Glocally – Adapting the EPI tool

Peacebuilding organizations are increasingly prioritizing accountability within their operations. Traditionally, evaluations are used mostly for upward accountability toward donors and policymakers rather than for local accountability with communities.

Recognizing this imbalance, many organizations now emphasize the inclusion of experiences from conflict-affected people to gauge program success. However, challenges persist in systematically integrating community perspectives, particularly amidst resource constraints and diverse contextual factors. To ensure a robust connection between programs and the needs and perspectives of conflict-affected individuals, we developed the Grounded Accountability Model (GAM). 

GAM aims to reshape programming and funding in the peacebuilding community, ensuring they better meet the needs and priorities of conflict-affected communitie.GAM explores how the EPI approach can be adapted across different users, user-cases and contexts, enhancing the overall impact and effectiveness of peacebuilding efforts glocally. 

We believe genuine bottom-up accountability is crucial for lasting
peacebuilding impact.

“GAM was developed to share the insights gained from EPI, applying them in academia and refining them for practical use.”

Pamina Firchow,

Executive Director of EPI

We have successfully adapted the EPI approach for different international, national and local organizations.

International NGO: Search for Common Ground
GAM is essential to Search for Common Ground’s Peace Impact Framework, particularly Pillar 1: ‘Lived Experiences.’ In collaboration with Search, we integrated everyday indicators into their work, ensuring local needs and experiences are central to their assessment frameworks. Search tested the GAM model using everyday indicators in South Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tunisia, later extending its use to Sri Lanka.
IAF is a US government agency that invests in community-led development across Latin America and the Caribbean. As part of its Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning process, IAF partnered with EPI to integrate our unique approach into their work. Through the evaluation of the two IAF funded projects in two regions in Colombia, IAF was better able to understand how these projects contribute to peace and coexistence in diverse places.
We expanded GAM by partnering with Asociación MINGA, an indigenous organization based in the Cauca region in Colombia. To respond flexibly to constraints in the terrain, we adapted our methods and training processes for MINGA.
We also expanded GAM by partnering with COSURCA in Colombia’s Cauca region
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