CSRS Offers Unique Educational Programs for Disaster Relief, Peacekeeping Practitioners
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080907-01
Release Date: 9/7/2008 9:24:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kellie Arakawa, Naval Postgraduate School Public Affairs
MONTEREY, Calif. (NNS) -- With signature teachings that embrace group work and facilitated discussions, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies (CSRS) is helping international disaster relief and peace-building practitioners strengthen relationships with one another.
Established in September 2004, CSRS provides cross-community learning programs for the U.S. and international armed forces, government civilian agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) involved in international stability and relief efforts. Through workshops and conferences, the center explores issues within one of five central themes: maritime and naval issues; health and humanitarian affairs; practitioner skills and tools; economic recovery; and institution building and security sector reform.
"What we do in a learning environment is bring people from those communities together so they can understand each other and learn about other organizations," said Matthew Vaccaro, the CSRS program director. "Some of the biggest challenges of providing relief at the field-level happen because of misunderstandings and lack of relationships between the communities."
Vaccaro credited the center's development to the vision of U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, who recognized the need for an institution devoted to cross-community education for disaster relief and stabilization practitioners. Farr continues to support the center's effort, and Vaccaro noted the congressman's leadership has been key to sustaining federal support for the program.
National Security Affairs Prof. Anne Clunan, a core faculty member for CSRS, explained the program is important to NPS, because it creates much needed opportunities for cooperation and practical problem-solving among military, government and civilian agencies.
"Having a center actually devoted to understanding these issues from a research perspective and bringing together the practitioners so they can interact with one another is essential in trying to move forward in improving cross-community collaboration," Clunan said.
After attending two CSRS workshops, Air Force Maj. John Aalborg, an NPS student, found the workshops provided him with relevant field perspectives and complemented the academic perspectives he was seeing in his classes. Aalborg also found value in meeting representatives from various government agencies, NGOs and IGOs, and gained a better understanding of the need for greater cooperation between civilian agencies and the Department of Defense.
For Clunan, the practical approaches in the center's programs have helped her identify greater research needs.
"Working with CSRS has been very rewarding for me, and it's also been very interesting, because it keeps you engaged in how practitioners are looking at the world and helps identify what new, potential research issues are arising from real-world current events," said Clunan.
One of the distinguishing features of CSRS is that each community involved in stabilization and relief operations can find relevance in the curriculum. During its developmental stages, CSRS consulted with prospective participants to identify learning needs and ensure each stakeholder would engage in the programs. What CSRS learned through those initial discussions was that many of the civilian organizations were hesitant to participate in a military-oriented conference and preferred a program that would incorporate the organizational perspectives of each community.
"This concept of an equally relevant cross-community education, which is used as a foundation for the CSRS curriculum, is what truly makes the program unique," said Vaccaro.
CSRS runs approximately six to eight programs per year, and this past June the center hosted a three-day international workshop, "Tools for Cross-Cultural Understanding," that revisited issues related to cross-cultural learning and communications.
The initial interest in the topic grew out of needs expressed by past conference participants, who said the nature of their missions often took them to foreign countries where they struggled with communication and cultural barriers. Based on this feedback, CSRS developed a workshop to help participants understand how cultural influences shape thinking and behavior, and how to translate cultural differences and build successful relationships.
Participants in the conference included representatives from NGOs in Nepal, Colombia, the U.S. and Ghana, armed forces from the Philippines and U.S., the State Department, IGOs and international universities. Dr. Tatsushi Arai, a practitioner in conflict transformation and a professor at the School for International Training, served as the chief instructor for the workshop.
With such a diverse group in attendance, CSRS used this conference to introduce a new learning tool to further engage each individual in the learning process. Participants were asked to organize themselves into groups of three and informally meet with their "learning groups" throughout each day to discuss how they might apply what they've learned to their work environments. At the end of the workshop, the groups engaged in self-led discussions that allowed each team member to present a summary of their ideas and reflections.
"If people hear something, then practice something, then say it and in their own mind apply it to their own work, they're much more likely to retain that learning for a longer period of time," Vaccaro explained.
Future Programs
CSRS is planning two new programs that will debut later this year. In late September the center will host a workshop titled, "Working in the Same Space," and in October the center will introduce its new economic theme, "Creating Jobs and Rebuilding Livelihoods in Post-Conflict Situations."
In December, CSRS will a host a large conference with a new conflict prevention theme focused on the Arctic region. Building off the military's new maritime strategy, A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, which stresses the importance of preventing wars and building partnerships, the CSRS Arctic conference will bring together a wide array of stakeholders to focus on the challenges, opportunities and potential political confrontation resulting from the climate changes occurring in the Arctic region.
Also tentatively planned for the next year is a program on security sector reform, a follow-up workshop on "Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration," and a conference on civil-military coordination.
With the momentum it has gained over the last four years, Vaccaro believes that CSRS is becoming well-established as a relevant, high-quality teaching program. With new issues, crises and innovations that are constantly emerging, he explained that CSRS serves an important role, because there will always be a need for collaborative research and education.
"It's an ongoing requirement and we're never going to be finished," said Vaccaro. "As long as the world remains a messy place as it seems to be, there will always be this need for cross-community learning programs."
For more news from Naval Postgraduate School, visit www.navy.mil/local/nps/.
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