Search for Common Ground transforms conflict into cooperation. We bring people together across divides to solve shared problems, restore trust, and build lasting peace in some of the world’s most fragile and polarized places.
For more than 40 years, we’ve proven that when people work together—across political, ethnic, religious, and generational lines—violence isn’t inevitable. Solutions are.
How We Turn Conflict Into Progress
We Lead Locally:
With 91% of our staff from the regions where we work, our approach is rooted in local leadership. We partner directly with communities, ensuring solutions are grounded in lived experience not imposed from the outside.
We Build Multipartial Coalitions:
We bring everyone to the table, especially those who don’t agree. By forging coalitions across lines of tension, we create the conditions for understanding, cooperation, and breakthroughs no single group could achieve alone.
We Rebuild Trust:
Using our proven Trust Cycle, we ignite small acts of cooperation that grow into collective action. As trust strengthens, so does people’s ability to imagine—and build—a different future.
We Strengthen Social Vital Signs:
Healthy societies have vital signs just like people do: trust, connection, legitimacy, and shared purpose. We work with communities to restore these foundations so they can withstand shocks and prevent violence.
We Elevate Stories That Shift Mindsets:
Through bold media, local storytelling, and creative partnerships, we amplify real stories of change. These narratives rehumanize the “other,” reshape public attitudes, and inspire solutions that scale.
The World’s Largest Peacebuilding Organization
Search for Common Ground is the world’s largest peacebuilding organization, supporting communities wherever conflict threatens lives and futures.
Every day, we turn some of today’s toughest conflicts into opportunities for progress proving that even in the hardest places, peace is possible.
Our Work – Issue Areas
