USIP's effort to re-launch our SENSE program in Iraq was successfully initiated October 28th through November 8th, 2008 during an intensive training session in Istanbul, Turkey. Five USIP staff members from DC, as well as four DC SENSE team members, were joined there by 21 members of the Iraqi SENSE team and two staff members of USIP’s Baghdad Office.

The first week of the workshop consisted of training in facilitation and the specifics of the SENSE program led by Senior Program Officer Allison Frendak. Supporting Frendak throughout the training were DC-based SENSE facilitators Ann Driscoll and Tia Wheeler and tutor-coaches Fatima Hadji and Daniel Langberg. USIP Senior Program Officer Ronald Cole oversaw all technical aspects of the training workshop, while Senior Program Assistant Chris Sfetsios provided administrative and logistical support. During the first week, the Iraqis democratically chose members of their own team to serve as Game Masters and Facilitators. All members of the SENSE team worked diligently to master specific aspects of the simulation and to familiarize themselves with the different roles, depending on their own function within the team. During the first half of the second week the training became more intensive and focused on preparing the group for running SENSE in their new configuration.

In order to put their skills and knowledge into practice, the Iraqis themselves then conducted a full-fledged three-day SENSE simulation, with the American trainers observing. The 43 participants in this simulation were primarily Turkish and European students and professors from local universities. During the day prior to the start of the simulation, the participants received training in negotiation and conflict styles from Senior Program Officer Noor Kirdar and Vice-President Michael Lekson.

The simulation was a great success. It provided the participants with valuable practical experience and gave the Iraqi SENSE team an opportunity to interact and work with a diverse group of non-Iraqi participants. The benefits gained by the participants were made evident through feedback received following the conclusion of the program.  “It was interesting to see how so many different dynamics are competitively at work simultaneously in a post-conflict situation, “ one participant reported. “From now on I will also take that component into consideration.” Another pointed out how the exercise helped him to make decisions in a more efficient manner, saying “First of all, I started to think and decide on critical tasks more rapidly than before…It pushed me to work with some people that I would most probably not want to work with normally. This was useful for my career. It was always challenging and there were problems continually. So it was a good experience to try and cope with problems constantly.”

Besides showing a high level of satisfaction with the simulation itself, the participants also expressed an appreciation for their interaction with the Iraqi SENSE team.  Likewise, the Iraqi team members were impressed with the professional and highly competent conduct of the participants throughout the simulation.