Debriefing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences by Simon J. A. Mason and Matthias Siegfried - HTML preview

Appendix 3

Analyzing an Agreement: FWEE and FICSS

Sources: L. Susskind and J. Cruickshank, Breaking the Impasse: Consensual Approaches to Resolving Public Disputes (New York: Basic Books, 1987); and Ben Hoffman Peace Concorde Inc. and the Canadian International Institute for Applied Negotiations.

While most questions that an interviewer poses to a mediator focus on the mediation process and method, the interviewer may also ask about the peace agreement-if any-that results from the mediation process. Such inquiries help to put the method and process in relation to the outcome (i.e., the peace agreement). One way of analyzing an agreement is along the dimensions Fair/Wise/Efficient/Endurable (FWEE), which were originally developed by L. Susskind and J. Cruickshank and then further refined by various mediators such as Ben Hoffman. Another analytical model-developed by the Mediation Support Project and drawing on the FWEE model-explores the dimensions Fairness/Inclusiveness/Creativity/ Specificity/Simplicity (FICSS).

The FWEE model consists of four dimensions:

• Fairness between the parties involved, which is often limited by the actual power balance between the parties. Do the parties view the agreement as fair?

• Wise refers to how the agreement is likely to be seen in retrospect. Were key points addressed? Are some issues that were not addressed likely to arise in the future?

• Efficient refers to the transaction costs that went into reaching the agreement, as well as the "richness" of substance that the parties extracted from the situation and then put into the agreement. Was the agreement process efficient? Did the parties extract as much as they could from it?

• Enduring refers to the extent to which the agreement can be implemented. Will it last? Does it clearly explain who does what, when, and how?

The FICSS model (memory hook, "the agreement should be a good FICSS [fix] for the conflict") consist of five dimensions:

• Fairness between the parties involved, which is often limited by the actual power balance between the parties. Do the parties view the agreement as fair?

• Incl