Beyond Conflict

For twenty-five years, Beyond Conflict has worked with global leaders and communities to create transformative frameworks addressing the challenges of conflict and division, often in places where peaceful change seemed impossible. However, we know that meaningful change is possible, and we have seen it time and again in countries around the world ⎯ in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Cuba, and countless others. Most current efforts to address conflict and division are inadequate because they are based on the flawed assumption that human behavior is purely rational. Scientific research demonstrates just the opposite, revealing the powerful role unconscious processes play in shaping our behavior and decision-making as individuals and communities. By ignoring what science is illuminating with increasing clarity and specificity about the human brain, along with its promise of more effective tools and measurable approaches, we are squandering valuable resources and time. But, most urgently, we are risking human lives. We have launched the Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab to bridge this gap between science and practice. We will update our framework for understanding conflict, creating an evidence-based toolkit to address these challenges and accurately measure impact. Evidence from behavioral science research has the power to unlock the resources to fundamentally - and enduringly - transform the paradigm on how global communities and leaders understand and address the challenges facing our increasingly interconnected and diverse societies. Institutions of every type and size - schools and universities, businesses, cultural institutions, governments, and communities - are struggling to manage the issues of difference, bias, and the beliefs that separate us and drive us into conflict. The Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab is at the vanguard of science and practice, catalyzing scientific research on what drives humans into conflict -- and toward peace. By significantly growing this work, we will bring this body of evidence to scale, creating a new, transformative framework and innovative tools that more effectively address social conflict and build durable, inclusive societies. Our goals are to: I. Pioneer a new understanding of what drives humans into conflict and toward peace based on insights from behavioral science and real world experience I. Measurably improve the impact of conflict management strategies by creating evidence-based approaches and tools II. Connect, expand and motivate broad audiences to catalyze increased awareness and engagement We hope to catalyze and inspire the widest possible array of partners applying and expanding this powerful framework, and have already begun to identify and build relationships with leaders who can leverage their influence in their own communities to most effectively spark new conversations to build this new body of innovative research, programs, and tools. The single most meaningful measure of our success will be an exponentially growing network of research labs, academic departments, governments, funding institutions, and innovative initiatives across sectors, partners collaborating with us to grow, apply, and measure the impact of this transformative lens. With strategic investment, we will increase our research, program and administrative capacities to incubate and grow our work. Establishing an online community will provide resources and networks for global leaders, practitioners, policymakers, scientists and broader audiences, now and long into the future. By bridging the gap between science and practice, we are building tools to effectively and measurably address the urgent challenges to peace and stability in the 21st Century.

VISION & STRATEGY The Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab is at the vanguard of science and practice, unearthing new scientific evidence and effective approaches for addressing global conflict challenges. Scientists and practitioners work in partnership to build the research evidence for a more accurate and nuanced understanding of what drives humans toward and away from conflict and violence, an innovative toolkit for addressing key challenges, and accurate measurement tools to measure progress and impact. To scale this work, we will strategically grow our research, program and administrative capacity by applying the following strategies: RESEARCH | Engage a multidisciplinary community of scientists to catalyze research focused on social conflict TRANSLATION | Reimagine the toolkit for policy and practice by developing evidence-based programs and measurement tools applying insights from science TRAINING | Develop curricula and training programs for global leaders, scientists, practitioners, policymakers and civil society COMMUNICATIONS | Engage and inspire new, diverse audiences We will continue to host curated convenings to spark dialogue and cross-fertilize ideas. By developing a comprehensive communications strategy and cross-platform visual and written content to engage a broad online community, build networks, and share resources to build greater awareness and knowledge.Our growing community of Beyond Conflict Innovation Fellows is at the heart of the work of the Innovation Lab, and are selected from an emerging generation of scholars and practitioners eager to explore bold, new questions at the nexus of scientific research and real world practice. With oversight and mentorship from the Beyond Conflict leadership, program staff, and global network, our Innovation Fellows are developing new solutions to the challenges of social conflict -- and bringing scientific rigor to a field that has often eluded accurate measurement. A very promising example of the tools that will be developed through this applied research approach is The Mindset Indicators, a project in development, growing out of our initiative, Building An Inclusive Boston | A New Conversation On Race, Bias & Divided Communities. The Mindset Indicators is a collaborative effort between scientists, practitioners, and community leaders in our networks to develop and evaluate a range of interconnected behavioral metrics. By establishing accurate measurement tools for inclusion and discrimination in Boston, leaders and decision-makers will gain measurable data and research insights that can be applied to identify high-risk neighborhoods, fine-tune program design, determine the best allocation of precious funds, and measure impact - with far reaching implications for other cities and communities addressing these challenges. The increasing requests for our partnership and advice on how to apply these insights are far-reaching and urgent. In addition to those listed below, we have received numerous additional requests from international civil society organizations, U.S. museums, universities, media partners, and many others: The World Bank | Building Inclusive Global Communities - Applying Behavioral Insights in Twelve Countries Around The World The U.N. Envoy For The Syrian Peace Talks | Reshaping A Narrative For Gender Inclusion & Healing A Nation The Office Of The Quartet, Jerusalem | A New Framework For Resolving The Two Key Intractable Problems ⏤ The Temple Mount & Right of Return For Refugees The U.S. State Department | New Terrain In U.S./Cuban Relations ⏤ Understanding Confirmation Bias & Narratives Of Loss The Gates Foundation | Diversity, Inclusion & Leadership The City of Boston | Building An Inclusive Boston - A New Conversation on Race, Bias & Divided Communities Sandy Hook Promise | The Role of Sacred Values & Social Networks in Reducing Gun Violence

Beyond Conflict is a highly effective organization with extraordinary global reach. Governed by an engaged and growing Board of Directors, we have been preparing for significant organizational growth for the past several years. In addition, Beyond Conflict has an extensive network of global leaders and colleagues across sectors that have been key to our decades of successful engagement around the world. By establishing the Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab as an organizational and catalytic hub for science and practice innovation, our network has grown in recent years to include leading partners in science and innovation. We have unique and direct access at the very highest levels to:International leaders, policymakers and practitioners in global diplomacy and conflict resolution, including the White House, State Department, United Nations, World BankLeading academic institutions, laboratories and scientists — at MIT, Stanford, Harvard, UPenn and elsewhereLeaders in civil society and activist communities; Innovation technology leaders such as Nielsen Consumer Research, cultural institutions, and media partnersOur detailed strategy envisions infrastructure growth in targeted areas of scientific research, program, finance, fundraising, communications and earned revenue. By strategically phasing this growth, we will scale the scope of our research, program and technical advisory/consulting capacity, and add to office and meeting facilities to build a strong, stable, sustainable financial foundation and program infrastructure. We anticipate growing revenue streams from institutional grants, philanthropic giving, and earned revenue from consulting, intellectual property, and technology development.

This is a new and transformative approach, that we are only beginning to develop. First to recognize the power of scientific insights, we have launched groundbreaking research on discrimination against the Roma in Europe, developed partnerships and inspired related initiatives with an extensive network of scientists at leading universities and NGOs, held briefings at the World Bank, the UN Envoy for Syrian Peace Talks, U.S. State Department and others, are developing key metrics measuring trust and inclusion, and convening break-through conferences for scientists, policymakers, practitioners and funders: § Neuroscience And Social Conflict: Identifying New Approaches For The 21st Century (2012)Dehumanization in Conflict (2013) § Norms, Narratives, And Neurons (2014) § Neuroscience and Peacebuilding: Reframing How We Think About Conflict and Prejudice (2015) § New Perspectives On Social Conflict (2015) § Building An Inclusive Boston | A New Conversation On Race, Bias & Divided Communities (2016) Neuroscience is helping us to unpack and better understand how unconscious processes shape the decisions and attitudes of individuals and societies. These research insights are providing essential evidence that is informing both policy and practice and driving the development of effective strategies, tools, and measurement. There are nearly limitless ways that insights from brain science and the behavioral sciences might be applied to our extensive global experience with tremendous impact: § Race & Policing Across The U.S. § Anti-Semitism & Islamophobia § Gender Discrimination & Social Inclusion § Mass Migration & Refugees § Reducing Gun Violence § Negotiations & Building Bridges In Divided CommunitiesInsights from behavioral science have been successfully applied to other fields such as education and economics, but we have not yet focused on what drives humans into conflict - or toward peace. Leadership is needed now to bridge this gap between science and practice to update our framework for understanding conflict, creating an evidence-based toolkit to address these challenges and accurately measure impact. A growing generation of top-tier scientists and practitioners are eager to devote their careers to the nexus of science and practice - but lack funds, mentorship, pathways for professional growth, and thought communities of colleagues and peers. Institutional funders are slow to change, so there is a dearth of grant support for the groundbreaking scientific research needed to unlock this knowledge - and it will likely be years before funding priorities are realigned to respond. Moreover, there is the risk of general resistance to change across sectors. No matter how compelling the evidence, funding institutions, academia, NGOs and governments at all levels are resistant to change and often suspicious of other perspectives and disciplines that may challenge their own. Global leaders and communities simply do not have the time to wait. As global realities evolve and change, we must prepare ourselves and our communities for the challenges ahead of us. For five years we have strategically applied the strength of our experience and reputation to establish trusted partnerships in this new area. Our detailed strategy envisions phasing infrastructure growth, strengthening our governing board, and adding key scientific advisors and other partners to guide us. We will continue to seek and value the strategic wisdom of others, keeping our integrity and mission at the heart of all we do.