This briefing paper aims at providing practical guidance to practitioners working to monitor programmes aimed at supporting protective factors to prevent violent extremism to help ensure that the monitoring process and tools developed are aligned with emerging good practice and principles of do no harm, apply a conflict-sensitive and gender-sensitive lens, and incorporate lessons learned from different contexts.

This paper builds on UNDP and International Alert’s Improving the impact of preventing violent extremism programming toolkit for design, monitoring and evaluation of PVE programming, focusing on capturing learning on issues of measurement in relation to protective factors against violent extremism (VE). It reflects a desire by practitioners and policy-makers, national and international alike, to identify, monitor and assess what protects individuals, communities and societies against VE. As more organisations look at what protects against VE, the paper also responds to the need for good practice and lessons learned in terms of what protects communities and how to identify and how to identify and measure these factors.