This negotiation training module includes two separate two-person, non-scorable negotiation simulations focused on efforts to combat HIV/AIDs. The first is a negotiation entitled “Negotiating with Another Federal Agency” between a Center for Disease Control (CDC) Technical Co-Chair and a USAID Technical Co-Chair. The second is entitled “Negotiating with the Ministry of Health” and is between a CDC Technical Co-Chair and the Minister of Health in Sabada, the (imaginary) host country. The focus is on cross-cultural and political perspectives on public health initiatives.
The simulation highlights the challenges faced by public health personnel when working with their political counterparts in host countries. The game is designed to help CDC-type personnel practice negotiation techniques in order to effectively collaborate with personnel from other US federal agencies and with government officials in a host country. The negotiation scenarios involve elements that CDC personnel often face in the field: ill-defined negotiating protocols, funding constraints, preference for evidence-based programming, inter-agency competition, tensions around headquarter authority, political considerations, time constraints, difficult personalities, and in particular, competing public health priorities. The game emphasizes the importance of preparation; in particular, thinking about one’s own interests before entering negotiations.
The CDC and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and are working with Sabada’s Ministry of Health to address the country’s significant HIV/AIDS challenge. Parties must come to agreement about 1) how the prevention and treatment funds will be shared between the two agencies, and 2) how to allocate $55 million among four HIV/AIDS relief programs in a limited timeframe.