Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN)

What Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) does

The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) is a Geneva-based non-profit founded in October 2016 as a strategic partnership between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF Switzerland), and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. It is administratively and financially hosted by the ICRC, which holds fiduciary responsibility for management, with staff seconded on-loan from ICRC, WFP, and MSF. Financial support is provided by the ICRC and the governments of Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Switzerland. CCHN's mission is to capture, analyse, and disseminate humanitarian negotiation practices to frontline humanitarian staff working in conflict and crisis situations.

CCHN operates a multi-channel learning and community platform built around proprietary methodology, most notably the Naivasha Grid (developed by humanitarian practitioners in Kenya in 2014) and the Field Manual on Humanitarian Negotiation. The product portfolio is organised into three layers: (1) individual capacity-building workshops (Peer Workshop, Advanced Humanitarian Negotiation Workshop, Applied Negotiation Workshop, Negotiation Soft Skills Workshop, Executive Programme, Thematic Sessions, Training of Facilitators); (2) peer-to-peer activities (Negotiation Labs, Mentoring Programme, Thematic Groups, Peer Circles, Negotiation Simulations, Pressure Management Retreats); and (3) support services for humanitarian organisations (Advisory Services at three tiers, Curriculum Development Services, bespoke learning). Delivery is online via Zoom and Miro, and onsite across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Community members (gated by Peer Workshop completion) access CCHN Connect on Mighty Networks, while a broader audience of over 14,000 receives monthly newsletters managed through HubSpot, and three seasons of the Frontline Negotiators podcast are distributed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

The business model is donor-funded with negligible user-side revenue. Most online activities are free; onsite workshops may charge cost-recovery fees covering instruction, materials, venue, and catering, with waivers granted case-by-case. CCHN does not operate as a commercial enterprise and discloses no revenue or ARR figures. Its growth is therefore a function of donor commitments and partner willingness to second staff, rather than customer-paid acquisition. Strategic positioning rests on the multi-agency governance model, which would be difficult for any single-agency training provider to replicate, and on the cumulative content library distilled from hundreds of field practitioners' documented experiences.

Name

Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN)

Legal name

Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation

Website

https://frontline-negotiations.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CCHN is a Geneva-based non-profit strategic partnership between ICRC, WFP, UNHCR, MSF, and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue that trains frontline humanitarian professionals in negotiation through workshops, a global community of practice, and proprietary methodology including the Naivasha Grid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Negotiation Training and Capacity Building

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian Coordination, Information Management & Needs Assessment (BPAGAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian Coordination, Information Management & Needs Assessment (BPADADAL), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Conflict Management, Negotiation & Difficult Conversations (EDABAAAJ)

Keywords

• Humanitarian negotiation training
• Capacity building workshops
• Community of practice
• Negotiation skills development
• Humanitarian professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: CCHN is administratively and financially hosted by the ICRC. Financial support is provided by the ICRC and the governments of Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg, Sweden and Switzerland. The CCHN is in a five-year incubation phase hosted by the ICRC.
2. Workshop Fees: Most CCHN online activities are free. For onsite activities, a fee may be charged to cover instruction, materials, conference rooms, lunches and coffee breaks. Fee waivers may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) provides capacity-building workshops, peer-to-peer learning activities, and advisory services to frontline humanitarian professionals to develop negotiation skills. It operates a global community of practice and produces proprietary negotiation methodologies (Naivasha Grid, Field Manual, Negotiation Toolkit) used by humanitarian staff negotiating with armed groups, governments, and communities in conflict zones.

Product overview

The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) is a multi-agency learning and training platform for humanitarian professionals, established in 2016 as a strategic partnership between ICRC, WFP, UNHCR, MSF, and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. The organization operates a unified platform combining capacity-building workshops (Peer Workshop, Advanced Humanitarian Negotiation Workshop, Applied Negotiation Workshop, Negotiation Soft Skills Workshop, Executive Programme, Thematic Sessions, Training of Facilitators), peer-to-peer activities (Negotiation Labs, Mentoring Programme, Thematic Groups, Peer Circles, Negotiation Simulations), support services (Advisory Services, Curriculum Development Services), and community platforms (CCHN Connect). The product portfolio also includes knowledge resources such as the Field Manual, Negotiation Toolkit, Case Studies, Publications, and the Frontline Negotiators Podcast. Activities focus on humanitarian negotiation skills development across contexts including armed actors, displacement, healthcare, protection outcomes, and pressure management. The organization primarily uses Zoom for online delivery, Miro for collaborative workshops, and Mighty Networks for its community forum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CCHN Connect: Online network and community-powered forum for humanitarian negotiators to connect and share experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 14,000 humanitarians receive monthly newsletter with negotiation strategies and pressure management practices
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2015ICRC is the founding partner and fiduciary responsible for CCHN management. CCHN is administratively and financially hosted by ICRC. ICRC staff-on-loan work at CCHN. The partnership was formalised at a high-level meeting under Swiss Permanent Mission to UN in Geneva on 30 November 2015.
• World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWFP is a founding strategic partner of CCHN. WFP staff-on-loan work at CCHN. The partnership provides multi-agency approach to humanitarian negotiation training.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNHCR is a founding strategic partner of CCHN. The partnership contributes to multi-agency learning opportunities and coordinated humanitarian efforts.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) SwitzerlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSF Switzerland is a founding strategic partner of CCHN. MSF staff-on-loan work at CCHN. Partnership supports multi-agency approach to humanitarian negotiation capacity building.
• Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre for Humanitarian Dialogue is a founding strategic partner of CCHN. The partnership was formalised in November 2015. HD contributes to the strategic partnership and community of practice.
• Harvard Humanitarian InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCHN collaborated with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative on the Middle East Think Tank, a year-long project researching communities at the centre of negotiations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Interpeace: International peacebuilding organization that works with local partners to build peace. Comparable to CCHN in mission (peace and humanitarian outcomes) and in operating a global practitioner network, though it focuses on field peacebuilding rather than training.
• International Alert: London-based peacebuilding NGO that works on security, peace and humanitarian-policy issues. Comparable to CCHN in being a mission-driven NGO delivering training and advocacy on conflict and humanitarian issues for practitioners and policymakers.
• swisspeace: Bern-based peace research and policy institute that conducts research, training and policy advice on peacebuilding. Comparable to CCHN in Swiss-based academic/practitioner training orientation and conflict-resolution focus.
• Conciliation Resources: International NGO working on peacebuilding through dialogue, mediation and practitioner support. Directly comparable to CCHN in mission and methodology around supporting practitioners who negotiate in conflict-affected contexts.
• Crisis Management Initiative (CMI): Independent Finnish expert organisation that works to resolve conflicts and sustain peace through mediation, dialogue and training. Directly comparable to CCHN in offering practitioner training and negotiation/mediation services for conflict actors.
• Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue: Geneva-based mediator of armed conflicts and one of CCHN's five founding partners. Directly comparable because it operates in humanitarian/conflict negotiation and is part of CCHN's strategic partnership, though it focuses on mediation rather than training delivery.
• Build Up: Non-profit that provides negotiation and dialogue training for peacebuilding practitioners. Closely comparable to CCHN in mission and methodology, focused on training peace and humanitarian actors in structured negotiation.

Broad incumbents

• Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP): Geneva-based foundation providing executive education and training in security, conflict and policy. Comparable to CCHN in delivering training to senior practitioners (similar to CCHN's Executive Programme) and operating from the same Geneva ecosystem.
• International Peace Institute (IPI): Independent think tank focused on peace and security policy with a strong practitioner training and convening role. Comparable to CCHN in training, convening and research for the humanitarian/peace community, though operating at a broader policy scale.
• Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI): University-based program at Harvard that undertakes research, education and policy work on humanitarian action. Comparable to CCHN as a research/training partner (CCHN has collaborated with HHI on the Middle East Think Tank), but operates at a broader institutional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/frontline_nego
• Facebookfacebook.com/FrontlineNegotiations
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/frontline-negotiations

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN)