THAC – The Human Aspect
Empower people. Strengthen systems. Build trust.
Police are trained, vocational centres built, states reformed. Who rebuilds trust?
War, violence and constant pressure leave damage that no plan measures – in people and in institutions. As long as we do not see it, good plans fail where people have been hurt.
THAC helps leaders, teams and organisations make difficult decisions, improve how they work and resolve conflicts – particularly where pressure is high, trust is strained and decisions have consequences.
A school needs buildings, teachers and funding. Whether children can learn there also depends on safety, fear, relationships and trust. The same holds for hospitals, elections and administrations – and for companies and teams under pressure. THAC works on both sides: the plan and the people who have to carry it. We bring more than thirty years of experience in international cooperation, peacebuilding and institutional leadership.
Recognise – act – review
- Recognise: the RSF Stress Test reviews existing strategies systematically – do they empower people, strengthen systems and build trust enough for healthy prosperity to grow, and do they connect from agenda to project? Free as a self-test, or as a reviewed report.
- Act: advice, workshops, coaching and mediation turn the findings into leadership, participation, clear responsibilities and support.
- Review: indicators show whether cooperation, trust and the functioning of an institution actually improve.
Three fields of work
Leadership & Strategy
When priorities compete or a strategy needs to change, THAC helps leaders and teams agree on a direction, make choices and turn them into a workable plan.
Governance & Resilience
When responsibilities are unclear or an organisation is under strain, THAC helps clarify who decides, who is accountable and how staff and the people they serve are protected – including in police and armed forces.
Mediation & Dialogue
When disagreement blocks cooperation, THAC prepares and facilitates dialogue. We help those involved understand the dispute, work through differences and reach agreements they can carry forward.
One approach connects them
Empower people, strengthen systems, build trust – these are the three dimensions of THAC’s work, and they belong together. Peter Urs Aeberhard developed the Relational Systems Framework (RSF) to look at them as one – and across all levels, from international agendas and national strategies to programmes, projects and the people who carry them. It works like a compass: where cooperation breaks down, whose concerns are overlooked, what helps rebuild trust – so that prosperity can rest on trust and last under pressure.
The RSF Stress Test is also available on its own: a systematic review of an existing strategy or programme against these three dimensions, with written recommendations. It examines what the document provides for – not its impact, and not what happens in practice.
Offers and prices → · The RSF and the Stress Test →
Experience in practice
- Leaders trained for conflict settings – strategy, mediation and leadership under pressure, taught at the Institute for Peace and Dialogue in Basel.
- One Swiss strategy for the Horn of Africa – foreign policy, development, humanitarian aid and migration brought together in one approach.
- 80 organisations in one dialogue on migration – diaspora, development and human rights organisations, research and administration on one platform.
Africa Initiative
Healthy Prosperity for Africa is THAC’s proposal to connect recovery from violence with livelihoods and accountable institutions. We are looking for African partners to challenge the idea and develop locally led tests within existing programmes. The proposal and two document reviews are open for discussion.
Start with a conversation: peter.aeberhard@thac.ch · Get in touch