EPI Tool Development

The Grounded Accountability Model (GAM) Project aims to shift programming and funding in the peacebuilding community to better meet the needs and priorities of communities in conflict affected environments by adapting and testing the development and use of community-defined indicators of impact for peacebuilding programming within pilot programs in Tunisia, Afghanistan, Colombia, Nigeria, and Kenya.  By looking across a range of organizations engaging with communities using different approaches and at distinct levels, the GAM explores how the Everyday Peace Indicator methodology can be adapted across a scale of users, use-cases and contexts. The GAM is interested in not only the definition of impact at the community level, but also, the variations of processes for generating those definitions (indicator development) and their manifold utilizations (indicator use).

 

Although there is a growing emphasis and investment in increased accountability to communities and civil society, the goals and mechanisms used in democracy, human rights and peacebuilding programming often remain unrepresentative of local communities. Current models place accountability between donors and implementers, leaving out those who are most impacted by programming: the participants and the people living in the communities where programs take place. However, we believe that for true accountability and lasting impact communities must participate in decision-making on which changes to target and how to measure those changes.

 

In its current form, the EPI methodology requires significant accompaniment and technical support from the EPI team, making it inaccessible for some local practitioners. The Grounded Accountability Model project will pilot new versions of this tool, utilizing other participatory research methods such as Most Significant Change and Outcome Mapping/Harvesting to improve and inform design. Testing in various contexts by diverse types of organizations will refine the methodology and ensure its adaptability, piloting customized methods and guidance for the GAM community of practice.

 

This project is funded by Humanity United and the UN Peacebuilding Fund and works in partnership with Search for Common Ground, UNDP Tunisia, and the Association MINGA in Colombia. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more or joining the GAM community of practice.

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