The Program on Negotiation

What The Program on Negotiation does

The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a university consortium founded in 1983 as a special research project at Harvard Law School, dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution. It operates as a non-profit academic entity under the governance of Harvard University, drawing tenured faculty, students, and staff from Harvard, MIT, and Tufts. PON's product portfolio centers on executive education courses (Negotiation and Leadership, Harvard Negotiation Master Class, Negotiation Essentials Online, and Harvard Negotiation Institute), custom in-house training delivered to organizations, publications including the Negotiation Journal and Harvard Negotiation Law Review, and the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) — a store of role-play simulations, books, and curricular materials. The organization also operates research initiatives such as the Harvard Negotiation Project and the Negotiation Data Repository, and has recently launched the PON AI Summit and Working Conference on AI, Technology, and Negotiation to position itself at the AI-negotiation intersection.

PON's revenue model blends three streams: premium executive education program fees (multi-day to semester-length courses priced at Harvard Law School executive-ed benchmarks), one-time license sales of TNRC teaching materials and books, and recurring subscription revenue from journal and law review publication. The go-to-market is hybrid — enterprise field sales for in-house training and custom programs, self-serve/online enrollment for individual participants, and an e-commerce storefront for teaching materials. The customer base spans senior executives and professionals attending open-enrollment courses, corporate leadership teams contracting custom training (with named logos including Pixar, Hugo Boss, NBA, and the Federal Reserve Bank), government and NGOs involved in international conflict resolution, and academics purchasing TNRC resources.

The organization's core intellectual property resides in its faculty, methodology (lineage to "Getting to Yes"), and content library (70+ teaching simulations, Negotiation Journal, Harvard Negotiation Law Review, Negotiation Data Repository). PON serves more than 3,000 professionals annually through its programs and has, through individual faculty members, trained over 40,000 executives globally over the course of their careers. The organization is led by Faculty Chair Guhan Subramanian and Managing Director Nicole Bryant, with a staff of approximately 19 supporting program delivery, marketing, finance, and customer service functions.

Name

The Program on Negotiation

Legal name

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

Website

https://pon.harvard.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Program on Negotiation is a Harvard Law School-affiliated consortium (founded 1983) with Harvard, MIT, and Tufts faculty that delivers executive education courses, custom corporate training, publications, and teaching materials in negotiation and dispute resolution to senior professionals, corporations, and government agencies globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Education Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Conflict Management, Negotiation & Difficult Conversations (EDABAAAJ)

Keywords

• Executive education
• Negotiation training
• Dispute resolution
• Mediation programs
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Education Programs: Revenue generated from multi-day to semester-length executive education courses taught by leading faculty and experts in negotiation, mediation, and conflict management. Programs include Negotiation and Leadership workshops, Harvard Negotiation Master Class, Negotiation Essentials Online, and custom in-house training delivered to organizations.
2. Teaching Materials and Publications Sales: The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) develops and offers role-play simulations, books, educational videos, and curricular packages for sale.
3. Negotiation Journal: Publication of the Negotiation Journal, a multidisciplinary international journal exploring theory, analysis, practice, and instruction of negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a university consortium at Harvard Law School that delivers executive education courses (Negotiation and Leadership, Harvard Negotiation Master Class, Negotiation Essentials Online), custom in-house corporate training, scholarly publications (Negotiation Journal, Harvard Negotiation Law Review), and teaching resources through the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center. It serves senior executives, professionals, organizations, and academics in the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution.

Product overview

The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a university consortium offering a multi-product educational portfolio centered on negotiation and dispute resolution. The core offerings include executive education programs (Negotiation and Leadership, Harvard Negotiation Master Class, Negotiation Essentials Online, and Harvard Negotiation Institute), complemented by publications (Negotiation Journal and Harvard Negotiation Law Review), teaching resources through the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (role-play simulations, books, videos), and free content (Daily Blog, Free Reports, Free Videos). Specialized initiatives include AI-focused events (PON AI Summit, Working Conference on AI), research projects, and the Negotiation Data Repository. The portfolio serves both individual professionals seeking training and organizations requiring custom in-house programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Negotiation and Leadership A 3-day executive education workshop for senior executives focusing on negotiation theory and practice, taught by leading faculty at Harvard Law School.
• Harvard Negotiation Master Class Advanced strategies program for experienced negotiators, typically offered as a multi-day intensive course at Harvard Law School.
• Negotiation Essentials Online (NEO) Online negotiation training program covering fundamentals of negotiation theory and practice, accessible remotely for professionals.
• In-House Training Custom negotiation training programs delivered directly to organizations, tailored to specific organizational needs and challenges.
• Negotiation Journal A multidisciplinary international journal publishing works that advance the theory, analysis, practice, and instruction of negotiation and dispute resolution, published in partnership with MIT Press.
• Harvard Negotiation Law Review A law review publishing scholarly articles on negotiation theory, practice, and dispute resolution.
• Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) Develops and offers role-play simulations, books, educational videos, and curricular packages for teaching negotiation skills, available through the PON online store.
• Harvard Negotiation Institute Executive education programs including Advanced Negotiation Workshop, Mediation courses, and specialized negotiation training offered through PON.
• Mediation Programs Mediation and conflict management courses offered as part of PON's executive education portfolio for professionals seeking advanced dispute resolution skills.
• One-Day Programs Single-day intensive programs in negotiation, mediation, and conflict management offered by PON for busy professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research shows approximately 80% of dispute mediations lead to resolution

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Harvard UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1983As the founding institution, Harvard Law School hosts PON as a consortium. PON includes faculty, students, and staff from Harvard University as part of its core consortium structure.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1983MIT is part of the PON university consortium, contributing faculty and research to the Program on Negotiation's interdisciplinary approach to negotiation and conflict resolution.
• Tufts UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1983Tufts University is part of the PON university consortium, with faculty from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy participating in PON research and programs.
• Harvard Negotiation ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHNP was founded in 1979 and folded into PON when PON was formed in 1983. Operates under leadership of James K. Sebenius since 2008 with a special mission of practice-focused research.
• MIT-Harvard Public Disputes ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterdisciplinary program dedicated to brokering agreements and building collaboration in complex public disputes, combining expertise from MIT and Harvard.
• Consensus Building Institute (CBI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBI is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to brokering agreements and building collaboration. David Fairman serves as Managing Director at CBI and Associate Director of MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INSEAD Executive Education: Global executive education with multi-campus presence (Fontainebleau, Singapore, Abu Dhabi). Offers comparable premium negotiation and leadership training for senior executives globally, competing with PON for international corporate clients.
• Columbia Business School Executive Education: Columbia Business School executive programs include negotiation-focused courses aimed at senior leaders. Comparable elite business school executive education audience and curriculum areas.
• Wharton Executive Education: University of Pennsylvania's executive education unit offering negotiation workshops taught by faculty such as Stuart Diamond (author of Getting More). Competes directly with PON for premium senior-executive training budgets.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education: Stanford GSB executive programs serve senior executives globally with negotiation content from faculty such as Margaret Neale. A premium business school competitor for senior-executive negotiation training.
• Harvard Business School Executive Education: Operates from the same parent university (Harvard) and offers executive education broadly across leadership, strategy, and negotiation. Overlapping customer base of senior executives, shared faculty resources (e.g., Malhotra, Bazerman teach at HBS), and direct competition for the same training wallet.
• MIT Sloan Executive Education: PON's consortium partner institution; MIT Sloan offers short and long executive programs including negotiation-related content (with shared faculty like Lawrence Susskind). Comparable senior-executive audience with overlapping curriculum areas.

Emerging players

• JAMS: Major alternative dispute resolution provider (mediation and arbitration) founded in 1979. Tangential overlap with PON's mediation and conflict resolution portfolio, though JAMS focuses on dispute resolution services rather than training-focused offerings.

Direct peers

• The Gap Partnership: Global specialist in negotiation consulting and capability-building, serving multinational clients with skill-building workshops, advisory engagements, and negotiation training programs. Comparable specialist scope to PON's executive education portfolio.
• Vantage Partners: Founded in 2001 by former Harvard Negotiation Project members including Bruce Patton, Vantage Partners provides negotiation consulting, training, and advisory services to Fortune 500 clients. Direct niche competitor sharing lineage with PON through the Harvard Negotiation Project.
• Triad Consulting: Founded by Sheila Heen (a PON Executive Committee member and Harvard Law School faculty), Triad provides negotiation and difficult-conversations training and consulting to corporate clients. Directly comparable focus and shared faculty roots with PON.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ponhls
• Facebookfacebook.com/13682273086
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-program-on-negotiation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Program on Negotiation