ISSUES AND INTERESTS STATEMENTS

 

Introduction.

 

The principles of “interest-based negotiation” grew out of research conducted in the 1970s by the Harvard Negotiation Project. One of the fundamental concepts of interest-based negotiation is to focus on interests, not positions. A position can be simply defined as something that a person or party says that they want: demands, terms, conditions, etc. An interest is what underlies the position. It is what motivates people to take the position they do. Typically, interests relate to needs, fears, aspirations, concerns. Seeking to reconcile/accommodate interests (rather than positions) can move a negotiation forward because:

 

·     For every interest there are usually several options or solutions which can meet that interest.

·     Behind opposing positions, there can be shared and compatible interests.

 

In a public consensus-building effort employing the principles of interest-based negotiation, such as the Central Sacramento County Groundwater Forum, the key to the process is the Issues and Interests Statements that are developed by the participants and the constituencies which they represent. The Issues and Interest Statements that follow were developed collaboratively by the members of each of the six interest groups represented in the Groundwater Forum: agriculture, agricultural/residential groundwater users, business, environmental/community organizations, local government/public agencies and water purveyors.