TOOL T-25 | Monitoring Tool | Module 7: Conflict Assessment & Mapping

Escalation Tracker

WHEN TO USE When a signal or grievance shows signs of escalating beyond routine GRM response.

How to Use It

1. When a signal or grievance shows early signs of escalation, create an Escalation Tracker entry.

2. Log key events in sequence: what happened, when, who was involved, and what was done in response.

3. Assess the current stage: Signal (informal, pre-grievance), Grievance (formal concern submitted), Dispute (organized expression of opposition), or Breakdown (community organizing, media involvement, or legal action).

4. At each assessment, identify: the most likely next escalation step if nothing changes, and the intervention that could interrupt that path.

5. Update after every significant development.

6. Close when the underlying issue is resolved, not just when the surface expression subsides.

Purpose

To monitor the trajectory of a concern or conflict over time, distinguishing early signal, active grievance, dispute, and breakdown stages, and identifying decision points where intervention can prevent further escalation. Escalation follows a traceable path that, if monitored, creates intervention opportunities.

Field Rationale

In all field sites, conflicts that reached crisis point had escalation histories that, in retrospect, were clearly visible. Early signals, then informal concerns, then formal grievances, then organized opposition, each stage had indicators that were present but not acted on.