October CPRF: The Advantages of Investing in Peace

By Juontel White

The October meeting of the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum (CPRF) was held today. It’s topic:   investing in peace.

Titled, “Investing in Peace: Taking Conflict Resolution and Development to Scale” this CPRF addressed two key questions: How can peacebuilding NGOs secure more funding and take their work to scale? And what can these organizations do to measure their progress in fostering peace?

The forum included several expert panelists in the field of conflict resolution.  Nancy Bearg, Senior Advisor for the Project on National Security Reform served as moderator and speakers included: Harriet Mayor Fulbright, President of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center; Mark L. Schneider, Senior Vice President and Special Adviser on Latin America for the International Crisis Group; and Avi Meyerstein, founder of the Alliance for Middle East Peace and associate at Patton Boggs LLP.

Through each of the speakers’ remarks, there was a common theme—war is expensive and in comparison, peacebuilding is very cheap.

“Peace is a generative expense,” said Harriet Fulbright, “because they [peacebuilding groups] create better societies, better opportunities and allow for improvement rather than destruction.”

In light of the global economic crisis, it seems that any avenue to save money would be the road most traveled during this time. But, evident through the struggle many peacebuilding NGOs face in winning funding proposals in comparison to the large budget allotted to U.S. military efforts, funding agencies need much more convincing about the advantages of peacebuilding other than it’s cost effective.

The stronger case is best made through statistics—tangible results that chart a progressive growth as a direct response to an organization’s work. Though many peacebuilders can research the effects of their work, they are often unable to effectively do so within the time constraints established by funders.

Fulbright best addressed this issue saying, “Peacebuilding is slow, it requires time […] and a kind of patience that war does not.” She compared the process to educational development and agricultural development, explaining that in these industries (just as in peacebuilding), several seasons must ensue before groups are able to effectively measure results.

So how can NGOs bridge the gap? “Start Micro! Micro! Micro!” says Meyerstein.

He says funders are not moved to open their pocket books after hearing ostentatious presentations on the general effects of peacebuilding but prefer learning about specific projects. For instance, news about how a group of people, if sponsored to attend a conflict resolution summit, could develop more peaceful attitudes as a result would serve as a concrete example for funding agencies to understand specifically how their monies will support peacebuilding efforts.

Meyerstein also suggests that NGOs use more role models when making presentations. He cites the success of the International Fund for Ireland as a model for his decision to spearhead the creation of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

Both Meyerstein and Schneider offered new ways to further help NGOs bring their work to scale.

More organizations should work together, says Meyerstein. “If you want people to know how the NGO sector can contribute to peace writ large, then you need to speak collaboratively,” he says. The cliché “there’s strength in numbers” is obviously the take home lesson here.

Meyerstein’s message is integral to his work as founder of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, a coalition of nearly 70 grassroots organizations dedicated to resolving conflict in the Arab world. He says if more NGOs would work in tandem, the community voice would be much stronger.

Though amplifying the NGO community voice is critical, it is equally important for this community to be given higher priority within the government, says Schneider

“One of the ways to focus on peacebuilding is a cabinet level that would be focused on long term development, conflict prevention and mitigation, reconstruction and humanitarian response,” he said.

Overall, the forum provided valuable lessons for NGOs seeking to take their work to scale and helped identify the benefits of investing in peace.