Our Work
Cause and Conflict is a nonprofit consultancy that supports civil society organisations and social movements to overcome internal and external conflicts. We drive missions forward while fiercely protecting the respect, dignity, and inherent worth of every individual.
Both within and among civil society organisations, conflicts typically unfold in three stages. Pre-conflict begins with unspoken tensions and “false harmony,” where concerns remain unvoiced and power imbalances or unclear roles create latent strain. In active conflict frustration hardens into blame, entrenched positions, and covert resistance, draining energy and undermining collaboration. If unresolved, this leads to chronic or late-stage conflict, marked by disillusionment, burnout, reputational damage, and weakened impact, where relationships and strategic objectives are significantly compromised.
Cause and Conflict core services include detox workshops, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) support, and ‘conflict conscious’ strategy development.
Conflict resolution
Ready to restore trust, collaboration, and effectiveness for greater impact
- Mediation and consultancy to support individuals, organisations, and teams experiencing both internal and external conflict to find resolution and, ultimately, to restore harmonious collaboration.
- The Team Detox is a game-changing two-day intervention designed to reset interpersonal dynamics by surfacing unspoken issues and restoring relational strength. Through a non-traditional, human-centred approach, we create conditions for honest dialogues and make breakthroughs, placing both humanity and collective efficacy at the heart of the organisation.
Conflict prevention
Want to forestall the pernicious impacts stemming from unaddressed conflict?
- Training to equip participants to hold difficult conversations, regulate emotions in the face of provocation, address tensions, and reduce polarisation. The result is stronger decision-making, healthier collaboration, and organisations able to navigate disagreement without fragmentation.
- Diagnostics. Examining the interpersonal, cultural, and strategic dimensions of conflicts to help you understand and address the root causes and patterns that undermine effectiveness and alignment. In many cases, the diagnostic process alone helps restore psychological safety, clarify shared principles, and foster a culture where solidarity and impact thrive.
- Conflict-conscious strategy facilitation, building the skills and insight needed to anticipate, navigate, and transform imminent conflict into a source of clarity, alignment, and impact.
Research
Cause and Conflict is also an ongoing research project.
We anonymise and distil findings and insights from our collaborations to further refine the tools and resources we offer. Together with the Civil Society Conflict Survey – a living tool which collects insights and experiences from across the sector – this knowledge creation process will feed into an annual report, ‘From Discord to Unity: Conflict in Civil Society’, elucidating the key drivers of and most effective solutions to conflict in civil society and progressive movements.