The P-DEC (Partnership for Development of Eastern Congo) program of USAID aims to strengthen the foundations for sustainable peace through the promotion of peace, good governance, social cohesion, the development of market systems related to agricultural value chains, the mitigation of risks related to mining and transparency in the mineral trade, and the conservation of biodiversity in the protected areas of the RFO and the PNV. The objective of the baseline study conducted by IES CONGO as a part of its partnership with Mercy Corps (the P-DEC lead of implementation partners) was to establish the basic situation that was to be considered as the starting point for various P-DEC indicators. Overall, this baseline study was intended to serve as a basis for setting targets for some of the higher-level outcome indicators and/or for a possible revision of some of the P-DEC indicators. In addition to analyzing indicators related to Social Capital, Shock/Stress Exposure, and Community Resilience, this study addressed a number of cross-cutting themes: (i) links between peace/security and social cohesion/social networks; (ii) links between governance/partnerships and quality of public services; (iii) links between economic and trade development and peace/security; and (iv) links between gender/social inclusion and peace/security.
Baseline study of P-DEC in BENI and Mambasa for Mercy Corps-USAID
