From June 2015 until November of 2017, the WOSCAP project activities focused on evidence-based research, producing a number of research reports on specific countries and key thematic areas. To assess the EU’s past and ongoing conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives, it looked at three types of existing EU interventions, namely multi-track diplomacy, security sector reform, and governance reform. This was done through a combination of desk and field research in case study countries: Mali, Yemen, Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala and Honduras. These reports provided the EU institutions with evidence-based inputs from the field. It developed a theoretical and methodological framework and conducted methodology workshops with four local case study research teams who led the research in their respective countries, embedding it in a bottom-up methodology.
Thematic reports focused on a number of principles, processes and tools that support context-specific whole of society peacebuilding interventions on local ownership, gender, civil-military synergies, multi-stakeholder coherence and ICTs were published. The Comparative Analysis Workshop conducted a cross-thematic and clusters-based analysis, identifying the challenges, opportunities and risks for the EU, and the results are reflected in the project’s main Research Report. The project has made significant progress in identifying future research priorities, and potential use of technologies for peace. Debates with policy experts, practitioners and civil society reflected on key issues. Engagements on good practices and lessons learned with a variety of actors contributed to better understanding the EU’s potential peacebuilding capabilities. The project informed and fed into policy processes at the EU level but also other international actors and regional organizations (UN, AU). This brought together top down and bottom up perspectives, integrated conclusions, identified capability gaps, needs and challenges.
A policy recommendations paper & engagement strategy was formulated, proposing a systematic approach for the implementation of EU’s new strategic priorities.Also the policy recommendations were debated in a series of nine fruitful policy dialogues and roundtables, organised in and outside of the EU (The Hague, London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Kyiv, Tbilisi, Bamako, Sana’a). The final conference of the project was successfully organised in Brussels, jointly with another H2020 project (IECEU). The Final Conference presented the policy recommendations paper and research results. This outreach to policymakers led to an interest in the project’s findings and revealed their support for the project’s inclusive, bottom-up, and whole-of-society approach. Reports and results were widely shared, including through animated videos and local media interviews.
