Socio-psychological consulting

Social psychology offers a wealth of knowledge about how groups relate to one another that is especially relevant for organizations seeking to improve the fabric of intergroup relations: government ministries and agencies, nonprofit associations, civil society organizations and local authorities. This knowledge includes a broad understanding of pertinent barriers and opportunities as well as knowledge on interventions and processes that studies have proven effective for improving intergroup relations. aChord consulting and accompaniment processes help organizations deal with the tensions between the various groups, both within the organizations themselves and among their target audiences.

A guide for local leadership in mixed cities - tools to mediate the escalation of relations between Jews and Arabs in mixed cities - October 2023

Following the outbreak of the Iron Swords War in October 2023, we developed a unique guide, based on research and scientific knowledge in the psychology of intergroup relations during conflict and tension, that aims at helping the local leadership to deal with a situation of growing tension between Jewish and Arab residents and stopping the possibility of deterioration into violence.

These processes include:

1. An outline of the psychosocial situation in terms of the perceptions, feelings and attitudes of the groups and the relationships between them, through quantitative and qualitative research and diagnosis;

2. Development and design of interventions and organizational infrastructure as solutions to the challenges emerging from the diagnosis;

3. Accompanying the implementation of the interventions and developing an organizational concept supportive of the change processes;

4. Measuring the effectiveness of the processes plus evaluation research.

Our accompanying and consulting processes are done in cooperation with the organization’s management: from identifying and pinpointing the needs of the organization and the social issue the organization seeks to influence, to the implementation of the changes in practice – consonant with the organization's mission, goals and values:

Working model and principles

Many organizations often encounter challenges involving the encounter between members of different social groups, both within the organization's teams and within its target audiences.

Social psychology of inter-group relations can identify practices that have been found effective in promoting egalitarian, tolerant and respectful relations between members of different social groups. aChord helps organizations build evidence-based strategies and practices to influence attitudes, to increase motivation for closer contact, to reduce stereotypes and to increase the willingness to participate in actions that promote equality and facilitate good, respectful relations.

aChord is expert in the development of science-based intervention programs, in consulting in this field and in accompanying organizations during implementation. The center provides its services to organizations that wish to foster improved relations between the various groups that comprise them. As part of the consulting process, we offer support in building a professional infrastructure that provides knowledge and tools to improve the effectiveness and impact of programs that promote equal, tolerant and respectful relationships between all groups in society.

The work model

Development of an intervention and tools: development of an intervention adapted to the needs of the organization based on the information collected in the diagnosis and measurement stages and relying on knowledge from psychosocial research.

Initial diagnosis and measurement: development and application of a measurement tool to collect the data that will provide a basis for subsequent comparison in order to evaluate the results of the intervention and the results of the program.

Identifying the needs unique to the organization: identifying the challenges and opportunities to improve relations between the social groups in the program or organization, including defining psychosocial goals and objectives for intervention.

Measurement and evaluation: measuring the impact of the interventions and accompanying the client in analyzing the findings to arrive at conclusions and recommendations.

Implementation: accompanying the implementation of the intervention and providing tools and mechanisms to develop the organization's capacity to lead and maintain the processes involved, including at the end of the consultation process (for example, via training for the organization's professional teams).

Examples of projects:

Desert Stars (Kochvei Hamidbar)

The Desert Stars organization is working to develop a new generation of young Bedouin leadership that will change the reality of the Bedouin community and of the Negev as a whole. The organization connects young men and women from various Bedouin towns and villages and helps them form a solidary, vanguard leadership group that takes social responsibility, unifies the region’s residents and leads the Negev toward a better future while strengthening Israeli society as a whole.

The aChord Center, with funding from the Gandyr Foundation, accompanies Desert Stars in developing an organizational approach that motivates social activism in current and past participants.

Advertising campaign to increase awareness of inequality in the government budget – Givat Haviva

aChord accompanied Givat Haviva in formulating a public campaign designed to increase awareness of inequalities between Jews and Arabs in the national government budget. As a preliminary step, aChord led a study to identify opinions and perceptions regarding inequality and regarding the extent to which government budget allocations meet the needs of Jewish and Arab populations. The findings served as the basis for formulating messages used in the ad campaign and in planning a series of video shorts for the target audiences. An evaluation study examined the impact of exposure to the messages on opinions and perceptions of the target population. The findings showed that the ad campaign was successful and that people exposed to the messages showed higher levels of awareness and more willingness to act to reduce inequality, as compared with people not exposed to the messages. Click here for more information at the Givat Haviva website about the ad campaign and to see the video shorts that were produced.

הגברת המודעות לאי־השוויון בתקציב הממשלתי – גבעת חביבה

Seeds of Partnership (Zeraim shel Shutfut)

Seeds of Partnership is a leadership program for young Jews and Arabs, the outcome of a partnership between two social programs for young people, Hehalutz Lehagshama and Omdim Beyahad, funded by the Gandyr Foundation.

aChord is accompanying the Seeds of Partnership staff in developing along with developing training for the program’s group leaders. The project is designed to develop young leadership with individual and collective competence for pursing social goals, and in particular for promoting equality in Israeli society. The aChord intervention program includes means for strengthening unique and shared identities, fostering a sense of group confidence and reinforcing participants’ faith in the potential for change in individuals, in groups and in intergroup relations. program of leadership encounters between young Jews and Arabs

A multicultural Yeruham

aChord is accompanying the Yeruham Local Council in a strategic process led by the city’s mayor, Tal Ohana. The project aims to improve relations between social groups in order to promote greater social mobility in Yeruham. Participants in this unique process include government ministries, various departments of the city council, Yeruham residents and third sector organizations operating in the city – such as Joint-Ashalim, the Rashi Foundation, and Maoz. The process is multi-faceted, and aChord focuses on the relations between different social groups in Yeruham as a means to promoting greater social mobility. This involves developing an innovative, ground-breaking model for a comprehensive diagnostic process that identifies the types of relations in the city and the psychological barriers between social groups. This is done from several perspectives: of the residents overall, of teenagers, and of municipal officials.