Supporting Iraq Civil Society in Effective PCVE

Nearly three years since the collapse of the so-called caliphate established by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Iraq continues to face a myriad of significant challenges in relation to radicalisation and violent extremism. Moreover, other forms of inter-sectarian or inter-ethnic conflict continue to pose a risk to social cohesion and peacebuilding throughout the country. As a result, there is a strong and pressing need to address local drivers of violence and extremism.

Against this backdrop, while many organisations — local and international alike — recognise the need for programming to address this, there is limited knowledge among Iraqi civil society organisations of state-of-the art approaches and/or current best practices in the field of Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). Thus, while (international) NGOs working in Iraq may have experience in social cohesion, they often lack the capacities needed to implement impactful PVE programmes and initiatives.

This project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, seeks the provision of recommendations, guidance, and co-creation support to applicant (I)NGOs seeking funding for PVE-related projects.  It is intended to address these critical gaps, and to ensure that (I)NGOs working in Iraq develop proposals that are relevant, sound, and take into account contemporary PVE approaches when addressing violent extremism in different governorates throughout Iraq. Along the way, participant (I)NGOs will have improved their understanding of good project design (theory of change, monitoring and evaluation, and activity planning, etc) as well as state of the art PVE approaches, the drivers of violent extremism, and factors for peace. This will better position them to sustainably contribute to long-term peace and stability in Iraq.