SENSE and Conflict Management Training (Baghdad, Iraq)

With tremendous support from the Institute’s Baghdad Office, the Iraq Institute for Economic Reform (IIER) conducted a five-day SENSE and Conflict Management training exercise for the Baghdad Provincial Council at the request of the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team. This session was also supported by Training Program Officer Allison Frendak and confirmed the success of the effort to establish an Iraqi-managed SENSE capability.

The SENSE training model includes two days for Conflict Resolution skills, and three days for the SENSE simulation. The Conflict Resolution training covers techniques in conflict analysis, negotiation, and mediation, and is traditionally used to enhance the SENSE experience by providing the participants with a set of tools to be used during the simulation. For this event, an Institute-trained Iraqi professor drew on lessons learned during the SENSE simulation to deliver training in conflict resolution techniques. SENSE is a complex computer-based simulation that illustrates resource allocation challenges that confront national and international decision-makers in post-conflict settings. The simulation was conducted by a team of 20 Institute-trained Iraqis, and required participants to make difficult decisions and act on the intended, and unintended, consequences of their decisions.

Close to 70 individuals participated in or observed the training, including representatives from the Baghdad Provincial Council, the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team, the National Advisory Council, and several NGOs. The response from the participants and observers was universally positive, and bodes well for the delivery of future SENSE programs in Iraq.