Evaluation of Local Peace Building Approaches

Completed Projects

Nepal entered a new chapter in its political history, of which the past decade was conflict ridden, after signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) between Unified Communist Party of Nepal – Maoists (UCPNM) and the then Government of Nepal in November 2006.

Following this historic event, USAID/Nepal has implemented several programs aimed at contributing to prevent conflict, fostering resiliency and building peace at the community level. These include the Nepal Transition Initiative (NTI) and Nepal Government Citizen Partnership Project (NGCPP).

USAID/Nepal initiatives in local peace building seek to support the local communities to reduce their vulnerability to violence.

Objectives

The objective of this assessment was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of approaches to support sustainable peace by specifically addressing the key drivers of conflict.

Key activities

This evaluation study reviewed changes on how development decisions were made and resources were managed at the community level reflecting the participation and input of women, youth, and traditionally marginalized communities.

Services provided by SW Nepal

The SW Nepal team activities included desk based reviews and consultations in Kathmandu followed by extensive field visits and interactions with the communities. The evaluation team met and widely consulted stakeholders such as district officials, community members, Youth Mobilization Committee members, Ward Citizen Forums, media persons and APM members. A detailed questionnaire survey was also carried out with 150 individual in 18 VDCs of the visited Districts.

Outcome

The evaluation study resulted in articulation of a series of local peace building approaches used by USAID and non-USAID funded programs. These approaches were evaluated using a range of indicators in relation to the program activities and the outcomes that helped to meet the goal of peace building at local level.