Savannah Simons read Social Policy and Politics at the University of Bristol where she supported the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Transforming Insecurities project led out of the Global Insecurities Centre in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies. During her time assisting in the research of nonviolent grassroots networks and their role in transforming insecurity, Savannah took a particular interest in the case of Somalia and the effect of its unarmed neighborhood watch in preventing suicide bomb attacks. She is on the Senior Management Team of Somali First, a University of Bristol and Transparency Solutions (TS) joint initiative promoting Somali led development. Savannah is the Head of Projects at TS and is now based at the company’s headquarters in Hargeisa.
Articles Authored
Local ownership in EU local capacity building (5 November 2018) - Deliverable 6.3 identifies lessons to be learned from a range of peacebuilding initiatives in Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Somalia/Somaliland. These form the basis of a series of best practice recommendations on how to maximise the potential impact of localisation policies to foster long-term sustainable peace.
Coordination and coherence in EU local capacity building (5 November 2018) - Deliverable 6.2 focuses particularly on coordination and coherence between international actors and local actors in the context of the implementation of local capacity building programmes in the Western Balkans and the Horn of Africa. While problems related to a lack of coherence have impinged upon the efforts of every international organisation and country involved in capacity building, in the case of large international organisations like the EU, internal coherence represents a specific challenge.
Deliverables
DL 5.1
Report on EU conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the Horn of Africa and Western Balkans
Authors: Peen Rodt, A., J. Tvilling, P.H. Zartsdahl, M. Ignatijevic, S. Stojanovic Gajic, S. Simons, K. Abdi, E. Gillette, N. Habbida, J. Berglund and V. Fernandez Arguedas
Lead Institution: Royal Danish Defence College
Published: 30 October 2017
[PDF, ~1.5MB; click to access]
DL 5.4
The EU’s Comprehensive Approach and its Implementation
Authors: Zartsdahl, P.H., K. Đokić and S. Simons
Lead Institution: Roskilde University
Published: 29 November 2018
[PDF, ~2.1MB; click to access]
DL 6.1
Evaluating international efforts on local capacity building
Authors: Juncos, A.E., G. Algar-Faria, T. Edmunds, K. Đokić, E. Plänitz, K. Abdi and S. Simons
Lead Institution: University of Bristol
Published: 25 May 2017
[PDF, ~0.9MB; click to access]
DL 6.2
International capacity building in the Western Balkans and the Horn of Africa: Lessons on coherence and coordination
Authors: Algar-Faria, G., A.E. Juncos, T. Edmunds, S. Stojanovic Gajic, K. Đokić, E. Plänitz, K. Abdi and S. Simons
Lead Institution: University of Bristol
Published: 24 May 2018
[PDF, ~0.5MB; click to access]
DL 6.3
Report on best practices in EU local capacity building
Authors: Christie, R., G. Algar-Faria, A.E. Juncos, K. Đokić, M. Ignjatijević, N. Habbida, K. Abdi, S. Simons and E. Gillette
Lead Institution: University of Bristol
Published: 24 September 2018
[PDF, ~0.7MB; click to access]
DL 7.2
EU-CIVCAP Brochure: Best Practices in EU Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
Lead Author: Smith, M.E.
Lead Institution: University of Aberdeen
Contributing Authors: K. Abdi, C. Barbieri, E. Gillette, T. De Zan, H. Dijkstra, A.E. Juncos, N. Habbida, N. Pirozzi, S. Simons, B. Venturi, P.H. Zartsdahl
Published: 12 October 2018
[PDF, ~1.2MB; click to access]
Policy Briefings
Title: “Improving the EU’s local capacity building efforts in post-conflict environments”
Authors: Juncos, A.E., G. Algar-Faria, T. Edmunds, K. Đokić, E. Plänitz, K. Abdi and S. Simons
Publisher: EU-CIVCAP
Type: Policy Briefing
Reference: 2017/01
[PDF, ~0.3MB; click to access]
Work Packages
WP5: EXECUTE
EU conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the Western Balkans and Horn of Africa
WP6: SUPPORT
Local capacity-building strategies
Institutional Affiliation
Transparency Solutions
TS has extensive experience advising national and international governments on issues relating to conflict, security and local capacity-building, with a focus on the Horn of Africa. TS is thus well placed to contribute with expertise to Work Packages 5 and 6 on conflict prevention and peacebuilding and capacity-building policies on the Horn of Africa.
EU-CIVCAP 