Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) is a non-governmental organization in South Sudan with focus on governance, democratic transformation, protection of human rights, rule of law, peace building and livelihood. CEPO operations are nationwide in South Sudan.
Key individuals involved in the Creating Safer Space network are Mr Edmund Yakani and Miss Elizabeth Daniel.
Strengthening Local Capacities for Unarmed Civilian Protection in Uasin Gishu, Kenya
Research activities with community members in Uasin Gishu
This project sought to generate new, evidence-based knowledge and understanding regarding civilians’ agency in local conflict transformation processes in Kenya’s Uasin Gishu County. The research was conducted in three urban hotspot areas of Uasin Gishu, which have been at the centre of heated political contests in recent electioneering periods (2013 and 2017 general elections) and were adversely affected by the 2007-2008 post-election violence.
Using participatory methods such as the People-First Impact Method (PFIM) and Community Scorecards, the project explored existing and emergent local civilian protection systems and the related civilian knowledge and/or capacity gaps that need to be addressed to bolster them. Its findings provide a local and contextual understanding of the dynamics of unarmed civilian protection (UCP) in Uasin Gishu, the role played by civilians/civilian groups in local peace processes and protection systems, and how UCP in Uasin Gishu feeds into county and national security organs.
The project aimed to achieve the following outcomes:
Enhanced knowledge on existing and emergent local civilian protection systems in Burnt Forest, Langas and Turbo;
Improved knowledge on civilian capacity gaps regarding unarmed civilian protection in Burnt Forest, Langas and Turbo;
Improved knowledge on the intersectionality between international, national and local (self-protection) civilian protection mechanisms.
Research activities in Uasin Gishu
RESEARCH TEAM
Clinton Gwako, Rural Women Peace Link (principal investigator)
Research Café: UCP, civil resistance, and human rights defence
The aim of the Creating Safer Space Café is to enable people in different parts of the world to exchange knowledge and to help build a community of Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) researchers and practitioners.
This month, Dr Christine Schweitzer (BSV – Federation for Social Defense, and Institute for Peace Work and Nonviolent Conflict Transformation, Germany) will give us input for a discussion on the topic:
What is Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP)? How does it relate to or differ from civil resistance and human rights defence?
12.30 – 1.30 pm UTC on Thursday 20 January.
The session will be held in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation.
All welcome. Please contact creating-safer-space@aber.ac.uk for the Zoom joining details.
Invitation to apply for research grants
The Creating Safer Space network welcomes applications for research grants. We will fund 15 – 20 research projects to understand and support unarmed civilian protection and self-protection in the midst of violent conflict.
Our research focuses on conflicts in Colombia, South Sudan, Myanmar and the Philippines, but research on other Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) will also be supported.
Grants range from £20,000 – £100,000 GBP for projects of 6 to 16 months in duration. Projects must be led by organisations in the UK or in LMICs.
Potential applicants are invited to attend one of the following information sessions, where we will provide more information about our grants and how to apply:
In English: 10.00 – 11.00 on Tuesday 1 February
In Spanish: To be confirmed
In English: 8.00 – 9.00 on Wednesday 2 March
Please contact creating-safer-space@aber.ac.uk for Zoom joining details.
New work package: Civilian (Self-) Protection in Papua
The Creating Safer Space network is pleased to announce a new work package on the following topic:
Civilian (Self-)Protection from Violent Conflict in Papua: Exploring Local Infrastructures and Initiatives
The work package is led by Delsy Ronnie (Nonviolent Peaceforce Philippines) in collaboration with Arfiansyah (International Centre for Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies, ICAIOS)
Dr. Ben Ngoye holds a PhD in Management Sciences from Universität Ramon Llull/ESADE Business School, an MPH, and MSc’s in Organizational Development and in Research. His current teaching and research interests are focused on organization theory and organization behavior, on decision making, and on performance measurement and management. He has mentored several graduate/postgraduate students, and has several active training and research grants from UKRI MRC, the Gates Foundation and the Global Business School Network among others.
{ Puncak, Papua. Photo: Deco Kogoya. }
Civilian (Self-) Protection from Violent Conflict in Papua
Exploring Local Infrastructures and Initiatives
Violent conflict has been ongoing in Papua, Indonesia, since the 1960s. Our research studied the vulnerability of the Papuan people to physical harm, local actors’ initiatives to protect civilians, and their mechanisms to share those initiatives with other civilian actors. The aim of the project was to support and strengthen the capacity of local organisations to promote and build civilian protection mechanisms, in order to promote community-based conflict and peace management.
The project has produced 12 podcasts related to civilian protection in Papua and related topics, which are available here.
Interview
Arfiansyah, the co-investigator of the project, was interviewed on Sagoe TV Podcast. Arfiansyah discussed his research activities with Nonviolent Peaceforce of the Philippines in Papua, in Maesot on the Thai border with Myanmar, and in Kachin and Northern Shan states of Myanmar, with an emphasis on the research in Papua.
Opinion Piece
The project published an opinion piece in Jakarta Post, entitled ‘A new approach to violent conflict in Papua’, on 5 March 2024. The article is written by Arfiansyah and Delsy Ronnie, and it argues that recognizing and allowing a nonpartisan third party to focus solely on protecting civilians from violent conflict could be a stepping stone to conflict management in Papua. The article is available here:
The project has disseminated its research to Indonesian military officers. This was part of a training programme on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights facilitated by the National Human Rights Commission. More information is available here.
1. What are the criteria for Lead Organisations in respect to governance and ability to deliver?
Lead Organisations would normally be expected to meet the following criteria:
Ability to Deliver
The organisation should:
Be able to demonstrate in-house capacity in terms of staff and infrastructure to support and lead excellent research programmes;
Provide evidence of a commitment to maximising the wider impact and value of its research to the benefit of local economies and society;
Demonstrate commitment to the principle of open access publication (costs for open access publishing led by LMIC partners may be included in applications for funding);
Have sufficient capacity to deliver research and/or other outputs that are appropriate to the wider aims of the Creating Safer Space network and that can be meaningfully recorded and reported as such;
Demonstrate an ability and commitment to provide appropriate leadership and support to those staff involved with funded research activity.
Governance and Control
The organisation should:
Demonstrate good governance and control functions including policies and approaches to control risk and mitigate fraud and corruption;
Have satisfactory processes for preventing, detecting, reporting and responding to allegations of slavery, fraud, bribery and corruption;
Have satisfactory processes in place that meet Research Integrity and Ethics requirements, including processes for dealing with allegations of misconduct;
Be subject to appropriate levels of independent audit;
Demonstrate an ability to support the effective collection, management, analysis and dissemination of data.
Financial Stability
The organisation should:
Demonstrate that they are financially stable and have robust assurance around managing and accounting for grant funding;
Have a bank account that is in its legal name and that can be reconciled to the appropriate finance management system;
Have a basic finance management system that can be used to reconcile the bank account, to record all cash and payments ensuring that all transactions can be individually identified and provides suitable storage for supporting documentation;
Have satisfactory procedures in place for making payments for per diem, travel advances or review of receipts and subsequent reimbursement of expenses for approved official travel.
Sub-contract Management
Where the project involves sub-contracting to third parties, the organisation should:
Ensure there is a policy in place to sufficiently manage sub-contractors and address any associated financial or compliance risks.
We are required to undertake checks to ensure all organisations meet these criteria. Please contact us if you have any questions about these criteria, and please bear with us as we undertake due diligence checks.
Unless otherwise agreed with the Creating Safer Space team, the Lead Organisation must be a Higher Education Institution / University or a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). Please contact us for further advice.
1 What is the Creating Safer Space research network?
Creating Safer Space is a four-year international research collaboration, which aims to understand, support and expand unarmed civilian protection and self-protection in the midst of violent conflict. Creating Safer Space supports research that explores how violence against civilians can be interrupted, reduced and/or prevented by civilians by using a range of active nonviolent strategies. The aim of this network, and of the projects it supports, is to strengthen civilian capacities for protection and to support local efforts to transform conflict nonviolently as a basis for lasting, sustainable peace.
The network provides opportunities for researchers, practitioners and communities to network and share knowledge and ideas, to engage in training and research, and to undertake joint dissemination and advocacy activities. Please see our website for more information.
Creating Safer Space is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of UK Research and Innovation. The funding is part of the Global Challenges Research Fund, a £1.5 billion fund supporting cutting-edge research and innovation that addresses the global issues faced by developing countries. The GCRF forms part of the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment.
Creating Safer Space is led by Aberystwyth University (UK) in collaboration with the University of Antioquia (Colombia), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), City University of New York (USA), Durham University (UK), Leeds Beckett University (UK) and Strathmore University (Kenya).
