PROJECT OVERVIEW

Standard conflict analyses frequently fail to effectively inform operational procedures, decision-making processes and every-day interaction with crisis-affected populations and communities, as well as with staff members, government representatives and partner organisations. This is because many existing tools focus on the macro structures of crises, offering only a snapshot of a given situation rather than a subtler socio-historical appreciation of the political and economic fault lines along which conflict and violence is structured, and within which humanitarian, development and peacebuilding programmes are embedded. Further, they are usually generic and therefore ignore the contextual risks present in specific settings.

This CCDP projects builds on on-going collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS) of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The project seeks to strengthen analytical capabilities and facilitate a reflection process among humanitarian field practitioners using conflict sensitivity as a vehicle to enhance joined-up action across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

Through in-depth engagement with participants’ daily work and the application of tailored conflict analysis tools that speak to the needs of individual staff members, the project seeks to reinforce efforts by UN Resident Coordinator Offices (RCOs) to perform their crisis management, including preparedness and response, in a more effective manner. The CCDP facilitation team works individually with selected staff members to accompany them in the drafting of specific analytical products.

Pursuing advances made during the Pilot Phase 1 of the project, this new phase of the ALCA project (June 2021-June 2022) focuses its attention on staff members of key UN humanitarian agencies in the Central Sahel region: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and in collaboration with regional offices in Dakar. It involves online as well as in-country sessions with participants, featuring individual work as well as group exercises and discussions. 

The vehicle to maintain the network will be an ALCA Knowledge Repository, which will include all the finalised ALCA materials produced by the CCDP (in both English and French), external documents by other organisations and/or shared by the participants, as well as a chat function enabling those logging on to post messages and seek guidance on conflict analysis.

This project enjoys the support of the UK Mission to the United Nations in Geneva and is currently benefiting from a grant from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Masayo Kondo Rossier - Research Associate at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP)

• Robert Watkins - Research Associate at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP)