ARDCR is a U.S.-registered non-profit organization committed to facilitating the exchange of technical information and capacity-building techniques in order to assess and improve relief and development interventions in conflict regions. In establishing a dialogue of policy review, new trends can be examined comprehensively through comparative analyses of what they have achieved in multiple settings. It does this through two programs, The Agency for Relief and Development and the Conflict Resolution Initiative.

Incorporating anthropological methods with technological assistance, ARD seeks to bring together research institutes, relief and development organizations, and individuals at work in the field in a cooperative effort to analyze and devise more effective strategies for programs in conflict regions. Through comparative studies of projects and their success, ARD attempts to outline the principles of ethical and effective interventions with realistic objectives that neither disrupt local compensatory mechanisms nor foster dependence on outside assistance.

With the realization that few lessons are truly transferable between sites and cultures, ARD focuses on the specificity of the setting, and a tailored solution. In the process the aim is to derive precepts leading to integrated efforts that introduce moderate measures compatible with a society's capacity to absorb and sustain innovation. Various on-going evaluation procedures monitor the impact and interaction of project implementation and provide indicators for improvement.