Who we are

About us

The CSF was established in early 2021 to support the aid sector in understanding and addressing conflict sensitivity risks in Sudan. It doesn’t implement aid programmes but works collaboratively as a technical support provider. Funded by donors, all its services are free and available in both English and Arabic.

Report

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This includes new research on land grabbing in al Butana, a blog on how the Joint Operating Principles (JOPs) can contribute to the prevention of the weaponisation of humanitarian aid and more.

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Our vision

We believe that aid must not contribute to conflict in Sudan, and should instead seek to find ways to contribute to peace.

Our values

Our integrity and approach are underpinned by our values and principles that guide our work:

supporting local agency,
inclusion,
empowerment,
solidarity,
respect,
transparency.

Our story

The CSF in Sudan is modelled after its sister facility in South Sudan – the Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility. Based on decades of experience and learning in the aid and peacebuilding sectors, both were developed as a free resource for aid actors to enhance their understanding of their respective contexts and to promote more conflict-sensitive aid in Sudan and South Sudan.

What we do

Aid in Sudan has the potential to contribute to peace, or (often unintentionally) to fuel conflict. The CSF supports donors, aid organisations and coordination mechanisms to build their understanding of the context, apply this understanding to help them avoid doing any harm, and maximise their contributions to long-term, sustainable peace in Sudan.

Despite growing awareness and interest in conflict sensitivity, many aid actors do not have adequate systems, tools and policies to implement and learn from conflict-sensitive practices. Aid workers often lack time or resources to invest in sufficient understanding of the context and lack the knowledge and resources to understand how to provide aid in a more conflict sensitive way.

Building on lessons from our sister facility, the Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility in South Sudan (CSRF), we meet this challenge by delivering analysis, targeted technical support and convening safe spaces to help aid actors discuss and learn from the day-to-day dilemmas they face in the context and to build conflict-sensitive action in the sector.

Adopting a conflict- sensitive approach to aid delivery in Sudan helps the aid sector to understand the total effect of our actions in local contexts and to design interventions with a keener understanding of conflict dynamics. Ultimately, this will lead to more impactful and sustainable aid that does not exacerbate conflict dynamics but instead contributes to peace in Sudan.

Our partners

The CSF is a free resource for the aid sector. We deliver a range of activities for aid actors who want to adopt more conflict-sensitive practices, including for donors, local responders, implementing aid agencies and coordination mechanisms.

The CSF is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the European Union to provide these knowledge products and technical support services to the aid sector. The views and analysis featured on the website and other resources provided by the CSF reflect the views of the individual authors or the CSF itself, and not necessarily the views of the facility’s donors.

Analysis and knowledge

The CSF connects aid workers to the context. As part of our Knowledge Hub, we develop practical research products and blogs that fill the gaps in the aid sector’s understanding of Sudan, and we compile the latest English and Arabic research on Sudan and conflict sensitivity in our library. We also bring together experts and aid actors and provide spaces for reflection and collective analysis.

Building a community of practice

Through representation in online and in-person spaces, we introduce practitioner-focused concepts that enhance our audience’s understanding of conflict sensitivity, amplify the voices of those connected to the context, share learning from CSF activities with the wider aid sector and build a community of practice of like-minded actors.

Convening and outreach

Conflict sensitivity support is more effective when it drives a cultural shift in how aid workers approach their work and understand the context in which they are supporting communities. Through our convening and outreach activities, we bring together diverse voices and perspectives to explore solutions to key issues affecting the aid community and its ability to navigate conflict sensitivity – such as humanitarian access, local action and community resilience in Sudan. By creating safe spaces for collective analysis and facilitating events for reflection, we encourage cross-sector collaboration and amplify marginalised perspectives.

Targeted capacity support

CSF offers targeted capacity support for aid actors to develop their own approach to conflict sensitivity. We involve senior managers and local responders, national NGOs, international NGOs, UN agencies and donors in designing systems, tools and policies for sustainable conflict-sensitive practices. We also help with organisational or programmatic assessments, context and conflict sensitivity trainings, and mentoring and accompaniment.