Taking the time to understand the field is an important first step to take as an organization explores broadening the scope of its work.

Conservation International (CI) is one such NGO looking at opportunities to enter the conflict resolution space. They began their journey by pulling together conflict management experts and hosting events on the conflict mitigation tools used by development agencies and international institutions like the United Nations (UN) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

These half-day sessions served to increase the knowledge and capacity of CI staff, as well as invited international conservation, peace and development practitioners.

CI then coupled these events with hard skills training for their staff. The Policy Center for Environment and Peace, championing conflict resolution within the organization, partnered with Communities in Transition (CIT) to teach their staff advanced communication skills and consensus-building techniques in times of conflict. CIT introduced CI to new strategies for reaching a collaborative agreement, skills they will be able to use whether they are facilitating a multi-stakeholder consultation in Geneva, convening government and community representatives in the field or bringing departments together to develop a strategic plan.

Their journey continues as they find their niche in the conflict resolution field and build on the dialogues they’ve already convened to further empower parties in conflict to find sustainable solutions that meet everyone’s needs.