Network for Change: Building on the Changing Character of Conflict Platform

This project transforms the knowledge base established by the AHRC/ESRC funded project "The Changing Character of Conflict Platform: Understanding, Tracing, and Forecasting Change across Time, Space, and Cultures" (Conflict Platform) into a vibrant and sustainable Network for Change for local community leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and academics. The Conflict Platform has shed light on the world's quickly changing security landscape, including the dynamic character of cross-border and multi-actor conflicts and their impact on civilians. Its knowledge base includes:
- conceptual framework on conflict changes and an analytical tool (Conflict Platform tool) to capture these changes systematically;
- a novel methodology, related theories, and models that present conflicts as multi-actor phenomena and reflect their changes across time and space;
- web-based interactive visualisations integrating fieldwork and large data analysis used as a research method to uncover patterns of conflict changes;
- photoessays that portray local realities of changing conflict dynamics.
The Network for Change maximises the Conflict Platform research's impact, facilitating effective responses to armed conflict. We achieve this via the following activities co-designed with our partners, the Danish Demining Group (DDG), International Alert (IA), and the UN System Staff College (UNSSC):

1. INCEPTION WORKSHOP
Co-hosted with UNSSC and with DDG's and IA's participation, this workshop serves to refine the activity design to ensure the best possible engagement and impact of our project.

2. CROSS-STAKEHOLDER FORA
We co-host one cross-stakeholder forum in Nairobi (with DDG) and one in Yangon (with IA) to bring together local community leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and academics to discuss quickly changing security landscape in the conflicts in the Horn of Africa and Myanmar and identify successful interventions that anticipate and mitigate the harmful effect of conflict changes. The Conflict Platform findings catalyse the discussion: First, participants learn how to address changes by applying the Conflict Platform tool to specific conflict environments and co-create a Handbook on Change in Armed Conflict. Second, we ground debates in our cross-disciplinary, mixed methods theories and models to challenge silo-thinking and foster lateral thinking. Third, we creatively incorporate local voices into the web-based visualisations to unveil diverse narratives on changes in conflict. Fourth, participants engage with our photoessays to benefit from arts as powerful means of nonverbal expression that is inclusive of marginalised communities.

3. NETWORK FOR CHANGE
The forum participants join the Network for Change to maintain communication and knowledge exchange beyond the fora. We set up social media groups for members to discuss their work with conflict-affected communities and find experts for briefings, consultations, or collaboration.

4. FEEDBACK LOOP
We foster a communication and knowledge exchange feedback loop by (i) conducting feedback surveys and collecting recommendations for future exchanges from Network members; (ii) hosting a Handbook workshop with Network members at the end of the project to ensure the Handbook reflects the fora debates and Network communication; (iii) co-producing with our partners a Synthesis of Good Practices on mitigating the harmful impact of change in conflict that were shared during the project activities.

By applying an intersectional approach to all our activities, we cater to the needs of the most marginalised parts of conflict-affected people in Myanmar and the Horn of Africa. The stakeholders in Myanmar and the Horn of Africa benefit from the project through increased horizontal modes of networking and a better understanding of how to address conflict changes. Stakeholders worldwide gain proof of concept for effective communication and knowledge exchange systems for other conflicts