The NCBI Controversial Issue Process trains leaders to deal constructively with tough conflicts, enabling them to move disputing parties toward future cooperation. The NCBI Controversial Issue Process provides a structured methodology that allows people on both sides of an entrenched issue to express their concerns, to listen attentively to the other side, and then to reframe the issue in a way that respectfully takes into account the concerns of both sides. The NCBI Controversial Issue Process gives leaders a way to take on some of the most heated contemporary controversies, including abortion rights, capital punishment, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, environmental policy, and assisted suicide. Discussing these issues is often difficult for even the most seasoned leaders, because the questions they raise challenge core cultural and religious beliefs.
NCBI can also work with organizations and community groups that are in the midst of a particularly difficult controversy. We can either train an internal resource team to lead the NCBI Controversial Issue Process, or we can send a team of experienced NCBI staff members to lead the process. NCBI Controversial Issue Process teaches a set of skills that are essential for effective conflict resolution:listening to and repeating back each side's concerns, formulating questions that elicit more information, recognizing the "emotional ring" in the issues presented, welcoming personal stories that explain the underlying significance of each side's position, mapping out points of agreement as well as disagreement, and then reframing the issue in a way that allows the disputing parties to find common ground.
The skills that the NCBI Controversial Issue Process teaches are applicable to every conflict situation, whether the controversy involves a labor-management dispute, a clash between different neighborhood groups, or a quarrel among family members.
The NCBI at LSU team is made possible through the hard work and dedication of the LSU Office of Diversity, the Office of the Dean of Students, and Campus Life, some academic colleges, and several campus departments.
Hosted by: National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI)
Additional Information can be found at: lsu.campuslabs.com/engage/event/3200222