Browse this selection of the best peace and development articles, policy and academic reports, short videos, and methodologies from our staff and collaborators globally.
Unity through Communication: Juan’s Journey with Co-Inspira
Unity through Communication: Juan’s Journey with Co-Inspira Versión en español, ver abajo In El Tambo, Juan Esteban Uribe Garcia, a facilitator within the Co-Inspira project, shares a dynamic perspective on the transformative impact of this initiative on their community. Juan is a graphic designer, and his work has been influenced
Navigating Peacebuilding Paths in Cauca: Leidy’s Journey with Co-Inspira
Navigating Peacebuilding Paths in Cauca: Leidy’s Journey with Co-Inspira Versión en español, ver abajo Leidy Guaca, a political science graduate from the Universidad del Cauca, contributes to the Co-Inspira Team as a facilitator in the Cauca region, Colombia. Coordinating four research circles within the project – environmental research, knowledge sharing
Transforming Lives in Colombia: Yaneth’s Journey with Co-Inspira
Transforming Lives in Colombia: Yaneth’s Journey with Co-Inspira Versión en español, ver abajo Social leader and Human Rights defender Yaneth Perez is a delegate of the Territorial Council of Peace and Reconciliation, the Advisory Council of Women, and the Federation of Victims of Cauca and a facilitator accompanying systemic action
Empowering Communities for Positive Change: Mauricio’s Journey with Co-Inspira
Empowering Communities for Positive Change: Mauricio’s Journey with Co-Inspira Versión en español, ver abajo In the department of Cauca, Colombia, our transformative initiative, the Co-Inspira program is quietly making waves. Mauricio Guevara is a co-researcher and facilitator of the Systemic Action Research methodology for the program in the municipality of
Short Video on the Applications of Power Theory to Peacebuilding
Lets enjoy this insightful journey into the intricate world of power and its profound implications for peacebuilding. Unravelling the tapestry of ideas presented by Stephen and Angela in a thought-provoking video.
Introductory Video on Participatory Action Research
Participatory Action Research is a methodology that enables those most affected by conflict and development challenges to take the lead in learning, mobilising, and taking direct action to improve their own lives. It is one methodology offering a more ethical, endogenous, resilient, and impactful approach to international development. The following course is a free introduction to this methodology and its application in Myanmar.
Guidance for Participatory Action Research
Participatory Action Research (PAR) is an integral part of Systemic Action Research. It involves engaging diverse groups over time to analyze evidence, generate theories of change, implement innovative solutions, and evaluate outcomes. PAR groups focus on self-help, advocacy, and institutional development, aiming to scale the impact of their actions and promote equitable participation. Trust building, local evidence gathering, and facilitation play crucial roles in the PAR process.
Guidance for Life story Analysis in Systemic Action Research
Prepared for Adapt Peacebuilding Colombia, Feb. 2021. Systemic action research involves collecting 100-300+ life stories for analysis. Community researchers gather stories, and the process includes mapping causal factors, identifying patterns, and discussing interventions. The workshop spans 4-5 days and covers skills training, story analysis, creating system maps, identifying actions, and planning for action research groups.
Guidance on the Collection of Life Stories in Systemic Action Research
Life story collection is a vital method in Systemic Action Research. Participants share personal experiences to understand issues, causes, and opportunities. Stories provide valuable insights, highlighting patterns, causalities, and diverse impacts. Collectors should create a comfortable environment, ask open-ended questions, and actively listen. Ethical considerations, consent, and confidentiality are crucial.
The Power of Unity: How Group Cohesion Shapes Peace Negotiations
The Power of Unity: How Group Cohesion Shapes Peace Negotiations by Stephen GrayMay 15, 2023 When peace negotiations take place, they typically involve representatives of various groups that have been at war. But what factors determine the success or failure of these negotiations? One important factor is group cohesion. In
Adaptive Capacity Assessment
Adaptive Capacity Assessment by Stephen GrayApril 24, 2023 An example radar chart of an adaptive capacity assessment Are you tired of running programs that don’t seem to produce the desired results? Do you feel frustrated by the lack of adaptability in your organization’s approach to development or peacebuilding? If so,
Towards a More Inclusive and Rigorous Peacebuilding Evaluation: An Emerging Integrated Framework
Towards a More Inclusive and Rigorous Peacebuilding Evaluation: An Emerging Integrated Framework by Stephen GrayMay 3, 2023 In today’s world, the importance of peacebuilding cannot be overstated. However, evaluating peacebuilding initiatives is not an easy task, as it involves assessing complex social, political, and economic dynamics. This is where an
Research on the Factors that Enable and Inhibit Adaptive Programming (Christian Aid Ireland)
“The Difference Learning Makes: Factors that Enable and Inhibit Adaptive Programming” is an article by Christian Aid Ireland that explores the factors that enable or inhibit adaptive programming in international development. It highlights the importance of adaptive programming for achieving sustainable and effective development outcomes and identifies key factors that promote or hinder it. With the world facing complex challenges, this article offers valuable insights for organizations and practitioners seeking to promote continuous learning and innovation in international development.”
Reflecting on Bottom-up Peacebuilding Methodologies in Myanmar (Peace News)
Adapt Peacebuilding and the Relief Action Network for IDPs and Refugees (RANIR) have pioneered a civil society-led peacebuilding process in Myanmar, utilizing an adaptive peacebuilding methodology called Systemic Action Research (SAR). This approach allows local participants to determine the topics to be worked on, outcomes expected, who can participate, and when activities should be completed. The SAR approach has been implemented in the armed conflict in Myanmar’s north between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and its allies and the Myanmar military. The SAR approach includes training in systemic inquiry, a process of participatory data collection and analysis. The process identified three priority peacebuilding topics: drug abuse, the right of return for refugees and internally displaced people, and social cohesion between host communities and internally displaced people. More than 17,000 people were directly involved in the process, and the potential of seeing peacebuilding as a process of social mobilization has been demonstrated.
Regional Occurrences of Ongoing Violence in Cauca, and One Community’s History of Resistance
Regional Occurrences of Ongoing Violence in Cauca, and One Community’s History of Resistance by Julia Julstrom-AgoyoOctober 28, 2022 A mural outside the center of El Tambo, Cauca seen with ‘FARC-EP’ graffiti written over it. Before spending the summer in Colombia, I subscribed to several listservs, meant to keep me informed
Negative Peace in the US: What Can Black Lives Matter Teach International Peacebuilders?
A false sense of invincibility and exceptionalism are pervasive throughout the West: we are misguided into thinking that wealth and well established institutions preclude us from the societal and developmental challenges we implement interventions to try to address around the world. As a result, Western peacebuilding practitioners often wind up so focused on the challenges of poverty and conflict “over there” that we forget to consider the similar challenges we face “over here.” Meanwhile, in the US, for example, the Black Lives Matter movement is highlighting the widespread presence of oppressive systems that are stalling development for large contingents of the population.
Social Polarisation and the Weaponization of Social Media (Mercy Corps)
Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for communication, connection, community and, unfortunately, conflict. It’s created new, highly accessible channels for spreading disinformation, sowing divisiveness and contributing to real-world harm in the form of violence, persecution and exploitation. The impact social media has on real-world communities is complex and rapidly evolving. It stretches across international borders and challenges traditional humanitarian aid, development and peacebuilding models. This new paradigm requires a new approach. Mercy Corps has partnered with Do No Digital Harm and Adapt Peacebuilding on a landscape assessment to examine how social media has been used to drive or incite violence and to lay the foundation for effective, collaborative programming and initiatives to respond quickly and help protect already fragile communities.
Peacebuilding, Prevention, and Sustaining Peace: Q&A with Susanna Campbell
Prevention and sustaining peace have been central themes at the United Nations (UN) over the past two years, consistently emphasized by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Nelson Mandela Peace Summit held during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly was yet another example of efforts to highlight the need for more focus on preventative approaches to conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and other topics—ending with the adoption of a political declaration and a reaffirmation by member states of the goals that Nelson Mandela worked for. Yet, despite these summits and debates, there is still a challenge in linking debates at the international level with on-the-ground actors and experience.
Five things to consider when developing monitoring and evaluation systems for adaptive programmes
International development is slowly waking up to the realisation that existing programming frameworks, often driven by the need for accountability, due not hold true in sight of the true complexity of local dynamics and do not deliver neither for beneficiaries, nor implementing organisations, nor the donors themselves. The truth is: we often do not know the solution to an existing problem and, as such, it is difficult to predict if and how a project will work out. Enter adaptive programming, where we design, test and evaluate different programming strategies to find out what works (best).
PROJECT: Conflict Sensitivity Training for Myanmar Police Force
The Myanmar Police Force (MPF) has faced considerable challenges in responding to new priorities and operating realities in Myanmar during the country’s democratic reforms. Communal violence has sadly been a feature of Myanmar’s transition, particularly in 2012 and 2013, when several episodes of spontaneous violence erupted in various parts of the country, causing significant death, destruction of property, and displacement of affected populations. Tensions remain between communities in some parts of the country. The MPF is often at the front line of efforts to manage conflicts before they turn violent, or keep the peace and support justice and reconciliation after tensions boil over.
BLOG POST: Understanding the dynamics of polarization in Colombia
A brief reflection about polarization and its effects by Sergio Guarín León, Fundación Ideas Para La Paz, Colombia.
Common confusions
1. In all societies there are groups that have opposing positions on the way public affairs should be conducted. These positions are explained by the interests, needs and fears of individuals, as well as by their interpretation of reality, the information they have access to and their own experiences.
2. Social life implies the constant clash between these positions, which is known as conflict. The conflict is not negative per se and its management is an essential part of the public debate. When a society can manage the conflict peacefully improvements happen frequently or at least, awareness, new decisions and movements are generated.
PROJECT: Systemic Conflict Analysis, Kachin State
Myanmar’s civil war is five decades old. Since 2011 hundreds have since been killed and more than one hundred thousand displaced in northern Kachin state, threatening the country’s entire peace and reform process. In 2012 Adapt conducted a systemic conflict assessment of this conflict as part of a fellowship from Columbia University. Based upon key informant interviews and a chronology of events methodology, the research revealed non-linear dynamics which render the Kachin conflict intractable. The authors continue to work with affected communities, who are beginning to realise their aspirations for a political process to address the war’s underlying causes. For more about Adapt’s work in Kachin, check out the Peacebuiling Programs page.
PROJECT: Adapt develops new methods for creative planning in international development
Adapt Peacebuilding is supporting the NGO Christian Aid Ireland to institute adaptive programming approaches in its human rights, governance, gender and peacebuilding work in seven countries. Adaptive programming approaches recognise that its difficult if not impossible to know which strategies are likely to be effective in complex environments, and prioritises learning and reflection to improve strategies in close to real time.
BLOG POST: The Untapped Potential of Visual Arts and Innovative Education for Peace
In this blog, Peace Direct intern Celia Carbajosa spoke to leading social entrepreneur, activist and Rotary Peace Fellow Maria Gabriela Arenas- or ‘Gaby’ as she goes by- about an approach to violence which she thinks is largely overlooked: that of visual arts and innovative education. Gaby is the founder of TAAP (“Taller de Aprendizaje para las Artes y el Pensamiento”), a foundation based on promoting peaceful living and learning through creative workshops. TAPP uses drawings, photography, videos, textiles, sculptures and other tools to stimulate children, parents and the wider community to change how they think about violence and come up with communal solutions to eradicate it.
REPORT: Forestry Management and Peacebuilding in Karen Areas of Myanmar
This report, by Stephen Gray for International Alert, provides principles and practical strategies to support peacebuilding via forestry management in Karen-inhabited areas in the southeast of Myanmar. Improved governance of natural resources should be a focus of peacebuilding efforts, as it offers means to 1) mitigate conflict risks that have undermined Myanmar’s previous peace processes, 2) promote respect for pluralism through the recognition of the identities, rights and practices of ethnic minorities, and 3) support the devolution of governance (in this case forestry management), consistent with the goals of creating a democratic federal union. The report builds on examples of initiatives that are already working well, and recommends principles and practical strategies that are sensitive to the current context.
SLIDE DECK: Participatory Systems Mapping
In March 2014 Adapt conducted a workshop on participatory approaches to systems analysis at Columbia University in New York. View the slides here and read more about how to do participatory systems mapping throughout our newsfeed.
BLOG POST: ‘Different but not indifferent’ Non-violent community-led protection: La Guardia Indígena
In the mountainous Cauca region of southwestern Colombia, nineteen different indigenous communities from the Nasa tribe (approximately 18.500 people) live their lives autonomously from Bogota’s centralized national government. Known for their organizational capacity and sense of community, the indigenous communities of the Cauca region have a history of popular resistance in Colombia. For example in the 1920s, the Nasa collectively boycotted the taxes imposed on them by the Governor of Cauca for living and working their own land. Also, the Nasa were the first indigenous tribe in Colombia to organize themselves in a regional council, the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC), in 1971.
BLOG POST: Colombia’s peace in 2018: a new government, polarization, and instability
With a new president’s approach to peace, Colombia faces old and new challenges for building peace. In a recent evaluation, Iván Duque searches to modify the peace agreement in three main areas: Land restitution and illegal crop eradication programs, the political representation of the FARC, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP in Spanish). We analyze these changes through the lens of political polarization.
Systems Thinking and Adaptive Management in International Development and Peacebuilding
This presentation at Columbia University outlined how, compared to traditional methods in international development and peacebuilding, systems thinking and adaptive management can be used to make our interventions more effective and less likely to cause harm. The presentation covers relevant concepts of thinking, methods of analysis and MEL, and adaptive management methodologies. All in all, a necessary concept and practice toolkit for professionals working to improve lives in complex environments, which we hope will lead to a graduate course delivered at Columbia University from next year onwards.
VIDEO: Systems Approaches to Monitoring and Evaluation in Colombia
This video recording of a presentation by Stephen Gray to Fundación Ideas para la Paz focuses on systems approaches to monitoring and evaluation. Stephen first introduces the general principles related to methods that focus on systems and complexity, and then examines the specific methodology used by The Omidyar Group.
