Programming in conflict-sensitive environments requires us to constantly explore new ideas that push the boundaries of traditional thinking and require us to utilize innovative approaches to address some of the most complex development challenges. Designing and implementing innovative and sound programs that utilize cross-sectoral approaches to address root causes and mitigate the effects of conflict, drive peacebuilding efforts, promote tolerance, and support stability are critical priorities for development practitioners. To do this well, we must continually learn and adapt, seeking new and better ways to achieve sustainable results in the peacebuilding space.
To foster learning and share knowledge about the creative approaches we are using around the world, Chemonics is holding a company-wide innovation contest. We are asking our global workforce to share their experiences implementing innovative cross-sectoral peacebuilding and conflict prevention programming approaches and/or activities that have been successful at managing conflict. Ideally, proposed programming approaches and/or activities should be inclusive, adaptive, and pave the way for sustainability, as evidenced by positive results, including changes in the knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices of target stakeholders. We encourage projects from all different technical sectors to apply and are interested in finding cross-sectoral approaches that contribute to broader peacebuilding outcomes writ large. Please note: submissions should include programming approaches or activities that have been implemented in the past three years.
For the purposes of this contest, we are broadly defining innovation as: (1) an existing approach or activity that is being used in a new context, (2) an existing approach or activity that is being used in a new way, or (3) something completely new.
Share ideas with your peers, be recognized for your work, and have the chance to win prizes!
Questions? Please email us at PSTInnovationContest@chemonics.com
Elizabeth (Liz) Hume is the Vice President at the Alliance for Peacebuilding. She has over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership positions overseeing sizeable and complex peacebuilding programs in conflict affected countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. From 1997-2001, Liz was seconded by the US Department of State to the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo as the Chief Legal Counsel and Head of the Election Commission Secretariats. In these positions, she was responsible for developing the legal framework and policies in support of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and UN Resolution 1244.
Corinne Graff is a senior policy scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), where her work focuses on promoting effective, whole-of-government approaches to mitigating state fragility and conflict risk in developing countries. Prior to joining USIP, she served as a deputy assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In this capacity, she oversaw Sudan and South Sudan programs and Africa Bureau efforts on countering violent extremism and security governance. Prior to joining USAID she was director for development and democracy at the National Security Council, where she coordinated U.S. global development policy priorities, as well as crisis early warning and countering violent extremism. From 2010-2013, she was a senior advisor to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (USUN), where her portfolio included sub-Saharan Africa and global development policy. Before joining government, Dr. Graff was a fellow at the Brookings Institution where she co-edited a book on Confronting Poverty: Weak States and U.S. National Security (Brookings Press, 2010), co-directed a project leading to a report on education and extremism, and helped develop the Brookings Index of State Weakness in the Developing World.
Currently the director of the Peace, Stability, and Transition practice, Elisabeth Dallas is a conflict prevention and resolution expert with over 15 years of experience designing and implementing programs that successfully mitigate conflict and support state-of-the art peacebuilding. Prior to joining Chemonics, Ms. Dallas served as a senior conflict and peacebuilding advisor in USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation. In this role, she provided technical support to USAID missions, conducting conflict assessments, and designing programs to mitigate conflict. She has also served as a chief of party for the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). Ms. Dallas has worked in more than 15 countries throughout South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Her expertise is applying conflict sensitive approaches to development, violence prevention, mediation, and negotiation. Ms. Dallas holds a M.A. in public international law and conflict resolution and a M.A. certificate in human security from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She also holds a B.A. in anthropology from Haverford College.
The Peace, Stability, and Transition practice is excited to announce the launch of its Cross-Sectoral Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Innovation Contest, open to all Chemonics staff around the world. We encourage projects from all different technical sectors to apply and are interested in finding cross-sectoral approaches that contribute to broader peacebuilding outcomes writ large. We are eager to learn from you about the innovative, successful cross-sectoral peacebuilding and conflict prevention approaches and activities you are using in your projects as well as any lessons you have learned through implementation. Approaches and activities can fall across a variety of sub-technical focus areas. Please see below for illustrative focus areas:
Two winning entries will be selected; one by Chemonics global staff and one by subject matter experts from Chemonics, USAID, USIP, and NGO partners. An innovative cross-sectoral peacebuilding and conflict prevention approach or activity seeks ways to deliberately engage and collaborate among various stakeholder groups including but not limited to government entities, civil society groups, media actors, religious and ethnic groups and private sector, and across sectors (e.g., health, environment, economy, governance, education) to achieve desired peacebuilding and conflict prevention outcomes. Furthermore, an innovative approach or activity can be (1) an existing approach or activity that is being used in a new context, (2) an existing approach or activity that is being used in a new way, or (3) something completely new.
We understand many projects that seek to prevent conflict deal with highly sensitive programming and information which may impact what you are able to publicly share. Generally, teams should submit entries that they are comfortable presenting on publicly not just within Chemonics but also industry-wide, including to their client.
We want to hear about innovative technical approaches and activities that you have implemented, how you implemented them, and why in your opinion they worked. How did they achieve results? If you encountered challenges along the way, we want to know how you adapted the approach or activity design to achieve the intended results. By sharing both our successes and challenges, we can help each other improve our work, achieve greater results, and inspire our colleagues on other projects to try something new.
Each submission should follow the outline below, providing an explanation of how the approach or activity addresses each topic. Guiding questions are provided to help you think about your responses to each topic, but you are not required to answer every guiding question and can structure responses to each topic in the outline as you like, within the two-page limit.
Outline for entries:
*See evaluation criteria below.
All Chemonics-implemented project teams are eligible to submit entries regardless of the technical sector your project falls under. Contest submissions should be prepared and submitted by project employees who have worked directly on the featured approaches or activities on the current project. A project team may submit more than one submission, but each submission should feature a different activity or approach.
To be eligible to win a prize, entries must meet the following basic requirements:
All eligible entries will be judged by two groups:
There will be two project winners in total; one selected through the peer vote and the other selected by the technical panel. Both winning teams will have the opportunity to nominate 2 representatives from each team to travel Washington, DC to attend the Alliance for Peacebuilding 2019 Peace Conference (AfP PeaceCon). Please note: the nominees that travel to Washington, DC should be employees who have worked directly on the featured submission. If aligned with conference technical themes, both winning teams will also collaborate with the PST Practice to develop a proposal to deliver a panel presentation at AfP's 2019 PeaceCon, one of the industry's largest peacebuilding conferences. Regardless of whether or not the proposal gets accepted by AfP to deliver a presentation, we are committed to sending all four representatives to attend the conference as participants.
The winning teams will also be able to share their innovative approach or activity via blogs, video interviews, and presentations and are expected to collaborate with the PST team to promote their submissions through a variety of communications pieces.
The final determination of winners will be made at the sole discretion of Chemonics. Scores and feedback from Chemonics will not be shared.
Criteria | Description |
The design of the cross-sectoral peacebuilding or conflict prevention development approach or activity | The approach’s or activity’s design and implementation is inclusive, and sensitive to issues faced by both men and women, boys and girls as well as marginalized populations. It incorporates good practices such as do no harm and conflict sensitivity, incorporates fundamentals from leading frameworks such as positive youth development and collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA). Where applicable, it effectively utilizes technology solutions, and can be scaled up. |
Local Ownership and Paving the Way for Sustainability | The approach or activity is sustainable or on the path to sustainability, has local stakeholder ownership/buy-in, and is set up in a way that eventually it does not rely solely on donor project funding. |
Challenges and lessons learned | The approach or activity includes feedback loops, robust monitoring and evaluation, and an iterative design process that enables adaptation at any point in time during implementation. |
Impact | The approach or activity has demonstrated an inclusive impact (i.e. changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices of target stakeholders, including increased engagement with local leaders or engagement between groups in conflict, supported community stabilization and improved community cohesion, created opportunities to provide alternatives to partaking in violence, increased support for peaceful action or incidents of peaceful action, positive perceptions of others/leaders/government, etc.). |
Chemonics will award the following prizes:
For all participants:
For the two winning submissions:
Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before 11:59 pm ET on March 20, 2019. No late submissions will be accepted.
Once you click the ACCEPT CHALLENGE button to register for the Contest and begin your application – you will be able to make edits to your application post-submission, until the contest closes at 11:59 pm ET on March 20, 2019.
**Please note that this is an internal competition, and this link should not be shared outside of the company.**
Questions? Please email us at PSTInnovationContest@chemonics.com
