Inclusive Peace not only has a new name and brand, but also a changed approach, objectives and priorities. Get to know the “new” Inclusive Peace here. 

A little over a year after Inclusive Peace transitioned from the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative (IPTI) at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, what has changed? 

Quite a bit, it turns out.  And the changes are more than cosmetic. Yes the name, logo, and website have changed, and Inclusive Peace is now an independent think and do tank – but there are others less obvious at first glance. Here are the 5 main ways Inclusive Peace sets itself apart from IPTI.

Collaboration is key 

Inclusive Peace partners with multiple stakeholders to create and share impact in peace and policy processes and through research. 

As a predominantly research organisation, IPTI’s approach was largely driven towards applying its research knowledge. In 2017, IPTI began to experiment on how to make more of an impact in the mediation and peacebuilding field. This included undertaking a series of collaborative ventures. Such experiences revealed just how impactful we could be in partnership with others.  

Inclusive Peace has mainstreamed these learnings not just in our operational work, but also in our core objectives and approach. In our peace process support we acknowledge local contexts and leadership by playing the role of a critical, trusted friend from a discrete, back seat vantage point. We also work collaboratively on research projects with academic institutions across the world and are co-creating an interactive online knowledge platform with national and international peer organisations. 

Setting the inclusion agenda

Inclusive Peace takes an active approach to shift the peace process field as a whole to integrate inclusive outcomes within all aspects of work, understanding that peace is an ongoing process, built over time.

When IPTI began experimenting with how to make more impact in the mediation and peacebuilding field, it  grew out of frustration towards the traditional approach of the field. To appease conflict actors, local and international-led processes either took no notice of inclusion frameworks or made artificial attempts to meet them. However, being a predominantly research-focused organisation held IPTI back from taking too much of an active role in agenda setting.

Now, Inclusive Peace’s independent setup allows a more strategic  approach. We strive to change the traditional linear peace process approach, working with our partners to systematically and creatively rethink how they work for peace. For us this means working from the belief that peace is a perpetual process that all societies need to actively engage in to thrive. The challenge now is how to get our whole field to systematically rethink how peace processes are conducted for inclusive outcomes.

Broadening public awareness of inclusion

We work to make societies more peaceful and inclusive. To achieve this we need to work not only with actors from the peace process field alone. 

IPTI’s size and research-focus meant there was little appetite and limited resources to take an active, strategic approach to public awareness raising. This is no longer a barrier at Inclusive Peace, where our global and agile team have broader inputs, networks, and reach. Non-profit organisations in other sectors (environmental, humanitarian) have long used social media and communications tools to gain supporters and influence change. But for the peace process sector it’s still early days. 

Inclusive Peace wants to change this, at first by making systematic use of its communications channels and The Open Peace portal to increase visibility and broaden awareness. By creating inspiring #campaigns on our social media channels we contribute to build broader inclusion understanding beyond expert circles. 

A balanced organisational setup 

Inclusive Peace is an independent think and do tank with balanced priorities in research, policy and practice. In reality, this means a leaner research team in-house and more collaborations with external institutions.

As a research programme housed within an academic setting at the Graduate Institute, IPTI was inherently research-focused and resourced. In contrast, Inclusive Peace is an independent association with a broad mandate that does not solely focus on research. We have an ambitious vision and mission, which makes it clear that research is important but requires transfer into action. We’re staffed by a balanced team of individuals with diverse talents, strengths, and interests to work across peace process support, agenda setting, and knowledge creation projects. 

What’s in a name?

Inclusive Peace has a new brand since transitioning from IPTI, including a shorter name, a new logo, and a recently launched website with a new look and feel. 

The name change from IPTI to Inclusive Peace raises the obvious question: why keep “inclusive peace” but drop “transition initiative”? The new name differentiates the new organisation while at the same time retaining the institutional memory and experience of IPTI. Political transitions of course remain an important area within the scope of our work, but this no longer needed to be spelt out. Our name now reflects an organisation working to support inclusive outcomes in peace processes while at the same time setting the discourse on inclusion in peace research and policy.

The new logo and branding is likewise designed to reflect our vision, mission and approach. Our claim – setting change in motion – reflects our discrete back-seat approach inspiring at critical junctures. Our brand, website and social media channels are all built around our core values and focus areas and play a vital role in our strategic agenda setting work reaching both the expert community and wider public with our message of inclusion.