"Colombia’s history of violence and armed conflict has eroded people’s trust in each other and trust, which ranks low among the components that Colombians consider important for reconciliation, is difficult to restore during the course of a project. Still, the Program of Alliances for Reconcilia ... tion (PAR) has achieved changes in perception that represent an important component in changing mindset that could eventually extend through the communities where participants live and work. Though implementers recognized positive effects on perceptions of reconciliation among participants, these further effects in communities may only be visible among non-participant indirect beneficiaries. Similarly, though PAR participants overwhelmingly reported positive effects of PAR participation on their behavior and some drivers of reconciliation, examples were limited to their personal thoughts and actions and not those of their communities. Without a baseline for comparison, the degree of shifts in attitudes and behaviors cannot be determined, but indications of changes in attitude paired with reporting of ongoing participation and continued use of skills indicate participants remain changed, at least in the short term, by their participation in PAR activities. DecidoSer workshops and the Ambassadors for Reconciliation initiatives are successful tools that provide the opportunity to identify lessons learned and good practices in the management of community changes beyond individual changes. DecidoSer is valuable not just for participants, but implementers (who are themselves members of communities whose contributions to reconciliation are worthwhile and necessary) as well, and the changes in trust and dialogue that contributed to improved business practices are a positive (and perhaps unexpected) result. Respondents generally saw the conceptual benefits of both DecidoSer and Ambassadors for Reconciliation for sustainability of reconciliation, though without specific evidence for believing this, or enough time to demonstrate it. Contrary to the notion that multi-sectoral relationships within a community might contribute to sustainability, the evaluation team did not find evidence of a correlation between PAR’s activities in a community and long-term engagement with other community actors." (Conclusions, page 28) more