1. Client question
A large Belgian university asked Pasas to support a deeply escalated situation within one of its academic environments. Because the case involved sensitive working relationships, internal governance dynamics and reputational risk, strict confidentiality was essential. The client did not need a single mediation conversation, but a sharper conflict analysis: what exactly was happening, at which levels, and which interventions would have the highest chance of restoring workable collaboration?
2. Pasas approach
We approached this case as a multi-level conflict analysis rather than a single mediation track. Our work combined seven lenses, based on the 7I model (Prof. Martin Euwema).
1. Individuals — We mapped the people involved and identified the type of support each person needed, such as coaching, career-oriented conversations, HR follow-up or preparation for mediation.
2. Issues — We clarified the concrete issues and distinguished solvable tensions from topics that were not helpful to address at this stage.
3. Interdependence — We analysed what still connected people, where shared interests remained, and where clearer boundaries were needed.
4. Interaction — We examined recurring interaction patterns and translated them into targeted interventions, including working agreements, structured dialogue formats and selected mediation conversations.
5. Implications — We looked at the effects of the conflict on collaboration, functioning and the use of resources.
6. Institution — We analysed the institutional context, including leadership dynamics, governance questions and structural factors that were reinforcing escalation.
7. Interventions — We prioritised interventions based on expected impact versus effort and translated the full analysis into a phased recovery plan.
3. Impact
