Search for Common Ground’s Evaluations and Reports: October – November 2018

The following post highlights a collection of Search for Common Ground‘s evaluations and reports. To access the full evaluations and reports, please click on the titles of the resource.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Final Evaluation: Conflict management and prevention in Tanganyika and Haut Katanga provinces (2016 – 2018)
This project aims to create conditions that favor non-violent cohabitation and peaceful dialogue between communities in Tanganyika and Upper Katanga provinces. Some of the main conflict-related issues are: lack of government authority, unqualified access to natural resources, and land-related tensions. Search employs a variety of approaches to addressing the conflict, including improving the understanding of the conflict dynamics in the project areas, strengthening local community structures that work on conflict resolution. Click the link above to read the complete evaluation.
Guinea
Final Evaluation: Promouvoir les relations, Renforcer les liens : Un nouveau Partenariat pour le Dialogue et la Résolution des Conflits en Guinée Forestière (July-Aug 2018)
The project covered in this evaluation took part in the administrative region of N’Zérékoré (commonly known as the “forest region”),the subject of violent and recurrent ethnic clashes that threaten the stability of a region hosting 25% of the Guinean population.  This worrisome situation worsened after the mining companies left in 2013 and the national and local elections. The crisis peaked in July 2013 when, following a minor incident, violence erupted throughout the region, killing 217 people and driving 16,711 people to flee. Search for Common Ground has therefore set out (i) to broaden the reach of conflict resolution messages and programs in rural areas affected by violence, and (ii) to invest in more advanced and in-depth training for key actors in the field and region. Click the link above to read the complete evaluation.
Final Evaluation: Preventing electoral violence through early warning and rapid response in Guinea (September 2018)
Ever since the multiparty democracy has been instituted in the Republic of Guinea, the country has experienced a high level of election-related violence. This project provides for the training of both members and external observers on the subject of detecting early signs of violence, the peaceful management of conflicts and techniques for promoting a culture of non-violence. The project has increased the key elections stakeholders’ ability to identify and analyze the emerging risks of communal and electoral violence. Click the link above to read the project’s complete evaluation.
Niger, Mali and Morocco
Final Evaluation: New Life, New Hope: A Social Reintegration Program in the Sahel-Maghreb Region (September 2018)
The project sought to improve the reintegration of detainees in Niger, Mali and Morocco. The prison conditions in these countries—and, in in particular, in Niger and Mali—are generally poor and not conducive to detainee rehabilitation. The main deficiencies are the overpopulation of the prisons, as well as a lack of social, medical and legal assistance and opportunities for recreational and professional activities. Moreover, in Niger and Mali, the judicial system lacks the ability to process court cases within a reasonable time limit and to guarantee fair process conditions. Search for Common Ground (Search) offered various socio-professional activities for detainees, and organized training activities for employees in the jurisdictional sector. It aired awareness-raising campaigns on various TV and radio channels to foster the destigmatization of detainees in society. Finally, Search organized activities to enhance collaboration and information-sharing between the project countries. Click the link above to read the project’s complete evaluation.
Sierra Leone
Final Evaluation: Standing Together for free, fair and Peaceful Elections in Sierra Leone (September 2018)
The overall goal of this project was to contribute to creating the conditions for free, fair, and peaceful elections in Sierra Leone. The 2018 elections marked the end of the governing period of President Koroma, leading to internal conflicts both in the ruling APC party and its main competitor, the SLLP. This, as well as further challenges, made the electoral context tense, unpredictable and prone to violence. The initiative implemented a variety of capacity building and violence-preventing activities. It employed information and education campaigns in order to increase citizens’ understanding of their civic rights, duties and obligations, and in order to empower marginalized groups in the context of the elections. Moreover, the project also helped with the monitoring of the elections.  Click the link above to read the project’s complete evaluation.
Madagascar
Final Evaluation: Samy Gasy – Promouvoir la bonne gouvernance à travers une redevabilité accrue (January 2018)
Madagascar is experiencing a crisis situation that manifests itself in a number of ways: popular vindictiveness, strikes by various union bodies and renewed insecurity (in both rural and urban areas). In this context, Search for Common Ground wanted to promote dialogue and collaboration between the various key players (media professionals, academics, people of influence, etc.) in order to reduce conflicting approaches.
The Samy Gasy project offered the various beneficiaries training focused on key themes such as peacebuilding, the collaborative approach, the involvement of young people and the rapprochement between the community and the security forces. Click the link above to read the complete evaluation.