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1 Introduction and Themes of the Workshop
1 Introduction and Themes of the Workshop
Pages 1-8
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sponsored a workshop to explore this question. The workshop convened experts in conflict prevention, conflict management, postconflict stabilization, and reconstruction along with experts in various fields of operational systems engineering for a day of invigorating, multidisciplinary discussion.
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Workshop co-chair Peter Cherry, an independent consultant and retired analyst and executive from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) , noted that the peacebuilding and engineering communities often use different concepts, methods, and even vocabularies, yet they need to understand each other to work on shared problems.
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Both addressed the process employed in data specification and collection, model development and use, and the construction and application of metrics aimed at providing peacebuilders with an understanding of the Operational Systems Engineering discipline. The dialogue that began in the initial presentations was then focused and expanded in three workgroups in which peacebuilders and systems engineers explored the potential application of systems engineering to specific peacebuilding initiatives.
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If sufficient interest were generated, groups were asked to organize follow-on activity to begin implementation of the work plans that they developed. In the final plenary session, workshop participants identified lessons learned from the day's discussions and broad paths forward for applying operational systems engineering to improve the effectiveness of peacebuilding.
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• Data Needs • Metrics - performance, - outcomes, - effectiveness • Expected Analysis Outputs or Deliverables - process changes, - resource allocation changes, etc. • S uggested actions needed to implement analysis plans and im prove peacebuilding service delivery.
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All "solutions" must be situation specific, and local buy-in and ownership are critical to long-term success. And, as Sam Worthington noted, "We have to be talking at multiple levels, from the field level all the way up to the overall policy level for a particular country." Given this context, many argued that operational systems engineering could make significant contributions to the effectiveness and efficiency of peacebuilding and that the complexity and challenges of the peacebuilding process need not be barriers to successful applications.
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As Robert Ricigliano, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee put it, "Peacebuilding needs to move beyond constructing maps of causal relationships to developing and elaborating models for analysis and design that are continually improved through data gathering and hypothesis testing." Beth Cole, USAID, observed that systems methods will also require peacebuilders to become more process-oriented, adding that "the fact of the matter is there are gaps [in our understanding of how to realize particular goals] and we have to attend to those if we want to try and address peacebuilding in a systemic approach." Bill Rouse, Stevens Institute of Technology, illustrated the application of more quantitative methods and the potential for deriving data development priorities from quantitative models, supplementing and enlarging on the understanding gained from the qualitative systems maps.
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Andrew Reynolds remarked that "programs and curricula in colleges and universities need to be reshaped to provide students with the tools and concepts necessary to apply systems analysis to complex societal problems." Thus, efforts should be made to include systems engineering in programs that address the practice of peacebuilding at levels from field operations to the funding, direction, and management of provider organizations. In addition to these themes, participants expressed support for future workshops such as this, but with a finer focus and an expanded set of participants.
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