Policy Practicum: Stanford Conflict Resolution Lab

Catalog description

Client: Stanford University Office of the Provost, https://provost.stanford.edu. From the increasingly tense dynamics of the classroom and workplace to those of social media, our values and relationships are constantly being challenged. The array of conflict resolution policies, practices, and systems on Stanford's campus support our community in reestablishing guiding principles and addressing instances of harm and intolerance. Such processes are an act of community caretaking as we build healthier environments for our students, staff, and faculty. While these processes are critical to the wellbeing of Stanford, the structure and decentralization of the University often makes it difficult for conflict resolution practitioners to effectively communicate across campus, guide community members to the appropriate process, identify where services are being replicated or missing, compare data, and share best practices. On the other hand, this type of decentralization and subsequent independence provides practitioners an opportunity to creatively design meaningful processes for those they serve. This policy lab seeks to evaluate the benefits and possibilities of increased partnership between Stanford's conflict resolution practitioners/processes. It takes into consideration the multiple policies, practices, and systems across Stanford's campus and explores the study and application of dispute system design, mediation, and community-based restorative justice and peacemaking. Over the course of the quarter, students will analyze related policy and theory as well as conduct interviews, focus groups, and surveys of relevant parties at Stanford and peer institutions. Students will be challenged to think critically about innovative pathways for conflict resolution in a complex environment with multiple groups of stakeholders whose day-to-day lives, education, and careers are…