Approach

The Ripple approach is highly collaborative, utilization-focused and practitioner-centered. Our methods are practical and well suited for complex contexts. We take care to attune our services appropriately to the motivations and rhythms of faith-inspired partners. We support a full range of Just Peace initiatives including dialog, relationship building, community development, advocacy and institutional change. Our partners say Ripple strengthens both programs and results.

The Ripple Toolkit

• A complexity lens which understands injustice and conflict as complex adaptive systems, and equips practitioners to influence those systems.
• Theories of change as a tool for strengthening program strategy and design.
• Deep expertise in qualitative methods, with complementary integration of quantitative components.
• Outcome Harvesting and other emergent methods for evaluating social systems change initiatives in complex contexts.
• Outcome Harvesting + Attitude Change for programs in which inward transformation is essential to achieving or understanding outcomes.
• Participatory research processes that engage practitioners as process designers, data collectors, analysts, sense-makers and action planners.
• Cross-cutting integration of conflict sensitivity and gender responsiveness combine with a disciplined focus on unintended effects to inform overall program improvement.

Ethical Commitments

In addition to robust research ethics, Ripple aims to challenge systemic injustices in the peace industry. We endorse the principles of the Equitable Evaluation Framework while emphasizing:

• Local leadership – We encourage approaches that center the initiative, knowledge and culture of insiders, while positioning outsiders in supporting and amplifying roles.
• Respect for context – We emphasize contextual understanding as the foundation of program planning, and discourage overreliance on one-size-fits-all approaches.
• Sharing power – We actively support fellow consultants whose work is regularly marginalized, including people of color, women, religious minorities, youth, sexual and gender minorities and consultants with disabilities. 

Please join us in the journey toward justice and effectiveness.