About SFCG

• Letter from the President
• Our Mission and Vision
• Our Core Principles
• Our Operating Practices
• Our Toolbox

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Questions about Conflict

2. General Questions about Search for Common Ground

3. Questions about SFCG's Programmes

4. Who works with and for SFCG?

5. Questions about Income and Spending

Questions about Conflict

What do you mean by conflict transformation? How is this different from conflict prevention and conflict resolution?
We prefer the word 'transformation' to 'prevention' because, in our view, conflicts aren't necessarily 'bad' situations that should be prevented. On the contrary, conflict can be a source of growth in society and can lead to positive change when dealt with in a proactive, constructive manner. When a conflict has spun out of control or when violence begets more violence, our objective is not to stop the conflict but rather to transform it so the parties can find solutions in a co-operative, non-violent way.

While we often use the terms conflict resolution and conflict transformation interchangeably, we prefer the latter because it implies a broader process. Our objectives are not limited to solving problems. We aim to shift the attitudes of the parties involved and transform their relationship from mistrust and hatred to collaboration and partnership. For example, our vision for the Middle East is not to help Israelis and Palestinians agree on the core issues that divide them. Rather, we hope to facilitate solutions that meet their respective needs and, further, contribute to a transformation of their relationship- from one currently based on fear and retaliation to one where they can coexist peacefully for the long term.

Is it really possible to change ethnic or tribal hatred? Aren't modern conflicts just hopeless and intractable?
We believe that ethnic hatred is more of a myth than a reality. Too often, it is the easiest way to talk about protracted conflict situations, especially in the media. But ethnic hatred is almost never the only reason for violence and often not even a primary driving force.

Typically economic factors-concerns about getting crops to market, access to health care for children, and so forth-are the catalysts that create the greatest anxiety among people. And when there is no solution to these problems and democratic institutions are weak, it is easy for those who are in power, or want it, to manipulate communities into blaming other ethnic or religious groups for their troubles.

When ethnic propaganda has been institutionalised for years it can become entrenched within a society. Transcending the artificial divisions created in this way requires long-term and consistent efforts to shift people's perception of the 'other group.' Often structural reforms are also necessary to eliminate all forms of discrimination.

What can I do?
First and foremost, it is important to be informed. Find out about the different conflicts around the world, their costs in terms of human lives, wasted resources and lost opportunities for economic growth. Also, learn about conflict resolution and how this approach can help parties prevent violence and solve their problems in a co-operative manner. We have put together some basic information on this topic in our Resources section under Introduction to Conflict: (see http://www.sfcg.org/resources/resources_home.html). If you are interested in a particular region or issue, we recommend that you visit the International Crisis Group's website (see www.icg.org). They monitor conflict situations around the world. Finally, for more substantive reading on conflict resolution, the conflict resolution website contains a wealth of information (see www.crinfo.org). Their Frequently Asked Questions section is informative and a good guide to various resources.

You can also get involved by helping us get the message out. We are currently setting up a network of concerned individuals who are willing to share information with their friends and associates. We also organise introductory presentations for those who express an interest in our work and we host fundraising events two or three times a year. If you are interested in participating, contact Shannon Greenspan at sgreenspan@sfcg.org.

Finally, you can also contribute by applying the same principles we use in our work to your own individual life and conflicts. Every situation, even smallday-to-day disagreements, can be reframed from a 'me vs. you' approach, to a collaborative, inclusive one where we work together to meet our respective needs and find a commonly acceptable solution. In our Conversations About Conflict, which is hosted in cities around the United States, we encourage people to look at the way they currently deal with conflict, and offer tips and ideas on how to approach situations differently. You can find out more by contacting our Outreach Director, Carole Frampton, at cframpton@sfcg.org or by visiting the Resources section of our website (see http://www.sfcg.org/resources/training/resources_conversation.html).

Why should I be concerned with faraway conflicts?
As 9/11 dramatically demonstrated, conflicts that originate in other parts of the world can affect us directly. In today's global and interconnected world, conflicts are no longer contained within national borders. Even the most localised ethnic war can have far-reaching implications, especially if it is facilitated by international arms trade or fuelled by events in other parts of the world. And, while soldiers used to be the primary victims of war, 90% of casualties are now civilians. We believe that in the long-term, only dialogue and cooperation can provide sustainable solutions to conflicts and that we will only be safe when our perceived enemies are safe too.

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General Questions about Search for Common Ground

What is the history of the organisation?
Search For Common Ground was founded in 1982 by John Marks, who is still the President and CEO of the organisation. Marks was a US diplomat who resigned from the State Department to protest policies on Vietnam. He went on to become a peace activist and a successful author and investigative journalist. His approach was initially adversarial until he realised that to promote sustainable change, he needed to work with the people he disagreed with, rather than against them.

This same attitude is the underlying principle behind Search For Common Ground. We work to transform the way the world deals with conflict, helping opposing parties better understand each other and act co-operatively on their common ground.

Marks applied this approach first to US-USSR relations, facilitating visits and discussions between the two countries at the height of the Cold War. He also focused on the most divisive issues in America at the time-abortion and gun control. Early on, he saw the power of the media to shift people's attitudes and behaviours and founded Common Ground Productions in 1989, the media arm of the organisation. In 1991, the launch of the Middle East programme marked the beginning of a rapid expansion of the organisation, which now operates on four continents.

In 1994, Marks married Susan Collin Marks who had worked as a conflict resolution practitioner and peacemaker under the auspices of the National Peace Accord during South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. She joined the Search for Common Ground and is currently its Executive Vice-President.

Why do you have two headquarter offices?
We established our Brussels office in 1995 to be closer to our European funders and partners because about 60% of our funding comes from European governments. Our different programmes are supported by either or both offices, depending on their sources of funding. Certain functions, such as Finance and Administration, are centralised.

What are your current goals and objectives?
In March 2004, the organisation went through a week of strategic planning. Six general focus areas emerged as priorities for the next five years:

• To develop our Partners in Humanity programme, whose aim is to foster greater understanding and cooperation across cultures, particularly in light of the current Islamic/Western divide



• To expand our engagement with groups such as the military and business sectors, because they are key stakeholders in most, if not all, conflict situations



• To expand our current programmes on a regional basis, since conflicts are not limited by national borders



• To further expand our media work and gain access to the American and European mainstream media



• To reach out to the general public to generate greater understanding and support for the conflict resolution field

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Questions about SFCG's Programmes

Where do you work around the world?
Search For Common Ground has programmes in 17 different countries. The countries in which we operate are Angola, Belgium, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, D.R. Congo, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, Macedonia, Middle East (with offices in Jerusalem & Amman), Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and the USA.

How do you choose the countries in which to work?
Usually we go where there is a need and a request for our services. Very often opportunities for the type of work we do arise in countries neighbouring the ones where we currently work. We give priorities to these requests as they allow us to work on a regional basis.

Most requests come from UN or government agencies and local civil society groups. We receive new requests every week and unfortunately have to turn down many for lack of financial resources.

Starting a new programme requires that we:

• establish that we can meet the needs identified in an assessment mission



• find credible partners in the area



• secure sufficient funding for the first year of activities

Why do you work in countries such as Ukraine where there is no conflict?
Most of the countries where we work have experienced open, violent confrontation over many years. However, we also have programmes in countries where we have identified important tensions that could build up to violence if not managed proactively. In Ukraine, the coexistence between Ukrainians, Russians and Crimean Tatars is far from easy. Our objective is to facilitate a better dialogue and contribute to a reform of the current institutions to prevent the situation from degenerating. In Morocco, the current transition to a more open and pluralistic political system is fraught with tension. Our mission is to help Moroccans address their challenges in a co-operative way. Every country and society experiences conflict. We believe that programmes like ours, that facilitate change in a non-violent way, are needed everywhere.

Do you have programme activities in the US and Belgium where your headquarters are located?
From the early days of Search For Common Ground, we have been active in the United States. We have facilitated dialogue on highly divisive issues such as abortion and the separation of Church and State. We are also spearheading efforts to institute the US Consensus Council at the national legislative level to help shift the current model of political debate to a more collaborative approach. To learn more about our different projects, go to our US programme pages (see http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/us/programmes_us.html).

In 2003 we started to work in Belgium because of increasing polarisation between the Flemish and French-speaking communities. Early efforts have included partnerships with other NGOs on events that promote cross-linguistic dialogue and conflict resolution training in local schools and programmes.

How do you decide what to do when starting to work in a country?
Each programme is based on a thorough analysis of the conflict. Before we start, we send one or more assessment teams comprised of SFCG staff from other programmes, consultants and local experts. These teams spend several weeks in the country interviewing stakeholders and learning about the conflict. Based on their report, the organisation designs a comprehensive plan of intervention and raises funds to run it. As conflict situations are forever evolving and highly unpredictable, we have to remain flexible in our approach and be ready to take advantage of new opportunities and partnerships once a programme is in place.

What do you actually do in the countries where you work? What are some of your concrete activities?
Each programme responds to the needs and opportunities of that particular society. For example, we may organise cross-ethnic sports tournaments with disenfranchised youth, facilitate solidarity between women's associations and produce radio programmes for mass audiences on issues of common interests. We often target key stakeholders, such as youth, women or ex-combatants, to help us by acting as change-agents. And we usually include media to reach out to the broader public, challenge their stereotypes, provide reliable and balanced information, and promote dialogue and reconciliation. The activities are very diverse, yet all are aligned with the same goal: to 'understand the differences and act on the commonalties.' The following chart lists the target groups in our different programmes.

You speak about your toolbox, what do you mean by that?
Search For Common Ground has developed different tools' - or operational methods - which we use to bring people together, to help them better understand one another, and to solve their conflict in a co-operative manner. Collectively, these tools or methods are known as our 'toolbox.' Each country programme uses a unique combination of tools. All programmes use one or more traditional conflict resolution techniques, including mediation and facilitation, capacity strengthening, shuttle diplomacy, back-channel negotiations and court-based mediation. However, the Middle East programme is the only one that uses polling to discover and shift people's attitudes and perception of the 'other side.' Of our 12 programmes, 10 use media, whether by producing radio and television programmes (e.g., radio soap operas, children's TV series) or working with journalists (e.g., Common Ground news services, Common Ground media training). The following chart shows a breakdown of our different tools (for the complete contents of our toolbox, visit: http://www.sfcg.org/sfcg/sfcg_toolbox.html).

What is your policy on security in dangerous conditions?
We do not intervene in situations of open violence and civil war. Our work is most effective in preventing the escalation of a conflict into violence (e.g., Macedonia) or rebuilding a society post-conflict (e.g., Sierra Leone). However, sometimes the countries where we work undergo upsurges of violence that threaten the security of our staff. This happened on several occasions in Burundi.

In such circumstances, the Country Director evaluates the situation in consultation with the rest of the programme staff and with the support of Senior Management. We do not automatically follow the security recommendations of the UN, but rather complement them with information provided by our own networks. Instead of evacuating expatriate staff, we believe there is value in sharing the hardship with our partners and local staff, even if it means suspending activities for a while. The final decision about whether to stay or go, however, belongs to the individuals involved.

Do you have exit strategies in the country where you work?
Conflict transformation at the societal level is a very long process. Our programmes are designed to be long-term interventions. But ultimately our goal is to leave behind sustainable projects in the local society. We have been able to do that in Gaza, where the Conflict Resolution Centre we created now operates as an independent local NGO, employing 24 full-time staff and raising its own funds. In Macedonia, we have transferred the responsibility and ownership of our TV programme Nashe Maalo to a local production company. At SFCG's strategic planning session in March 2004, we decided that every project should include a five-year exit strategy to transfer ownership of the programme to local partners. However, such a strategy can only be implemented if the country's political environment has sufficiently stabilised. How do you measure your impact? How do you know you're making a difference?

Over the years, we have conducted a number of evaluations of our different programmes. The external group that evaluated our Burundi programme in 1999 concluded that that Search For Common Ground made its mark on the local culture. In Macedonia, our research on the impact of the SFCG children's TV programme showed that 75% of our target audience was watching the programme and that their understanding of other ethnic groups had significantly improved.

Evaluating our work is a challenge because conflict situations are complex systems where many different factors interact with one another. If the level of violence is reduced, it is difficult to identify the causes of the improvement or credit our activities for it. In the same way, if violence breaks out again, it does not necessarily mean our work has not made a difference. Part of the difficulty is that shifts in behaviour and attitudes, and improvements in relationships and trust are much more difficult to measure than material humanitarian aid.

We are committed to understanding the effects our projects generate and to refining our interventions to make them most effective. Each programme is currently evaluated on a biannual basis. We are incorporating continuous monitoring into all of our projects and training staff throughout the organisation in the necessary skills and techniques. Finally, we are starting to incorporate base-line studies prior to launching new projects so that we have reliable benchmarks from which to measure progress. We set up the Institutional Learning and Research Division in early 2003 to co-ordinate these efforts and develop new creative tools to evaluate our impact.

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Who works with and for SFCG?

How many people work for Search For Common Ground?
We currently have 350 full-time employees. 80% of our staff are local nationals, 14% are US citizens and 7% come from elsewhere. Most of our staff is in Burundi, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Indeed, 65% of our staff is in Sub-Saharan Africa. Note that these numbers refer to full time staff and do not include consultants or interns.

Who do you work with? Are you affiliated with any other organisations?
We are founding members of the US-based Alliance of International Conflict Prevention and Resolution (www.aicpr.org) and the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (www.conflict-prevention.net). Both are networks of organisations focusing on conflict. They allow us to exchange information, collaborate on joint initiatives and co-ordinate our efforts in specific regions. However, most of our direct partners are local civic and non-governmental organisations in the countries where we work (see a list of these organisations at http://www.sfcg.org/sfcg/sfcg_collaborating.html).

Who runs your programmes in overseas countries?
In the highly volatile and polarised environments where we work, foreigners are generally seen as impartial and capable of objective analysis. They are also credible witnesses from the outside world who are able to give a voice to local issues. For this reason, and with the exception of Ukraine and Liberia where the staff is comprised entirely of locals, expatriates run our Country Programmes. Our largest programme, Burundi (over 100 staff), currently has three expatriates; however, most programmes have only one. In each case, our Country Directors must have an in-depth understanding of the region and prior knowledge of the main local language. All of the remaining staff is local and representative of the country's ethnic, religious and regional groups.

How do you recruit your staff?
Nowadays, there are many different Conflict Resolution degrees and diplomas. While we welcome graduates with these credentials and those with previous experience in the field, the most important characteristics are good problem-solving and relationship-building skills. We define ourselves as 'social entrepreneurs' and our staff is made up of people who can take advantage of existing opportunities and turn them into creative interventions and projects. At the local level, our staff members are mostly people who already have a track record as change-agents and are aligned with our mission. Joining the SFCG team allows them to take their work to the next level.

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Questions about Income and Spending

How big is your budget and where does your funding come from?
Our overall budget in 2003 was close to 13 million dollars. The majority of our funding (62%) comes from European and other non-US governments, while 27% comes from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Foundations and corporations account for 7% of the total and individual donations represent the remaining 1% (see a list of funders at http://www.sfcg.org/sfcg/sfcg_funders.html).

What percentage of your income is spent on administration?
Approximately 20% of our total programme costs go toward administrative and programme support functions. These are provided to our field offices by our headquarters in Brussels and Washington DC.

Where do you see your funding come from in the future?
Although conflict resolution and peace-building activities have become a higher priority for many government aid agencies, we see the need to complement our funding by increasing our individual donor base. Unrestricted private funds allow us to respond to unpredictable and short-lived opportunities on the ground, new initiatives that have the potential to make a big difference. This is the essence of "social entrepreneurship", the core of who we are as an organisation. New opportunities often turn into new projects and programmes which we can later on support through grants.

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