Education and Training Center

In December 2007, the Department of the Navy agreed to transfer two buildings to the Institute for the ETC. These buildings are adjacent to the Institute's future headquarters site at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue.

The U.S. military, ten civilian agencies, several international/regional organizations, and dozens of non-governmental organizations are devoting resources to post-conflict operations. However, these organizations vary widely in the training they provide, and no single entity offers joint training to reach the entire spectrum of practitioners, especially NGOs and International Organizations (IOs).

In addition to post-conflict work, the U.S. and the international community must work more effectively to staunch the outbreak of armed conflict and engage in effective crisis management and peacemaking when violence breaks out. Even less training exists for efforts in these areas.

A program is needed in which professionals from government, the military, NGOs, and IOs, as well as pre-professionals in the academic world, can come together and receive training on core conflict management skills, as well as best practices in conflict prevention, peacemaking, and state-building. The Institute's Education and Training Center is expanding to meet this need. As part of this expansion, USIP is leveraging twenty years of relevant experience, increasing its portfolio of existing courses, and expanding the number of students served.

Course Offerings

Initially, sixteen courses will be offered through the ETC. They will include a mix of theory and practice, with a heavy dose of applied exercises, including case studies, simulations, and practical and small group exercises. In addition, each course will include participants from a range of intellectual and professional backgrounds.

An essential aspect of these courses will be distance learning—in time, all courses will have an online component to reach much broader domestic and overseas audiences. USIP's course in conflict analysis is already offered in Arabic, and will soon also be available in Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Farsi.

Four new courses have already been piloted: Introduction to Conflict Prevention; Introduction to Peacemaking; Introduction to Post-Conflict Stability Operations; and Combating Serious Crimes in Post-Conflict States.

Core Courses

• Sources of Conflict and Challenges to Global Security
• Negotiations, from Checkpoints to High Politics
• Third Party Intervention and Mediation
• Peacebuilding Organizations and Institutions
• Cultural Adaptability in Peacebuilding Operations
• Building Local Capacity: Advising, Training, and Mentoring
• Management and Leadership in Peacebuilding Operations
• Introduction to Conflict Prevention Strategies and Operations
• Introduction to Peacemaking Strategies and Operations
• Introduction to Post-Conflict Strategies and Operations

Specialized Curricula

• Rule of Law
• Governance
• Economies and Peacebuilding
• Social Well-Being and Social Reform
• Religious, Ethnic, and Minority Engagement
• Building Safe and Secure Environments

Future Location

In December 2007, at the behest of Congress, the Department of the Navy agreed to transfer two buildings to the Institute for the ETC. These buildings are adjacent to the Institute's future headquarters site at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue. A major advantage of these buildings is their location, which is directly across the street from the State Department, and easily accessible to the World Bank, USAID, the Pentagon, and a number of NGOs and universities.