38 The Pulte Institute convened experts and practitioners in Washington, D.C., to discuss the role of long-term evaluation for the peacebuilding sector in June 2024. At the center of the dialogue were new findings from the Expanding the Reach of Impact Evaluation (ERIE) study, an evaluation of 10 USAID- funded peacebuilding activities across Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Colombia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The programs—from mediation and dialogue trainings to art therapy and trauma healing—were designed to strengthen social cohesion and promote peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic and religious groups, as well as communities in conflict due to political affiliations or the positions members may held as civilians or combatants when hostilities were at their height. In partnership with USAID colleagues and local leaders in each country, the Pulte Institute team designed a retrospective evaluation to assess the long-term effects of the programs, identify overarching trends, and recommend effective and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. The research findings and recommendations provide an evidence base to guide the design and implementation of similar programs in the future. “We appreciate this work because it has an immediate impact,” said Golnoosh Hakimdavar, a rule of law expert and funds team lead in the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization at USAID. “We are using the results, we are taking the recommendations and we are making shifts in how we shape programming.” The findings were followed by an insightful roundtable discussion with leading experts from USAID, the World Bank, Mercy Corps, Search for Common Ground, and Pact on the critical need to measure the long-term impact of peacebuilding interventions, as well as the implications for policies such as the Global Fragility Act. The conversation, moderated by ND Political Science professor Jaimie Bleck, explored the importance of grounding activities in the local context with buy-in from community leaders, and the potential of People-to-People reconciliation programming to break down harmful stereotypes and build bridges across communities. “Peace doesn’t happen overnight. It certainly doesn’t happen with one program,” said Katie Smith ND ’12, global policy and outreach specialist, Search for Common Ground. “It requires long-term commitment from participants, donors, and partners at all levels. That is key to achieving healthy, safe, and just societies.” “What Notre Dame did here is important—building an approach to evaluation and data collection through co-creation with USAID, but more importantly, with local partners.” — Don Chisholm, ND ’90, JD ’93, acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Bureau Measuring Effective Programs for Lasting Peace 36 | Just Systems and Effective States The Pulte Institute for Global Development Don Chisholm at the Measuring Lasting Peace discussion in Washington, D.C., June 2024. Just Systems and Effective States Expert panelists at the June 2024 conversation on measuring peacebuilding interventions over time, including the Pulte Institute’s Danice Brown Guzmán, associate director, Evidence and Learning (second from left); Jaimie Bleck, Notre Dame associate professor and Pulte faculty fellow (third from left); Eduardo Pages, specialist, Evidence and Learning (center); Jaclyn Biedronski, program manager, Evidence and Learning (fifth from right); Lila Khatiwada, senior researcher (far right).
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