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with the Darfur rebel movement could point in a similar direction). The first deployment wasvery difficult and the TOR could not be fulfilled at all. The deployment did, however, set thestage for a long-term and seemingly very effective support to the peace process in Cyprus.The Solomon Islands engagement is also an interesting case of a unique employment of asecurity expert in an election process. Whilst this process opened doors for the UNDPA, itproved that there was ample space for providing process support upon the basis of an entrypoint which was based upon technical expertise. In order to capture those moments,however, the SBT expert needs to have a proper process understanding and sufficient skills.The cases also show that the personality factor is highly important. The requests and thespecific demands of the conflict systems and the mediation architecture are so diverse thatthe SBT personality needs to be as diverse as possible. In some cases, the most effectiveadvice is provided by a solid and modest advisor who works behind the scene with the fieldmissions and within given TORs. In other cases, a strong personality with a broad skills-set isneeded which is able to capture the opportunities of the moment. An effective SBT, therefore,needs not only a diversity of regional and thematic background and gender-balance but alsoa set of diverse characters and egos. Substantial process and mediation skills are a must forevery SBT member.In addition and closely linked to the personality factor, is the question of access to the parties.If mediation support is understood as support to the parties as well as to the mediator, theeffectiveness of mediation support is also linked to access to the parties.Lastly, the management of the interface between the SBT as an outsider to the peaceprocess/field mission and those people who work inside the process is crucial for an effectiveuse of the SBT. The cases mentioned where those interfaces have not worked well made itextremely difficult to provide for meaningful and effective support services. According tosome interviewees, the interface management between the SBT and the UNDPA hasimproved considerably between the two teams. This is partly due to a more systematiseddeployment methodology offered by the MSU and also to an enhanced understanding thatlogistics matter as well as much clearer expectations to SBT from the field missions. Theend-of-mission reports also reflect that there were considerably less logistical problems withthe second team as occurred with the first team. In addition, interface management mightalso depend upon the personalities of the SBT. Those personalities might also need aframework where their strengths are maximised and potential risks are minimised. A smartteam combination between the SBT technical experts and senior mediation specialists withfacilitation skills within the field missions could be very effective in this regard.Success as Defined by Our IntervieweesOur interviewees, especially SBT members, had their own set of criteria to assess whether ornot their services were perceived as useful. Amongst those criteria were the following:Access to and quality of interaction with the lead mediator.Access to and quality of interaction with the parties.Ideas and suggestions as outlined in draft reports were taken seriously.Additional request for deployment.Request for remote advice.Because we did not have the opportunity to interview field missions directly, we can onlypartially address whether or not specific members of the SBT will again be requested to thesame missions. The deployment statistics show, however, that a number of SBT membershave again been requested for specific missions to which they have been deployed (forexample, Comoros, Cyprus, Madagascar, Nepal, Somalia/Kenya).20