Our Profile

APD is committed to promoting democracy and consensus decision-making at the policy level by encouraging and supporting participation of citizens.

Our Profile

The Academy for Peace and Development (APD) was established in 1998 as a non governmental independent research, and policy-oriented think tank institute.

Since its inception, APD core activities have mainly focused on peace-building using Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The organization has brought together representatives from different sectors of society to identify priorities in the process of rebuilding Somaliland. The Academy has been instrumental in facilitating dialogue on issues such as peacebuilding, state building human rights, democracy and good governance.

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Objectives

APD is committed to promoting democracy and consensus decision-making at the policy level by encouraging and supporting participation of citizens in the affairs of their lives. In this regard, the goal of the Academy is to empower Somaliland communities to adopt peaceful changes by providing a neutral venue to identify their issues and set priorities for response. APD continues to do this work because APD’s interventions and programs reduce violence, strengthen peace and social cohesiveness, promote social, economic, and political inclusivity, and shape Somaliland’s policies and policymaking processes.

Our Strategic Relevance

  1. Conflict is continuous; and APD has experience on conflict mediation and transformation and as such APD’s programs and reconciliation work continue to be relevant and timely
  2. Evidence based research has dramatic implications on policy making processes and APD has two decades of experience in policy formation, and there is a great need, in Somaliland, for research institutions like APD to support policymaking institutions in drafting and reviewing public policies
  3. The social, political, and economic environment is continuously changing and evolving; APD has deep knowledge on the changing context and can adopt to the societal changes of Somaliland and the region

Key Strategic Priorities

To achieve this, APD has set the following objectives:

  1. To provide a neutral forum for dialogue and to create the opportunities to discuss and address development and reconstruction issues of common concern to Somaliland society.
  2. To facilitate the process to collectively identify, set priorities and formulate policy options for the challenges of development and rehabilitation of the country.
  3. To conduct in-depth policy-oriented research on issues that relate to public policy
  4. To assist key stakeholders including—Somaliland government, international community, donor agencies and local actors—to better respond to the challenges of re-building the nation by providing them with relevant information on critical issues, seeking consensus on their interventions and facilitating their responses and effects.
  5. To stimulate action-driven change and achieve actionable change.