The Peacebuilding and Development Institute provides knowledge,
practical experience and skills for scholars and practitioners involved in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance and development. Peacebuilding and Development Website

PDI has several components which integrate policy, practice, and theory to create new approaches to conflict-sensitive and transformative peace practice. These components are the Summer Institute, our specialized Training & Symposia, the Children and Youth Division, the Peacebuilding Forums, and our International Programs.
 
The Peacebuilding and Development Institute strives to:
• Bring practitioners from various conflict areas to the institute to learn practical skills and share their experiences.
• Have participants from different sides of the same conflict so that all involved with the institute can come to understand their different
perspectives, and so that they may take steps toward building a relationship that can help create a middle ground in their communities and countries conducive to peace.
• Coordinate forums with peacebuilding and development workers in Washington, D.C. to further enlarge the institute community and allow additional opportunities for networking.
 
The focus on training practitioners specifically from conflict areas is a valuable component of the institute. In many developing countries there are no opportunities for professional development for staff and managers of development organizations. In addition, many non-governmental organizations involved in civil society activities do not have the chance to examine and share the accomplishments and challenges they face with others in distinct, yet often parallel, situations. Very few organizations have taken the initiative to bring such practitioners together in order to exchange lessons learned from their experiences in their respective countries.