This is a recording from the M&E Thursday Talk on August 16th as Debbie Trent led a discussion on “Widening Participatory Dialogue to Improve Impact in Diplomacy and Peacebuilding.”
Official and citizen diplomats and peacebuilders face a constant challenge to present and shape programs that are credible and responsive to diverse local stakeholders and beneficiaries as well as home governments and donors. To mediate this “strategic engagement,” they build relationships and form partnerships with stakeholder groups sharing specific interests. They collaborate on effecting and measuring changes in political behavior and cultural and socioeconomic conditions.
This webinar demonstrated how the processes of participatory communication and genuine dialogue can be used to evaluate impact in public and citizen diplomacy and peacebuilding. Widening stakeholder participation and fostering deep dialogue – while engaging these strategic groups in the measurement of both the quality of communication in their relationships and the material results in their educational, cultural, and peacebuilding activities – are shown to strengthen mutuality, credibility and project impact.