USIP first introduced SENSE in Iraq in 2004, when the Institute conducted special SENSE training programs designed for senior Iraqi national security officials.  The training, conducted in the Washington DC area, employed a series of formal presentations and interactive exercises designed to:

•    Refine participants' skills in conflict analysis and resolution,
•    Master negotiation styles and techniques
•    Understand the roles that third parties can play in mediating disagreements.

In those programs, the Institute trained 173 Iraqi officials from key ministries such as Defense (including military officers), Foreign Affairs, Interior (including police generals), Justice (including judges), Planning, and Finance.  Based in part on feedback from the Iraqi participants, USIP contracted with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) to enhance the simulation by scaling the imaginary country closer to Iraqi dimensions and including a significant role for the oil sector in the economy (with pipelines vulnerable to terrorist disruption), as well as additional elements that address managing the risk of inflation in an economy in transition. 

In 2005, the Institute conducted further SENSE programs for Iraqis in Jordan, and since that time has sponsored SENSE events in Iraq conducted by Iraqis themselves (programs have been conducted in Baghdad and in various sites in Kurdistan).  Participants have included officials of the Ministries of Defense, Education, and Justice, the Transitional National Authority, members of Parliament, a wide range of Kurdish authorities, the Baghdad Provincial Council, and members from all of Iraqi’s 18 Provincial Councils.  

Since 2004, a total of nearly 1,400 Iraqis benefited from SENSE trainings. The Iraqi NGO Iraq Institute for Economic Reform (IIER) ran SENSE events there from 2005 to 2007; SENSE is now delivered by USIP’s Baghdad Office.

SENSE Events in Iraq

SENSE IRD Training
June 19-23, 2012
The Iraq Team, in cooperation with International Relief and Development-Iraq Community Action Program (IRD-ICAP), held a successful training for members of the Baghdad districts and neighborhoods advisory councils. The training took place in Sulaymaniah. Of the 42 participants, 26% were women.

SENSE Multi Ministry Training
April 21-25, 2012
The Iraq Team conducted a SENSE simulation game for 40 participants from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, the State Ministry of National Reconciliation, and the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. The training took place in Baghdad.

SENSE Multi Ministry Training
February 11-15, 2012
The Iraq Team, operating out of USIP’s Baghdad office, conducted a training program for the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry for Higher Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the State Ministry of National Reconciliation, several members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, and NGOs. The training took place in Baghdad. Of the 46 participants, 35% were women.

District Councils and Ministry of Youth
October 15-17, 2011
The Iraq Team, operating out of USIP’s Baghdad office, conducted a training program for District Advisory Councils from Mansur and Mustansiriya; as well as, representatives from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Environment, several NGOs, and the Iraqi Media Network. Of the 35 participants 10% were women.

Kirkuk Toolkit Training
July 10-12, 2011
The Iraq team conducted a SENSE simulation game for 40 different level stakeholders working on Kirkuk issues. The participants included members from Kirkuk PC members, the Kirkuk administration, NGO’s, and representatives from the federal government and council of representatives. The training took place in Baghdad and was part of the USIP’s Kirkuk Toolkit project.

SENSE IRD Training
July 31-August 6, 2010
The Iraq team, in cooperation with International Relief and Development (IRD), held a fifth SENSE training workshop for 47 Iraqi local council members from the Provinces of Baghdad and Diyala. The training was held in Sulaymaniah.

SENSE IRD Training
June 27-July 1, 2010
The fourth SENSE training with IRD was conducted for 49 participants from the council members of Baghdad and Bagubah. The training, which was held in Sulaymaniah, included IRD staff members.

SENSE IRD Training
May 8-14, 2010
SENSE team members, in cooperation with IRD, conducted a week-long training in Sulaymaniah for 50 local council members from Baghdad and Bagubah. This was the third successful joint training with IRD.

SENSE IRD Training
April 17-23, 2010
SENSE team members, in cooperation with IRD, conducted a successful training for 50 Iraqi local council members from Baghdad and Bagubah. The training was held in Sulaymaniah and was the second such training with IRD.

SENSE Women’s Toolkit Workshop
March 21-29, 2010
The Iraq team conducted two SENSE training workshops for 83 Iraqi women. The participants came from all over Iraq and represented a vast spectrum of local and national government officials as well as civil society representatives. The trainings, which were held in Beirut, were the initial phase of the overall Women’s Toolkit effort that is being conducted by USIP.

SENSE IRD Training
February 13-19, 2010
SENSE team members, in cooperation with IRD, held a one-week training in Sulaymaniah for 49 Iraqi district and local representatives from Baghdad and Bagubah (Diyala Province). IRD staff was able to participate in the training as well. This was the first of five training sessions conducted with IRD in 2010.

SENSE Training for the Ministerial Center for Training and Development at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense
Nov. 2009
SENSE Team members held a training at the Ministerial Center for Training and Development at the Ministry of Defense in November.

Young Lieutenants SENSE Simulation in Baghdad
Oct. 17 & 18, 25 & 26, 2009
The SENSE in Iraq program conducted the Young Lieutenants Simulation in Baghdad for 39 young leaders from across political parties and ethnicities. While this simulation was underway at the Mansour Hotel, terrorist attacks severely damaged nearby government buildings, killing over 130 people. The SENSE team, which was in the blast zone at the time, escaped unscathed.

SENSE at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense
Aug. 2009
In August, the Iraqi SENSE team held a simulation at the Ministry of Defense for 46 participants, on a cost-sharing basis with the MOD.

Baghdad Provincial Council Receives SENSE Training
Jul. 2009
USIP's Iraqi SENSE team conducted a simulation for 55 participants from the Baghdad Provincial Council in July.

Iraqi SENSE Team Provides Training to the Ministry of National Security
Jun. 24-30, 2009
BDO devised a SENSE session for 42 high-level and decision-making participants from the Ministry of National Security in June.  As is typically the case with SENSE, the training also included two days of conflict management training prior to the start of the simulation.

SENSE Training for the Minstry of Higher Education
Apr. 27-May 6, 2009
In April and May of 2009, USIP conducted a SENSE simulation for the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education. This event was a follow-up to ETC-I’s August 2008 Teaching Human Rights workshop, in which the Minister of Higher Education was a participant. 

Secretariat Council of Ministers SENSE Simulation
Apr. 5-9, 2009
On April 5-9, 2009, the Iraqi SENSE Team held a training workshop and simulation for high-level members of the Secretariat Council of Ministers at their headquarters in Baghdad. 

SENSE at the Baghdad Presidential Office
Feb. 18-24, 2009
In February 2009, the Iraqi SENSE team conducted their first full SENSE workshop.  It was held in Baghdad with 32 participants from the Presidential Office.

Baghdad Practice Session
Jan. 1-2, 2009
Following the two-week intensive training course in Istanbul in October and November 2008, the Iraqi SENSE team returned home and began their work of reconstituting USIP’s SENSE program in Iraq.  

Training USIP's Iraqi SENSE Team in Istanbul
Oct. 28-Nov. 8, 2008
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. 

SENSE and Conflict Management Training in Baghdad
March 1-5, 2007
With tremendous support from the Institute’s Baghdad Office, the Iraq Institute for Economic Reform (IIER) conducted a five-day SENSE and Conflict Management training exercise for the Baghdad Provincial Council at the request of the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team.

SENSE: Dokan, Iraq
January 29- February 4, 2006
Since early in 2005, the Professional Training Program has focused its efforts on supporting the Iraq Institute of Economic Reform (IIER) in its goal of establishing an Iraqi-managed SENSE capability.

Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise (SENSE)
June 1-11, 2005
Following 2004´s training workshops for Iraqi national security officials (conducted in the U.S.) and for community leaders/civic activists (conducted in Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah), our priority for 2005 was to bring the two participant audiences together, and transfer the capability to conduct the sophisticated computer-based Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise (SENSE) simulation to an Iraqi partner organization.

Fifth Workshop with Iraqi National Security Officials
September 13-23, 2004
The fifth USIP workshop with Iraqi Officials held in Washington, DC was from September 13 through September 23, 2004. The group of 52 participants included men and women from a variety of ministries including Finance, Justice, Planning, Foreign Affairs and Interior.

Fourth Workshop with Senior Iraqi National Security Officials
June 21- July 2, 2004
The fourth USIP workshop was the largest yet; 57 Iraqis trained with the Institute. Many were Defense Ministry officials or military officers who had just completed a week of training at the National Defense University (NDU)´s Near East - South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA) on the fundamentals of running an effective ministry and on civil/military relations in a democratic society characterized by the rule of law.

Third Workshop with Senior Iraqi National Security Officials on Building Iraq's Future
May 17-26, 2004
In the third of a series of workshops for Iraqi national security officials, USIP hosted twenty Iraqis, most of whom are occupying senior leadership positions in Iraq´s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Defense/Joint Headquarters.

Workshop with Iraqi Defense Ministry Officials
March 8- April 3, 2004
In partnership with National Defense University´s Near East - South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA), the Institute has conducted the first two of a series of four workshops for Iraqis who will be occupying senior leadership positions in their country´s new Ministry of Defense and Joint Headquarters (the uniformed military).