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Assessments Experience |
Sri Lanka - The Berghof Foundation, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (through GTZ) - Conflict Resolution Initiative Assessment. The Sri Lanka Office of the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies (Berghof Foundation) commissioned the Project Progress Review (PPR) mission in October 2002 to assess the Pilot Phase of the Resource Network for Conflict Studies and Transformation (RNCST) Sri Lanka, a multifaceted approach to developing a culture and capacities for peacemaking and peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. CDR Associates was the lead agency in the assessment. It was assisted by two conflict resolution specialists from the Swiss and German governments. The RNCST initiative consisted of multiple activities including the conduct of interethnic dialogue groups at local, Track II and Track 1 ½ levels; research and dissemination of working papers on issues related to Track I negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elim; training and capacity building for government agencies and NGOs involved in conflict resolution work; and holding conferences on peace related issues to build peace constituencies. Over a period of two weeks, the CDR team interviewed close to fifty Sri Lankans involved in RNCST initiatives and conducted and interactive workshop -"Supporting Peace through Capacity Building and Dialogue Work"- to gain feedback on the impacts of Berghof's work. Overall, the PPR Team's approach was similar to and consistent with evolving Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) frameworks. Afghanistan Consultancy, Peacebuilding Program Assessment Pakistan. CDR evaluated a conflict management program and developed recommendations regarding the future direction of the program. Additionally, CDR intersected with Afghan peacebuilding organizations, International non-governmental organizations, and European and North American donors of humanitarian projects to promote coordination between actors and develop support for non-violent intervention in conflict situations by Afghan peacebuilders. This work was completed successfully in a highly charged and delicate political situation. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation - Ethnic Conflict Resolution Assessment Project. CDR's professional conflict assessment and evaluation services were secured by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation of Flint, Michigan, to collect and assess learnings from multicultural cooperation and ethnic dispute resolution projects supported by the Foundation since it began its Eastern European civil society initiative in the late 1980s. CDR and the Berghof Center for Constructive Conflict Management, its German assessment partner, conducted on-site visits and interviewed over one hundred individuals working for a number of U.S., Western European, and Eastern European conflict management organizations involved in assisting parties to address and resolve internal ethnic and political conflicts in Tajikistan, Moldova, and the former Yugoslavia; the interstate war between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and efforts to establish conflict resolution centers to address multicultural issues in a number of Eastern European countries. The results of the assessment are published in Reaching for Peace: Lessons learned from Mott Foundation's conflict resolution grantmaking. Flint, Michigan: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 1999. Local Government Foundation and The Asia Foundation Manila, the Philippines. CDR conducted a situation assessment and program evaluation of the training system of the Katarangang Pambarangay Justice System, a nationwide government-sponsored mediation and arbitration service with 40,000 local boards that handle both civil and criminal disputes. The consultation consisted of interviewing individuals connected with the program, observing Barangay mediations, observing a Training-For-Trainers seminar, preparing a written report on recommendations for how the training program could be redesigned to enhance mediators' skills and increase the rate of settlement, drafting of training materials, and presentation of a Training-For-Trainers seminar for prospective dispute resolution trainers. CDR staff worked on this project for two years, and made three visits to the Philippines. Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Justice Mediation Boards Commission and The Asia Foundation. CDR Associates conducted a ten-day consultation and program assessment on the Mediation Boards Program of the Ministry of Justice. The intervention consisted of on-site visits to a number of mediation boards, observations of mediations and training, and recommendations to the Mediation Boards Commission on management practices and procedures to improve the performance of the project. An Advanced Mediation Seminar was also conducted for the Mediation Board's team of trainers.
