Humanitarian – C4D Network

How to Establish and Manage a Systematic Community Feedback Mechanism (IFRC, 2018)

August 24, 2018 By C4D Network

This step-by-step guide aims at supporting Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers to establish and manage a systematic community feedback mechanism using the Ground Truth Solutions’ Constituent VoiceTM methodology. It focuses on migration programmes but can be adapted and used in other contexts.

The guidance provided here complements the Red Cross Red Crescent Guide to Community Engagement and Accountability and the Monitoring and Evaluation Guide and describes how to use community feedback to improve Red Cross and Red Crescent work.

The guide provides an overview of the approach together with guidance and tools for designing and implementing feedback cycles that bring continuous and real-time data flows into day-to-day decision-making. This contributes to better and more accountable programming and helps establish structures where people’s opinions are listened to and acted on, especially when making decisions that directly affect them.

Click here for guide.

Who Can I Turn To? Mapping social connections, trust and problem-solving among conflict-affected populations (Tearfund Report, 2017)

August 12, 2018 By C4D Network

‘Social connections are widely recognised as crucial to resilience and well-being in all populations. Families, friendships, community and business relationships are essential for support and protection both within and between communities. Yet these connections are often catastrophically disrupted when people flee from conflict. In addition to material destruction, families and communities are broken and scattered and identities challenged. Without the usual network of social relations people become insecure in multiple ways.’

This report aims to support the work of Tearfund and other agencies by providing improved baseline knowledge through the identification of social connections and levels of trust among displaced and settled communities in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It reports on research carried out by Tearfund and Queen Margaret University, supported by the University of Duhok and the American University of Kurdistan, in the Duhok Governorate, in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The research aimed to test a methodology which has been developed in other locations to enable the identification of social connections and levels of trust in settings of conflict and displacement (Strang and Quinn, 2014). The methodology was carried out by local researchers trained by the Queen Margaret University team. Participatory activities used three different scenarios: immediate basic needs such as cash for food, clothing or other essential items; resolving disputes; and gender based violence.

Click here for full report.

Mainstreaming of Accountability to Communities: An Operational Case Study (IFRC, 2018)

June 26, 2018 By C4D Network

This case study highlights the successes and challenges experienced by Kenya Red Cross and provides practical lessons for other National Societies and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) about factors that may enable a successful mainstreaming process.

The study shows that the integration of Accountability to Communities (AtC) has had a tremendous impact on the way the Kenya Red Cross works with the communities it serves, including:

Increased trust – AtC created an increased sense of mutual trust and engagement between KRCS staff and volunteers. Trust has strengthened lines of communication, making it possible for community members to engage in an honest dialogue about project implementation and outcomes.
Enhanced project sustainability and user-driven projects – The shift towards a consultative approach encouraged more community members to become involved in and lead their own development initiatives. This has enhanced project sustainability and community resiliency.
Improved access, security, and early warning systems – Increased and transparent communication and enhanced trust between KRCS and communities have allowed staff to operate more safely and appropriately in the context in which they are working.

Click here for full case study.

What role can drama play in conflict? A radio drama for Syria, qualitative research findings (BBC Media Action Brief, 2018)

June 25, 2018 By C4D Network

Since 2011, Syrians have been living through a war and the challenges that prolonged conflict entails. Those who have fled overseas – often as refugees – and those who have remained in the country have lost family members and their homes, lack access to education and health facilities, and are living with the daily threat of violence. In such a context, ethnic and religious divides have intensified and armed groups have been increasingly recruiting young people in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Against this backdrop, between 2015 and 2017, BBC Media Action produced and broadcast 150 episodes of the thrice-weekly radio drama Hay el Matar (Airport District ). Funded by the European Commission as part of a broader project aiming to help build an open and inclusive society in conflict-ridden Syria, the classic soap opera aired on BBC Arabic radio and online and was accompanied by a weekly discussion programme. Set in a fictional Damascus suburb, Hay el Matar followed the daily lives of residents and featured love affairs, family feuds and tragedies. Each episode was scripted by a team of Syrian writers and touched on a different issue relevant to life in Syria (e.g. the ongoing civil war, migration, violence and radicalisation, economic insecurity and child or forced marriage).

Click here for full brief.