What are the best negotiation frameworks for social justice in Community Organizing?

The seminal works by Paulo Freire and Saul Alinsky have grounded me in all aspects of community organizing. Learning how successful community health initiatives translated their philosophical frameworks into social justice practice.

One thing I’ve found helpful in community organizing is the ability to involve the the people you aim to serve. When we organize as coalitions and build equity in power it drives policy decisions and changes the narrative. Politicians work for the people’s interests and we tend to forget that when trying to be effective. Strategy is everything. Collect your own data as a Black lead organizer because Gallup and other data sources will never tell our numbers correctly. Leaders listen more than they speak. My biggest lesson learn to love you enough to take a breath and a break. The work never ends.

In social justice and community organizing, effective negotiation frameworks prioritize relationship-building, mutual respect, and equitable outcomes. Like -Interest-Based Relational Approach centers on understanding and respecting mutual interests to find common ground. -Principled Negotiation from the Harvard Negotiation Project advocates for collaborative, win-win scenarios. -Transformative Negotiation focuses on empowerment and altering relationships positively. -Integrative Negotiation looks to combine interests for collective benefit. -Narrative Approach leverages the power of storytelling to foster empathy and understanding. Conflict Transformation aims to change the systemic roots of conflicts for lasting change.

A reciprocal framework. Unlike this one, in which a machine prompts me to train it with my expertise, on how to organize humans, with the goal of replacing them, starting with myself. I find it amusing how many people I would consider fairly smart fall for contributing to their own AI replacement. Which of course begs the question, other than value extraction, why would a corporation be interested in human organization at all? Ah, to neutralize potential future threats before they can develop, or create a controlled opposition to flood out any genuine organizing. That would take us from the topic of 'community organizing' to 'operational security'. Now I have done something for you, what will you do for me? Reciprocally.

I can only speak from my own experience, and thus far that has not been Good for me. Maybe I have been unlucky, but I have heard similar stories from other people whose opinions I trust. Getting to the negotiating table itself is a mountain to climb. I am SPECIFICALLY referring to National and Local Government agencies and l have experience of ATTEMPTING to communicate with agencies in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales and they are all the same. We have a prospective multi-million project to launch but whilst there are plenty of people named in national and local press and Television & Radio but can I speak to a real person and not an IVR It has not happened to me yet.

In my view, human nature tends to lean towards self-interest, even when we attempt to conceal it. People often pursue their own interests, even in situations that appear altruistic, where there may still be underlying personal satisfaction or benefits. Consequently, one of the most effective approaches to negotiations is interest-based negotiation. However, successfully implementing this approach requires a considerable skill set to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

First, 'negotiation' is the wrong word, that is equivalent to quid-pro-quo. When we get involved in organizing to achieve social justice goals, we gather community members, discuss their goals, define our purpose and objectives and we stand firm in a balanced number of goals that carry forth the most important issues / resolutions to social problems. We are NOT successful at times, but achieved taking a Bond issue to Voters that was rejected because it would have saddled us with $25 Million debt. Communication was key, hard work achieved the result we wanted. Social justice in community organizing is most of the time, a thankless job with the only reward being: Making a difference in other people's lives!

Can anyone in this community give me any guidance on how to circumvate and get around my predicament ? Any guidance on how to get to speak to a LIVE person?

You will need to communicate and understand the interests that inform one's take or position. In this way, you are able to breakdown hardline positions into mutual issues, needs, interests and concerns. Usually, both parties realize that their positions are informed by mutual interests or concerns hence the need to develop a common strategy in solving the problem. However, achieving a solution that works for both sides would require some objectivity. First, one has to be objective by tackling the issues and interests as opposed to personalities. Adopting hardline positions to tackle the opponent's difficult personality only worsens the situation. To achieve this, parties are advised to focus on the present and the future not the past.

When negotiating a transformative change, what gets bargained away or altered may impact what was thought of as transformative change. Examples: agreeing to vet all complaints through an intermediary or leadership positions open to internal candidates first as a step to increase diversity in leadership or empathy and diversity training and education for all staff 2 times a year - to include all levels of management. Be clear about the non-negotiable aspects of your transformation, but be open to alterations that may enhance the transformation.

Based on my observations, although transformative negotiations are highly desirable, it often takes time to conclude. Necessitating intervention while waiting for the final outcome. When I find myself in the position of conducting transformative negotiations, I typically adopt a two-pronged approach. This involves implementing a short-term plan to sustain the current system and a long-term plan aimed at addressing the fundamental issues. I always place significant emphasis on knowledge sharing. This proactive sharing of insights and information plays a pivotal role in shaping and shifting mindsets, which often lie at the core of conflicts. By doing so, I create a more conducive environment for constructive change and transformation.

In my community organizing work I've relied on a few negotiation frameworks that really stand out for social justice: Interest-Based Relational Approach: This keeps the focus on mutual respect and shared interests, rather than personal conflicts. Principled Negotiation: Inspired by "Getting to Yes," it's about finding common ground and shared benefits.Transformative Negotiation: It goes beyond the immediate issues, aiming to change the systemic conditions fueling the conflict. Appreciative Inquiry: Leveraging what works well in a community as a springboard for improvement. Narrative Negotiation: Changing the story can change the game. It’s about shifting perceptions to open up new avenues of understanding

Find the "win-win". Identify something that has enough benefit for participants to continue engaging to a peaceful resolution and willingness to present to their constituents.

Negotiation is the process of reaching agreements, while community-level social justice entails equitable resource distribution and inclusivity within a community. The two most effective negotiation frameworks for social justice in community organizing include: Community-Based Agreements, empowering community decision-making and Restorative Justice Practices, emphasizing healing and accountability to foster fairness and inclusivity.

Frame the argument so that even those who are not directly impacted see the importance of policy change. When working with low income Dads who owed back child support, illustrating the cost of incarceration ((which doesn’t get money into any child’s hands when the father is very poor), versus the cost of linking to employment truly helped to inspire many legislators on both sides of the aisle to support policy change. Stories help tell that comparative analysis.