The Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation (“ IRENÉ ”, which means peace in Greek), was created at ESSEC in 1996 to bring together researchers and practitioners (academics, senior civil servants, diplomats, elected officials, managers and employees of companies, trade unionists, social mediators) interested in negotiation , mediation , dialogue between stakeholders and conflict management .
Three convictions underlie the activities of ESSEC IRENÉ:
- conflicts and negotiation are everywhere : in commercial affairs and labor relations, but also in diplomacy; in the life of companies as in that of public administrations; within an organization as well as between two structures; in all sectors of activity and in all countries;
- negotiation makes the difference : depending on whether you negotiate well (or badly), you will develop partnerships and cooperation, you will convince your client, you will protect your margin, you will settle a conflict (or not);
- negotiation can be learned, therefore it can be taught and – above all – it constitutes an enriching field of research .
The IRENE team carries out three types of activities :
- research : here is a selection of current research topics: why do French companies use mediation so little? How are the institutional developments of the European Union negotiated? Why does transparency (WikiLeaks) complicate diplomatic negotiations?
- the field : confronting reality is essential, whether advising organizational leaders, contributing to rapprochement between ex-belligerents in the Caucasus or the Horn of Africa, or measuring the societal impact of oil companies on stakeholder relations in the Niger Delta.
- training : of course in most ESSEC Business School programs, but also for other educational institutions (ENA, Centrale), for many companies (Air France KLM, Alcatel-Lucent, Delphi, Groupama, Lindt, etc. [ See ESSEC EXECUTIVE EDUCATION brochure ] ) and public organizations (Ministry of the Armed Forces, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, European Commission, etc.).
ESSEC IRENÉ thus has top-notch expertise acquired during missions in more than 80 countries around the world. The team's two working languages are French and English. Some members also work in German, Spanish, Farsi, Italian, Georgian, Mandarin, Dutch and Vietnamese.
In July 2010, the Institute inaugurated ESSEC IRENÉ ASIA in Singapore , a platform where researchers and practitioners from Europe and Asia can discuss negotiation and mediation with an Asian perspective.
ESSEC IRENÉ's permanent international team, which combines researchers, practitioners and trainers, relies on a network of associate members, providing their expertise on the most specialized issues (crisis management, leadership, good governance, corruption, coordination public-private, communication, etc.).
Together, they earn the trust of many partners: companies, public administrations, international organizations, local authorities, higher education institutions, NGOs and think-tanks.
