Evaluating Systemic Action Research as a Participatory Peace-Building Intervention in Mali: Findings from Djenné and Mopti

This Working Paper presents the findings from an embedded theory-based evaluation of a participatory peace-building initiative implemented in the Djenné and Mopti cercles in Mali as part of the ‘Vestibule of Peace’ project. The project used Systemic Action Research (SAR) to first support diverse members of selected local communities to collect and analyse life stories through mapping the systemic drivers of conflict. This causal analysis motivated the generation of collective solutions to selected drivers through facilitated Action Research Groups (ARGs). The SAR approach as an alternative, participatory approach to peace-building aimed to engage and empower local actors to build their agency as they define and negotiate innovative pathways to achieve peace. The paper presents findings about how, for whom, and under what conditions the phases of the SAR process led to a number of outcome pathways: trust-building setting the conditions for the ARGs to be effective; direct resolution of long-standing conflicts through ARG actions; local ownership over and use of an inclusive and causal methodology for conflict resolution; and potential for collective ownership and agency to influence system dynamics.