| Programme Guiding Principles |
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Peacebuilding involves the establishment and strengthening of horizontal and vertical relationships in order to build and enhance social capital necessary for sustained peace and development. Consistent with this, the ACT for Peace Programme implementation is guided by the following principles:Principles for Building and Strengthening Horizontal Relationships (Binding)Peace-oriented interventions. These refer to initiatives that are acknowledged to be consistent with generally accepted tenets of peace efforts; hence, they can be described as peace-based, peace-sensitive, or peace-promotive. Rights-based approach to local governance and development management. This means that the human rights framework and principles/concepts of rights entitlements and state obligations and the normative content of every right are applied systematically and methodically to development and governance processes at the strategic development planning, policy and legislation, administrative functions, programs and service delivery levels. Participatory. Deliberate efforts to identify and meaningfully involve and engage stakeholders that are regarded as important to the development undertaking. The Programme always engages as many stakeholders as possible, particularly the marginalized groups, and builds consensus among the engaged groups. Demand-driven. This refers to the conscious approach of service providers to identify, design, respond to, and serve the expressed needs of the communities or partners. This requires a supporting process that encourages their active and informed participation. Flexible. Programme implementation takes off from concrete and current conditions and actual capacities and concerns of participants and stakeholders. Programme processes such as regular monitoring, and systematic exchange of field information among implementers, the PMO and the OIA ensures effective and quick response to pressing developments. Culture-sensitive. This is premised on respect for local (which can be traditional or indigenous) practices, beliefs and traditions. It also refers to the ability to adapt and innovate implementation strategies and approaches that are appropriate to the local culture. Gender-responsive. Recognizing that women and men are affected by conflict differently with the former most affected by its negative consequences, the Programme’s concern for women’s rights addresses the gender dimensions of conflict. The Programme ensures improved access by women to services and resources, and increasing awareness and knowledge on women’s rights not only among women but also of the larger community (e.g., LGU, judiciary, military, and police, etc.). Convergence. This means the pooling of initiatives and resources to achieve a common set of objectives. The Programme engages in collaboration among stakeholders to come together in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions, and in the management of risks. Convergence also contributes to the attainment of the specific mandates and objectives of the individuals/groups involved. Principles for Establishing and Strengthening Vertical Relationships (Linking)Mainstreaming. This refers to purposeful efforts to bring into the “mainstream” (formal agencies/institutions, established norms, etc.) development efforts and changes that may have been initially undertaken “outside of the mainstream or at the periphery.” This brings in the changes that have been developed outside the mainstream, and possibly, scaling them up. Institutionalization. This refers to deliberate efforts to “make the changes stick;” expressed in terms of regularizing and integrating the changes in policy, procedures, processes, roles and behavior of individuals and groups to enhance accountability and to optimize application/utilization. Change needs to be “managed” to ensure that the application is sustained beyond the initial development intervention. |