Program Design for Peacebuilders

Rotary Peace Symposium June 5, 2015

AGENDA

• Who’s in the room?

• Peacebuilding 3.0

• Theories of Change

• Considerations for Program Design

What is Peacebuilding for you?

NEGATIVE PEACE: absence of violence and absence of the fear of violence

POSITIVE PEACE: attitudes, institutions and structures which when strengthened lead to a more peaceful society

Evolution of Peacebuilding

Peacebuilding 1.0

Rooted in peace studies, nuclear disarmament, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, and conflict resolution. Post-Cold War and throughout the 1990s, in response to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the conflicts in Rwanda and Bosnia. Both process (such as mediation and negotiation) and structure (building resilient institutions).

Peacebuilding 2.0

Changed by the terrorist attack on 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Including sectors such as development, democracy, food security, health, and genocide prevention. Lack cohesion to operate most effectively in fragile, chaotic zones of conflict around the world.

Peacebuilding 3.0

Age of Partnerships?How do we communicate, and learn across the current disparate sectors?Operate beyond the sum of our individual parts. Emphasis on a new, dynamic systems approach to peacebuilding, incorporating complexity theory.

Theories of ChangeA theory of change explains why we think certain actions will produce desired change in a given context.

If we do X (action), then we will produce Y (change/shift towards peace, justice, security)

We believe that by doing X (action) successfully, we will produce Y (movement towards a desired goal)’

An on-going process of reflection to explore change and how it happens – and what that means for the part we play.

Serves as a compass for helping us find our way through the fog of complex systems, discovering a path as we go along.

Theories of Change – Why?

• Opening up a conversation with partners and funders about more realistic programs and aims, allowing both to challenge unrealistic expectations and over-claiming

• Making explicit a lot of the implicit/tactic knowledge and analysis

• Motivation: ‘reminding everyone why they are doing this’

• More quickly identifying things that aren’t working, so we can stop doing them (and spend our efforts on something else)

One Project – Several TOCs

Example: a project involving the construction of water well in a village in Burundi could be linked to the following theories of change:

• By providing access to a closer water source, we will improve safety (less danger of assault or rape, as is the case in many refugee camps) and health (improved sanitation, no contamination in drinking water, ability to cook with water).

• If there is closer access to water, then children can attend schoolinstead of having to travel for hours to provide water for the family.

• If we teach locals how to build water wells, then they can repeat the process in neighboring villages, thus spreading access to water throughout the region.

Peacebuilding Theories of Change

• Inside-Out Peacebuilding

• Attitude Toward Peace

• Healthy Relationships

• Peace Process

• Functioning Institutions

• Reform the Elite

• Coming to Terms with the Past

Interconnections between approaches

More people Key people

Individual/PersonalLevel

Socio-PoliticalLevel

What are your Theories of Change?

Considerations in Program Design

Where do I start? What is my niche? What talents, relationships assets do I bring (and my organization?)

One size does not fit all (need careful context analysis) Who is already doing what? (need to map other projects and

actors) Who are your partners and allies? (can we build on existing

efforts?) What is a realistic time frame? What will this really cost?

Effects

Main Problem

Causes

Defining the Problem: Analysis!

1. Who is the target groups, beneficiaries and other stakeholders?

2. What are the problem (causes, effects) and needs

3. What are the possible solutions

4. What are the possible strategies and which one will we choose?

What are we going to do?TALK, LISTEN, AND ASK DIFFICULT QUESTIONS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, PARTICULARLY WOMEN AND YOUTH.

CONVENE PEOPLE TO ENVISION A COLLABORATIVE FUTURE.

CONSIDER THE COUNTER-INTUITIVE

MAKE BRAINSTORMING A DISCIPLINE

PRACTICE OPPORTUNISM. (Find leverage points and synergies!)

RELEASE THE ARTIST IN PEOPLE

Don’t Forget!

System Push Back? What are the systems of power, privilege or simply bureaucratic inertia that will impede significant progress—and that should cause us to reconsider our theories of change and programmatic approaches?

Complementarities, Divergences or Duplication Programs/projects should not be viewed in isolation. Are there other efforts running in parallel or in support of initiatives at different levels? Does our proposed action undermine another effort? Has our proposed effort been tried before—and, if so, with what results? Do the theories of change of the diverse efforts in the same domain/sector complement or contradict each other? What about the effects of initiatives in other sectors?

Do No Harm/Conflict SensitivityFlaws in the theory of change can endanger people. This is partly related to system push back as discussed above, but also simply due to backfiring or rebound effects. In other words, we can cause harm by miscalculating how change happens or misjudging the effects of a range of programmatic activities, such as whom we hire; and choices regarding project location, activities, participants/ beneficiaries, contractors/suppliers…

Program Design Logic Model

GOAL

Activity

OBJECTIVE

IMPACT

OUTCOMES

OUTPUTS

INPUTS

Goals vs. Objectives

Monitoring & Evaluation

“The only difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is the way we use them.” - Adriana Doyle

1. What does success look like? How much change is enough?

2. What is to be measured – what is going to change?

3. Unit of measurement to be used to describe the change4. Pre-program status/state, also known as the baseline (where

possible)

5. Size, magnitude, or dimension of the intended change

6. Quality or standard of the change to be achieved

7. Target population(s)

Basic Components of Indicators

Sample Indicators

OBJECTIVE INDICATOR

Increase inter-community collaborationon public policy issues that address common interests.

Expand from twice/year to six times/year the number of public policy debatesor forums where all three communitiescontribute interest-based solutions on natural resource management disputes by the end of 2009.

Increase trust between the twocommunities.

50% of men, women, and children fromeach side increase their mobility withinthe areas controlled by the other side byat least one square kilometer per year.

Measurable • Reliable • Feasible • Utility in Decision-Making

Mapping The Boundaries of an Expanding Field (2012 Alliance for Peacebuilding)

http://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/AfP-Mapping-Report_online_FINAL.pdf

DFID on Theories of Change http://www.cdacollaborative.org/publications/reflecting-on-peace-practice/rpp-guidance-materials/practical-approaches-to-theories-of-change-in-conflict,-security-and-justice-programmes-part-i/

USAID CMM’s Theories of Change http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADS460.pdf

OECD DAC’s work on Theories of Change http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/dcdndep/39774573.pdf

SFCG’s Module on Theories of Change http://dmeforpeace.org/sites/default/files/3.7%20Theory%20of%20Change.pdf

Church & Rogers Designing for Results http://www.sfcg.org/Documents/manualpart1.pdf

OECD Monitoring and Evaluation http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf

Conflict Analysis: http://www.gsdrc.org/index.cfm?objectid=3133E975-14C2-620A-277DFFB9CA069184

http:9bb63f6dda0f744fa4449471a7fca5768cc513a2e3c4a260910b.r43.cf3.rackcdn.com/files/8513/8008/4706/Bridging-the-participation-gap.pdf

Systems thinking https://www.leveragenetworks.com/learn/systems-thinking

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Julia Roig, President

Partners for Democratic Change

jroig@partnersglobal.org

202-942-2166 ext. 101

1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Suite 515, Washington, DC 20036

THANK YOU!