The end of war presents both a formidable challenge as well as a window of opportunity for reform. In countries where aid is in abundance, state institutions are weak and the threat of return to war still looms, corruption and a lack of community engagement can easily undermine the dividends of peace.

Building the integrity of post-war reconstruction contributes to its stability and effectiveness to deliver to citizens’ needs. Integrity is defined as constructively addressing corruption, identifying and building local competence, and instituting genuine accountability through transparency and public participation.

The Network for Integrity in Reconstruction (NIR) supports civil society organisations in post-war settings to mobilize and train communities to monitor reconstruction programmes and advocate for greater accountability and public participation in post-war reconstruction. Community engagement, whereby citizens have access to information, build their capacities and strengthen state-society relations through collaboration, increases local ownership of post-war reconstruction. This process of inclusion and accountability to post-war citizens reduces both corruption and the risk of return to violence.

NIR is currently active in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nepal, Palestine, Sierra Leone, North and South Sudan and Timor Leste.

In London, Tiri serves as a resource base for the network, and a platform for bringing the concerns of post-war communities to the international level. We are always open to new ideas on how to strengthen our network, so if you have any good ideas, please do get in touch!