Lessons for multisectoral collaboration to prevent violence

The Violence Prevention Forum (VPF) serves as a multisectoral platform in South Africa that bridges the gap between research, policy, and practice. By prioritizing relationship-building and personal transformation alongside evidence-based knowledge, the VPF enables collaboration between government officials, NGOs, and researchers. The document highlights that successful collaboration requires inclusive institutional design, shared goals, and tangible incentives for participants to outweigh the costs of engagement.

• The VPF reduces the disconnect between evidence, practice, and policy by providing an inclusive dialogue platform and fostering trust across different sectors.
• Investment in relationship-building is essential for the VPF's impact, although some participants, particularly researchers, may find these personal and emotional processes challenging or question their utility.
• The VPF utilizes a specific institutional design to ensure sustainability and fairness, including consensus-based decision-making and the intentional inclusion of diverse perspectives to avoid 'group think'.
• Different sectors are motivated to participate by different benefits: researchers seek to increase the impact and dissemination of their work; government officials value a non-judgemental 'thinking space' to engage with evidence; and NGOs seek connections with other stakeholders.
• The VPF's methodology integrates personal transformation as a foundation for systemic change, though this approach can be uncomfortable for those who prefer formal, structured professional environments.
• The VPF has produced tangible outcomes, including informing government policies and funding, and catalyzing new networks such as the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN).

APA

Amisi, M. M., Gould, C., van der Heyde, J., Bengu, S., & Mazibuko, A. (2024). Lessons for multisectoral collaboration to prevent violence. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1717589431690-policy-brief-188.pdf

Chicago

Amisi, Matodzi M, Chandré Gould, Jody van der Heyde, Senzekile Bengu, and Ayanda Mazibuko. Lessons for multisectoral collaboration to prevent violence. Institute for Security Studies, 2024. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1717589431690-policy-brief-188.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{amisi2024lessons, author = {Amisi, Matodzi M and Gould, Chandré and van der Heyde, Jody and Bengu, Senzekile and Mazibuko, Ayanda}, title = {{Lessons for multisectoral collaboration to prevent violence}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2024}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1717589431690-policy-brief-188.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }