2. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Conflict-Sensitive Monitoring & Evaluation Sue Williams, Collaborative for Development Action

3. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Conflict-Sensitive Monitoring & Evaluation Many assistance programs now take place in situations of conflict, sometimes violent conflict. No agency engages in international assistance in order to make the situation more violent or less peaceful. How can we be more effective, and cause less damage, in conflict situations?

4. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Conflict-Sensitive Monitoring & Evaluation Do No Harm / Local Capacities for Peace –Aimed at humanitarian / emergency aid –Sometimes, aid unintentionally makes conflict worse. –Sometimes, aid supports local capacities for peace. Careful analysis, planning and monitoring can reduce the likelihood of doing harm, identify local forces for peace, and aim to support them.

5. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Conflict-Sensitive Monitoring & Evaluation Reflecting on Peace Practice –Aimed at peace programs –Many peace initiatives have little impact. –Programs which could help to build peace often do not aim to do so, nor monitor and assess this impact. How can we be more effective, and help to build peace, in conflict situations?

6. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004

7. Do No Harm Key lessons of Do No Harm: Aid is not neutral; it influences the context. Humanitarian, emergency, and development programs in conflict situations have impact beyond their intentions.

8. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Do No Harm There are dividers and Dividers increase tension; people fight over them. Aid and development strengthen or reduce connectors in conflicts. Connectors reduce tension; they draw people together. programs can dividers or connectors.

9. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Do No Harm There are local capacities for peace in all conflict situations. Options exist, to promote local capacities for peace, or to undermine them.

10. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Do No Harm Resource transfers have an impact. –What resources? How are they distributed? –Who benefits? Who gains power or control? > Implicit ethical messages are conveyed by how the agency works. -Who has authority or legitimacy? -Whose life or property is more important?

11. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004

12. Reflecting on Peace Practice Key Lessons of Reflecting on Peace Practice: Driven by assumptions & hidden theories Does the program actually promote peace? –Beyond intentions and objectives –Assessing results –Attributing impact to peace efforts –Assessing changes in the overall situation

13. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Reflecting on Peace Practice Effective programs have impact at the socio- political level Effective programs have impact on key people as well as more people

14. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Reflecting on Peace Practice CRITERIA OF EFFECTIVENESS A programme promotes peace effectively when: 1It contributes to stopping a key factor favouring war or conflict. 2It causes communities to develop their own initiatives for peace based on their context analysis. 3It reforms or creates political institutions to handle grievances that fuel conflict.

15. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 Reflecting on Peace Practice CRITERIA OF EFFECTIVENESS A programme promotes peace effectively when: 4It prompts people to resist provocations to violence. 5It increases peoples security and their sense of security.

16. USAID West Africa Regional Programme, November, 2004 OVERALL LESSONS ANALYSIS of the conflict is crucial. Yet agencies do not: –do systematic analysis –do enough analysis –link strategy to analysis –link their activities to what others are doing in other levels and sectors –extend their activities to the point where they have socio-political impact.