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annex c
Features of mediation
The following features of mediation and performance
evaluation have been provided by a range of mediation
service providers.
Features
It is voluntary. It is important that the
parties come to the table in good faith, with a will to
settle the dispute. The dispute will only be resolved in
mediation if the parties voluntarily decide on a way
forward which is mutually acceptable.
It is confidential. This means that issues
and ideas for resolution of the conflict can be discussed
during the mediation without fear of them being used
against the parties in the future, if no agreement is
reached.
Mediations are easily arranged. Usually it
only takes a few phone calls for a session to be set up at
a neutral venue. It is essential that all the people who
have decision making responsibility about the dispute are
available.
Mediations tend to be informal. The
mediator is trained to make the meetings as accessible as
possible for everyone involved.
It is balanced. Everyone has a fair chance
to be heard. Mediation provides an opportunity for all the
parties to say what is important to them and to hear the
other party's perspectives.
The parties control the agenda and
outcomes. The mediation approach is
problem-solving rather than adversarial so creative options
for settlement are often the result. In mediation, the
parties speak for themselves and make their own
decisions.
Monitoring and evaluation arrangements
Mediation service managers should be responsible for
ensuring that evaluation takes place and that the findings
are used to improve services. School personnel, authority
officials, parents, young people, and mediators are all
both stakeholders and informants - they provide information
and, to differing degrees, use evaluation information to
make decisions about future courses of action.
Performance
A qualitative evaluation process may be more appropriate
for mediation. Some performance issues that are critical to
the varying purposes of mediation evaluation are listed
overleaf:
Performance Areas | Key Performance Issues |
Service Efficiency | Cost to participants |
Time from referral to resolution |
Service Effectiveness | Outcomes of mediation |
Participant satisfaction with mediated
outcomes |
Durability of mediated outcomes |
Impact on relationship between
participants |
Impartiality of the service |
Mediation Process | Appropriateness & usefulness |
Preparation process and materials |
Fairness (opportunity to tell story, feeling
understood, respectful treatment, control over
outcomes) |
Mediator Performance | Skills of the mediator |
Knowledge of the mediator |
Impartiality of the mediator |
Further information
Sources of further information on good practice in
mediation are provided in the resources section.
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