Methodology for Selecting Projects

The PPP’s selection process is systematic and consultative, and is grounded in data from a variety of sources. Through this data triangulation method, the PPP seeks to make balanced, empirically-driven decisions about where to work. Importantly, the community must be willing to collaborate with PPP. Ultimately, the invitation to work together comes from the local people themselves.

The PPP team regularly monitors information from various sources to identify areas where political violence is likely:

• PPP team members monitor early warning sign databases, as well as national and international media outlets.
• PPP team members interact regularly with other (international) non-governmental organizations to learn where violence is likely.
• The West Africa Program Manager and Liberia Country Director are in frequent contact with local community members, civil society organizations, and other key actors in West Africa to get a sense of current issues that are threatening to lead to violence.
• Community members often alert PPP’s West Africa Program Manager and Liberia Country Director to issues in their communities that are threatening peace.

Once possible project areas are identified, PPP team members do desk reviews and ethnographic interviews with locals in the community to learn more about the conflict:

• PPP team members synthesize their findings.
• PPP team members then consult with each other and with locals on the ground to learn if PPP analyses are accurate (that violence is likely).

PPP projects are selected using the following criteria:

• There exists a credible threat of imminent political violence if no action is taken.
• PPP’s approach is likely to reduce the likelihood of political violence.
• The local community is open to collaborating with PPP.
• PPP can have measurable impact on political violence prevention, particularly considering PPP’s scope and resource level.
• PPP can add value to what current non-governmental or civil society organizations are already doing (if they are working in the area); PPP seeks to not interfere with other organizations’ work.
• Safety to PPP’s team members and local citizens collaborating with PPP can be assured and risks can be minimized.
• PPP can work efficiently and effectively with local communities without bureaucratic constraints and delays.
• PPP can work in a cost-effective manner.

To Ascertain if these Criteria are Met, the Following Relational and Evidence-based Approach is used:

• Before a project begins, the PPP Director, West Africa Program Manager, and Liberia Country Director travel multiple times to the communities with whom PPP may work and meet with local actors to:
  • build relationships with local communities
  • gather information on the situation and context (considering the criteria above)
  • introduce the PPP approach to peacebuilding to local actors
  • ascertain whether local actors are interested in collaborating with PPP
  • determine if the PPP team would be safe traveling in the area.
• The PPP team gathers data from multiple sources in multiple sectors – international and local -- to assess the criteria stated above before a project begins.
• The PPP team gathers multiple kinds of data to assess these criteria before a project begins (e.g., media articles; reports from international non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and early warning systems; interviews with local informants, communication with the PPP West Africa Program Manager/Liberia Country Director).
• The PPP Director consults continuously with the West Africa Program Manager/Liberia Country Director, the PPP donor, the external consultant to PPP, the PPP research assistants, and local citizens in order to make a decision about whether to work in an area.