Consensus Building Institute

The Consensus Building Institute (CBI) is a non-profit institution that established in 1993 (Cambridge, Massachusetts) that "works with leaders, advocates, experts, and communities to promote effective negotiations, build consensus, and resolve conflicts."

"CBI was founded by Lawrence Susskind, Professor at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. CBI’s managing directors are David Fairman and Patrick Field, who are experts in consensus building and negotiation theory and practice."

Partners and Consultants

Partner Organizations
CBI note that "[w]e’ve partnered with several foundations to develop tailored materials for workshops on land and natural resource use. For several years we have worked with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to deliver courses throughout the year on negotiation and resolving land use conflicts. We have also worked with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to create CBI’s Board Directed Fund; the Surda Foundation to support Workable Peace; the Kann Rasmuseen Foundation and the Germschausen Foundation to support Workable Peace and our early work in Israel and Palestine; the Mott Foundation and the Kendall Foundation for our work with the World Trade Organization; and the Carnegie Foundation."

They also note that "[a]mong our past partners are the Asia Foundation, the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the State of the World Forum, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the United Nations Development Program, the Sustainability Challenge Foundation, the United State Agency for International Development, and the World Bank."

NGOs they have worked with include "the Nature Conservancy, the Land Trust Alliance, the Northeast Midwest Institute, the Sonoran Institute, and other local religious and community organizations."

Board of Directors

 * Lauren Walters, Chair - Attorney at Law, Private venture and real estate investor
 * Chester Atkins - Founder and Director, ADS Ventures, Inc.
 * Max Bazerman - Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
 * L. David Brown - Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, John F. Kennedy School of Government
 * Susan Carpenter - Dispute Resolution Practitioner and Author
 * Michael Lewis - Principal, ADR Associates & JAMS member
 * John Marks, SCG - President, Search for Common Ground
 * Francis McGovern - Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
 * Robert Mnookin - Samuel Williston Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
 * William Moomaw - Professor of International Environmental Policy, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
 * Kilaparti Ramakrishna - Senior Associate, Woods Hole Research Center
 * Frank E. A. Sander - Bussey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
 * Linda Singer - Principal, Center for Dispute Settlement
 * Lawrence E. Susskind - CBI Founder
 * Steve Toben - Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Mike Wheeler - Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School

Contact

 * Web: http://www.cbuilding.org

Resources and articles

 * U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project