Countering Violent Extremism: A Perceptions Mapping Study

Building Resilience in Civil Society (BRICS) runs a Regional Countering Violent Extremism Research Unit (RRU) in East Africa. BRICS was commissioned to conduct in-depth research designed to determine the local context of violent extremism. The research is based in North Eastern Kenya, Coastal Kenya and Tanzania, and Central and Eastern Uganda. The purpose of area-based research is to identify locations for long-term participatory community research and engagement that will result in location-specific and community-led Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programming.

Spatial Collective was approached to help develop a product which will enable BRICS to present the findings in a simplified but well-understood way, identify areas for potential further investment through small-scale grants, and support policy development.

To fulfill the requirements, Spatial Collective deployed the following approach:

• Conduct research into interviews and other datasets to inform the design of the subsequent steps and end products.
• Coding of interviews to identify specific topics.
• Aggregate the data with the focus on several factors, namely:
  • who are the stakeholders;
  • what are their networks;
  • which are the pathways to violent extremism;
  • how do they relate to income-generating opportunities?
• Spatial Collective, in collaboration with Oil Creatives, then developed a coherent and engaging story on the relationship between access to opportunities and violent extremism, as well as on the identity of relevant stakeholders, their activities, and networks.
• Finally, relationship networks and pathways to violent extremism were visualized through the geographic presentation, maps, and infographics.

The purpose of these steps was to create a more simplified but well-understood product that enables BRICS to:

• Articulate main research points in a simple and visual way.
• Present the findings to the communities and other stakeholders through well-understood visualizations, as well as gather the feedback through an interactive, engaging and informative approach.
• Provide BRICS and their partners with a better understanding of the complex interconnectedness of issues, stakeholders, and pathways concerning violent extremism.
• Strengthen components to counter violent extremism.
• Identify areas for potential further investment through small-scale grants.
• Support policy development.