HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) 392-8863info@asiafound.org

WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) 588-9409info@asiafound-dc.org

REGIONAL CONFLICT &FRAGILITY PROGRAMSQ. House Convent Bldg., Floor 6D38 Convent Road, SilomBangkok 10500, ThailandTel: 66 (2) 233-1644Fax: 66 (2) 237-7011tafthailand@asiafound.org

www.asiafoundation.org

how local communities are responding to pro-grams, and adapt activities based on changinglocal circumstances.

In each country and program area, theFoundation has developed detailed Theories ofChange to describe the anticipated change thatwill result from our programs. These theories arebased on rigorous analysis of the local context,and anchored by a baseline assessment. In part-nership with external researchers, the Foundationis conducting empirical analysis to test the efficacyof our assumptions and expected impact. Thisapproach will enable the Foundation to under-stand the strengths and weaknesses of ourapproach, and make necessary adjustments toprograms, allowing for learning and continualimprovement.

The Asia Foundation has extensive experience inconducting public perception surveys which areuseful in understanding the perspectives of localpopulations about the inherently subjective natureof their relationships with the state. Monitoringprograms also utilize key informant and focusgroup interviews to develop a comprehensive andnuanced understanding of the macro-themes anddynamics highlighted through surveying. Takentogether, mixed-method quantitative and qualita-tive data collection and analysis allows theFoundation the sophistication necessary to ascer-tain what effect its efforts are having in improvingthe state-society relations necessary for sustainablepeace and stability.

Through the PPA, the Foundation is raising thelevel of analytical rigor in program monitoringand analysis of governance and security condi-tions in fragile and conflict-affected areas. As partof the PPA’s program design and monitoringeffort, analytical products are being produced thatare comparable in rigor to social science research.Examples include extensive analysis of village gov-ernance in Pakistan and Timor-Leste, peaceprocess implementation in Nepal and thePhilippines, and local justice systems in southAsia. Given that such rigorous analysis is becom-ing available through this effort, the Foundation

will be able to develop a robust analytical evi-dence base that can be utilized by other aid pro-jects, and make significant contributions to widerintellectual and policy discourses.

EXPECTED IMPACT

With PPA support, The Asia Foundation willhelp conflict-affected communities in four ways:

• Reducing the level of community violencethrough resolution of active conflicts andprevention of new violence;

• Reducing the mistrust and alienationbetween conflict-affected communities andstate authorities;

• Strengthening and expanding locally drivenefforts to resolve disputes; and

• Improving international donor approachesto providing aid in conflict-affected andfragile regions.

In regions affected by long-running subnationalconflicts, PPA programs will assist local commu-nities in their ability to increase political pressureon governments to reform discriminatory lawsand practices that threaten their identity anddivide their communities. In fragile and transi-tional states, such as Timor-Leste or Pakistan,PPA programs will help conflict affected popula-tions have more influence in local governmentand development. By strengthening and buildinglegitimacy for formal peace efforts, PPA programswill create conditions in which negotiators inNepal or the Philippines can make compromisesfor peace with the clear knowledge that theiractions are supported. By strengthening informaljustice mechanisms, PPA programs will generatemore opportunities for conflict-affected commu-nities in Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Nepal toresolve low-level, but important disputes overland, access to basic resources, and servicesthrough strengthened informal justice mecha-nisms. Finally, by working with communities andsecurity forces to improve communication andenhance local safety and security across a varietyof environments, PPA programs will generate tan-gible improvements for communities in the fragileand conflict-affected regions of Asia.

04/2012

Program Partnership in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Areas

IMPROVING STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONS

The Asia Foundation and the UK Departmentfor International Development (DFID) haveestablished a Program Partnership Arrangement(PPA) to support peace and stability throughimproved state-society relations. This partnershipallows the Foundation to increase program impactin the following ways:

More flexible programs that respond to volatilelocal environments – Conflict-affected areas areoften turbulent, unpredictable, and poorly under-stood by the international community. Throughthis partnership, the Foundation supports pro-grams that are responsive to rapidly changing circumstances.

Targets set on higher level outcomes – TheFoundation focuses on achieving higher level out-comes by supporting a diverse portfolio of pro-grams that address a common challenge. Thisapproach encourages greater innovation andexperimentation with programs that address someof the most sensitive and entrenched developmentchallenges in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

Evidence-based design and results monitoring –The partnership supports more rigorous and con-sistent analysis and data collection on the criticalfactors that shape state-society relations in fragile

and conflict-affected areas. By integrating empiri-cal research, program design, and results monitor-ing, the Foundation’s programs more effectivelyaddress local concerns. The Foundation is alsodeveloping a robust evidence base of changinglocal conditions in conflict-affected areas that willallow for more effective results monitoring andpolicy-relevant research.

PROGRAMS

The Asia Foundation is supporting programs in seven Asian countries that are experiencing vio-lent conflict and fragility, or have recentlyemerged from long-running conflicts. Programsaddress five common challenges to peaceful state-society relations in fragile states (Afghanistan,Nepal), subnational conflict or post-conflict areas(southern Philippines, Sri Lanka, and southernThailand) and transitional states at risk ofrenewed conflict (Timor-Leste and Pakistan).

This partnership will have three strategic objectives:

1) Address the critical governance challenges thatprolong conflict and fragility. Programs supportlocal efforts to improve engagement between gov-ernment and citizens by addressing discriminatorypolicies, unfair government practices, andimpunity of powerful actors and state officials.

The Asia Foundation

is supporting

programs in seven

Asian countries

or subnational regions

that are experiencing

violent conflict

and fragility, or

have recently

emerged from long-

running conflicts.

The Asia Foundation

has established

a Program Partnership

Arrangement (PPA)

with the UK

Department

for International

Development (DFID)

to support peace

and stability through

improved state-

society relations.

While much of Asia is developing rapidly, several countries and subnational regions remain caught inprotracted cycles of conflict and fragility, leading to under-development, poor governance and instability.State-society relations in these environments are often troubled, and have frequently become the primarycause of prolonged conflict and fragility. Many citizens in conflict-affected and fragile regions havecome to see their government as distant, unresponsive, inaccessible, or absent altogether. When citizensperceive states as illegitimate, many will simply avoid contact with their governments, and in some casessupport violent challenges to state authority.

PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP

The Government of the United Kingdom is supporting these programs through a Program Partnership Arrangement (PPA) under the Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID) Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE). The Asia Foundation’s programs in conflict-affected and fragile regions are alsosupported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the World Bank, Governmentof the Netherlands, and the McConnell Foundation.

The Asia Foundation

is a nonprofit international

development organization

committed to improving

lives across a dynamic

and developing Asia.

Headquartered in San

Francisco, The Asia

Foundation works through

a network of offices in

17 Asian countries and in

Washington, DC. Working

with public and private

partners, the Foundation

receives funding from

a diverse group of

bilateral and multilateral

development agencies,

foundations, corporations,

and individuals.

RESULTS MONITORINGResults monitoring in conflict zones and fragile states isexceptionally difficult, particularly at the outcomes level. TheAsia Foundation’s programming for the PPA responds tosome of the most entrenched conflicts, complex political situ-ations, and challenging geographic locales in Asia, such as theSulu archipelago of Mindanao, the Swat Valley in Pakistan,southern Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The conditions in suchlocales often include contested and unstable political settle-ments, eclectic mixes of non-state and state actors, and popu-lations that are highly suspicious of outsiders, including thenational government.

Within this context, the Foundation’s approach for resultsmonitoring has several guiding themes. The first is to focuson the outcome level, moving beyond an over-emphasis onbasic outputs that is common practice in development assis-tance in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Specifically this

means ultimate outcomes, namely the gradual improvementsin state-society relations that can realistically be expected overan extended time period. Secondly, the PPA monitoringapproach does not solely rely on quantitative indicators.Qualitative indicators are used to provide the nuance, context,and depth of understanding that quantitative indicators alonecannot provide about conflict and post-conflict situations.

The PPA monitoring strategy is founded upon a deep under-standing of the state-society relationships that theFoundation’s programs aim to improve (see table). Central tothe entire monitoring effort are routine situational assess-ments to track changes in the nature and dynamics of target-ed state-society relationships. In order to better understandthe complexities of state-society relationships in conflictzones and fragile states, there is a pressing need to focusmonitoring and analysis on targeted localities. By conductingroutine “Locality Case Studies,” the Foundation can assess

2) Strengthen peacebuilding efforts and transitional institu-tions. Programs broaden support for and increase the effec-tiveness of formal and informal peacebuilding efforts, whilestrengthening the capacity and legitimacy of transitionalinstitutions during the implementation of peace agreements.

3) Strengthen informal institutions that provide justice, sta-bility, and services where the state has limited reach and/orlegitimacy. Programs strengthen local informal institutions,and develop symbiotic links with formal institutions, to pro-

vide critical governance functions in places where the statehas limited presence or is not trusted by the local population.

Recognizing the important gender dimensions of the impactof conflict on affected populations, and the opportunities inmany post-conflict situations to empower women, theFoundation carefully analyzes how the needs, interests, andcapacities of men, women, girls, and boys differ, and willadapt programs and monitoring accordingly.

INTENDED OUTCOME COUNTRY STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONSHIP ILLUSTRATIVE ACTIVIT IES

Improve state respon-siveness and state-society relations

Timor-Leste Suco (village) councils with higher levels of government

• Strengthen associations of suco (village)councils

• Monitoring of suco level informal governance

Pakistan Local administration and local popu-lation in Swat Valley (KhyberPakhtunkhwa) and Rahimyar Khan(southern Punjab) districts

• Analysis of key challenges in state-societyrelations at the district level in two targetdistricts

• Support national civil society monitoring ofgovernment performance

Improve relationsbetween security forcesand conflict-affectedpopulations

Philippines Security forces and conflict-affectedcommunities in Sulu and Mindanao

• Establish mechanisms for consultationbetween communities and armed forces

• Training for armed forces on local conflictmitigation and community engagement

Sri Lanka Police and communities in northernand eastern Sri Lanka

• Public surveys to measure perceptions of thepolice

• Support to institutionalize community-orientedpolicing practices in the police services

• Facilitate dialogue through community-policeforums

• Training in Tamil language for police

Thailand Security forces and communities infour sub-districts of southernThailand

• Identify police, military, and civilian leaderswho are working to improve relationsbetween security forces and conflict-affectedcommunities

• Facilitate dialogue through community-securityforce forums

Timor-Leste Police and communities in four districts

• Facilitate dialogue through community-policeforums

• Support small-scale joint community-policeprojects to improve local security

Strengthen peaceprocesses

Nepal Relationship between key parties involved in the peace process in Nepal

• Perception surveys on support for peaceprocess

• Support Track 1.5 dialogues to enable partiesto work through critical deadlocks

• Establish new regional, multi-party forums inregions where re-drawing internal borders islikely to generate inter-communal violence

PROGRAMS ADDRESSING STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONS IN FRAGILE AND CONFLICT-AFFECTED AREAS:

INTENDED OUTCOME COUNTRY STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONSHIP ILLUSTRATIVE ACTIVIT IES

Strengthen peaceprocesses (cont.)

Philippines National public and the formal peaceprocess (between government and theMoro Islamic Liberation Front)

• Perception surveys on support forpeace process

• Broaden political support for peaceprocess by strengthening peace advo-cates and dialogue with key, powerfulactors

• Technical input into peace negotiationsthrough International Contact Group

Strengthen and expandlocal systems of justice,including informal andtraditional mediation

Nepal Local government (Village DevelopmentCouncil) with local population*

• Expand informal mediation to 24additional villages

• Sustain informal mediation in current90 pilot villages/municipalities

Sri Lanka Intra- and inter-community relations innorthern Sri Lanka*

• Support expansion of mediationboards to the post-conflict regions inthe north

• Encourage greater numbers of womenmediators

• Improve the Ministry of Justice impactmonitoring of mediation boards

Support governmentreform efforts to addressthe grievances of conflict-affected groups

Thailand Thai government and ethnic Malay-Muslim population in southernThailand

• Encourage collaboration between civilsociety and government to implementkey reforms and improve the deliveryof public services

Support community-driven efforts toimprove local security

Philippines Intra- and inter-community relations* • Support local leaders and CSO rapidresponse teams to mitigate conflictand crises before they turn violent

• Resolve clan conflicts (or rido)

* Addressing gap in state provision of mediation and security

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