Higher Education Solutions Network – Annual Report (FY 2018)

This is accomplished through multidisciplinary, interlinked research, teaching, and practice, dissemination of results into development policy, program design, and management, and scholarly publication on the causes of conflict and its remediation through the application of science and technology. The Center tests the general hypothesis that conflict at the interface of human communities is caused by perceived differential benefits from capital in its various forms, and that science and technology can be used to modify perceived benefits at those interfaces to reduce conflict and the damage it causes. During the reporting period, a new collaboration with USAID/Mexico was planned, and programs with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation in Rwanda and El Salvador expanded, as HGBF work in DR Congo reached completion. A ConDev-created NGO in the DR Congo, the Congo Peace Center, and ConDev were jointly awarded a new project for peace-building in Bas Uele Province, DRC. ConDev's academic courses increased from two to three with the successful completion of the fall term course, "Women, International Development, and Environmental Conflict." Several ConDev articles were published in prestigious journals, and two ConDev-supported students graduated with their PhD and MS degrees. The Conflict and Development Foundation (CDF) matured from a charity into a permanent foundation under IRS regulations, and a new 501(c)(3) non-profit partner, the Conflict and Development Research Foundation (CDRF), was formed to permanently support ConDev. Fiscal stability of the Center appears strong with the establishment of the CDF-associated $5 million trust fund, the income from which will be partly allocated to sustaining five slots for PhD graduate research assistantships for ConDev research. ConDev established the Tony Laos Endowed Fellowship for Research on Conflict and Development in the Middle East. ConDev's Director was named to the US Department of State Advisory Board for Stabilization, expanding upon ConDev's participation in the US Department of State Conflict and Stability Operations Network. The Center reached several major milestones and achievements during the FY18 reporting period, including approval to operate as a unit of Texas A&M University for an additional five years. ConDev's contributions to USAID Education in Crisis and Conflict Network (ECCN) Steering Committee include joining the Education in Conflict and Crisis Network (ECCN) community to advocate for and advise USAID and other development organizations on promoting education in conflict-prone societies. Due to the efforts of ECCN, USAID, its partners, and most development organizations have adopted policies to promote safe learning environments for school children. The Congo Peace Center (CPC) and ConDev were awarded a $1 million sub-contract by the DRC Fond Social, a contractor to the World Bank. The work is being carried out in the Bas Uele Province, and aims to build local institutions to reduce conflict. Students from the George Bush School of Government are using ConDev's DRC dataset as part of a class project. At the end of the Fall academic semester, eleven groups of students will make recommendations to ConDev and CDF staff regarding the next step forward for a development project. ConDev researchers have established a causal link between commodity prices and conflict in Sudan. The research published in the Journal of Policy Modeling used dynamic time series modeling and Bayesian algorithms to show that commodity prices that are not determined by the local markets are more likely to drive conflict. The results of this research may have policy implications on strategies of disbursing agricultural and food aid. ConDev researchers were able to establish a causal connection between penetration of governance and conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study uses weather shock data as an instrumental variable to avoid endogeneity and to establish causal links. The research, which is currently under review at the Journal of African Economies, has the potential to affect aid delivery mechanisms and USAID's efforts to promote civic engagement. ConDev researchers have completed a study on the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The study used information gathered from a "Transformative Solution" implemented by Domaine Monts de la Lune (DML), a local firm. The researchers find that while several challenges to farmer extension persist, the presence of ICT generated several unexpected outcomes, including improved communication of logistical and organizational information across long distances. In addition, the study finds that ICT enabled farmers' collective action in several capacities that addressed their greatest perceived challenges, including their response to crop theft and lobbying the cooperative's management entity to ensure cash-on-receipt payments for their crops.