Assessing the Impact of Community Center Interventions on Social Cohesion in Conflict-Affected Areas of Tripoli

The Program Activities Communication outlines a structured, two-month community engagement initiative where participants, divided into three groups and led by peace ambassadors, engage in weekly activities at a community center. These activities include cooking, embroidery, wellness care, sports, and social events, complemented by dialogue sessions to foster open communication, with a dedicated WhatsApp group providing ongoing support and fostering a sense of community among the participants.

The Program Activities Communication:
1.
Divide the participants into three groups of 10-18 members, each guided by a peace ambassador.
2.
Each group will visit the community center once a week for a total of 8 visits over the 2-month period.
3.
One per week, each participant will do a variety of activities such as mini-trainings on cooking, embroidery, wellness care, and events like dancing, sports, and group gatherings and these might be adapted based on interest social activities the group wants to do during their visit to the community center. Every group will also do a dialogue session to promote
open communication and understanding among participants in each group.
4.
Limit daily activities to 4-5 hours to ensure participant engagement and avoid fatigue.
5.
Peace ambassadors will also create a WhatsApp group for efficient coordination. And the group serves as a safe space for women to discuss, plan future visits, and offer support. This also foster a sense of community by encouraging dialogue and camaraderie among the participants.
6.
Even after the program concludes, the peace ambassador encourage participants to maintain the WhatsApp group. The group will serve as a network for potential volunteering and social support in the community center and empower women to contribute actively to the community center's initiatives, fostering long-term engagement and impact.

2024-06-15

2024-08-15

Our primary outcome for the evaluation is generalized trust, a proxy for social cohesion that directly captures aspects of inter-nationality and inter-religious trust.

Other outcomes to be assessed includes civic engagement scale , self-efficacy scale, WHO-5 well-being scale, and motivation to join the center.

The impact evaluation for the community center activities will utilize a randomized control trial (RCT) to measure effects on social cohesion among adult women in selected communities. The study will involve recruiting participants through an outreach campaign, where trained volunteers distribute digital flyers to encourage registration for training workshops. Potential participants can register via a QR code or direct contact, and eligibility will be determined based on specific criteria including nationality, age, and prior non-participation in center activities. Eligible women will be randomly assigned into either the intervention group, which participates immediately, or the control group, which will participate after the study. Data collection will occur through self-administered surveys both before and after the intervention, focusing on generalized trust among other outcomes.

The impact evaluation will be conducted through a randomized control trial (RCT) aimed at assessing the influence of training workshops on social cohesion among adult women from Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian communities. Here are the detailed aspects of the trial design:

Recruitment and Screening Process:
Outreach Campaign: The community center will launch an outreach campaign using digital flyers, shared in community spaces and on social media platforms. The flyers will contain a QR code and a contact number for registrations, allowing interested women to easily access a registration and screening form.
Eligibility Criteria: Participants must be women aged 18 or older, of Lebanese, Syrian, or Palestinian nationality, who have not previously participated in the center’s activities, and who reside in the targeted communities (Jabal Mohsen & Beb el Tebeneh).
Registration and Screening Form: This form will collect essential data such as name, phone number, age, nationality, and area of residence, which will be used to screen for eligibility and create a participant database with unique ID numbers for tracking throughout the study.
Randomization and Group Allocation:
Once registered, eligible women will be randomly assigned to either the treatment group, which participates in the center activities immediately, or the control group, which will participate after the study period, ensuring a fair and unbiased distribution.
Intervention Design:
Program Activities: The intervention consists of 8-10 sessions over two months, including training on cooking, embroidery, wellness, and other community-building activities like dancing and sports.
Frequency and Duration: Activities will take place once a week, with each session lasting between 4-5 hours to optimize engagement and prevent fatigue.
Communication and Support: A WhatsApp group will be created by peace ambassadors to facilitate coordination, provide a platform for ongoing support, and foster a sense of community among participants.
Data Collection:
Baseline and Endline Surveys: Surveys will be administered at the beginning and end of the intervention to measure changes in generalized trust and other indicators of social cohesion.
Survey Administration: The surveys will be self-administered, with provisions made for illiterate or visually impaired participants through assisted completion.
Follow-up and Evaluation:
Survey Follow-up: Non-responsive participants will be followed up with reminder calls to ensure high response rates.
Data Analysis: The primary outcome of the study, generalized trust, will be analyzed to detect any significant changes from the baseline to the endline, with adjustments for potential attrition.
Ethical Considerations and Participant Privacy:
Consent Process: Consent will be obtained orally over the phone, and participants will be informed that their participation is voluntary and will not affect their eligibility for other center activities.
Data Protection: All collected data will be handled with confidentiality, using secure platforms like the KoBo Toolbox for survey data collection.

This method involves using computer software to generate random assignments. This ensures that the allocation of participants into either the treatment group or the control group is completely random and free from any potential bias. Here's a brief outline of how this method would be implemented in the trial:

Data Entry: All eligible participants' details, collected through the registration and screening process, are entered into a secure database. Each participant is assigned a unique ID to maintain confidentiality.
Software Use: Randomization software or a simple computer program (such as using the RAND function in a spreadsheet) is used. This software is designed to randomly assign each unique ID to one of two groups: treatment or control.
Blind Randomization: To ensure the process is unbiased, the person conducting the randomization may not be directly involved with the recruitment or data collection processes. This adds an additional layer of integrity to the study.
Documentation: The results of the randomization (i.e., group assignments) are documented in a secure manner, maintaining the linkage between participant IDs and their assigned groups while ensuring that personal identifiers are protected.
Communication: Once the randomization process is completed, participants are informed of their group assignment and the corresponding start times of their participation either in the immediate activities or after the evaluation period.

Individual

No

340 in total: 170 individuals in treatment and 170 in control group

340 in total: 170 individuals in treatment and 170 in control group

340 in total: 170 individuals in treatment and 170 in control group

Based on previous monitoring data collected by Threadsof Peace showed that participants in their trainings scored an average of 7.76 (out of 12) on the generalized trust scale. Based on this data, we estimate that a sample size of 340 women is needed to be able to detect a 5% increase in generalized trust from baseline to endline, with an alpha of 0.05 and power of 0.9, accounting for 20% attrition. To enroll 340 women in the study, we estimate that we will need to recruit 400 women for the trainings, as not all women may decide to participate in the study.