European Mediation Conference, Belfast

April 2008

What became abundantly clear to those involved was how important “process” is in a multi party mediation. It is all too easy to jump straight to the substance and issues without having some ground rules or a road map to help reach resolution. The issue of process was more contentious than anyone had realised it would be, and people found it difficult to step away from their agenda to allow them to consider how they were going to reach solutions.

One of the reasons for the importance of a clearly defined process was the uncertainty as to who each group actually represented. It was clear that a group with a specific label may have very diverse agendas. Indeed it is possible that an individual could be a stakeholder in several of the different categories.

It became abundantly clear that the agreement of a clear process is a key step in any mediation, but even more so in the situations where clear objectives can help to build rapport between those with a multiplicity of different backgrounds and agendas.

Gavin Davies, Legal Adviser with Standard Life Employee Services Limited