Practitioners Research and Scholarship Institute (PRASI)

PRASI began in 2001 as a means to stimulate writings that address significant gaps in the growing literature of conflict resolution. Two categories in need of development were work involving people of color, and research derived from the lived experience of practitioners.

Bringing those two concerns together, we designed programs to support those doing the work without platforms to formalize and disseminate their knowledge to treat practice as research and to write.

The work of PRASI takes three forms:

WRITING IN COMMUNITY: Through occasional retreats and on-going peer support groups in various communities, we both encourage new writers and also teach skills for writing. We emphasize the value of dialog while writing, helping to connect writers with each other and with mentors.

PRODUCING ANTHOLOGIES: The first in what we see as a series of volumes collecting papers that speak to the missing knowledge in the field is Re-Centering Culture and Knowledge in Conflict Resolution Practice, published in 2008 by Syracuse University Press. Edited by a vibrant team of colleagues, the anthology presents unique views of how conflict works and needs to be addressed in varied cultures and communities, written by people of those communities.

PUBLICATION: PRASI is committed to helping writers get their work out into the larger community. Through electronic media as well as print, we continuously seek and create avenues for publication.

For more information, visit prasi.org