Terry Amsler

Terry Amsler is the Manager for the Domestic Conflict Resolution program at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The conflict resolution program supports work in a wide variety of settings. The Foundation favors general support grants intended to strengthen the institutional capacity of conflict resolution organizations and research centers. The Foundation does not typically provide funding for start-up efforts. Grants are made in six categories.

1. Theory Development. The Foundation is particularly interested in university-based centers that demonstrate both a strong commitment to systematic, interdisciplinary research on conflict resolution and an ability to contribute to the improvement of conflict resolution practice. The Foundation also supports collaborations of institutions and scholars in extended research undertakings of relevance to practitioners and policymakers.

2. Practitioner Organizations. The Foundation is interested primarily in opportunities to help effective and stable groups increase their capacity for growth and outreach. Grants support new approaches and new applications of conflict resolution methods, the achievement of greater organizational maturity, and efforts to enhance the overall impact of practitioner organizations on the field and on the communities in which they work. Candidates must demonstrate either (1) the capacity to deliver services to low-income citizens and other communities that historically have been underserved by the conflict resolution field; or (2) the capacity to extend the benefits of federal or state policy initiatives in conflict resolution to a wide audience.

3. Promotion of the Field. The Foundation supports organizations that (1) educate potential users about conflict resolution techniques; (2) serve the training and support needs of professionals and volunteers in the field of conflict resolution; and/or (3) promote the field as a whole.

4. Consensus Building, Public Participation, and Policymaking. Recognizing that the origins of conflict can often be traced to defects in methods of communication and participation in policymaking, the Foundation assists organizations that demonstrate means of improving the processes of decision making on issues of major public importance. The Foundation's interest is focused primarily on facilitating and convening organizations that explore new ways of approaching contentious public policy issues through collaborative action that addresses the legitimate interests of all involved parties.

5. International Conflict Resolution. The Foundation supports a limited number of organizations that are working on the international application of conflict resolution techniques and the development of practice-relevant theory related to ethnic, ideological, religious, racial, and other intergroup conflict around the world. Applicants in this area are expected to show significant field-level involvement with conflicts that have international ramifications. This is the only category of the conflict resolution program in which overseas initiatives are considered.

6. Emerging Issues. Each year the Foundation considers a small number of proposals addressed to emerging issues in the conflict resolution field. Grants support short-term projects responsive to such critical concerns as evaluation and professional standards. Applicants must demonstrate multi-institutional involvement in the work plan and project governance, as well as compelling evidence of likely impact on the field at large.