African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)

From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations

ACCORD
Private Bag X 018
Umhlanga Rocks 4320 South Africa

Telephone: +27 (0) 31 502 3908
Fax: +27 (0) 31 502 4160

Email: info@accord.org.za
Website: http://www.accord.org.za

Mr. Vasu Gounden, Founder and Executive Director
Ms. Pravina Makan-Lakha, General Manager: Programme Management and Development

Description

ACCORD’s mission is to encourage and promote the constructive resolution of disputes by the peoples of Africa and to assist in achieving political stability, economic recovery, and peaceful co-existence within just and democratic societies. Its specific objectives are to:

• Conduct and promote research in the field of conflict resolution in order to develop, document, analyze and apply innovative African concepts, trends and techniques to improve conflict anticipation, resolution and management on the African continent;
  
• Provide training in the skills of negotiation, conflict anticipation, resolution and management;
  
• Establish forums to foster the development and application of the above skills;
  
• Provide conflict resolution services, in the form of facilitation, mediation and other consensus -building techniques; and
  
• Host seminars to raise public awareness of conflict resolution as a process.

ACCORD’s current medium-term vision (to 2012) is to encourage and consolidate dialogue towards the prevention, management and transformation of conflict, with the aim of affecting a paradigm shift towards dialogue. Past visions have been: Popularising Conflict Resolution: Building a New Culture, with the aim of influencing the paradigm shift from protest politics to negotiation politics (1996); Institutionalizing Conflict Resolution: Building Capacity, Structures and Systems, with the aim of building African capacity for the peaceful settlement of disputes and influencing the shape of governance in Africa (2001); and Expanding Conflict Management for Effective Governance, with the aim of linking Conflict Management to effective political and economic governance by strengthening existing responses to conflict and developing new and innovative approaches.

Track Record

In its 15-year history, ACCORD has become a leading continental conflict management organization, known for its ability to intervene, research and train in conflict management. The organization’s major achievements include interventions in various peace processes, building sustainable capacity for a variety of stakeholders and establishing an office in Burundi with a long-term goal of impacting positively on the post-conflict reconstruction agenda.

ACCORD has worked with former South African President Nelson Mandela in facilitating the role of civil society in the peace process in Burundi, as well as with former Botswana President Quett Masire on the Democratic Republic of Congo peace process. ACCORD also worked in preparing rebel groups for the negotiation process in Burundi, facilitated by the South African Government. In September 2005 ACCORD was the first African NGO in the history of the United Nations Security Council to address the Council.

ACCORD is part of the growing momentum for an African renaissance. It has developed a comprehensive peace model, officially recognized by the UN as a viable model for Africa. The model is based on four pillars: intervention, education and training, research, and networking.

Another key achievement has been the establishment of the Africa Peace Award—the only one of its kind in Africa. The Award is a biennial event that honours an individual, group or country. The Award recipient is selected based on three criteria: i) The protection of and respect for human rights; ii) Peaceful settlement of disputes and; iii) Good Governance of public affairs. A variety of recipients have won the award since 1993.

Challenges

Like many organizations in the field ACCORD, faces the challenge of the need exceeding the means. Quality skills are difficult to attract because of lower salaries. Staff retention poses a significant challenge in an environment where the demands for skills are high. Releasing staff for training and skills development opportunities, while necessary, imposes a constraint organization in terms of its ability to maintain its deliverables and donor obligations. Resources for human capital development are minimal.

ACCORD’s annual budget is approximately R 25 million (approximately US$3.5 million) Funding is derived from a diversified base, which includes solicited and unsolicited grants, core funding grants, and short and long terms fee-for-service contracts and the provision of facilitation services for a nominal fee. While ACCORD is an effective fundraiser—with one in every 4-6 proposals accepted by donors—it is concerned with maintaining balance between ensuring focus in meeting the objectives of the organization, and keeping the machinery of the institution performing along sound business lines.

As a percentage of staff time, fundraising is time-consuming and constitutes a significant challenge. Multiple reporting requirements consume a high proportion of ACCORD’s administrative resources. Given traditional donor practice, overhead costs associated with running an institution like ACCORD remain a challenge. While project funding is relatively unproblematic to solicit, donors tend not to consider institutional support a priority. This forces ACCORD to undertake fees for service work as a strategy for filling the gap.

With respect to partners at an implementation level, ACCORD has had varied experiences. In some instance local partnership has enhanced its work, and it has been able to pass on skills and capacity in the process. In other instances, however, ACCORD has found local partnerships to have hindered its progress due to differing levels of institutional maturity.

Opportunities

Opportunities exist for private foundations to provide the kind of support that will enable ACCORD to a) ensure rapid response in situations of crisis; b) undertake opportunistic short-term projects involving research, training, and convening; and c) ensure institutional sustainability. In the interest of reducing the transaction cost of reporting for organizations of the size and scope of ACCORD, private foundations should explore using existing organizational reporting systems (both narrative and financial), to meet accountability requirements.

ACCORD is planning the construction of a permanent Conflict Prevention Centre, the first of its kind in Africa. The vision is for a retreat, conference, training and research facility that will provide a peaceful setting and a comprehensive range of services to accommodate high level conflict interventions, continuous training and research. The Centre would also be a venue for policy makers, academics and practitioners to gather on a regular basis to discuss conflicts, formulate policy and evolve practical responses. At the 2000 Africa Peace Award, South African President Thabo Mbeki launched a Peace Pledge Campaign to raise funds for the Centre, and a further comprehensive fundraising drive is currently underway.