Institute for Dispute Resolution

"Peace is not the absence of conflict
but the ability to deal with it."
- Gandhi

UVic's Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) helps to address the need for research, education and community development on effective methods of dispute resolution. The mandate of the Institute is to work toward fair, effective and peaceful dispute resolution locally, nationally and internationally.

The Institute’s primary, although not exclusive, focus is on public policy dispute resolution. This has included assessments of dispute resolution structures and mechanisms, or assistance in designing and creating them.

The Institute is not linked to any one particular department or faculty on campus. Just as disputes know no boundaries, so too the Institute truly is multidisciplinary, working with faculty, staff and the broader community in areas as diverse as law, social work, geography, health studies, political science, public administration, government, and the environment.

The objectives of the Institute

• To conduct theoretical and empirical research in the field of conflict resolution
• To improve training and education in dispute resolution theory and skills at the graduate and undergraduate level
• To develop in the university the interdisciplinary study of dispute resolution
• To promote the development of dispute resolution services to the community
• To enhance awareness of and promote the use and acceptance of alternative dispute resolution procedures.