Interest-Based Bargaining

Working for Change: A Guide for Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists in Schools

Interest-based bargaining (IBB) is a process that

focuses on issues rather than on personalities,
uses reason instead of power, and
prioritizes interests over positions.

This strategy helps individuals and groups identify what they want to work on, why the issue is important, how to solve the problem, the best way to solve it for everyone involved, and what solutions will be implemented.

Unlike other problem-solving methods, IBB relies on two key assumptions:

Effective solutions are reached when all affected parties are involved in the decision-making and implementation process.
The parties are in an ongoing relationship—whether work-related, family, social, or other—and decisions must consider both the relationship and the content of the problem.

Interest-based strategies are used in various professional areas—including public policy, labor management, environmental and economic development, community planning, counseling, business, and government.

Successful Implementation of Interest-Based Strategies

To ensure successful implementation of interest-based strategies such as IBB, all parties involved need to do the following:

Engage in shared training sessions.
Demonstrate a commitment to the strategy.
Believe that this approach seeks a good solution—not just an agreement.
Know and accept that this approach requires resources to support ongoing educational renewal and organizational development.
Be willing to seek and use such resources to support the strategy.