Equal Access International (EAI)'s countering violent extremism (CVE)–themed programming involves training local civil society members in Mindanao to design and implement locally based CVE campaigns. This report contains an evaluation of and recommendations from a set of EAI tech camps and fellowships in the Philippines. The authors of this report include research from a study of EAI CVE radio programming on Mindanao.

Promoting Peace as the Antidote to Violent Extremism

Evaluation of a Philippines-Based Tech Camp and Peace Promotion Fellowship

Ashley L. Rhoades, Todd C. Helmus, James V. Marrone, Victoria M. Smith, Elizabeth Bodine-Baron

ResearchPublished Sep 9, 2020

The Philippines continues to experience the travails of militant violence, much of which is focused on the southern island of Mindanao and its neighboring Sulu archipelago. Equal Access International (EAI) trained local civil society members on Mindanao to design and implement locally based countering violent extremism (CVE) campaigns. This training was provided through two five-day tech camps. EAI then selected 11 activists from the tech camps to participate in a six-month Peace Promotion Fellowship (PPF) program. This program offered mentorship and funding for these activists to implement their own community-based micro-CVE campaigns.

To evaluate the process of implementing this program, RAND researchers conducted in-depth interviews with the 11 PPF fellows and the EAI staffers charged with running the program. During these interviews, researchers also asked the PPF fellows about their experience during the tech camps. This report contains a series of recommendations that are based on the information gained from these interviews to improve future tech camp and PPF programming.

The authors of this report include research from a study of EAI CVE radio programming on Mindanao.

Key Findings

Tech camp participants were highly satisfied with most aspects of training

  • People who attended the tech camps felt that they learned useful skills, had high levels of support, and were in an open and collaborative environment.
  • Participants came away from the tech camps feeling that they had improved abilities to use social media to support CVE campaigns. In addition, they felt that they had improved their public speaking skills.

PPF fellows felt the program was highly rewarding and went on to create a variety of projects

  • Both PPF fellows and program implementers felt that the program was successful. Fellows felt that they were making a difference in their communities, and program implementers felt that the program allowed the fellows to learn through putting ideas into practice.
  • Most PPF fellows went on to start community-based programs that focused on teaching community members about the conflict on Mindanao and how communities could work to promote peace in their localities.
  • Projects varied in their use of social media and face-to-face communication (workshops and information sessions). When PPF fellows did use social media in their projects, they almost always used Facebook as their primary platform.

Recommendations

  • Avoid cramming too much content into a single day to increase absorption of material.
  • Include more breakout sessions focused on practical application.
  • Provide more training on project management and implementation.
  • Introduce the PPF concept at the start of future tech camps.
  • PPF implementers provide helpful coaching; having enough dedicated staff is vital to this effort.
  • Fellows often operate in "hard-to-reach" locations (both physically and virtually) and PPF staff may be difficult to contact. Increasing staff can help improve monitoring and oversight for these fellows.
  • Implementers should consider competing responsibilities (such as school and work) on when designing program requirements.
  • Implementers should increase the number of fellows to compensate for anticipated attrition.
  • Increased funding would help build and sustain projects.
  • Unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters and family demands, can significantly disrupt projects. Implementers should assist fellows with contingency planning in advance of project implementation.
  • Fellows would like assistance with establishing critical and helpful social networks.
  • EAI implementers pointed out that fellows must have credibility with their local communities to be successful messengers. Implementers seem to have selected credible fellows in the first PPF iteration, and they should ensure that their efforts continue.
  • More-rigorous evaluation of PPF-type programming will ensure that participants continue to view these programs as useful and build a base of data for future research.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2020
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 90
  • Paperback Price: $21.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-0575-3
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA233-3
  • Document Number: RR-A233-3

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Rhoades, Ashley L., Todd C. Helmus, James V. Marrone, Victoria M. Smith, and Elizabeth Bodine-Baron, Promoting Peace as the Antidote to Violent Extremism: Evaluation of a Philippines-Based Tech Camp and Peace Promotion Fellowship, RAND Corporation, RR-A233-3, 2020. As of October 13, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA233-3.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Rhoades, Ashley L., Todd C. Helmus, James V. Marrone, Victoria M. Smith, and Elizabeth Bodine-Baron, Promoting Peace as the Antidote to Violent Extremism: Evaluation of a Philippines-Based Tech Camp and Peace Promotion Fellowship. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA233-3.html. Also available in print form.
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