Step 5 : Prioritise, develop and implement a plan of action

Once the analysis phase is over it is important to link it to a plan of action; many agencies have commissioned or undertaken their own analysis of how to improve practice in conflict areas, and individuals themselves have also long identified problems and raised issues, but there is a marked fall-off in the implementation of the ideas and suggestions when no ownership is taken of the process of turning the analysis into action. It is highly desirable to ensure as wide an ownership as possible of both the analysis and the plan of action. (Partial ownership, or a lack of ownership, should be seen as a challenge to overcome rather than an insurmountable obstacle. Committed individuals with little support have achieved a remarkable amount in some cases.)

A plan of action can be a personal plan (and may not even be anything formal or written down), or something more formal relating to a unit within the organisation or to the organisation as a whole. The nature of the plan will depend on the influence, interest, motivation, and resources of the individual or unit supporting it. Any plan will have to prioritise and seek a balance between the aspirational (the perfect conflict-sensitive organisation) and the achievable, given the many very real constraints that are likely to be faced and the limited time and resources that can be deployed to overcome them. Staff in some organisations have found it helpful to identify both short- and long-term plans of action and to consult key partners on the following key questions:

• what are the priority needs and how can they be fulfilled?
• what are the goals?
• what strategic alliances need to be developed?
• what resources need to be mobilised?
• what is the time-frame?
• where do we start?
• what is my / my department’s strengths and what can we add to the process?

For example, there may be a pressing need for the agency as a whole to develop a comprehensive commitment to conflict sensitivity, but little top-level support for this in the short term, although one influential manager is sympathetic. Rather than abandoning efforts to change the agency’s position, one option would be to seek some flexible resources from the manager to develop methods linking conflict analysis to the programme cycle and to train staff in these methods. Building strategic alliances with other like-minded individuals to engage in awareness raising and advocacy of the importance of conflict sensitivity may also help.

The plan of action will necessarily involve developing conflict sensitivity skills, raising awareness and advocating for the incorporation of a conflict sensitivity framework. These approaches are explained in more detail below.