To enhance early warning monitoring and response planning in the Niger Delta, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) successfully hosted a Data Analytics Course and PIND-EU Project Early Warning Early Response (EWER) Coordination Meeting in Asaba, Delta State. The three-day training, held from January 16 to 18, 2024, brought together PIND and SFCG EWER team members, including EWER field assistants to improve their ability to analyze conflict data, strengthen early warning systems, and enhance collaboration with security actors and local communities.
The training is part of the European Union-funded project, A Community-Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta, implemented by PIND in collaboration with Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN). The project aims to foster inclusive security approaches to address the systemic drivers of violence and criminality in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States.
Building Capacity for Conflict Prevention and Response
PIND’s EWER system, a key tool in monitoring conflict risks, draws on a network of trained field monitors, extensive data points, and widely disseminated early warning products to track emerging threats across the region. However, given the increasing need for timely conflict analysis, the training was designed to equip EWER field assistants with critical skills in data analytics, data cleaning, coding procedures, and visualization techniques for improved conflict tracking and reporting.
Speaking at the training, Aniekan Archibong, PIND’s EU Project Lead, emphasized the importance of integrating data-driven decision-making in conflict prevention efforts. “Understanding and effectively analyzing early warning data is critical to mitigating violence and criminality in the Niger Delta. This training ensures that our field teams are better prepared to track conflict trends, engage with security actors, and provide timely, actionable insights to improve community security,” he stated.
The sessions covered practical applications of data analysis tools such as Excel, Power BI, and SQL to automate routine tasks and create dashboards. By strengthening the technical proficiency of the EWER team, PIND aims to improve the accuracy of conflict data reporting, enhance monthly bulletins and conflict trackers, and ensure more effective planning for future interventions.
Enhancing Collaboration for a Safer Niger Delta
Beyond capacity building, the training also served as a coordination meeting for the PIND EU Project team to align strategies for 2025, refine methodologies for upcoming activities, and enhance coordination between communities, security actors, and government stakeholders. Participants developed implementation strategies for upcoming early warning activities, ensuring that efforts remain data-driven, community-centered, and impactful.
The key outcomes of the training included:
- Strengthened understanding of data analytics and its application in early warning and response.
- Improved ability to clean, code, and analyze conflict-related data for accurate reporting.
- Greater collaboration between EWER field assistants, and the PIND EU team, for conflict mitigation efforts.
- Development of clear implementation strategies for planned activities in 2025.
As an organization committed to peacebuilding and sustainable development, PIND remains at the forefront of utilizing data-driven approaches to improve conflict prevention in the Niger Delta. This training underscores the foundation’s commitment to enhancing security collaboration, promoting data-driven decision-making, and fostering lasting peace across communities.
