Measuring the Long‐Term Impact of a Community Conflict Resolution Process: A Case Study Using Content Analysis of Public Documents

Abstract

What are the enduring effects of community‐based conflict resolution processes? According to the research reported here, lessons participants learn in conflict resolution processes disseminate to their communities; secondly, such dissemination can be measured by content analysis of participants’ constituent organization newsletters. The authors illustrate their findings with a case study of the New Community Meeting conflict resolution model (NCM), implemented 1997–98 in an Oregon community to address business‐environmental conflict over growth and sustainable development. Content analysis of business and environmental newsletters over 21 months, including before and after NCM, shows increasing positive and decreasing negative references to former adversaries over the period, together with advocacy for collaboration. The authors frame this study using social exchange theory, and conclude that this theoretical paradigm fits conflict resolution and consensus‐building processes well.

The Meaning of Effectiveness in Assessing Community Initiatives

“…Accordino, Galster, and Tatian (2005) demonstrated that targeted public and nonprofit investment in seven neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia, triggered a reinvestment of private capital after years of decline, compared to estimated increases in housing values based on 5 years of data on citywide and nearby housing investments and home prices. Gwartney, Fessenden, and Landt (2002) reported positive results in an evaluation of community conflict resolution programs, which aimed toward community-wide change in attitudes and practices in handling conflict; a systematic scan of community-based publications revealed a marked community-wide increase in conflict resolution perspectives, language, and actions from a pre-intervention baseline. No other plausible explanation or confounding program influences were present during this timeframe.…”