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Collective Impact in Peacebuilding: Lessons from Networking Efforts in Multiple Locations

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Section I: Introduction

CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (CDA) has been working with peace practitioners actively since the late 1990s. During that time, CDA conducted two sets of case studies regarding a wide range of peace efforts, produced two books based on the case material, developed training manuals to guide better peacebuilding practice, and worked directly with practitioners in multiple conflict zones around the world. In the course of that work, CDA staff noticed that the many entities (organizations and individuals) working on an array of peacebuilding activities rarely managed to generate effective joint organizational efforts to achieve their shared peace goals. This concern was reflected in the case studies conducted by CDA’s Reflecting on Peace Practice Program that resulted in the book Adding Up to Peace: The Cumulative Impacts of Peace Programming (CDA, 2018).

In the course of researching methods for promoting more effective collaborative action for peace, CDA staff and consultants became aware of the work of FSG regarding collective impact, as applied to networks, alliances, coalitions, and other similar groupings dedicated to shared achievements of social good in a variety of fields, including health and education. CDA staff then adapted the FSG model of collective impact for application to peacebuilding efforts and produced the “Framework for Collective Impact in Peacebuilding” (which was incorporated as a chapter in Adding Up to Peace).

Subsequently, CDA conducted four case studies, three regarding existing peacebuilding networks in Africa and Asia and one summarizing technical assistance provided to two emerging networks in Nigeria and Sri Lanka, in cooperation with Search for Common Ground. The four case studies were the focus of a consultation in Washington, D.C., in October 2018 and were discussed again at an experts workshop in Geneva as part of the Geneva Peace Week in November 2018. The reflections of the colleagues who participated in those events were then incorporated into a revised version of the Framework document. In order to hold the Framework document to a manageable size, references to the case studies were kept to a minimum.
This paper will provide more direct reporting of the conclusions from the case studies and consultations. Readers are encouraged to consider its insights alongside the Framework.

In adapting the FSG collective impact model, the Framework presents five conditions for collective impact in peacebuilding:

  1. Collective and Emergent Understanding

  2. Collective Intention and Action

  3. Collective Learning and Adaptive Management

  4. Continuous Communication and Accountability

  5. Sufficient Support Structures (“Backbone Support”)

These five elements, along with a series of important preconditions, were explored in the three case studies and through work with the two emerging networks. In addition, participants in the consultations articulated a series of principles that should inform any collaborative effort, emphasizing (among other things) control by local actors; adapting to local contexts; the importance of trust relationships among participating organizations; bottom-up approaches; sustained efforts over time; and the incorporation of mutual learning throughout. The Framework also incorporates two overarching approaches: systems thinking and adaptive management. The analytical tools of systems thinking enable a mutual understanding and visual mapping of how violent conflicts result from the interactions among multiple factors and actors.
Participants in networks and alliances can then see how their disparate and complementary activities might be better aligned to generate greater collective impacts. Adaptive management allows flexibility in responding to positive and negative feedback, rather than adhering to predetermined approaches.