INEE Working Group on Education and Fragility
Why conflict sensitivity?
• An organisation is part of the context it operates in
• We have intended and unintended results, positive &
negative
• Improve development results if we can reduce the
unintended negative side-effects
• Highly dynamic / fragile / conflict-affected
operational contexts require an adapted working
approach
A Quick ‘Refresher’ – What is ConflictSensitivity?
Conflict sensitivity refers to the ability of an
organization to:
Step1: Understand the context in which the
organization operates;
Step 2: Understand the interaction between the
organization's intervention(s) and the
context; and
Step 3: Act upon the understanding of this
interaction, in order to avoid negative
impacts and maximize positive impacts.
Conflict-Sensitivity vs. Peacebuilding?
Conflict sensitivity is attributed to the working in
conflict.
Peacebuilding is attributed to the working on conflict.
A Quick ‘Refresher’ – What is Conflict-Sensitivity?
The conflict sensitivity cycle
10 principles for good engagement in fragile states
and situations
1: Take context as a starting point
2: Do no harm
3: Focus on state building as the central objective
4: Prioritize prevention
5: Recognize the links between political security and
development objectives
6: Promote non discrimination as a basis for inclusive and
stable societies
7: Align with local priorities in different ways and in different
contexts
8: Agree on practical coordination mechanisms between
international actors
9: Act fast but stay engaged long enough to give success a
chance
10: Avoid pockets of exclusion
What we did……
• Process
• Analysis
• Next steps
• Activity
Overview
•Process
• Identified existing approaches of WG member agencies;
• Identified commonalities, strengths and opportunities to
further increase conflict sensitivity;
• Shared analysis;
• Now…..develop guiding questions;
• Then….develop a ‘checklist’ for field practitioners.
Existing Approaches
Organization
Conflict
Sensitivity
Consortium
Resource
Pack
UNDP
Bureau of
Conflict
Prevention
and Recovery
Definition of Conflict
Sensitivity/ Key Aspects
Conflict sensitivity refers to
the ability of an organization
to:
- Understand the context in
which the organization
operates;
- Understand the interaction
between your intervention
and the context; and
- Act upon the understanding
of this interaction, in order to
avoid negative impacts and
maximize positive impacts.
Conflict sensitivity refers to
the capacity of a development
organization:
- Understand the context in
which it operates
- Understand the interactions
between the organization’s
interventions and the context
- Act upon this understanding
to minimize harm and avoid
negative impacts
- Act to maximize the positive,
peacebuilding impacts of
development interventions
Stages/ Components
Source
Guiding principles for implementing a conflict-sensitive approach:
- Participatory process
- Inclusiveness of actors, issues and perceptions
- Impartiality in relation to actors and issues
- Transparency
- Respect for people’s ownership of the conflict and their suffering
- Accountability for one’s own actions
- Partnership and co-ordination
- Complementarity and coherence
- Timeliness
Conflict Sensitivity Consortium (2004),
Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to
Development, Humanitarian Assistance and
Peacebuilding: Resource Pack, available here
Understanding the context, by conducting a thorough Conflict Analysis 
Understand the interactions between the development organization
and the context, linking the results of conflict analysis with programming
decisions 
Minimize harm, by conducting planning processes that ensure that as far
as possible a balance is maintained in which all key stakeholders views are
represented at all stages 
Maximizing peacebuilding impact, ensuring that programmes/ projects
contribute to peacebuilding as much as possible, regardless of whether
efforts are directly focused on contributing to peacebuilding
UNDP BCPR (2009), “Compendium #1 –
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in
Conflict Prevention and Recovery Settings,
BCPR”, in Guidelines for Planning, Monitoring
and Evaluation in Conflict Prevention and
Recovery Settings
Existing Approaches
World Bank
Swiss Agency
for
Development
and
Cooperation
(SDC)
The World Bank has
identified two fundamental
components of conflictsensitive development
practice:
i) safeguarding against
causation and/or escalation
of conflict, and
ii) capitalizing on
opportunities for building
peace to constructively
manage future conflicts,
should they arise.
In an attempt to provide conflict sensitive development assistance, the
World Bank adheres to the following eight principles:
i) ‘do no harm’ particularly to avoid reinforcing or triggering conflict
causes;
ii) make peace dividends visible to the population;
iii) include short-term issues, especially the restoration of security;
iv) limit the potential for mass mobilization;
v) address the structural causes of conflict;
vi) address the perceptual and attitudinal legacy of the conflict;
vii) ensure that development assistance is consistent and sustained;
viii) consider the regional context.
Conflict Sensitive Programme
Management (CSPM) is a
management approach that
addresses values, procedures,
tools and communications for
steering development and
humanitarian programmes
and their projects in a context
of political tensions, prior,
during or after violent
conflict.
Conflict sensitivity, along with an awareness of the wider context, should
permeate all stages of the project cycle.
Creating and managing a constructive interchange is the challenge of
conflict sensitive management. The SDC approach offers a tool box of
frameworks and techniques that could be used at each stage of a conflict
sensitive programme management cycle.
Ruckstuhl, Sandra (2009), “Renewable
Natural Resources: Practical Lessons for
Conflict-Sensitive Development”, Conflict,
Crime and Violence Issue Note, Social
Development Department: The World Bank,
September, available here
World Bank (2007), Toward a ConflictSensitive Poverty Reduction Strategy: A
Retrospective Analysis, World Bank, Second
Edition, available here
The Bank also stresses the need to apply a ‘conflict lens’ throughout the
project cycle and ensure programs are flexible to change and adaptation.
SDC, A Quick Guide: Conflict Sensitive
Programme Management, available here
SDC (2006), Conflict-sensitive Programme
Management CSPM: Integrating conflict
sensitivity and prevention of violence into
SDC programmes, available here
Helvetas (2010), Feedback from Conflict
Sensitive Programme Management
workshop in Tajikistan: Livelihood platform,
available here
Existing Approaches
DFID
USAID
In order to be conflict
sensitive, DFID, and the
partners with whom they
work, emphasis the need to
appreciate the interaction
between development
activities and the potential for
violent conflict, and design
and adapt approaches and
programmes accordingly.
DFID also recognize that
conflict-sensitivity applies to
all contexts, not solely in
countries currently affected
by violent conflict.
“In essence, conflict-sensitive
programming involves explicit
consideration of the role of
development, humanitarian
assistance, and peacebuilding
programs and projects in
contributing to conflict and
promoting peace. Conflictsensitive programming
applies to all phases of peace
and conflict, from stable
peace, to unstable peace or
latent or pre-conflict, to
manifest or violent conflict, to
post-conflict.”
DFID’s conflict sensitive approach includes the following key stages:
Conducting a Country Governance Assessment (Conflict Analysis) 
Tailoring implementation/ service delivery accordingly  conducting a
‘conflict audit’, using baselines from conflict analysis to monitor changes
 continually adapting and redefining program implementation
according to changing circumstances
Department for International Development
UK (2006), Preventing Violent Conflict, DFID
Policy Paper, available here
In a USAID mission the ideal sequence in which to take steps in applying
a conflict and peacebuilding perspective would be:
i) The analysis of the causes of conflict and the causes of peace;
ii) The development of a conflict-sensitive Country Strategic Plan (CSP)
and conflict-sensitive programs;
iii) Implementation of programs and activities; and
iv) Ongoing monitoring for peace and conflict impacts, and evaluation
including peace and conflict impacts, which would immediately feed
back into the next programming cycle.
Management Systems International (MSI)
and USAID (2004), Analysis to Action: A
Guidebook for Conflict-Sensitive USAID
Programming in Africa, DRAFT, available here
Existing Approaches
GTZ/ BMZ
Kenya
Conflict
Sensitive
Consortium
The Germany government,
including GTZ and BMZ, has
adopted a whole-ofgovernment approach to
conflict sensitivity, essentially
comprised of an early
warning system and an
appreciation of the nature of
an intervention vis-à-vis
conflict dynamics.
The sector strategy aims at
mainstreaming crisis
prevention and conflict
transformation as a crosssectoral issue with the intent
to anchor conflict sensitivity
in German development
cooperation.
Key Aspects:
- Understanding the context
and the conflict
- Understanding the
interaction between the
intervention and that context
- Acting upon that
understanding of the
contextual realities
Key steps:
1. Start the (re)planning process with a peace and conflict assessment
(PCA).
2. Define conflict-related objectives and strategies for the SED
intervention
3. Select the appropriate SED approaches and management practices
4. Make the M and E system conflict-sensitive
GTZ (2009), Sustainable Economic
Development in Conflict-Affected
Environments, German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development,
available here
Note: The particular framework cited here adopts the general conflictsensitive framework of the government, specifically geared towards
mainstreaming conflict sensitivity into Sustainable Economic
Development (SED).
The approach emphasis the need to afford a consideration of conflict
Kenya Conflict Sensitivity Consortium (2011),
sensitivity at the centre of programmatic interventions. The approach
Conflict Sensitivity Practitioners’ Training
notes that conflict sensitive lenses should applied to the analysis of the
Manual, available here
context, and in turn inform the development and implementation of the
project cycle.
Overview
•Process
•Analysis
• Summary of current approaches;
• Inputs consolidated and draft analysis prepared;
• Shared with Sub-Group and Working Group;
• Next steps ….
Step 1: Understand your context……
Context Analysis, examining:
• Conflict context factors
• Actors involved
In addition, consider:
• Children/ School level
• Community level
• National level
• Education system
• Need to ensure context analysis is linked to program
implementation and reflected in planning process.
Step 2: Understand interactions between context
and interventions
• ‘How to’ guidelines/ checklists;
• Training field staff and/or working with implementing
partners;
• “Do No Harm” principles
• Need to maximize positive, transformational impact
of education!
• i.e. IRC’s ‘Healing Classrooms’
Step 2: Understand interactions between
context and interventions
• Indicators focus on:
• Child protection and rights;
• Equitable access;
• Safe learning environments;
• Resilience;
• Policies vis-à-vis conflict;
• “Do No Harm”
• Need to consider interaction between
organization, intervention, and conflict.
Step 3: Develop options to maximize positive
impact and minimize negative impact
• Flexibility;
• Revising analysis.
• Again, need to ensure context analysis is linked to
program implementation and reflected in planning
process.
Overview
• Process
• Analysis
• Next steps
• Guiding Questions
• Checklist for Field Practitioners
Activity
The groups will be focusing at different levels:
All groups are developing guiding questions.
The guiding questions developed by those at the programme level
will be based mainly on the three steps and will be further
developed into a practical checklist.
The guiding questions developed by those at the strategic level will
be based mainly on the 10 principles for good engagement in fragile
states and situations as a basis to develop the guiding questions.