Negotiation skills for field staff
A plain guide to negotiation for NGO field staff: prepare, find interests behind positions, build options, know your limits, and keep relationships intact.
Short answer
Negotiation is working with another party to reach an agreement both can accept. Prepare your objectives and limits, find out the other side's interests behind their stated position, look for several options, use fair standards, and keep the relationship respectful. Know when to stop and ask your manager, especially on access, safety or principles.
Key points
- Prepare before you talk: objectives, limits, and who you are talking to.
- Look for interests behind positions. They often fit together.
- Create options before you decide.
- Know your limits and when to refer to a manager.
- Protect the relationship. You will probably need this person again.
What is negotiation in field work?
Field staff negotiate every day. You may agree a venue with a local leader, a delivery date with a supplier, a distribution plan with a village committee, or access with an official. Negotiation is a conversation where two or more parties have different aims and work toward an agreement.
Good negotiation is not about winning. It is about reaching an agreement that holds in practice, protects people and keeps relationships workable for the next time.
This guide covers everyday negotiation. In armed conflict, negotiating access and protection is a specialised area. The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue handbook listed below gives more.
How do you prepare for a negotiation?
Most results are decided before the meeting. Use these steps.
- Define your objective. What exactly do you want? What is the minimum you can accept?
- Know your limits. Decide what you cannot agree to, such as anything that breaks your principles or puts staff or communities at risk. Agree this with your manager.
- Identify the right counterpart. Who can decide? Who influences them?
- Understand their interests. What do they need, fear or want to show others?
- Think of options. List several ways to meet both sets of needs.
- Plan the meeting. Who attends, where, in which language, and who speaks.
- Check safety. Make sure you can leave, and that someone knows where you are.
What is the difference between positions and interests?
The Humanitarian Negotiation handbook by Mancini-Griffoli and Picot, published by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, builds on the method in the book Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury. The key idea is to focus on interests, not positions. A position is what a party says it wants. An interest is the reason behind it. Positions are narrow, so they block creative solutions. Interests often leave room.
The handbook gives an example. The organisation asks to assess three villages. The other side says no. The organisation's interest is concern about reports of people in need. The other side's interest is that military exercises are going on in the area. One option that meets both: the assessment is carried out two days later.
You can use the same thinking in daily work:
| Position | Possible interest | Possible option |
|---|---|---|
| "The meeting must be at our office." | Show that the community leads | Hold it at the community hall, led by the committee |
| "We cannot start before the budget is approved." | Avoid being blamed for overspending | Start with a small, approved first stage |
| "No photographs." | Protect privacy or safety | Agree what can be recorded, with consent |
How do you run the conversation?
- Open with respect. Greet properly, thank them for their time and show you understand their role.
- Listen first. Ask open questions: "What concerns you most?" Summarise what you heard.
- Separate people from the problem. Treat the issue as the shared challenge, not the other person.
- State your needs plainly. Explain your constraints and reasons, without blame.
- Offer options. The Humanitarian Negotiation handbook advises developing as many options as possible before choosing.
- Use fair standards. Refer to agreed rules, past practice or independent criteria, not only power.
- Stay calm. Take a break if the temperature rises.
- Confirm the agreement. Repeat what was agreed, with dates and who does what. Follow up in writing.
What are the limits and ethical risks?
The handbook warns that in some humanitarian settings the interests of the parties are very hard to reconcile, and that humanitarians must remain aware of ethical risks. Negotiating for assistance should not enable harm. You should not trade away principles, such as impartiality or the safety of communities, to get a quick agreement.
Know your red lines. Refer to your manager if the discussion touches security, fees or gifts, restrictions on who receives aid, or anything that conflicts with your organisation's policies. Do not agree to anything you cannot deliver. See Do No Harm and conflict sensitivity in practice for how to think about unintended effects.
In Myanmar's complex operating environment, relationships and trust built over time are often your best asset. Stay neutral, explain your mandate openly and keep records of what you agreed.
How do you build a negotiation habit in your team?
Hold a short debrief after each important negotiation. What was the aim? What worked? What would you change? Record agreements in simple notes, as in how to write meeting notes that make reporting easier. Role-play common situations in team meetings so that new staff can practise safely.
How EMPO can help
EMPO is a reliable, Yangon-based training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training, with 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations. Our Effective Communication Skills and Conflict Sensitivity & Do No Harm training give field teams practical tools, in English and Burmese, online or in person across Myanmar. See our training services or contact us.
Sources
- Humanitarian Negotiation: A Handbook for Securing Access, Assistance and Protection for Civilians in Armed Conflict — Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2004
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a position and an interest?
A position is what someone says they want, such as "you cannot enter this area". An interest is the reason behind it, such as concern about security or about being seen to lose control. Solutions often come from interests.
What if the other side refuses to move?
Pause, ask questions to understand their reasons, offer another option or another time, and bring in a respected third person if possible. If the matter touches safety or principles, escalate to your manager.
Can field staff negotiate alone?
Only within the mandate and limits your organisation gives you. Agree in advance what you can decide and what must be referred, and report every significant negotiation.