Key Initiatives

Project director: Nkasi Wodu (Center Fellow)

Funder: The Bureau of African Affairs' Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (AF/PDPA) of the U.S. Department of State.

Implementers: Centre for Peace, Democracy, and Development, University of Massachusetts, Boston; NexTier SPD, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

Target Countries: Angola, DRC, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Zimbabwe

Objectives

• To strengthen civil society's capacity to engage in advocacy and oversight before, during, and after the upcoming electoral process in 10 African countries with forthcoming elections in 2023 and 2024.

• To improve government transparency and integrity in local election processes, increase citizen participation in democratic processes, and address the demand for democratic reform.

The Project: With the support of the U.S. State Department, the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), Nextier, and UMASS Boston's Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development (CPDD) reached over 50 activists in 10 African countries holding elections in the 2022-24 period to join a self-help African Democracy Network (DemNet). 

The project provides support to CSO activists in the following ways.

1. Providing additional skills in election reform through a series of online consultations and capacity-building sessions

2. Offering an opportunity to network with other activists from other African countries at a major conference held in Nairobi in January 2023;

3. Launch of an Africa-wide Democracy Network (DemNet) of like-minded reformists working to improve election quality across the contin

4. The CDD-NexTier-CPDD team continued to assist DemNet partners through online meetings, coaching, troubleshooting, and helping them implement their strategies for improving elections in their countries.

DemNet has two primary objectives:

• To strengthen civil society's capacity to engage in advocacy and oversight before, during, and after the upcoming electoral process in 10 African countries with forthcoming elections in 2023 and 2024.

• To improve government transparency and integrity in election processes, increase citizen participation in democratic processes, and address the demand for democratic reform through the ballot box.

Since its establishment in January 2023, DemNet has achieved the following results:

• It established a multi-country civil society collaboration and learning platform in electoral transparency and civic participation through a network of civil society actors in 10 African countries: Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe, to promote civic participation and advocacy for electoral integrity and electoral reforms.

• It mentored 50 civil society organizations in the ten target countries to develop action plans to promote accountability of political and governmental actors and deepen civic engagement. Through targeted small grants, DemNet provided funding to the network in each of the 10 African countries to implement programs to promote accountability and improve civil society before, during, and after the elections in the target countries.

• Through targeted workshops, DemNet built the capacity of Civil society organizations from the ten countries engaged in local grassroots mobilization campaigns and advocacy campaigns to promote civic participation and democratic reforms.

• In countries like South Sudan, Kenya, DR Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, DemNet led campaigns for voter awareness penetration in rural communities, mainly focusing on youth and women. These actions increased participation in the electoral process for youth and women in those communities.

• However, beyond being at the frontlines of promoting civic participation, DemNet fostered cross-country collaboration and learning among its members. DemNet provided a platform for members to share the challenges they faced in their respective countries and facilitated online sessions to brainstorm on these challenges and provide solutions. Significantly, DemNet offered a platform for members to share best practices and strategies to improve government transparency and integrity in local election processes, increase citizen participation in democratic processes, address the growing impact of disinformation in the electoral process, and address other practical challenges to developing strategies to channel buoyant demands for democratic reform.

So far, DemNet members have implemented or are implementing projects (through the small grant mechanism) to curb voter apathy in Angola, advocate for the electoral management body to institutionalize continued voter registration of young persons in Nigeria, engage in grassroots mobilization in Liberia, improve youth participation in Madagascar, and reduce electoral violence in Sierra Leone's densely populated urban communities to mention a few.

UMass

Project Lead: Madhawa Palihapitiya (Senior Fellow)

Background: Established at UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School, The Conflict Early Warning Analytics Program (CEWAP) serves as New England's own targeted and political violence monitoring system. Moreover, CEWAP is the analytical hub for the TRUST Network, leveraging over 20 years of expertise in early warning across multiple continents. The program integrates local knowledge with expert support to address conflicts effectively. CEWAP's work is focused on building social cohesion in the U.S., supported by a desire to create a strong peacebuilding infrastructure that leverages our local and international experiences.

What We Do: CEWAP predicts and works with community-based and other organizations to help interrupt political violence across major U.S. cities by:

• Training New England and other national networks in early warning practices.

• Monitoring targeted and political violence through the TRUSTNet Mobile App, media monitoring, and desktop research.

• Developing predictive models for preempting political violence.

• Compiling analytical reports and presenting findings.

Through these efforts, CEWAP aims to create a safer environment by addressing potential threats before they escalate into violence.

DOJ Grant: CEWAP recently received a significant grant to enhance its capabilities in addressing hate crimes and extremism. The Department of Justice grant, led by Madhawa Palihapitiya and Karen Ross, is specifically aimed at hate crimes prevention and will support the development of advanced technological tools for monitoring and analyzing hate-related incidents.

Expected Outcomes: The implementation of these new technologies is expected to significantly boost CEWAP's and the TRUST Network's capabilities in several areas:

Improved Early Warning: The AI-driven platform will help identify potential threats earlier, allowing for more proactive prevention measures.

• Enhanced Data Analysis: The sophisticated analytics tools will provide deeper insights into the nature and patterns of hate crimes and extremist activities.

• More Effective Response: With better data and predictive capabilities, the TRUST Network can allocate resources more efficiently and respond more effectively to emerging threats.

• Broader Coverage: The new app will enable more comprehensive monitoring of hate-related incidents across a wider geographic area.

This grant represents a significant step forward in CEWAP's mission to prevent violence and promote human security. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, CEWAP and the TRUST Network are positioning themselves at the forefront of hate crime prevention and community safety efforts.

Who We Are

• Madhawa "Mads" Palihapitiya: Directs CEWAP and is a conflict resolution expert with over 22 years of experience. He is affiliated with UMass Boston and has made significant contributions to developing community-based early warning systems across the globe.

• Krystal-Gayle O'Neill:  Analyst and PhD candidate with expertise in LGBTQIA+ rights, focuses on the intersection of gender identities, social media, hate speech, and political violence.

• Stephanie White: A master's candidate, Stephanie uses her expertise in journalism and conflict resolution training to research hate ideology, mass media, and right-wing extremism.

• Karina Zeferino MA: A hate crimes researcher and editor specializing in program evaluation and monitoring.

Past Analysts

• Jack T Sherman: A desk researcher focusing on extremist groups and political violence as part of his Capstone project.

• Kathryn Butterworth: A PhD candidate supporting CEWAP with geospatial analysis and qualitative research.

• Mahdi Hasan PhD: Analyzes political violence and extremist ideologies.

• Kelsey Edmond PhD: Conducts social media analytics related to political violence trends.

• Kristina Angelevska: An International Peace Scholar with a focus on policing issues and conflict assessment.

• Katherine Yarusso: A Master's student working on mathematical models to predict conflicts.

• Alejandra Palacios Jaramillo MA: A Fulbright Scholar assisting with event data analysis and research.

Project Team: Jeff Pugh (Faculty Fellow), Dr. Cecile Mouly (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Ecuador, Senior Fellow), Dr. Yves-Renee Jennings (Senior Fellow)

Description: This summer institute in Ecuador brings together professionals and graduate students from countries around the world to study conflict and peace in border zones. Topics include migration/refugee challenges, transnational environmental conflict, border disputes, and more.

When held in person, the program includes classroom discussions, skills workshops, simulations, guest speakers, and field site visits to the Ecuador-Colombia border and the Amazon cloud forest. It also features briefings at the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and with the Ecuadorian Army's military brigade at the border. Since 2021, it has operated as a virtual course in collaboration with four partner universities in Latin America: FLACSO Ecuador, PUC de Rio in Brazil, Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica, and UCLAEH in Uruguay.

Key Outcomes: All summer institute participants design a project proposal for either a research or practical peacebuilding project. The program thus serves as an incubator and platform for further research and action. The following outcomes exemplify the program's impact beyond participants' immediate experience:

• Multiple masters and doctoral thesis projects have originated from participants' summer institute research proposals.

• A workshop on strategic nonviolent action, piloted during the 2016 summer institute in collaboration with the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), has become a full-fledged Regional Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolent Action in the Americas (accionnoviolenta.org), now in its second year.

• Program graduates have gone on to jobs with the United Nations, working on the Venezuelan border; refugee agencies in Boston; and government positions in Ecuador.

Achievements: The Conflict Transformation Across Borders summer institute was specifically mentioned as a supporting reason for UMass Boston's selection as the recipient of the NAFSA Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization in 2016, and for the McCormack Graduate School's 2015 ranking among the 30 most innovative public service schools in the U.S. by BestValueSchools.com.

Project Lead: Eben Weitzman (Faculty Fellow)

Description: CPDD is working to improve the quality of communication among the Massachusetts Muslim, Arab, and Sikh communities on the one hand, and federal, state and local law enforcement officials.

As part of this effort, we have facilitated multiple town hall meetings since 2012 and most recently in 2024; assisted BRIDGES with process evaluation, strategic planning, and development of alternatives for improvement of their efforts.

Research team: Courtenay Sprague1,2, Judit Senarriaga-Esteve1, Paola Muñoz Gamboa1, Satwika Paramasatya1, Sebastián Hernández2, Javier Armando Pineda Duque2

1University of Massachusetts Boston, USA

2Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) comprises a significant public health problem and grave violation of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights. An estimated 27% of all women globally and 30% in Colombia have experienced IPV. Notably, research indicates IPV can be reduced and even prevented. Nonetheless, little research at the intersection of public health, violence and justice has documented state-led sustainable programs effective in addressing IPV in real-world conditions in low-and-middle-income settings, especially in Latin America. Colombia's novel, under-studied government-led ruta única de attención (single route) seeks to provide IPV-exposed women with an integrated pathway to health, legal and justice services by connecting the health system, justice, prosecution, police, family welfare, family commission, with legal-medical and psycho-social services.

Objective. We aim to map and investigate key mechanisms and limitations of the integrated response through focus on a single actor: human rights lawyers. Lawyers navigate the rut on women's behalf, thus amassing understanding of the system's functioning, mechanisms of health and justice, and limitations.

Design and Methods: In 2022-to present, we are employing purposive and snowball sampling, to conduct in-depth interviews (supplemented with debriefings) in Bogotá with government officials working across la ruta. La Universidad de los Andes ethics committee approved the study. Interviews are conducted in Spanish, then transcribed verbatim into Spanish and English.

Impact of Study/Programme: To date, little research in LMIC settings has documented state-led programs that have been effective in addressing IPV. A recent global systematic review of 104 studies found the evidence of 'what works' to prevent gender-based violence relies on randomized controlled trials with discrete study endpoints, not state-led sustainable programs implemented in the real-world. Further, only 9 studies were from Latin America. Additionally, few programs have sought to integrate justice, public health and gender, as Colombia has. Our study is positioned within that opening. The mapping of the system and the identification of key gaps in the implementation of the response according to each point of delivery assists in illuminating mechanisms for and obstacles to the government response at a more granular level. Ultimately, such research is paramount to inform research, policy and practice at national levels, particularly in LMIC settings.

Research Team: Gavin George, Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Z Nana Nxumalo (HEARD UKZN), Leah Junck (HEARD UKZN) and Courtenay Sprague

Themes: Gender, health and sexuality; sexual risk and HIV risk behaviors; HIV risk environment and prevention; gender as a structural health determinant.

Description: This research engages with the dynamics of transactional sex and the influence of these sexual relationships on young women's identities, which can inform subsequent HIV prevention efforts within the South African context. Transactional sex is a common practice in different regions of the African continent (Zembe et al., 2013) and refers to the practice of engaging in sex in exchange for gifts (Leclerc-Madlala, 2008). The exchange is neither explicit nor upfront and understandings over the nature of exchange fall outside local and Western notions of commercial sex work (Hunter 2002). Relationships may be characterized by large age and wealth differences or power imbalances. They influence young women and men's sexual experiences and their ability to negotiate the circumstances of those encounters (Kaufman & Stavrou, 2004). Relationships involving 'blessings' are both, material and meaningful in complex ways (Hunter 2002), and the newest types of relationships are predicated on social media that allow men to advertise for women and women to seek 'Blessers'. In this qualitative research study, we investigate the nature and extent of these relationships, and how women enact and view their own agency in such partnerships, also considering the implications for women to contract HIV in this high HIV prevalence setting.

Project Director: Dr. Jay Jinseop Jang (Senior Fellow)

Themes

• National security and human security in South Korea

• Human rights, human security, and democratization in North Korea

• Human security of North Korean refugees

• Security and peace in Northeast Asia

Background: The Importance of the Korean Peninsula in Security Studies to Reinforce Democracy and Maintain Peace

The Korean Peninsula holds a unique position in security studies and global security due to its geopolitical significance and historical circumstances. From a national security perspective, the Peninsula is a focal point of power dynamics in East Asia, with North and South Korea embodying divergent political systems. The ongoing issues, such as nuclear proliferation in North Korea and China-US tension in East Asia, extend beyond the two Koreas and have significant implications for neighboring countries like China, Russia, Japan, and the U.S., impacting international security.

Furthermore, the Korean Peninsula serves as a crucial case study for understanding human security. The stark contrast in human rights conditions and societal structures between North and South Korea provides a rich context for analyzing the impact of different political systems on individual freedoms, social stability, and human development. Notably, the well-known human security problems in North Korea are alarming, and less-known challenges faced by North Korean refugees/defectors residing in wealthier South Korea are also serious and complicated.1 The ongoing tension also raises the risk of conflict escalation, emphasizing the need for peacekeeping and conflict resolution efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of the region's population. In addition, South Korea has faced social and economic challenges that threaten South Koreans in the near future. These challenges include a rapidly diminishing population and shrinking non-Seoul provincial societies. Therefore, studying the Korean Peninsula offers essential insights into the complex interplay of national security, international security, and human security in a global context.

Description: Enhancing Understanding and Influencing Policies

The Korean Peninsula Project is a scholarly endeavor aiming to enhance understanding and shape public discourses on the national and human security implications in the region, both domestically and internationally. This initiative fosters research and facilitates dialogues between scholars and practitioners to exchange insights, build international networks, and influence policy.

With a long-term vision, the Project aims to contribute to three primary outcomes. First, it aspires to build a consensus in the international community around peaceful strategies to ensure stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Second, it is committed to enhancing the human security of the Peninsula's inhabitants, particularly those in North Korea. Finally, it aims to strengthen democracy in the region. In striving for these outcomes, the Korean Peninsula Project emphasizes its commitment to research, dialogue, and policy development that fosters peace and prosperity in this vital region.

Dr. Jay Jang recently spoke at a conversation on Valor, Diplomacy, and Friendship: A Conversation Celebrating Korean Art & Culture.  The text of his talk can be found here:Power of Art: Why Human Stories and Connections Matter in International Relation.

Recent event: Korean Peninsula Project Seminar - April 1, 2025

1Severe economic insecurity, cultural dislocation, and social isolation causes a considerable number of North Korean refugees to actually regret leaving North Korea, as they lose faith in the opportunities that a democratic society can offer, and lead to a very high suicide rate: on average, more than 17% of North Korea defectors in South Korea will attempt suicide at least once in their lifetime, and their suicide rate is more than triple the overall national rate of South Korea, which is already highest among OECD countries. (An, J. H., Lee, K. E., Lee, H. C., Kim, H. S., Jun, J. Y., Chang, H. I., Kim, S. S., Lee-Tauler, S. Y., & Hong, J. P. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among North Korean defectors. Psychiatry Investigation, 15(5), 445–451. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2017.11.08.3; Lee, Min-ju. “N. Korean defectors' suicide rate triple that of S. Koreans”. Korea Biomedical Review, May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=3192 )

CDD Senior Fellow Michael Keating worked in Liberia to build relationships and projects in the areas of media, education, and workforce development. With funding from the U.S. State Department, Keating conducted media training in Monrovia to prepare the local media for the 2011 presidential elections. In the immediate run-up to the elections, he helped establish Together Liberia, a media collective that created a new digital storytelling platform in the country. In collaboration with the University of Liberia in Monrovia Keating conducted an assessment of Liberia's readiness to make use of massive open online courses (MOOCs); and helped create the Liberian Institute for Policy Studies and Research, an independent think-tank in Monrovia dedicated to issues of social policy. These activities were funded by Academics Without Borders and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia (TDEL).In the summer of 2011, CDD visiting fellow Conzolo Miglozzi conducted an innovative teacher training program at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. Designed in collaboration with the Canadian NGO Academics for Higher Education and Development, the program was widely praised by the faculty-participants. The Liberian Ministry of Education later sought to expand it beyond the pilot. CDD's work in Liberia continued under a U.S. State Department grant for conducting workforce development programs. Keating and the CPDD team again collaborated with the University of Liberia, as well as with media organizations, women’s groups, environmental associations, trade associations, and secondary schools.

The Strengthening Rwandan Administrative Justice (SRAJ) Project - Twimakaze Ubutabera mu Miyoborere

Research Team:  Malcolm Russell-Einhorn, Seth Karamage, Eben Weitzman, Jean Paul Mazimpaka (University of Rwanda Law School), Alexander Twahirwa, Rwanda Labour Rights Organization; Alfred Bizoza, High Lands Centre of Leadership for Development.  

Themes: Administrative justice reform and access to justice; media outreach on administrative justice issues; enhancement of graduate and executive training on labor and procurement law; patterns of citizen willingness and ability to challenge administrative decisions based on education, public information, personal resources, and availability of legal aid.

Purpose: The Strengthening Rwandan Administrative Justice (SRAJ) Project, launched in early 2017, was a 3 1/2-year, USAID-supported initiative(2017-2020) aimed at improving the quality, consistency, legality, and transparency of decision-making by Rwandan district authorities in administrative cases that in aggregate involve thousands of citizens and businesses. The district level is where the overwhelming majority of administrative decisions are rendered under the country’s decentralized governance structure.  By gathering detailed information about the both the legal framework governing administrative justice in the country (including gaps, ambiguities, and contradictions), as well as the functioning of administrative decision-making in practice (challenges involving capacity, management, data, and public awareness), the Project was able to generate evidence based policy recommendations that could inform key reform interventions—including improved training for public officials and better information dissemination to citizens about their rights in the administrative process. 

By helping to improve administrative decision-making by front-line officials in Rwanda—advancing what could be termed ‘everyday’ justice—the Project sought to strengthen citizen voice in the administrative process while simultaneously creating more credible opportunities for first-instance dispute resolution.  An underlying premise of the project was that without reasonably well articulated administrative procedures that are understood and utilized by public officials and citizens alike, the legal regime can neither be properly enforced nor complied with by civil servants, resulting in inconsistent rendering of decisions, a lack of transparency, and impermissible bureaucratic discretion and impunity.  The Project has gained traction on these issues in part due to Rwanda’s self-consciousness about its international reputation for regulatory effectiveness and well as its need to enhance trust in government and bureaucratic legitimacy among its citizens.

Latest Developments: Thanks to the project’s field research on topics like labor regulation and land expropriation, the project was able to raise government and public awareness of the numerous challenges facing administrative justice in the country. At the same time, project-designed TV programs on labor regulation and administrative justice and public procurement and administrative justice, as well as the broadcasting of video dramas on labor dispute resolution, child labor protection, and land expropriation, have stimulated vibrant public discussion of these topics.  

Subject Matter Focus: The Project had four subject matters as sectoral focal points for administrative justice interventions: 

• Private labor regulation (terms and conditions of employment, including safety)

• Public procurement (procurem2017ent of goods, services, or construction by state bodies)

• Land expropriation (government seizure of land2017 for public use)

• Public employment (hiring, promotion, and dismissal of government employees)

These areas were selected based on the relatively large volume of such cases decided by district authorities, but also the visibility of such cases to the general public (and their familiarity with them).  The project was implemented by the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development (CPDD) in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA), the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda (IPAR-Rwanda) and HighLands Centre of Leadership for Development (L4D). Key stakeholders included the Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST), the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC), the Ministry of Public Service and Labor (MIFOTRA) and the Institute for Legal Practice and Development (ILPD).

Rationale: Administrative justice involves a government’s use and observance of proper legal and procedural rules in rendering decisions in individual cases affecting the rights of citizens and businesses.  Because these decisions may number in the many thousands in the aggregate, they dwarf the number of civil and criminal cases decided in the courts.  These decisions also tangibly affect the public’s perception of the government’s fidelity to the rule of law and fundamental notions of ‘everyday’ justice.  When administrative decisions are improperly made or procedures not followed, the public may not only be frustrated and feel poorly treated, but may flood district officials and the Ombudsman’s Office with complaints.   Still other citizens and businesses may bring appeals to the courts, consuming state resources and occupying the time of state attorneys in cases

that otherwise could have been decided correctly at the district level in the first place. Stated otherwise, we know that the procedural dimension of justice systems generally matters greatly to citizens.  When citizens have a basic understanding of their rights and how the decision-making process works, when they are treated with courtesy and respect, given an opportunity to describe their situation and present evidence on their behalf, and provided with a written decision with supporting reasons, they are likely to view an administrative process as fundamentally fair – and less likely to feel that they have to appeal to the courts, politicians, or other forums for redress. Ultimately, a procedurally sound system of administrative justice enhances public trust in state institutions, as well as investor confidence in regulatory governance.

Project Phases:  The SRAJ's Project's work consisted of three phases:

1. Legal and Policy Framework and Contextual Analysis Report. In the first phase, the Project carefully documented the operable legal and policy framework governing administrative decision-making by district authorities in the four subject areas.  The idea was to describe how the law and applicable procedures should be followed (so that deviations from these norms could be identified), while also identifying gaps, ambiguities, and contradictions in the law that posed a problem for local officials, central authorities, and the courts.  Administrative case statistics (including appeals to the courts and complaints filed with the Ombudsman’s Office) were also been analyzed. All of this information was shared with Government of Rwanda (GoR) stakeholders for their input. 

2. Analysis of Local Administrative Decision-making in Practice.  In the second phase, the Project engaged in intensive data-collection at the district level regarding (a) local decisional procedures and practices; (b) the quality and legality of decisions being rendered; (c) interviews with district officials regarding their views on decision-making activities, including challenges and opportunities for improvements in capacity-building and in legal/procedural reforms; and most important, (d) a survey of 600 citizens with recent cases in the four subject areas regarding their experiences in the administrative process.  The detailed reports on all of the field research were publicly disseminated and shared with a variety of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. These reports include those covering findings and recommendations on labor regulation, public procurement, land expropriation, and public employment, as well as a consolidated report with statistical annexes for all four subject areas (Labor, Procurement, Land, Employment).  A Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations was also produced for wider distribution. This information will continue to be discussed by these stakeholders in facilitated roundtables that can generate tangible legal, policy, and capacity-building improvements.   

3. Capacity-Building/Training Activities, Media Outreach, and Legal/Regulatory Reforms.  Based on the above findings and recommendations, the project helped support a number of different evidence-based reform activities that included (a) conducting a mass media public education effort through radio and TV talk shows and the airing of accessible issue-oriented dramatization videos, including those on the role of the labor inspector in dispute resolution, child labor protection, and land expropriation(These video dramatizations and numerous TV and community radio broadcasts featuring panel discussions on administrative justice topics grew out of a workshop on CSO-media collaboration around the topic of administrative justice);(b) engaging in dialogue with public officials about possible relevant legal and procedural reforms; and (c) developing and executing training and other capacity-building activities for district decision-makers and legal advisers (so as to improve the quality and consistency of decision-making and learn from prior experience and court decisions).  In particular, the project was pivotal in the design and adoption of two new graduate diploma courses in labor regulation and public procurement to be offered at ILPD, as well as the design of new executive (short) training courses in labor and employment law (also to be offered at ILPD on a sustainable basis), including those on labor mediation, labor inspections, occupational safety and health, international labor standards, and social dialogue.     

Key Accomplishments:  Following completion of the diagnostic Phase I and Phase II work,(which entailed mapping the applicable legal frameworks in the four focal areas of decision-making and sharing key findings and conclusions with government and CSO stakeholders, especially quantitative and qualitative data on administrative justice challenges at the district level from the vantage point of both citizens and public officials),  the major accomplishments of the project focused on tangible delivery of public dialogue and mass media outreach activities (TV and radio talk shows and citizen call-in segments), as well as planning for new training courses for practicing lawyers in procurement and labor law at ILPD.  The project also developed a range of short courses for district leaders and legal advisers that were informed by the Phase II findings.   

Also during the Phase III work, as part of the media outreach activities, the project produced a video dramatization of good labor dispute resolution practices that was shown to 500 private sector participants at a Ministry of Public Service and Labor (MIFOTRA) Employer Compliance Forum in Eastern Province. The video won praise from both the Minister of Public Service and the attendees.  This video also complemented some of the TV and radio shows on challenges in the promotion of administrative justice in labor dispute resolution. All of the TV and radio shows (including those on public procurement, and land expropriation) featured panel discussions by experts as well as citizen call-in segments.  Towards the end of the project, its work and research findings were  featured in widely circulated newspaper stories addressing reform needs in land expropriation (Click Here for News Story), public procurement (Click for News Stories Here, Here & Here) and labor regulation (Click Here for News Story). 

Read more about Strengthening Rwandan Administrative Justice (SRAJ) Project  »

CPDD completed a four-year Enhanced Judicial Education Program designed to strengthen the Chinese judiciary. The program was funded by USAID for a total of U.S. $2.6 million, and constituted a series of six U.S. State Department cultural and educational exchange programs. These programs engaged members of the Chinese judiciary on issues ranging from judicial management to evidence collection. In many ways unprecedented, the program has had large and continuing impacts on the Chinese judiciary and legal systems, particularly in the areas of evidence and discovery, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, and court/community relations. With respect to the latter area, the program succeeded in establishing important pilot projects in domestic violence and strengthening the role of citizen assessors in trials. Whenever possible, CPDD continues to support alumni of the program in China with additional partnership opportunities and assistance.

CDD received three separate U.S. State Department grants to work in Russia on various legal reform projects involving intellectual property rights protection. These projects involved judicial training, substantive policy changes, and the development of intellectual property rights “awareness” among the public and media.

Project Team: Karen Ross (Executive Director/Faculty Fellow), Paula Rayman (Research Professor, UMass Boston), Marcia Mundt (PhD, Public Policy and Public Affairs), Hannah Brown (Center Fellow), David Sulewski (PhD candidate, Global Governance and Human Security), Charla Burnett (PhD candidate, Global Governance and Human Security), Yuliya Rashchupkina (PhD, UMass Boston)

Description: This initiative explored how grassroots peace building efforts and social justice movements can scale up and broaden the impact of their work. Following the development of a conceptual model of scaling up, the project team engaged in a series of case studies exploring different facets of this process, including: the role of social media in scaling up; the role of civil society in scaling up the Northern Ireland peace process; the significance of joint Jewish-Palestinian partnership in sustaining and scaling peace building work in Israel; and the role of women and gender justice issues in scaling up in both Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine.  

Our empirical work resulted in publication of a toolkit, Scaling Up Peacebuilding and Social Change, written with the goal of helping community-based organizations and activists scale up and broaden the impact of their work.