carr is leading on LSE’s new Mediation and Facilitation Initiative, bringing together leading practitioners, academics and students to strengthen the use of mediation and facilitation in regulation and public policy.
One central theme in contemporary economic, political and social life is adversarialism. This diagnosis is particularly startling as, a few decades ago, regulatory frameworks were developed and advanced four decades ago to explicitly support cooperative relationships in regulation.
The contemporary context of polarisation economic shocks and social media has further diminished trust reducing the possibility of managing and resolving disputes. Across domains the perceived cost of compromise is high and the cost of deadlock seemingly low.
The Mediation and Facilitation Initiative seeks to support the development of effective mediation and facilitation across different political and policy settings. It will do so through leading interdisciplinary research practical engagement and convening to support decision-makers.