Planning for family dispute resolution in Cambodia - A quest for contextual relevance

In this paper I outline a planning and evaluation proposal designed to sustain contextually relevant alternative dispute resolution practices for resolving family conflicts in three Cambodian districts. It is a mock proposal I designed for 'Peace Bridges', a Cambodian peace building organisation that trains and mobilises family dispute resolution practitioners across Cambodia. It is a means to support Peace Bridges in reflecting upon their planning approach for facilitating the development of a new program cycle for 2013-2015. The proposal begins with a problem description that accounts for the interplay of personal, relational, cultural and systemic factors contributing to the current prevalence of dysfunctional family dispute management in Cambodia. Following this is a needs analysis of stakeholders relevant to the target districts. This analysis is multi-focused, including indirect actors at the national and international level as well as more direct stakeholders at the project partner and community level. The planning proposal is also concerned to identify theories of change or hypotheses operant in the design. This includes awareness of values that inform such theories. There is concern to ensure program implementers operate with mindfulness of these theories and values so as to enable continuous reflection, not simply on practice, but on the assumptions underlying practice. The paper concludes with some reflections on the benefits and challenges of such an approach to planning.