Structure

Designs the modules by crafting questions that challenge the participants' perceptions and increase their awareness of the filters through which they assess conflicts and options
Facilitates the virtual forums by guiding the process to ensure that participants value their differences, and use those same differences to work collectively
Organizes and designs the final encounter
Analyzes and publishes the final results

Advisory Board: Provides general guidance and oversight

Harvard Law School professor Frank Sander

Creator of the multi-door courthouse model

An expert in alternative methods of dispute resolution

Harvard and MIT professor Lawrence Susskind

Director of The Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School

Founder and senior advisor of The Consensus Building Institute

Academic Consultants: Faculty members, who assist in crafting the modules in their specific fields of expertise

B. Executive Board and Regional Team

Executive Board (reports to Executive Director)

Pedagogical Consultant

Assists in designing and reviewing teaching methods and strategies
Analyzes the pedagogical progression of the project

Technical and Communications Directors

Technical Director

Facilitates the integrated use of a combination of software, online forums, conference calls, videos, and videoconferencing
Distributes and collects online surveys and questionnaires

Communications Director

Manages publicity

Designs and administers website hosted by The University of St. Thomas
Provides general administrative support

Regional Administrative Coordinator

Conveys information between Executive Director and National Coordinators
Oversees technological aspects of project for region, including training participants to use platforms and programs
Oversees the national coordinators with regard to project logistics
Translates all English documents from Executive Director into Spanish
Maintains database of participants

Regional Team (one per region, e.g. Latin America)

Regional Executive Coordinator

Coordinates substantive portion of the research
Oversees the national coordinators with regard to project content

Regional Administrative Coordinator

Conveys information between Executive Director and National Coordinators
Oversees technological aspects of project for region, including training participants to use platforms and programs
Oversees the national coordinators with regard to project logistics
Translates all English documents from Executive Director into Spanish
Maintains database of participants
Organizes master archive of documents

Associate Regional Administrative Coordinator

Reports to Administrative Coordinator
Compiles and organizes all project documents, including translations and proofreading
Maintains database of participants

Regional Communications Consultants

Manage publicity
Design and administer website hosted by The University of St. Thomas
Provide general administrative support

Regional Technology Team

Regional Technology Advisor

Provides a high level of expertise in troubleshooting technological problems

Regional Technology Consultant

Facilitates the integrated use of a combination of software, online forums, conference calls, videos, and videoconferencing, especially in terms of language translation
Distributes and collects online surveys and questionnaires

C. National Teams (one per country)

National Project Representatives

Work in contact with Executive Director
Suggest institutions and individuals with like interests for association
Draw national and international interest in the project due to expertise in this area and knowledge of current national events
Lend voices to final results for future applications

National Executive Coordinators

Responsible for enlisting Sector Coordinators and participants, and encouraging commitment
Oversee the Sector Executive Coordinators with regard to content

National Administrative Coordinators

Provide support to the National Executive Coordinators
Oversee technological aspects of project for their countries, including training participants to use platforms and programs
Oversee the Sector Executive Coordinators with regard to logistics
Maintain open communication lines within and among sectors
Gather and organize information from all sectors, in terms of participants and documents
Convey information between Regional Administrative Coordinator and Sector Administrative Facilitators
Translate project material from Spanish to local language (i.e. Portuguese) or dialect

D. Sector Leaders: Academic, Business, Favela, Judicial (judges), Legal (lawyers), Nonprofit, and Student (one per country, per sector)

Sector Administrative Facilitators

Enlist participants
Facilitate a series of semi-weekly two-hour meetings with five members of their sectors, via online videoconferencing, in which they lead a consensus-building process
Play the crucial role of outside guides who provide a new perspective on an old situation and challenge old assumptions
Convey information between participants and national administrative coordinators
Participate in a national online forum to share results

Sector Representatives

Represent the sector in national consensus building

Sector Executive Coordinators

Assist with enlisting participants
Coordinate meeting logistics

E. Sector Participants (four per sector, per country)

Maintain an awareness of their constituency's current interests and strive to represent them in the consensus-building process
Listen and ask questions, ensuring that during the process and in crafting the final agreement, everyone's interests and values are taken into account
Learn to talk to one another, avoiding deadlock, to define and work collectively toward common goals
Become aware of their assumptions in interpretation and the cultural values behind the logic accepted for each argument
Collectively reach final consensus in each phase of the project

F. Constituencies Represented by the Participants

Sector members who are not participating in the project, but who will likely be affected by its results

Methodology