Successful transport decision-making - Osmose

FS 29: Third party mediation and negotiation
Vol 2 - Table of Contents
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T8
What is ‘mediation’?
Mediation is a conflict-resolving procedure that was developed
in the United States in the sixties and seventies and has been
successfully applied in many areas since then. Mediation or
'negotiation', tries to find a solution acceptable to all persons
involved. Important characteristics of mediation are:
Involvement of all conflicting parties;
Mediation is carried out by a neutral third party;
The participation of individuals is voluntarily and selfdetermined;
The purpose of negotiation is consensus-oriented, to find
possible compromise 'solutions';
The process is informal, and may replace or supplement
formal conflict procedures (e.g. legal proceedings); and
Mediation can take place within many types of forum (e.g.
round tables, workshops, working groups).
Why is ‘mediation’ useful and what
are the benefits?
Mediation can help to overcome the tendency in some
situations for the transport decision-making process to be 'onesided'.
It also encourages a more holistic view of problems and
can provide an equal balance of power through direct
involvement. Mediation helps:
Resolve differences without resorting to legal proceedings;
Facilitate agreement and address the primary concerns of
those involved;
Local residents and/or interested groups to work together
to smooth the implementation of a project;
Obtain agreement without an organisation imposing an
unpopular decision; and
Directly engage project opponents or organisations, as an
equal participant.
Aspects of successful ‘mediation’
To ensure successful mediation/negotiation proceedings, the
following conditions need to be satisfied:
The willingness of all participants to learn from the process
and to be self-critical;
Participants need to be open to negotiation and modification
of viewpoints;
All persons involved must be able to participate on an equal
basis;
In some cases it is helpful to make an expert advisory service
available to all the non-professional groups involved; and
Expert knowledge must be introduced into the discussion in
an understandable way.
Mediation may be helpful under a range of different circumstances.
The need for negotiation may not be evident until a highly explosive
situation has emerged, while at other times mediation might be used
to avoid potential conflict situations.
When should you use ‘mediation’?
Mediation is most effective when other less formal consensusbuilding
methods fail and the conflict cannot be easily
resolved, perhaps leading to the possibility of expensive and
time consuming legal procedures. The mediation process can
help to find amicable solutions which are agreeable to all the
different interest groups.
While the mediator helps to encourage all the interested
parties to agree to a 'solution', it is ultimately the responsibility
of the interest groups themselves to find the best way to
resolve their problems and to work out an acceptable
compromise solution.
NOTES
Mediation can be used to help resolve conflicts in almost every
field, including transport projects. However, more general
projects which are less specific or focussed (e.g. developing a
local transport plan), are less suitable topics for mediation,
which works best in the context of a well formulated transport
scheme, where the processes and outputs are clear to all.
Stakeholders agreeing on a direction forward.
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