New Civil Society and Conflict Management Strategy

Over the past two years, Mercy Corps' Civil Society team has undergone several dramatic changes. The first change came with the 2004 merger between Mercy Corps and the Cambridge-based Conflict Management Group (CMG), which brought programmatic expertise in the fields of relief and development, and conflict management and negotiation under one roof.

The second significant change came about this year when Mercy Corps decided to transform its civil society approach into an agency-wide development framework and philosophy, now called the "Vision for Change,” thereby creating space for the development of a new Civil Society and Conflict Management Strategy.

The third change came about when Mercy Corps determined to honor CMG founder Roger Fisher's personal vision for the merger: to create a cadre of trained negotiators within Mercy Corps. Our initial efforts and planning will now be championed by the Learning and Organizational Effectiveness (LOE) Team, tasked with training and mentoring Mercy Corps staff worldwide.

We're excited about the growth and development these changes have brought about within both the Civil Society and Conflict Management Team and Mercy Corps as a whole, and remain committed to working to achieve the effective practice of civil society and peace building programs.