Conflict management in projects

Project management does not just deal with seamless administrative processing and financial control of projects, but also with conflict management: when people come together, conflicts are never far away. This also applies for international research and innovation projects. The project participants often only get to know each other personally at the kick-off meeting and then have to collaborate successfully over a longer period. Yet different cultural backgrounds, expectations and ways of working can lead sooner or later to differences of opinion.

Advantages of mediation

The task of the project manager or coordinator is to resolve conflicts between the team members and to ensure an appropriate balance of interests. If the conflict resolution efforts are not successful, it makes sense to involve a neutral third party. Many project managers therefore call on a qualified mediator to assist with conflict management, who is impartial and trained to bring the parties to the negotiation table in a structured and unbiased way. The aim is not to issue a ruling, rather to enable a quick and constructive return to work in a solution and result-driven manner and thus avoid going down the legal conflict resolution route.

Professional conflict management by BayFOR

Many consortium contracts for European projects require an out-of-court settlement in case of conflict (Alternative Dispute Resolution – ADR). If a conflict arises in an EU project, we provide the parties on request with a mediator at a reasonable price. Our mediator is someone who is technically competent and furthermore very familiar with the inner workings of EU projects and their intercultural environment. Communication is encouraged by the mediator in a trusting and open discussion and a solution sought with the conflict parties that aims to satisfy all interests as far as possible.

This conflict management service is available to all Bavarian universities, universities of applies sciences and small and medium-sized enterprises.