Topic Area: General

What is the Program on Negotiation?

The Program on Negotiation was the first interdisciplinary research center on negotiation in the world. Drawing from numerous fields of study, including law, business, government, psychology, economics, anthropology, and education, PON works to connect rigorous research and scholarship with an understanding of practice. Founded and based at Harvard Law School, PON is a consortium of faculty, students, and staff at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University.

What is PON's mission?

PON's mission is to improve the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution. In all projects and activities, PON focuses on creating innovative ways to:

• Serve the mission of PON's consortium schools to provide comprehensive and enlightened training and prepare graduates to assume a leadership role in the world community
• Encourage new thinking in negotiation theory
• Nurture the next generation of teachers and scholars
• Provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and practices
• Increase public awareness of successful conflict resolution processes, and
• Connect the discussion of conflict resolution with current events and real-world contexts.

How is PON organized?

The PON Executive Committee, under the leadership of Professor Robert Mnookin of Harvard Law School, defines policies and goals of the program. Members of the Executive Committee include Professor Max Bazerman of Harvard Business School, Professor Iris Bohnet of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Professor James Sebenius of Harvard Business School, Professor Guhan Subramanian of Harvard Law School and Professor Lawrence Susskind of MIT. In addition, scholars from Harvard, MIT, the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Simmons College direct PON's nine component research projects. In addition, PON employs approximately eight full-time staff to implement its goals and oversee its daily activities, under the direction of Managing Director Susan Hackley.

Where is PON located?

PON is headquartered on the fifth floor of Pound Hall, Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. An interactive map is available here. In addition, PON faculty members maintain offices at Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, MIT, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Simmons College.

Is the PON office open to the public?

Yes. Visitors are welcome to visit PON's Pound Hall office, where various written materials about PON's courses, events, publications, teaching materials, and other resources are available. Visitors are also welcome to use PON's small browsing library (for in-house use only; materials may not be removed from the library) or, with prior arrangement, one of PON's three temporary workspaces.

How do I contact PON?

You may contact PON by telephone at 617-495-1684, by fax at 617-495-7818, by e-mail at pon@law.harvard.edu, or by filling out our contact form, which also allows you to add your email address to our mailing list. PON's mailing address is The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 513 Pound Hall, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138.

This is the General Topic Area of the PON FAQ. Other Topic Areas are listed in the column on the left side of this page.