Adaptable Resolution offers voluntary, remedies-based, structured processes—like mediation or restorative justice conferencing—that allows the Impacted Party or Parties to agree to a resolution without disciplinary action against the Responding Party (the person or persons accused of the harmful conduct). It is designed to allow a Responding Party to acknowledge the impact of their behavior and accept responsibility for repairing harm, to the extent possible, experienced by the Impacted Party and/or the MIT community.
To proceed with this resolution pathway, all involved parties must voluntarily consent to participating in Adaptable Resolution. The ultimate determination of whether Adaptable Resolution is available is to be made by the IDHR director, or designee.
The process is built to eliminate the prohibited conduct, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effects in a manner that meets the needs of the Impacted Party while maintaining the safety of the campus community. It additionally aims to produce more healthy, productive, and inclusive styles of communications that benefit all parties, the MIT community, and beyond.
Adaptable Resolution is an alternative resolution pathway to Investigation and Adjudication and the processes cannot be used simultaneously.
Pathways for Adaptable Resolution
We encourage you to speak with IDHR about different types of Adaptable Resolution pathways:
Negotiated Resolutions
Negotiated resolutions allow parties to agree to focus on remedies and outcomes to address the concerns without engaging in a direct dialogue process. This is particularly useful when parties have exhausted dialogue through other avenues and are seeking to formalize a resolution agreement without continued discussion on the matter of concern.
Facilitated Dialogues/Mediation
Led by a trained facilitator, facilitated dialogues helps parties–individuals or groups–engage in productive conversations around concerns. Facilitated dialogue is not necessarily designed to produce or work toward a set of agreements, but can serve that purpose. The goal is to create a safe environment for participants to consider other perspectives, build mutual understanding, and find resolution to the concerns.
Restorative Justice Conferencing
In restorative justice conferencing, the Responding Party is involved in face-to-face dialogue with the people who were most affected by the person’s behavior. This type of process can be effective in cases where the harmful behavior may have a wider impact on the community. The group of people may involve supporters of the Responding Party and the impacted parties. Each person has the opportunity to speak and be heard in non-adversarial discussion, including expressing concerns about the Responding Party’s behavior. Once the group discusses the incident and identifies the harm done, members then work toward a consensus and agreement on how the Responding Party can repair the harm and the actions they can take to make better choices in the future.