Big Question: Complexity and Conflict

Principal Investigator: Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Harris School of Public Policy

Funding Type: Workshop

Focus Area: Complexity

Big Idea: The big idea proposed is a meeting and collaboration between on the ground practitioners, service providers, academics and policy experts to better understand the complexity of conflict. It will focus on identifying underlying elements that feed into conflict, and specifying the data requirements and practical inputs required to answer the questions that arise from this discussion. The role of open source data versus classified information will also be a central consideration, including the use of a technological platform purpose-built to encourage data sharing between military and civil society groups. This is an important step to harmonize the range of approaches and actions sought by a pool of stakeholders that often fail to properly collaborate on issues for which they share interests. The meeting will help to optimize indicators, minimize bias, and improve the quality of data collected both for academic models, and the way data feed more directly into policy, decision-making and practice in the field. This workshop will provide an opportunity for stakeholders across disciplines engaged in conflict prevention to convene in a more strategic fashion.