The Violent Extremism Evaluation Measurement (VEEM) framework

An online resource for evaluating CVE interventions

Working on a computer. Photo by Paul Bradbury/Getty Images

This page sets out the Violent Extremism Evaluation Measurement (VEEM) framework in an easy-to-use format for anyone looking to evaluate Counter-Violent-Extremism (CVE) interventions.

The VEEM framework has an overarching structure of three broad categories of violent extremism attributes: ‘Initial states of extremism’, ‘Initial manifestations of extremism’ and ‘Extremist manifestations’.

Initial states of extremism

Anger, frustration and outrage towards wider society and culture

Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS): see Watson et al., Development and Validation of Brief Measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales, 1988
Harrington, The Frustration Discomfort Scale: development and psychometric properties, 2005
State–trait anger expression inventory (STAXI): see Spielberger and Reheiser, The nature and measurement of anger, in Potegal et al., eds., International Handbook of Anger, 2010
Measures of anger, aggression, and violence: see, e.g., Ronan et al., Practitioner's Guide to Empirically Supported Measures of Anger, Aggression, and Violence, 2014
Emotional stability scale: see Chaturvedi and Chander, Development of emotional stability scale, 2010, and Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016
Revised religious fundamentalism scale (which can be used in conjunction with measuring other ‘Initial states’ attributes): see Altemeyer and Hunsberger, A Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale: The Short and Sweet of It, 2009

Dissatisfaction and distancing of individuals/groups from society, segregation and insularity from wider society

Social network analysis: see, e.g., Scott, Social Network Analysis, 2013
Social isolation measures: see, e.g., Zavaleta et al, Measures of Social Isolation, 2017
Integrative complexity: see, e.g., Savage et al., Preventing Violent Extremism in Kenya through Value Complexity: Assessment of Being Kenyan Being Muslim, 2014
The BRAVE-14 Standardised Measure for Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism: see Grossman and Ungar, Understanding Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism: A Standardised Research Measure [PDF], 2017

Alienation and perceived ‘otherness’

Jessor and Jessor, Problem behavior and psychosocial development, 1977.
Violent extremist risk assessment (VERA): see, e.g., Pressman, Risk Assessment of Radicalization to Violence: Applications of VERA-2 in Prisons [PDF], 2016

Genuine and perceived levels of discrimination leading to anger, frustration and hatred; translation of frustration and anger into revenge and hatred

Sympathy for violent radicalisation and terrorism (SyfoR) scale: see Bhui et al., Is Violent Radicalisation Associated with Poverty, Migration, Poor Self-Reported Health and Common Mental Disorders? 2014
Major experiences of discrimination scale or the everyday scale: see Williams et al., Racial Differences in Physical and Mental Health: Socio-economic Status, Stress and Discrimination, 1997

A sense of grievance and consequent distrust and rejection of the authorities and society

Consulting a variety of social surveys and data
Grievance, activism, and radicalism scale: see McCauley, Predictors of Activism and Radicalism: past activism, past radicalism and grievance against the government, 2007, in Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016
Rosenberg’s set of questions on trust in people: see Misanthropy and Political Ideology, 1956
Trust in police scale: see Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016

Disempowerment and consequent lowered resilience to radicalisation

Measures of attachment: see Stein, Terror, Love and Brainwashing Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems, 2017
Normative belief measures: see Amjad and Wood, Identifying and changing the normative beliefs about aggression which lead young Muslim adults to join extremist anti‐Semitic groups in Pakistan, 2009
Self-esteem and empathy measures: see, e.g., Feddes et al., Increasing self‐esteem and empathy to prevent violent radicalization: a longitudinal quantitative evaluation of a resilience training focused on adolescents with a dual identity, 2015, and Rosenberg, Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, 1965
Integrative complexity: see, e.g., Savage et al., Preventing Violent Extremism in Kenya through Value Complexity: Assessment of Being Kenyan Being Muslim, 2014
Brief resilience coping scale: see, e.g., Sinclair and Wallston, The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, 2004

Initial manifestations of extremism

Lack of political participation or lack of involvement in the democratic political process, and frustration at lack of status and recognition in mainstream society, leading to contempt and alternative recognition

Hansard Society, Audit of Political Engagement
Questionnaires, surveys and focus groups are all effective ways to understand these levels of activity and what drives them
Ipsos MORI, Veracity Index [PDF], 2015

Identification with, belief in and acceptance of extremist narratives (including that violence is acceptable, justified and necessary)

Spacial patterning and analysing data from narrative inquiry: see, e.g., Clandinin and Connelly, Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research, 2004

Regularly accessing and viewing extremist websites and engaging with others on extremist forums and chatrooms

Analysing instances of accessing, viewing and engaging using institution-specific tracking tools

Posting, sharing and interacting with extremist content in social media

Lexical/textual analysis tools
Social network analysis tools: see, e.g., Scott, Social Network Analysis, 2013

Extremist manifestations

Exploitation of individual vulnerability to recruit, radicalise and mobilise

Established instances of recruitment and mobilisation. The numbers of such instances would then be compared.

Utilisation of criminality, both for recruitment and for contacts, access and knowledge for extremist groups

Contextualised approach to ascertaining the type of crimes of relevance: see, e.g., Andre and Harris-Hogan, Mohamed Merah: From Petty Criminal to Neojihadist, 2013
Indicators of criminal behaviour from other fields, such as gang literature: see Davies et al., Exploring the transferability and applicability of gang evaluation methodologies to counter-violent radicalisation, 2017

Individual membership in extremist groups leading to indoctrination and terrorist training

No specific measure, but consider the number of relevant instances, which can be ascertained using tools such as interviews, social media analysis, or social network analysis.

Violent radicalisation of individuals and groups to the point of terrorism or travelling abroad with the intention of committing an act of terrorism

Violent extremist risk assessment (VERA): see Pressman, Risk Assessment of Radicalization to Violence: Applications of VERA-2 in Prisons [PDF], 2016

Read the full study

12 Oct 2018

Evaluation in an Emerging Field: Developing a Measurement Framework for the Field of Counter-Violent-Extremism

This report seeks lessons from the evidence-based healthcare movement, which has a track record of using evaluation to develop practice, to consider what it might take to develop evaluation capacity in the emerging field of counter-violent-extremism.

Ben Baruch, Tom Ling, Richard Warnes, Joanna Hofman

The VEEM framework was originally published in the following peer-reviewed journal:

Citation Information

Baruch, Ben, Tom Ling, Rich Warnes, and Joanna Hofman. “Evaluation in an Emerging Field: Developing a Measurement Framework for the Field of Counter-Violent-Extremism.” Evaluation vol. 24, no. 4 (October 2018): 475–95.