Summary:

Facilitating collaboration across cultural and political boundaries in developing countries requires public managers to be cognizant not only of their own roles, but also of the needs and possible behaviors of stakeholders. The need for concurrent land tenure policies in post-disaster Haiti illuminates the complexities and challenges that arise during policy negotiations in a developing country context. This negotiation gives participants the opportunity to portray stakeholders impacted by Haiti’s inadequate land tenure system which is hindering post-disaster redevelopment throughout the country. The negotiations feature local and international actors who are faced with the daunting task of resolving sensitive land rights issues in a timely manner. The negotiation process will allow participants to explore and enact various roles public managers and elected officials might play, to examine issues of power and different ways of knowing, and to face political realities associated within international development. The case draws on public administration scholarship on power (Purdy, 2012) and roles of public managers in networked governance for project planning (Sehested, 2009) and is best undertaken once students have a basic foundation in negotiation principles (Fisher and Ury, 1991; Forester, 2006).