Training the United Nations Development Program
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Case Background
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the leading organization within the UN dedicated to promoting national development and to eradicating poverty. UNDP staff are on the ground in 166 countries around the world, working to promote human development through partnerships with national government counterparts, national civil society partners, and international agencies and donors. In addition, UNDP plays a special coordinating role within the United Nations system, promoting UN Reform and aligning the objectives and activities of a diverse set of UN agencies on the ground.
As a result of this mandate, UNDP staff play a unique role in international development negotiations – helping to forge a common development agenda among diverse actors, and marshalling the resources and expertise of partners to be applied to national development challenges. UNDP staff are engaged every day in high-stakes negotiations over complex issues in challenging environments – from HIV/AIDS eradication, to national infrastructure development projects, to supporting national partners in the provision of education and health services.
CBI Approach
For the past several years, CBI has partnered with the UNDP to build the negotiation capacity of UNDP staff stationed all over the world. Through a customized, on-line training course, UNDP staff learn the Mutual Gains Approach to negotiation – a systematic framework for achieving optimal negotiation results when relationships matter – and then apply that approach through relevant case examples, reflections on their own professional experience, and a tailor-designed simulation. Participants work through the on-line modules and submit responses to CBI instructors, who provide individualized feedback.
Outcomes
The CBI Advanced Negotiation Course has become one of the most popular professional development opportunities offered by the UNDP. To date, more than 400 UNDP staff have completed the course and reported substantial improvements in their abilities to negotiate effectively in fulfillment of the UNDP mission.
Recently, at the request of UNDP and the UN Staff College, CBI provided face-to-face training in Negotiation and Strategic Leadership to the UN’s incoming Resident Coordinators – the new class of Heads of Mission of UN country presences. CBI also recently adapted the on-line course to serve UNDP’s national government counterparts on a pilot basis, with plans for expansion in 2007.
For more information on CBI’s experience with international agencies, please contact Managing Director David Fairman.
