How to use the ACCP Conflict Analysis Tool. To explain how to use this tool, we'll look at a fictional and simplified conflict setting. In our scenario, a foreign mining company has been given permission to start an excavation in a region rich in resources.
The authorisation has been granted by the state, in the hopes of raising money for the country. This happened without the consent of the local indigenous communities, who are afraid their traditional rights to the use of the land will be ignored. The locals also demand employment opportunities at the mine, as the mining company has mainly brought in foreign employees to work at the site.
While the local communities held a march against the company, protesters clashed with the police and one protester was killed by a tear-gas grenade, heightening tensions. Efforts by the government to facilitate a dialogue between the company and the locals failed. The state, company, and local communities have called for the help of a mediator.
Now, as the mediators, let's analyse this conflict with the help of the ACCP framework. Make sure you have enough time, space, and ideally a facilitator if you're working in a group. Before we begin our analysis, it is essential to clarify what the objective of our mediation is going to be.
For our example case, our goal will be: "To find a mutually acceptable way for the mining company to operate in the area. " After setting the objective, the first step in doing an ACCP analysis is to "lay things out flat" by mapping four "baskets" of information about the conflict: Actors, Content, Context, and Process. At this stage, it is better to have too much than too little information, so be as detailed as you can.
Always keep in mind that things that might seem less important now may become relevant later. You want to end up with a simple but comprehensive overview to which you must always come back and revise as needed. Now let's have a look at the four different baskets and how to fill them.
Actors: Who is involved in the conflict? Identify all actors that are involved in and are affected by the conflict. Mapping the actors will later help you decide who needs to be part of the mediation process in order to reach its objectives.
Don't forget to include yourself as the mediator! Content: What is the conflict about? Identify the issues people are fighting about.
Try to be as specific as possible. Context: What are the circumstances within which the conflict is taking place? Identify those factors in the conflict environment that are beyond the immediate control of the mediator.
These are important issues that influence and shape the mediation process, either directly or indirectly. Process: Which processes seeking to address the conflict are ongoing or have already taken place? Negotiations, dialogues, mediations, or other interventions of all sorts need to be mapped and studied.
After laying things out flat, the second step of an ACCP analysis is to scrutinise your map based on your goal in order to help you develop a process design. We call this step "going deeper. " With our goal in mind, we can raise specific questions in each of the four baskets as well as across them.
Though these questions alone can suffice, the beauty of the ACCP is that it serves as a "meta-framework" within which other conflict analysis tools can be seamlessly integrated should you need them. However, for this example we'll leave them out and proceed with specific questions in the baskets. To get things going, we'll start off with one question in each basket.
Actors. Organise the actors based on how close they need to be to the negotiation table: Who needs to be right at the table? Who needs to be close to the table?
And who is relevant but can follow along from a distance? Content. Cluster issues based on their themes and differentiate between "parent" and "child" issues.
Context. Create a timeline of the events and try to find patterns. Are there any opportunities that could advance mediation efforts, and are there any risks that might affect the process?
Process. What worked and what didn't in the previous processes? Remember to ask questions that cut across the baskets to analyse the interactions between them.
Even though we've now worked on all the baskets, the analysis is far from over, since the ACCP "dashboard" needs to be updated and re-evaluated constantly as the conflict and mediation evolve. Let's say the objective changes due to new circumstances. The new objective will affect the contents of each basket, the relations between them, and their importance for the mediation process.
That's why it's necessary to jump back and forth between the baskets and continuously add, change, and/or refine them. Now you are able to navigate the ACCP dashboard to help you design and conduct a mediation process. Please be aware that this video just scratches the surface and serves only as an overview or a refresher.
You should not use an ACCP analysis in the field solely with the information gathered in this film.
