"Continuous story collection can be used to regularly scan the context, monitor changes and trends over time, feed into the monitoring and evaluation system, and guide and adapt the project intervention strategy". (SmartPeace Practice paper on SenseMaker)
In 2020, Voices That Count collaborated with the Smart Peace programme (lead by Conciliation Resources) in the Central African Republic to set up a narrative-based monitoring system. SmartPeace used SenseMaker to listen to people’s experiences and learn what matters to them, and to understand the complex context and the effects of the programme.
Smart Peace is a UK-funded Aid programme for strategic conflict resolution in fragile and conflict‐affected regions. It is implemented by a specialist global consortium comprising Conciliation Resources as the consortium lead, The Asia Foundation, the Behavioural Insights Team, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zürich, Chatham House and International Crisis Group. The Smart Peace consortium delivers targeted and adaptive conflict resolution interventions in Central African Republic, Myanmar and Nigeria.
Conciliation Resources piloted the SenseMaker methodology in Bossangoa sub‐prefecture (Ouham prefecture) in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR), one of the key centres of the conflict that engulfed CAR from 2012. Voices That Count supported Conciliation Resources for the roll-out of the entire SenseMaker process: Design the SenseMaker instrument, provide training to the local story collectors, support the in-person story collection, carry out an emergent pattern analysis and facilitate participatory sensemaking workshops.
Download the practice paper here: