. When we bring our frameworks and findings into the field, we don’t just deliver tools; we come back better informed. What practitioners teach us about what works, what breaks down, and what the frameworks miss finds its way back into our classrooms, our cases, and our research. Some of our most important work happens at exactly that intersection — working directly with people who are facing live, high-stakes challenges and who need something they can use now, in the context they’re already in.
What We Do
NCRC brings the theory and practice of negotiation directly to organizations, institutions, and communities navigating complex, contested challenges.
This work takes several forms. We work closely with Harvard Executive Education on open-enrollment and custom programs, including the “Negotiation Strategies” course offered twice a year: once virtually and once on campus at HKS. We design and facilitate custom workshops and trainings for teams and organizations working through high-stakes decisions, internal conflicts, or multi-stakeholder negotiations. We host sessions for leaders as they think through their difficult negotiations – past, present, and future. We convene diverse groups across lines of difference and help them build the shared language and processes they need to make progress together. And we work with organizations seeking to build sustainable internal capacity for navigating conflict constructively.
Who We Work With
Our outside work has taken us across sectors and borders. We have worked with pro-democracy movements navigating transition and transformation. With conflict transformation practitioners operating on the ground in some of the world’s most fractured societies. With U.S. legislators — from state houses to Congress — seeking to find workable ground across deep partisan divides. With national and international civil society organizations working with underserved and underrepresented communities. With youth climate activists working to accelerate their countries’ progress on emissions and environmental justice. And with global networks of executives and leaders navigating the complex negotiations that define their organizations’ futures.
What these folks have in common is not a sector or a geography, but the challenges they face: they are trying to work effectively with others across real complexity, difference, competing interests, and histories of distrust. And they are looking for tools that work in the real world, not just in theory.
You might be a good fit for this work if your team or organization is:
Facing a high-stakes negotiation, conflict, or decision where the process matters as much as the outcome
Working across deep disagreement — whether internal or external — and looking for tools to make progress
Trying to build lasting internal capacity for navigating conflict and complexity more constructively
Operating in a context where standard approaches aren’t working, and you’re looking for something more tailored
Curious about whether the frameworks and research coming out of Harvard can help your team work better together
Get in Touch
If your organization is facing a challenge where better negotiation might help, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to our team at collaboratory@hks.harvard.edu to start the conversation.