About the Sustainable Peace and Security Global Action Network Initiative
Background
In the summer of 2008, iScale launched an initiative to develop a global action network (GAN) of leading organizations and individuals working to promote sustainable peace and security – from national governments, multilateral institutions, international humanitarian and development NGOs, research and education institutions, to media and business and affected populations and more – to enable these organizations to foster a greater sense of urgency in the field and an orientation toward making the most rapid progress possible in promoting sustainable peace and security, and especially the prevention of mass violence and the protection of civilians from violent conflict.
The initiative, initially co-developed with support from Humanity United, is now led by a cohort of leaders from throughout the world on the issues of conflict prevention and peacebuilding, each of whom have committed to champion the initiative to others in the field, as well as to serve as the coordinating body of the initiative. In this role, these indivdiuals, dubbed the Global Stewardship Group (GSG), meet regularly to provide direction to the initiative, which is then coordinated by iScale, which continues to serve as the secreatariat of the project. The members of the GSG are Ms. Jendayi Fraser, PhD, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and now Director of the Center for International Politics and Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University; Ms. Gemma Mortensen, Director of Crisis Action; Ms. Melissa Powell, Head of the UN Global Compact’s Strategy and Partnerships; Mr. Mike Pryce, Head of Course of Action and former Professor of Conflict Resolution at the US Army War College and Lt. Col (Ret) of the US Marine Corps; Mr. James Smith, MD, Director of Aegis Trust; Mr. Greg Stanton, PhD, Director of Genocide Watch and Research Fellow at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University; and Ms. Nomfundo Walaza, Director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre.
As secretariat of the initiative, iScale provides overall coordination of the GSG and the broader initiative, serves as the lead fundraiser for the initiative, and executes various value-added tasks in support of the initiative, including conducting research on the state of the field, facilitating ongoing community dialogue via telecommunications platforms, producing reports for the participants in the initiative on subjects ranging from developments in the field to lessons identified by participants, and planning for the future of the initiative.
Launch
iScale launched the initiative to scale the impacts of actors worldwide working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding through the nurturing of a global action network (GAN) for the field. This GAN would be a community of various stakeholders who achieve tangible, positive change by engaging in practical, shared projects towards shared goals. Experience with previous GANs, many of which have been launched and supported by iScale staff and associated experts, suggested that a GAN would be an ideal vehicle for promoting the aspirations of the two institutions because GANs (1) are global, (2) focus on issues of common public interest, (3) develop interdisciplinary action-learning with real-time experiments to address novel and enduring challenges, (4) create a diverse network of organizations of stakeholders in their issue, and (5) generate systemic change by creating cross-sectoral (business-government-civil society) actions. With the higher objective of developing a GAN in mind, iScale and Humanity United detailed more specifically their objectives for the first phase of the project: (1) improve understanding of the structure of the field, in terms of roles and relationships, (2) more effective sharing of information and knowledge, (3) more informed and thus impactful strategies and programs of the field’s actors, individually or in common, and (4) commitments of the initial members of the GAN to joint ownership of the initiative and join action to carry the initiative forward.
The first step in the process was to involve a leadership cohort of individuals from the field who would have an early affinity to the initiative and would be willing and able to be effective champions of the initiative to others in the field. Members were invited under the following criteria: multiple sectoral roles represented, general diversity, and experienced leaders in the field. The initial GSG was capped at ten members. This cohort of individuals gathered together in the fall of 2008 in Redwood City, California, where they solidified relations among themselves, engaged in rich deliberations about the initiative’s goals and prospects, and provide clear guidance for the next steps of the project to be implemented over the next ten months, which would be capped by their meeting once again in October 2009, when they would also include other key actors from the field to continue the process of building an effective global action network. Other next steps identified or ratified by the Global Stewardship Group included expressed support for the undertaking of an intensive research project on the structure of the field in order to inform the GSG’s deliberations on which other individuals or organizations should be invited into the early expansion of the leadership of the initiative as well as the broader strategy for the development of the GAN.
The work of the Global Stewardship Group and the research and support provided by iScale during the first phase of the initiative to build a GAN to promote sustainable peace and human security has already made great progress toward strengthening the individual and collective efforts of organizations in the field. The unique trust within the GSG, the strategic position of individual members, and their collective commitment to strengthening collaboration and mutual learning have already begun to catalyze positive change and influence more rapid progress toward sustainable peace and security. To realize the full potential of these efforts, including those of the GSG, it is critical that we continue to build on the foundations laid down during first phase of the initiative--especially the global and US stakeholder meetings--and continue to support the continued strategic growth and development of the GSG in its function as a container of legitimacy, knowledge, experience, and a source of innovation and global leadership in the field of peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
To ensure continued progress toward this ambitious goal, the next phase of the initiative will focus on three tracks (1) further developing the GSG as a leadership cohort for the initiative, (2) convening strategic meetings of stakeholders from throughout the field to provide a forum for information-sharing, relationship-building and identification of opportunities for improved effectiveness, individually and collectively, and (3) providing support to a series of high-leverage programs of projects of the GSG, its members and other organizations working to address violent conflict and improve human security. To guide these efforts and to increase the effectiveness of individual and collective efforts of the GSG and other organizations across the field, the GSG has identified the development of a system-level theory of change as an important next step. The development of this theory of change, to begin during the next global stakeholders meeting, will help to organize system-wide strategies and guide the GSG's leadership, actions, and pursuit of the various priority initiatives and opportunities highlighted during the stakeholder meetings that were facilitated during the first phase of this program.
To further increase the effectiveness of the GSG, expand the expertise of its members, and realize its potential as a catalyst for meaningful action, the continued cultivation, diversification and inclusion of new expertise was identified as a priority for the GSG. Participants at the global stakeholder meetings in Redwood City and Cape Town, placed particular emphasis on engaging stakeholders from communities currently underrepresented on the GSG--notably representatives from communities affected by violence, leaders, officials and practitioners from institutions in the global south, including governments, military leaders and representatives from regional and sub-regional organizations were identified as important contributors to the GSG's work. These individuals were identified as having great potential to add considerable strategic value, new knowledge, unique perspectives and critical expertise to the group. Support for the GSG will allow the group to expand its membership, increase its strategic potential, leverage the diversity of knowledge within and outside of the existing group, and continue to integrating the efforts of organizations working across existing geographic, sectoral, and ideological divides.
The Future
At the end of the first phase of this project, the leaders from the field contributing to the guidance of the project coalesced around a set of clear priorities, including (1) further developing the Global Stewardship Group (GSG) as a leadership cohort for the initiative, (2) convening strategic meetings of stakeholders from throughout the field to provide a forum for information-sharing, relationship-building and identification of opportunities for improved effectiveness, individually and collectively, and (3) providing support to a series of high-leverage projects of the GSG, its members and other organizations working to address violent conflict and improve human security. These priority initiatives to advance the progress of global efforts to end violent conflict and build sustainable peace include:
- Further developing and strengthening a global community of practice of advocacy organizations in order to support their continued improvement and increase their influence on policy makers' and practitioners’, and public knowledge.
- Building a global network of champions to advance meaningful planning for effective military action in order to better influence policymakers and practitioners to recognize and be willing to utilize effective military action as a realistic course of action to prevent mass violence and protect populations from mass atrocities.
- Building networks of faith-based organizations (both intra-faith and inter-faith networks) to mobilize, identify and address conditions of potential or existing conflict and atrocities. These groups were identified in phase 1 as critical and influential actors at all levels of global, regional and national efforts to address conflict and promote peace.
- Further promoting and supporting the development of regional networks of organizations working to prevent mass violence and protect populations from mass atrocities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
- Further developing opportunities to engage businesses in the promotion of sustainable peace and security.
- Developing a global network of communities affected by mass violence and atrocities in order to support their recovery and meaningful contributions to global efforts to promote sustainable peace and security, with a special emphasis on the meaningful incorporation of women into the dialogue as well as the meaningful attention to addressing the effect of these circumstances on children and youth
Through their shared commitment to addressing violent conflict, the GSG is well positioned steward the development of the initiatives outlined above and to lead more effective efforts that will influence greater progress in policy and practice to contribute to sustainable peace. While the initiatives outlined above will take place across multiple streams, the engagement and leadership of GSG throughout these efforts will help to ensure their integration across the field. iScale is committed to supporting this process and the work of the GSG through continued research, strategy development, organization and facilitation of meetings, and other institutional support.
