On our November 25, 2020 Global Call, Robert (Bob) Groelsema and Bridget Kimball will present CRS’ newly published, “Mini-Social Cohesion Barometer (mini-SCB).” The mini-SCB grew out of a series of workshops attended by Christians, Muslims, civil servants, and civil society and business leaders in war-torn Central African Republic (CAR). Participants eagerly embraced the tool because it stimulated discussion around the perceived strengths and weaknesses of their social fabric, and helped them focus on areas for joint, unified action. Recently, Ms. Kimball and her team have applied the tool as a context indicator and as a data source to establish project baselines and measure project end-lines.
The tool consists of 18 indicators grouped into socio-cultural, economic and political spheres of activity. Bob will present the tool’s origins, theory, and content, while Bridget will present the tool’s field applications based on experience in CAR and northern Nigeria.
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Bridget Kimball is CRS’ Central Africa Regional Technical Advisor for Social Cohesion, based in Bangui, CAR. For 12 years, she has overseen, implemented and advised on peacebuilding and development programming across Africa, including in Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Togo, The Gambia, Senegal, Somalia and Ethiopia. She holds a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a JD from the UCLA School of Law.
Since 2014, Dr. Robert (Bob) Groelsema has been CRS’ Team Leader for Justice and Peacebuilding in Africa. He began his career as an Area Coordinator for migrant and seasonal farmworker services in Michigan, and then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Zaire), a UN volunteer (Philippines), and a USAID Democracy/Governance Officer (Washington, DC). His long-term assignments include famine relief (Chad), institutional capacity building (Guinea), conflict early warning and response (Ghana/West Africa), and resilience strengthening (Kenya). He has published on African history, religion and culture, geography and politics. He holds a BA in history from Calvin College; a MPIA in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh; and a Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University.