About NLBVO

The Dutch Organisation for Professional Negotiators (in Dutch: Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie voor Onderhandelaars) - NLBVO is committed to making the Netherlands negotiate more effectively. The NLBVO represents the interests of skilled negotiators in the Netherlands. Our Registered Negotiators come from both the public and private sectors, NGOs and academia. What binds them is their shared conviction that the professionals in the Netherlands can and must become more effective in negotiating. It is a platform where skilled negotiators can find each other, share knowledge and experiences and further develop themselves. 

NLBVO strives to make the Netherlands think differently about negotiating. The NLBVO serves as a hallmark for professionals who - in whatever capacity - are committed to advancing effective negotiation in the Netherlands. Finally, the NLBVO works to further the professionalization (knowledge and skills) of its Registered Negotiators by sharing knowledge and developments in the field of effective negotiation.

Our vision

The NLBVO sees negotiating as a professional skill and believes that in the Netherlands much more can be achieved if negotiating is recognized as a profession. Whereas assistance and specific expertise is often requested for complex legal, HR or communication issues, this is rarely the case for complex negotiations. 

The NLBVO aims to change this by providing a platform for professional negotiators to unite, create a hallmark that allows educated negotiators to profile themselves, and ultimately, to change the way the Netherlands thinks about negotiating. 

What does the NLBVO stand for? 

The NLBVO sees negotiating as more than a game to be won or something to be avoided. We all negotiate, every day. At the kitchen table, at work and with friends. It is a process in which trust and cooperation can create value and strengthen relationships. A number of things are needed in order to view negotiations in this way: 

●       Knowing when to negotiate: recognise the negotiation 

●       Know how to do it: negotiate effectively 

●       Knowing that it can be done differently: get out of your comfort zone 

Registration

Application procedure

If you wish to join the NLBVO, you must demonstrate that you have been trained in effective negotiation and/or that you work in accordance with the principles of effective negotiation. We do this to ensure that our Registered Negotiators share the underlying principles of effective negotiation with each other and with us. With your application, you commit to the NLBVO’s Code of Conduct for Professional Negotiators. Joining the NLBVO serves as a hallmark for professional negotiators. 

By joining the NLBVO, you can participate in various substantive and networking activities. You also support the efforts to make the Netherlands think differently about negotiating by, for example, contributing to the media.

Admission

Are you educated and/or do you have a lot of negotiation experience? Then you are eligible for the NLBVO. We require a copy of a registered of completed training in negotiation skills from, for example, Harvard's Programme on Negotiation or a similar course based on Harvard's philosophy on negotiation. In addition, once a year the NLBVO organises a training course in effective negotiation that aspiring Negotiators can attend in order to join.

Selection procedure

Please send your application to [email protected]. After applying, you will have a short intake interview and will be informed of your admission within 14 days. For questions about the admission requirements and the programme, please contact us at the same address.

What does it involve?

As a Registered Negotiator of the NLBVO, you can participate in two to three master classes per year. The purpose of the master classes is to strengthen the Registered Negotiators’ knowledge of developments in the field of negotiation. In addition, several meetingsare held annually with both a substantive programme and space for knowledge sharing and networking.