Events

Our field faces a challenge in understanding and telling the story of peace. We have a wealth of research, experience, and inputs from a wide variety of experts across the world; however, we need a structure by which people can interact and engage with each other so the evidence they produce propels us forward. Currently, research and M&E frameworks compete with one another, and do not always link to the decisions practitioners need to make for optimal impact. Evidence also remains most accessible to those with resources, excluding people most affected by conflict. At a minimum, evidence-based peacebuilding must result from collaboration with and be informed by input from the expertise and insights of local practitioners and researchers in conflict-affected societies. If, however, we don’t hold ourselves accountable to do so, and without a rigorous and inclusive approach, we risk falling short of addressing gaps and creating a much-needed alignment of existing evidence. Over the past year, including using digital technology during a global pandemic, several organizations represented in this session have partnered across issues of conflict and evidence to find alignment. By creating better understanding of how different types of data intersect to improve our knowledge about conflict dynamics, these organizations are working to ensure the evidence we build collaboratively is relevant for people most affected by conflict.

This session will highlight insights and experiences from practitioners about evidence-based peacebuilding to jumpstart discussions with the audience about how greater coordination around lessons learned and complementary evidence-building can be achieved.