Publications
USIP Special Report 407, by Jack Froude and Michael Zanchelli. June 2018.
With an eye to better understanding how and why dialogue programs can be effective, this report synthesizes the key findings and lessons from a commissioned meta-review of dialogue grants funded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) since 1992. Nike Carstarphen and Ilana Shapiro of the Alliance for Conflict Transformation undertook the evaluation in collaboration with USIP. The report’s target audience includes those funding dialogue projects as well as organizations designing and implementing projects that use dialogue as a strategy.
Nike Carstarphen and Ilana Shapiro of the Alliance for Conflict Transformation undertook a meta-evaluation of over 100 USIP-funded dialogue projects since 1995 in collaboration with USIP. This is the final report prepared for USIP in 2016. The study focused on advancing understandings of dialogue ‘transfer’ processes and effects - or how dialogue effects on participants is spread or transmitted beyond that group to influence other groups, practices or policies, and make broader changes in society. It also examined changes in USIP grant-supported dialogue projects over time and assessed the relative success of different dialogue approaches. The goal was to provide an evidence base to help strengthen the design, implementation and evaluation of USIP grant-supported dialogue projects and link lessons learned to strategic programmatic decision-making that improves the impact of peacebuilding initiatives.
USIP Special Report 246, by Nike Carstarphen, Craig Zelizer, Robert Harris, and David J. Smith. August 2010.
This report, requested by the United States Institute of Peace as part of its response to the focus on education and training provided for in the legislation that created it, examines the match between graduate academic programs in international peace and conflict, and the needs of organizations and agencies that hire individuals for conflict focused work in the field.
By Kevin Avruch, Nike Carstarphen and Laurel Collins. October 2008.
The Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program, more commonly known as the Walsh Visa Program (WVP), was a groundbreaking initiative introduced by Rep. James T. Walsh (R-NY) and signed into law in October 1998, shortly after the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. The goal of the Program was to foster cross-cultural understanding and provide training opportunities for young unemployed workers from economically disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland and the six designated border counties of the Republic of Ireland (ROI). The concept was based on the premise that unemployed young people from all sides of the sectarian divide could benefit from the experience of peaceful coexistence through living and working in a multicultural society. With this experience, the participants could return home better able to contribute to their economy and the overall Peace Process.
The Alliance for Conflict Transformation developed a cross-cultural and conflict resolution curriculum for the WVP, trained many of the participants in the early years, and later helped monitor and evaluate the program with George Mason University (GMU). This report details the program’s history, challenges and successes.
By Craig Zelizer and Linda Johnston. 2005.
This report is the first to survey employers regarding career opportunities within international peace and conflict resolution. It will be of interest to employers, to students and professionals pursuing a career in this field, and to academic and professional organizations that seek to prepare them. The research was supported by a grant for the Alliance for Peacebuilding (formerly Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution).
Additional Publications by ACT Board Members
By Ilana Shapiro, 2018.
In 2014 and 2015, Ebola devastated communities in Liberia, overwhelming their fragile health care systems with at least 10,675 cases and 4,809 disease-related deaths (CDC, 2016). Using a community engagement approach grounded in the principles of collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA), Global Communities, an international non-profit organization working in Liberia since 2010, led a national effort to reduce Ebola infections through safe burials and dead body management, education in Ebola-resistant hygiene and sanitation behaviors, and disease surveillance efforts. This case study provides contextualized descriptions of how CLA was integrated in program activities as well as conditions that supported and challenged CLA implementation and impact. The study adopts and adapts innovative case methods for assessing plausible contribution of CLA to project outcomes. Understanding CLA contributions in this case may be useful in informing and strengthening program design and implementation of collaborating, learning and adapting approaches in future efforts.
By Ilana Shapiro, 2017.
The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), a tool that measures employee perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present within their agencies, provides feedback on key performance metrics that can drive continuous improvement efforts (OPM, 2016). Focused on employee responses within USAID missions, this analysis of collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) in the FEVS can help USAID incorporate employee feedback about CLA implementation into relevant strategies, policies, and services to support missions in fostering the environments needed to accomplish their goals. Using factor analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling, this study addressed the following questions: 1) What are the relationships among FEVS items relevant to collaborating, learning and adapting? 2) What is the relationship between CLA and indicators of organizational effectiveness in the FEVS? 3) How have mission scores on CLA-related items changed over time? The findings provide evidence supporting a holistic approach to collaborating, learning and adapting, and confirm strong relationships between CLA and measures of organizational effectiveness. The results suggest that CLA approaches can help improve strategy, project, and activity design and implementation in USAID missions, and can be used as a leadership tool to foster more satisfied, engaged, and empowered employees.
Edited by Craig Zelizer, 2013.
Integrated Peacebuilding addresses the importance of weaving peacebuilding methods into diverse sectors including development, humanitarian assistance, gender, business, media, health, and the environment—areas where such work is needed the most.
By Nike Carstarphen, November 2013.
Commissioned by Partners Global with generous funding from the General Electric Foundation, Nike Carstarphen conducted a mixed-method evaluation and review of the history of Partners Global and its’ investment in local Centers for democracy and peace. The report examines Partners’ model of sustainable impact investing in local organizations, called Centers, the stages of development and factors for success of the Centers, the role of the Partners global network in supporting local Centers, and the contribution of these Centers to democratic change and conflict management.
By Nike Carstarphen. 2004.
This book chapter is based on Dr. Carstarphen’s dissertation, “Shift Happens: Transformations During Small Group Dialogues in Protracted Social Conflict” (2003). It was presented at the International Communication and Diplomacy conference in Malta, 2004.