TEARFUND
QUALITY
STANDARDS
FIELD GUIDE
for
Project Design,
Implementation and
Evaluation
Practical guidelines for
Tearfund staff and partners
Second Edition
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
1
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
3
5
Section One: Tearfund Quality Standards
8
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
1: Values
2: Impartiality and Targeting
3: Accountability
4: Disaster Risk
5: Technical Quality
6: Children
7: Gender
8: HIV
9: Conflict
10: Environment
11: Sustainability
12: Advocacy
9
16
24
36
48
57
69
81
92
104
114
124
Self Assessment Checklists:
Quality Standards in the Identification Phase
Quality Standards in the Design Phase
Quality Standards in the Implementation Phase
138
141
145
Section Two: The International Codes and Commitments which
support the Quality Standards
148
1. The Red Cross Code of Conduct
149
2. The Core Humanitarian Standard
152
3. The SPHERE Project
153
4. The Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse by UN and non UN Personnel
157
5. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
159
6. The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, 1979
160
7. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
162
8. The Keeping Children Safe Coalition standards, 2004
164
9. The HIV Code of Practice
166
10. The OCHA Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
168
11. The People in Aid Code
169
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Preface
Note on this edition:
This Second edition of the Quality Standards Field Guide is an interim update to reflect the
integration of both humanitarian and development teams into a single structure within
Tearfund. These Quality Standards apply across all of Tearfund’s work, and the Field Guide
has been updated to reflect this.
This guide originated from recognition within the aid community that there is a “quality and
accountability deficit” in emergency projects. There was widespread criticism of the relief
response to the Rwanda genocide in 1994, and later to emergencies in Bosnia, Kosovo and
elsewhere, which highlighted the need for standards of good practice in programme quality and
accountability. As a result, International NGOs launched several joint initiatives to address different
aspects of this deficit. Among them were the Sphere Project, the Active Learning Network for
Accountability and Performance (ALNAP), the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and People in
Aid (PIA).
It has also become increasingly clear that field staff working in emergency situations have now
become overwhelmed by the range of good practice commitments and standards that they are
expected to consider or to comply with, alongside all the other policies and procedures of their
organisation. As a result there is often a disconnect between the high level commitments that an
NGO signs up to in its Head Office and the practical realities of the projects that are carried out on
the ground. This may be because the good practice commitments and standards are not fully
understood in the field or the expectations are unrealistic.
This situation led Tearfund in 2008 to agree a number of Quality Standards for Emergency
Response, to support the practical application of good practices. In order to increase the
sustainability of its work and to support communities in leading their own development, in 2012,
Tearfund integrated its humanitarian and development teams. In so doing, Tearfund is extending its
Quality Standards to apply to both humanitarian and development contexts.
The Quality Standards bring together all the relevant external and internal accountability and
quality standards, codes, guidelines and principles committed to by Tearfund in the way relief and
development projects are to be undertaken at the community level. This field guide has been
developed to provide practical guidance in order to put these commitments into practice. Our aim
has been to provide clear guidelines that are practical and achievable for busy field staff and which
can be easily integrated into the project cycle.
I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the development of this guide and to those
who shared project examples. Special thanks go to Amy McDonald for providing the illustrations.
We hope that this resource will make a tangible difference in tackling the “quality and
accountability deficit”.
David Bainbridge
Tearfund International Countries Director
[updated Preface July 2015]
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Preface
"Field staff have become overwhelmed by the range of good practices and standards"
"The Quality Standards bring together all the relevant external and internal
accountability and quality standards, codes, guidelines and principles committed to
by Tearfund"
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Introduction
How to apply the Quality Standards
The Quality Standards are not intended to be used as a “passed/failed” checklist
and we recognise that meeting these standards isn’t usually a simple “yes/no”
answer, but more a case of seeking continually improving levels of compliance.
Their purpose is to increase the quality, effectiveness and impact of the
projects that Tearfund supports, by providing a framework to guide such
responses in the following ways:
 serving as a tool for capacity development of partners and of staff;
 to inform the work of project designers in analysis of their context and
prioritising good practice commitments;
 for periodic self-appraisal;
 and as an essential part of project monitoring & evaluation.
They are cross cutting, meaning that they apply to all types of project, regardless
of sector or stage in the life of the project.
The Quality Standards are intended to guide all Tearfund Operational Programmes
and Tearfund’s partners as they undertake emergency response, disaster recovery
and on-going development work. In supporting these partners, Tearfund’s aim is
not to impose rules but to facilitate partners who share our commitment to good
practice, and to improve the quality of work in the community. With this in mind,
most of the Quality Standards are prioritised according to context. However, the
first three Quality Standards: Values, Impartiality and Targeting and
Accountability are non-negotiable and apply wherever Tearfund works. This is
explored further, below.
Consistent with Tearfund’s vision and commitment to mobilising local churches,
guidance has also been developed on working with and through local churches in
emergency situations. Tearfund recognises the responsibility that local churches
have to meet needs in their community during times of crisis, and that they have
many strengths and niche areas, which can complement and strengthen the work
of NGOs. Effective partnership of NGOs with local churches brings together their
respective strengths and capacities. A link to this guidance is here: Disasters and
the local church.
The Standards need to be reviewed and prioritised in relation to each project
context e.g. Disaster Risk will be a critical concern in a reconstruction
programme following an earthquake, whereas Environment will be a major
consideration in a situation of desertification or increased drought brought about
by climate change.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Introduction
Whilst there is always a need to prioritise, the following are non-negotiable
commitments in all situations:
 Values: ensuring staff understand and live out the values and are clear on
what is unacceptable conduct.
 Impartiality: assistance must always be provided on the basis of need
alone. Clear criteria are required to identify those who are in greatest
need or most vulnerable.
 Accountability: ensuring the full participation of project participants,
sharing information, and receiving and responding to their feedback.
 Minimum requirements to ensure safety of project participants. This
particularly relates to the Quality Standards on Children (ensuring we
carry out our child protection commitments), Gender (ensuring projects
enhance safety for women), HIV (ensuring projects do not make people
more vulnerable to HIV) and Conflict (ensuring the project design does not
heighten people’s vulnerability to violence and conflict). An analysis is
required and actions identified to ensure safety of project participants and
that projects “Do No Harm”. It may at certain times be necessary to
overlook certain commitments in order to ensure safety of project
participants. For example, it may sometimes be necessary to avoid
disclosing information that identifies project participants and their
entitlements, in order to uphold their safety. Any such decisions should be
clearly documented.
How to use this Field Guide
This field guide is intended to provide simple, practical guidance for field staff in
order to equip them to put Quality Standards into practice in their projects. It is
divided into two sections:
Section One
In this section each Quality Standard is presented with:
 A summary of the Quality Standard, explaining the key issues, biblical
foundations, good practice commitments and close links with other Quality
Standards
 A summary of the most useful reading materials in support of the Quality
Standard
 A series of practical steps for staff to follow in order to put the Quality
Standard into practice in the stages of the project cycle
 Short examples to show how the Quality Standard has been put into practice in
different types of project.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Introduction
At the end of Section One, there are checklists provided on the specific ways in
which the Quality Standard should be considered within the first three stages of
the project cycle: Identification, Design and Implementation (for the purposes of
this guide, monitoring and evaluation activities, which are sometimes included in
the Evaluation phase, have been included under Implementation).
Identification
Evaluation
Design
Implementation
Section Two
The second section of the guide provides a summary of the main international
codes and standards that are used by NGOs. These were used to guide the
selection of Tearfund’s Quality Standards, which were originally relief focussed.
More recently, Tearfund’s Standards have been broadened to include not only
relief but also other types of longer-term project.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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SECTION ONE:
TEARFUND QUALITY
STANDARDS
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
Values
Impartiality and Targeting
Accountability
Disaster Risk
Technical Quality
Children
Gender
HIV
Conflict
Environment
Sustainability
Advocacy
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
Our Commitment:
We are committed to outworking
our core values through our staff, in
relationships with project
participants and all those with
whom we interact.
A set of organisational values, translated into
Indonesian for use in NGO staff induction in Aceh,
Indonesia
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
The issues
When an NGO is working with a community,
in development or relief, it is usually
providing inputs or services. This gives the
NGO a degree of power over the community,
as it has the ability to increase or decrease
those inputs. In an emergency, this
difference in power is most pronounced, with
the recipients often in desperate need and
the NGO the provider of life-giving aid. With
this imbalance, there is a danger that power
will be misused; NGO staff may be tempted
to exploit and abuse the people, instead of
adopting an attitude of service. In the
aftermath of an emergency, beneficiaries
may be vulnerable to misuse of power by
those in a position to support them.
It has been recognised that relationships are
at the core of humanitarian and development
programmes. A recent survey amongst NGOs, concluded that the quality of an
NGO’s programme is largely determined by the quality of relationships with
beneficiaries. For these two reasons – prevention of abuse and building positive
relationships - Values is Tearfund’s first Quality Standard. It lays the foundation
for everything else.
Biblical foundations
Tearfund’s partners share the same basic Christian beliefs and values as
Tearfund, although the specific values emphasised by each organisation will be
different. Some have chosen to adopt the 4 core values of the Micah Network:
Christ-Centred, Equity, Humility and Unity.
Tearfund’s operational projects emphasise the five Tearfund core values, to be
followed by project staff:
 Christ-Centred (for believers): reflecting the centrality of God in our lives,
with a commitment to prayer and living out our faith as part of our work,
seeking God’s guidance in all that we do.
 Compassionate: showing compassion in the work we do, being respectful,
calm and patient with others, taking the time to listen, showing courtesy and
understanding, and showing respect for all, without distinction or favouritism.
 Truthful: aspiring to truthfulness in our relationships, acknowledging the need
for transparency in our communications with beneficiaries and communities,
displaying honesty in all our dealings with others.
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Standard 1: Values
 Servant-hearted: striving to be servant-hearted, working with humility,
seeking to serve and encourage others and to model good leadership.
 Courageous: demonstrating courage in the face of injustice or oppression,
being action orientated in our approach, helping where others do not and
speaking out for the voiceless.
Tearfund partners sometimes also specify the following related values:
 Humility: being servant hearted, acting with humility towards those they
assist in their projects, not using their influence, prestige or power in a
negative way, but serving beneficiaries with utmost dignity and respect: to
serve and not be served.
 Sensitivity: being sensitive to local cultural and religious standards of
behaviour, whilst respectfully questioning those standards which contradict
other values.
 Love: striving for a quality of relationships with communities and beneficiaries
which expresses God’s love and affirms the God-given dignity of all.
 Grace and Forgiveness: showing grace, forgiveness and patience in our
service to one another, seeking to work well together.
Where there are local churches present in a project area, leaders will be able to
identify with and understand these values, given their own biblical basis. When
working with these churches, it is good to start with these shared values, as a
basis for the relationship. Churches can also help to support staff and hold them
to account for their conduct, if their behaviour does not demonstrate the values.
Where Tearfund works in minority Christian countries, many of the staff may not
be Christian, or may not be able to declare their Christian faith. In these
circumstances, an alternative Code of Practice will be signed, omitting the
declaration of faith. However, staff members and partners are still expected to
adhere to the principles of these core values.
Good Practice commitments
Values represent the first Quality Standard, as they are central to the conduct
expected of staff. It is through HQ and field staff that all of the Quality Standards
are to be delivered and this can only be done effectively if staff conduct
themselves and display attitudes which are consistent with the organisation’s
values. In times of emergency, large numbers of staff need to be recruited in a
short timeframe, making good staff induction all the more important.
Throughout the Standards, there is a commitment to build restored relationships.
Values should be reflected through the quality of relationships, through personal
conduct, attitudes and integrity, and through a commitment to prayer and the
centrality of God in our work. How closely do our day-to-day routines and
behaviour reflect these values? If we are too busy to stop and spend time with
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
people, or drive through a village without care and consideration for pedestrians,
then this will impact negatively upon relationships. In contrast, living in a remote
project area, rather than making occasional visits, will enable good relationship
to be built up. All of these daily decisions, attitudes and behaviour demonstrate
our values to others, for better or worse.
Certain types of behaviour are clearly incompatible with these values. These
include:
 All forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse towards children or
adults. Tearfund is a signatory to the UN Statement of Commitment for the
Elimination of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (see Page 157) and is a member
of the Keeping Children Safe Coalition (see Page 166).
 All forms of corruption, fraud and theft.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our Values commitment underpins all the other Standards, but in particular there
are close links with:
 Impartiality and targeting, showing compassion for all, with courage to
target the most needy;
 Accountability, as we need to make information on our values, standards
and projects openly and honestly available;
 Children, in our commitment to child development and protection;
 Gender, as the fundamental worth and equality of men and women is core
to our values and in our commitment to combat gender-based violence;
 HIV, in our commitment to combat stigma with truth and to serve those
affected and often stigmatised by the disease;
 Advocacy, with our commitment to pursue justice with courage.
Where to look for more information:
 Micah Network Partnership Values:
http://www.micahnetwork.org/values
 UN Conduct & Discipline Unit: Values, codes and policies
http://cdu.unlb.org/
 Tearfund’s statement of faith:
http://www.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/Main%20Site/About%20us/Statem
ent%20of%20faith.pdf
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
Practical Steps for carrying out our Values commitment
Identification and Design
Step 1: Ensure all staff
understand and live out the
values of the organisation
Implementation
Step 2: Ensure all staff know
what your organisation
identifies as unacceptable
conduct
Step 3: Have procedures in
place to investigate allegations
of unacceptable conduct
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
Step 1: Ensure all staff
understand and live out the
values of the organisation
Staff need to understand the values of their
Organisation and to know what living out the values
means in practical ways – in their interactions with each other, with
communities, with project participants, with the authorities etc. This needs to
be in place from the assessment stage and throughout the life of the project.
Options to help familiarise staff include:
 Producing a simple leaflet or poster outlining the values
 Outlining the values during staff recruitment
 Explaining the values and discussing their application during staff
briefing and induction
 Reviewing the values during staff meetings, devotions and retreats
Step 2: Ensure all staff know
what your organisation
identifies as unacceptable
conduct
In the same way that staff need to understand the values they also need to be
totally clear on what types of conduct are unacceptable. Again this can be
done in a range of ways:
 Producing a simple leaflet or poster outlining unacceptable conduct
 Ensuring candidates are clear on standards of conduct during recruitment
 Including clear explanations of unacceptable conduct in staff employment
contracts and staff handbooks
 Producing a ‘Code of Conduct’ for the organisation
 Reinforcing the understanding of unacceptable conduct during staff briefing
and induction
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 1: Values
Step 3: Have procedures in
place to investigate allegations
of unacceptable conduct
Linked to Standard 3: Accountability is the need for feedback mechanisms so
that project participants and members of the wider community can give
feedback, both positive and negative, to the organisation. This includes giving
feedback on the conduct of staff. When reports are received of possible
unacceptable conduct through this mechanism or through any other means,
procedures must be in place for senior staff to be notified immediately and for
investigations to be carried out by appropriately trained staff.
Project Examples
In Darfur an induction session was arranged for local staff, explaining the
organisation’s values in detail, ensuring that staff had a clear understanding
not only of what the values mean in practical terms but what they don’t
mean. This helped to ensure transparency of the organisation and to avoid
any misunderstanding. The feedback received from staff was very positive.
A partner working in a Hindu area of Sri Lanka produced a leaflet explaining
who they were and their values in the organisation. There were a number of
motivations behind this: to ensure that beneficiaries knew something about
the organisation, to address any potential misunderstandings about their
motivation, and to ensure that people could make complaints or suggestions
by including the contact details of field and head office staff on the leaflet.
In Sri Lanka another partner ran a special workshop to introduce all staff to
the values of the organization and relevant humanitarian standards. This was
then followed up by regular quizzes at quarterly meetings.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Our Commitment:
We are committed to impartiality.
The assistance provided is intended
for the most vulnerable. Project
participants are selected on the
basis of need alone, regardless of
their race, religion or nationality.
Demisse, a severely malnourished 3 year old child in
southern Ethiopia, included in a food aid programme based
on selection criteria which target households with
malnourished children
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
The issues
Impartiality is a non-negotiable standard in all of Tearfund’s work. Impartiality
means providing assistance to project participants on the basis of need alone.
The opposite to impartiality is partiality, which means showing favouritism or
preference to one group over another. Partiality can be shown in these ways:
 Political beliefs: selecting beneficiaries based on their political beliefs or with
a view to persuading them to change political beliefs, rather than based on
need alone.
 Religion: seeking to favour people based on their religious beliefs or with the
intention of encouraging them to change religious beliefs on the condition of
receiving assistance, rather than based on need alone.
 Ethnicity: favouring one ethnic group or tribe over another simply because
they belong to this group, rather than based on need.
 Gender: favouring men over women or women over men simply because of
their gender, rather than their need.
 Age: favouring certain age groups simply because of their age and not because
of their need.
 Ability: favouring or neglecting people who are less-abled (physically or
mentally), purely on the basis of ability, not on basis of need.
Biblical foundations
The commitment to impartiality is a foundational Christian principle and the
Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) provides a compelling example
where assistance was provided to a person in need regardless of religion and
ethnicity. In the parable, the two characters came from ethnic groups who were
enemies. Jesus deliberately chose the Samaritan, hated by the Jews, to
demonstrate that love and compassion should be shown to anyone in need,
regardless of nationality, race, creed, social status or political affiliation - not
just to those the same as us.
Good Practice commitments
Alongside the commitment to select beneficiaries on the basis of need alone,
comes a commitment to targeting those in greatest need. Projects must be
careful to avoid generalisations, assuming that all community members have been
affected in the same way.
Impartiality and targeting are expressed differently, depending upon the
circumstances and the type of project. In longer-term development programming,
clear selection criteria should be developed, in partnership with the community,
to ensure that the neediest in that community benefit from the project activity.
Those criteria should be openly made known to everyone. This is linked to
Standard 3: Accountability.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
After a disaster, it is often the case that all people do have the same need – for
shelter, food or clean water. However, it will soon become clear that some
individuals in the community have been affected more than others; some are able
to recover quickly, using resources of their own, while others are much more
vulnerable. For example, some will have assets to sell, or an undamaged brick
house, whilst others have no assets and a house in ruins. Good targeting seeks out
the most vulnerable for inclusion in the participant list. The best way of achieving
this is by involving the community in selecting who, amongst themselves, is the
most vulnerable.
Sometimes, Impartiality & Targeting have to be applied in specific ways:
a. Specialised target groups
Some organisations have a mandate to support a certain group, such as children
or the elderly; they are mandated to work only with this specific group. Principles
of impartiality and targeting can still be applied, but for selecting beneficiaries
within that particular group.
b. Specialised sector of activity
Some projects have clear selection criteria built in to their design, e.g. admission
for therapeutic feeding is based on standard weight for height measurements,
and only those within those criteria are admitted. In the majority of cases,
selection criteria need to be discussed and agreed with the host community, so
that there is a common understanding about which selection criteria are being
used.
c. Specialised livelihood group
A livelihoods project, by its very nature, may focus upon 1 specific livelihood –
e.g. cattle keepers or farmers. The inputs/activities would be inappropriate for
other livelihoods. However, as with (a), principles can still be applied in making
selections from within this group.
d. Sustainability concerns
Success in an agricultural project usually depends upon acceptance and continued
use of new crops or cultivation practices. When introducing change, it may not be
appropriate to target the poorest of the poor, but rather to target farming
families that are motivated to try these new practices. Such an approach needs
to be clearly articulated and beneficiary selection criteria agreed with the
community so that expectations are clear to everyone.
Impartiality is also central to international humanitarian codes and standards (see
Red Cross Code of Conduct page 149) and is an expectation of all institutional
donors. The expectation upon churches would be for them to share resources
amongst the neediest people, including both believers and non-believers.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our Impartiality and Targeting commitment has close links with:
 Values, e.g. the Micah Network value of Equity (all of equal value to God);
 Accountability, as information on our commitment to impartiality should
be publicly available;
 Gender, as our commitment is to the most vulnerable – whether men,
women, girls or boys;
 HIV, as our commitment is to the most vulnerable – including vulnerability
to HIV and people living with HIV;
 Conflict, in ensuring our impartiality is clearly understood in conflict
situations.
Where to look for more information:
 Sphere handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in
Humanitarian Response (includes Targeting):
http://www.ifrc.org/PageFiles/95530/The-Sphere-Project-Handbook20111.pdf
 Red Cross Code of Conduct: http://www.ifrc.org/en/publications-andreports/code-of-conduct/
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Practical Steps for carrying out our Impartiality commitment
Identification
Step 1: Carry out a thorough
analysis to understand the
different ways in which people
are poor, needy and vulnerable
to shocks in the community
Step 2: Agree with the
community the criteria to be
used for identifying those who
are most vulnerable and the
assistance to be provided
Design
Step 3: Ensure that the
selection criteria and
assistance to be provided are
clearly understood and
communicated by the project
staff and community
Implementation
Step 4: Monitor the project to
ensure that the selection
criteria continue to be
appropriate and inputs are
reaching the most vulnerable
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20
Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Step 1: Carry out a thorough
analysis to understand the
different ways in which people
are poor, needy and vulnerable
to shocks in the community
Remember that individuals in a community have varying degrees of poverty and
have different vulnerabilities to shocks & hazards. We must be careful not to
exclude certain groups, particularly those who are less visible (for example in
some communities, the elderly, disabled or women may spend most of their
time in the homes and will not be a visible presence during assessments).
Step 2: Agree with the
community the criteria to be
used for identifying those who
are most vulnerable and the
assistance to be provided
Deciding the selection criteria for people to receive the
benefits of a project is one of the most important decisions in the whole
project cycle, and the criteria should never be agreed by the NGO alone but
agreed with the community. Such groups might include the elderly, femaleheaded households, the disabled, malnourished children, and women.
An important task for the local church is to be an advocate on behalf of the
poor and marginalised. Local churches with this vision are often well placed to
know who are the most vulnerable in their communities, and can help to ensure
these individuals or groups are not overlooked.
While there may be pressure to spread the available assistance as widely as
possible in order to reach as many people as possible, it is critical that the
assistance has a positive impact for the recipients – if it is spread too thinly, the
help becomes meaningless or token. Careful discussion is therefore needed to
agree the selection criteria, to keep the focus on the most vulnerable and
ensure that the assistance provided is proportional to the level of need.
When distributing food in a relief project, avoid using an average household size
to calculate the amount of food per household. Good targeting criteria would
calculate the food ration on the basis of number of people per household.
Bigger families would therefore receive more, smaller families receive less.
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21
Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Step 3: Ensure that the
selection criteria and
assistance to be provided are
clearly understood and
communicated by the project
staff and community
Misunderstandings and conflict can arise within a community when selection
criteria are not clearly understood. Remember that many will be unable to
read, so allow for this in your communication plan.
Step 4: Monitor the project to
ensure that the selection
criteria continue to be
appropriate and are reaching
the most vulnerable
As well as checking to ensure that the
project is indeed reaching the most
vulnerable, check too that the
targeting approach isn’t creating other
tensions or new vulnerabilities.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
22
Standard 2: Impartiality and Targeting
Project Examples
In the Darfur conflict, where many nomadic groups felt ignored by the aid
community, projects aimed to demonstrate impartiality by targeting farming
communities and nomadic communities alike.
In order to target the most vulnerable in the Indonesia Tsunami response, as
part of the process to select beneficiary households to receive a new home,
names and photos of proposed families were placed on a notice board and
the community asked to contact the staff if any families were not from the
community or already had a house, or if other eligible families were missing.
On the east coast of Sri Lanka a Community Based Organisation (CBO)
requested that they be allowed to select who would participate in a
livelihood programme. Partner staff were willing to do this, but firstly they
worked with the CBO on drawing up criteria for selecting the
participants. In this way the CBO came to agree the criteria for selection
and were able to follow them, enabling the poorer families of the village to
be chosen when previously they said that “those with strong voices would
have prevailed”.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
23
Standard 3: Accountability
Our Commitment:
We are committed to transparency,
participation, feedback and
learning with our project
participants
A community notice board in Northern Kenya, one
method of providing information to a community on
the organisation, the project, the selection criteria
and the inputs to be provided.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 3: Accountability
The issues
In the past, accountability has often described as the way NGOs report back to
their donors on how their funds have been used. In recent years there has been
growing momentum to recognise the ways that NGOs need to be accountable to
the people they serve in their working areas – the project participants.
This approach to accountability was developed originally in connection with
emergency responses, although the principles are now applied more widely to
recovery and development projects also. NGOs have often been criticised for not
allowing sufficient participation of their target communities. For example, a
cross-agency evaluation of the Asian Tsunami response called for a
“fundamental reorientation from supplying aid to supporting and facilitating
communities’ own relief and recovery priorities.” In order for this to be
achieved, the evaluation report suggests that affected populations need to set
priorities themselves, and draw up plans for recovery programmes. The affected
population should “own” the relief response and aid agencies should hold
themselves accountable to the affected people. This approach is commonly
called “beneficiary accountability”.
In the absence of good beneficiary accountability, problems may arise:
 The project may suffer from poor design – for example, activities may be
inappropriate, badly timed, low priority or they may fail to reach the
neediest people.
 There may be poorer acceptance by the community of the project team and
a weaker security environment.
 Beneficiaries may have less of a sense of dignity or value.
 Communities may be more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Biblical foundations
This quality standard recognises that our project participants are the main
stakeholders in our work and our primary focus should be on them. In the Bible,
Jesus teaches that the second greatest commandment is to “love your
neighbour” (Mark 12:29). This means showing compassion for anyone in need,
and treating people with equal respect. In our projects, loving your neighbour as
yourself means asking, “If I was a beneficiary in this project, how would I like to
be treated?”
“If I was a beneficiary in this project how would I
like to be treated?”
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Standard 3: Accountability
Good Practice commitments
Beneficiary accountability is a measure of the quality of the relationship
between the NGO or Church and the beneficiary. In practical terms, it
involves the following:
 Ensuring transparency and providing detailed information to project
participants and communities concerning the organisation, its programme
plans and project details so that people are fully informed.
 It means encouraging community participation as much as possible, for
example in assessments, in project design, in agreeing selection criteria
for beneficiaries, for monitoring and evaluating project progress. This
includes obtaining agreement from the community at the start (known as
informed consent), confirming that they are happy for the project to go
ahead.
 Establishing a clear channel for project participants and community
members to use to give feedback and complaints concerning the project.
Managers should have a mechanism to receive & record this feedback,
and to provide a response to those who gave it. Community members
should feel that they have a voice which is listened to and action is taken.
They should also be able to complain without fear about highly sensitive
issues such as corruption or sexual exploitation by staff or volunteers.
 It means that staff members are fully briefed and understand the
organisation’s values, the principles of good accountability, the processes
in place and the importance of our relationships with project participants.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our Accountability commitment has close links with:
 Values, as we need to make information on our values and standards of
conduct publicly available;
 Impartiality, as we need to make information on our commitment to
impartiality publicly available;
 Children, as we need to make information on our commitments to
children publicly available - our feedback mechanisms should include ways
of receiving complaints and responding to any child protection issues;
 Gender, as participation means the full participation of both men and
women in needs assessment, project design, etc. – our feedback
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Standard 3: Accountability
mechanisms from communities need to include feedback on any
exploitation or abuse issues;
 Conflict, in recognising and reducing the potential risks of making
information publicly available in conflict situations.
Where to look for more information:
 Tearfund Good Practice Guide on Beneficiary Accountability
http://tilz.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/TILZ/Topics/DMT/GPG%20on%20B
eneficiary%20Accountability%202nd%20Edition.pdf
 The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability 2014
www.corehumanitarianstandard.org/files/files/Core%20Humanitarian%20S
tandard%20-%20English.pdf has principles and commitments on
accountability.
 Mango – Financial accountability: www.whocounts.org.uk see paper “Who
Counts / Financial Reporting to Beneficiaries: Examples of Good Practice.”
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Standard 3: Accountability
Practical Steps for carrying out an Accountability commitment
Identification, Design and Implementation
Step 1: Obtain the agreement
of beneficiaries at the start
and ensure their ongoing
participation throughout the
project.
Step 2: Set aside the
resources needed – funds and
staff - to support beneficiary
accountability
Step 3: Make information on
your organisation and your
project publicly available
Step 4: Ensure thorough
induction, appraisal and
development of staff
Step 5: Establish a system to
hear and respond to
feedback
Step 6: Monitor the
accountability system and act
on the feedback received
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 1: Obtain the agreement
of beneficiaries at the start
and ensure their ongoing
participation throughout the
project.
True participation should be there at all stages of the project cycle, from the
assessment stage, through design and implementation, and on to evaluation
and completion. Participation can always be further improved. The “ladder of
participation” is a helpful way of understanding the different levels of
participation. At the most basic level, the NGO simply provides information. As
you move up the “ladder”, the community has increasing “influence” over
decisions until the “control” stage, where the community are running the
project, and the NGO can withdraw.
Information  Consultation  Influence  Partnership  Control
It is often better to work with representatives of the community, rather than
the whole population. Both men and women should be consulted and the
representatives should be a cross section of individuals, trusted by the wider
community, and including vulnerable groups (such as elderly or disabled) who
may traditionally be overlooked. The community should select their own
representatives. Responsibilities must be clearly defined and explained, and
the representatives should communicate decisions with the wider beneficiary
group. Regular public meetings should be carried out at key decision-making
points, and clear records should be kept. It is important to record all the
discussions and decisions, and to be able to show what changes have occurred
in the project as a result of beneficiary feedback.
In the past we have sometimes assumed that the community is happy with the
proposed project without intentionally seeking a “decision point”. There
should be a moment of “Informed consent”, a clear decision by the community
to go ahead, when all participants are fully aware of the detailed plans and the
contributions they are expected to make. This may be verbal or may be
documented in a Memorandum of Understanding, which should be made public.
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 2: Set aside the
resources needed – funds and
staff - to support beneficiary
accountability
All project proposals should include staff positions and dedicated budget lines
for Beneficiary Accountability.
Tearfund experience has shown that having a dedicated person on the project
team (such as a Beneficiary Accountability Officer or Community Liaison
Officer) makes a huge difference to being able to carry out this commitment.
The right type of person must be recruited, who can quickly develop good
relationships with the community. He or she should not be engaged in the
day-to-day running of the project, and should be able to communicate
directly with a senior manager.
However, it is equally important that accountability is seen as everyone’s
responsibility; every team member is involved. The specific roles and
responsibilities of each staff member or volunteer must be agreed and
understood.
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 3: Make information on
your organisation and your
project publicly available
You need to agree, in consultation
with beneficiary representatives, the
amount of information to be given to
beneficiaries. The organisation’s head
office should provide a summary of
information which can be safely released to the wider public. It should
always be easily accessible, in the language and format most appropriate
for the target audience. It should be kept current and updated regularly
and should include staff roles and responsibilities and contact details. In
some situations, it may be appropriate to include staff names and photos,
but in other places, it could expose staff to risk; do not include names or
photos if this might create danger for staff.
The methods for sharing information should reflect the community’s own
preferences and levels of literacy and understanding. Methods may include
community meetings, information boards, leaflets, pictures, local radio or
wall painting. Always take account of the communication needs of different
groups (e.g. children, persons with disabilities), to ensure that they have
access to the information. Financial information should be provided in local
language and currency and in a style that is easy for users to understand.
An important part of transparency is to provide public information on
beneficiary selection criteria. These criteria should be agreed first with the
community. The names of proposed beneficiaries can also be displayed,
when this is appropriate to the project and context. Also, the entitlements
(inputs or services) should be clearly listed, along with the time-frame of
the project.
There are some situations where it may be necessary to withhold
information in order to meet other commitments such as safety and
security of beneficiaries. If such risks exist, then it is inappropriate for you
to share person-specific information. It is okay to withhold information, as
long as you can justify your decision and have documented your reasons.
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 4: Ensure thorough
induction, appraisal and
development of staff
We have learnt that successfully carrying out
the commitment to Accountability depends on good quality induction of staff. If
the staff understand and support accountability, then the impact on the project
will be greater.
There may be traditional barriers or organisational cultures to overcome in
becoming more transparent, promoting greater community participation, letting
go of some control, and being open to receive critical comments from
beneficiaries. Such organisational or cultural constraints do need to be tackled
and changed. Induction of all staff should be comprehensive and should include
the organisation’s values and standards.
Induction should explain the
individual’s responsibility to uphold those values and adhere to set standards.
Ensure that all staff members understand the project so that they can explain it
clearly to others.
Local staff have the very important task of sharing information in a community.
Drivers and guards interact constantly with beneficiaries and the wider
community – are they clear on the project plans and organisational values in the
same way that project delivery staff are familiar?
Carry out regular performance management appraisals with all staff. When
reviewing performance it is important to consider both technical abilities in
performing the work and the attitude with which it is carried out.
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 5: Establish a system to
hear and respond to
feedback
The opportunity for beneficiaries to provide feedback is an essential part of
being accountable. It is not easy to establish a formalised system for giving
feedback in relief and development work. The NGO is seen as having much
more power than a community member, and there may be complex power
dynamics within the community. What we aim to achieve are simple
procedures and mechanisms that give beneficiaries access to a safe means of
voicing complaints on relevant areas within the organisation’s control.
Every project should agree with the community which feedback procedures
are their preferred choices. Different groups in a community may prefer to
give feedback in different ways so it is important to allow for different
methods of communication. There are many ways of welcoming feedback:
directly to a Beneficiary Accountability Officer, by phone or mail, referring
to a beneficiary complaints committee, a suggestions box, etc. There needs
to be a contact person identified, so that the community knows to whom
they should direct their feedback. The system should be as simple as
possible, especially if literacy levels are low, and should be clearly
explained. This information should include the type of issues which are open
for comment, as these are within the organisation’s control. It should also
emphasise that the system is free to use and safe – there need be no fear of
retaliation if complaints are made.
The feedback should be recorded in a log-book, so that managers can track
what feedback is coming in, which groups are giving feedback, what
responses were given, and most importantly what changes to the project
were made based on the feedback received. A response should be given to
the person giving feedback, according to an agreed method and time-frame.
You will need to agree specific procedures to respond to sensitive feedback
such as sexual abuse and exploitation; involve senior management
immediately and commence appropriate investigation procedures.
When recruiting Beneficiary Accountability Officers it is important to have
both male and female officers, to help facilitate feedback, especially in
situations where it is difficult or inappropriate for women to share their
comments with men.
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Standard 3: Accountability
Step 6: Monitor the
accountability system and act
on the feedback received
Once the accountability steps are in place,
you need to monitor the system and make
changes and improvements where needed.
 Is the method for ensuring ongoing
participation by the community effective? Are the community
representatives truly representative of all beneficiary groups?
 Is the public information being understood? Do all community groups
have access to the information?
 Is refresher training and induction needed for staff, especially if
there has been a turnover with new staff recruited
 What feedback is being received, positive and negative? Is it being
recorded? And most importantly, what changes to the project are
being made based on the feedback, and what response is given to
community?
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Standard 3: Accountability
Project Examples
In Zimbabwe, a partner running a food aid project for families with orphans
shared information on selection criteria, ration sizes and entitlements and
set up ways for children to give feedback. This led to better targeting and
ownership of the project by the families themselves.
In Kashmir, Pakistan, feedback from beneficiaries included the fact that
influential community leaders were misleading the NGO. As a result, changes
were made in the way project committees were set up.
In a North Kenya livestock-restocking project, “Beneficiary Reference
Groups” were set up, with community members elected onto the groups by
the community. Their responsibility was to oversee the selection of
beneficiaries and deal with any problems or complaints that arose. This
enabled the whole process to be owned by the community.
With the construction of a school in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, sharing budget
information with the community and school authorities strengthened local
relationships and led to the identification of a fraud taking place with
inflated costs of construction materials.
In Darfur, Sudan, a programme team printed a short leaflet that explained in
English and Arabic details about the organisation, its programme in Darfur,
its commitments and staff contact information. An insert of project-specific
information was also added for use in each project location.
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Our Commitment:
We are committed to reducing the
risk of disaster by strengthening
local capacity and reducing
vulnerability to common hazards as
well as meeting short-term needs.
A teaching aid supporting earthquake preparedness
in schools, Indonesia
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
The issues
NGO activities are broadly divided into short-term “humanitarian relief” following
a disaster event, and longer-term “development” to improve quality of life.
Relief workers have a duty to reduce vulnerability to future hazards, as well as
reducing suffering and aiding recovery after the recent event (this principle is
embedded in the Red Cross Code of Conduct). Similarly, development workers, in
situations where disaster risk is high, should seek to reduce those risks and ensure
that the benefits coming from development will not be taken away by a disaster.
UNDP addressed this in the publication “Reducing Disaster Risk: a Challenge to
Development” (2004). This approach, in relief or development, is termed Disaster
Risk Reduction.
One of the strongest examples of the impact of a DRR approach has been seen in
Bangladesh, a nation long troubled by floods and cyclones. Early warning systems
have greatly reduced the death toll from cyclones – allowing people to evacuate
to safe shelters before the cyclone makes landfall. The impact of this better
preparedness is evidenced by the contrast between the 300,000 deaths that
occurred during Cyclone Bhola in 1970, and the 3,000 deaths that occurred during
Cyclone Sidr in 2008.
The model below demonstrates how hazards and vulnerabilities can come
together to create disasters:
Vulnerability
D
I
S
A
S
T
E
R
Hazard
Hazards are extreme events, natural or man-made, which will result in disaster if
people are vulnerable to their impact. In some countries, this is called the
“crunch model”, resulting in a ‘crisis’ or a ‘catastrophe’ e.g. a food crisis in the
Sahel region. Examples of natural hazards include Drought, Flooding and
Earthquake. Man-made hazards are often conflict-related, or the product of
unsafe industrial practices. Vulnerabilities are conditions which reduce people’s
ability to withstand or respond to particular hazards. Examples might include
poor quality of housing, fragile livelihoods or low-lying water points.
In contrast capacities are strengths or resources belonging to individuals,
households and communities, which increase their ability to withstand or respond
to those hazards. Some donors, the UN and NGOs prefer to use the language of
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
‘strengthening resilience,’ which is a positive and alternative way of describing a
DRR approach.
Vulnerabilities and Capacities are often considered within five categories:
Human, Social, Constructed, Natural and Economic. Examples of vulnerabilities
and capacities under these categories include the following:
Category
Human
Vulnerabilities
 a lack of skills or knowledge
 widespread health problems
(e.g. HIV prevalence)
 fatalistic attitudes
 discrimination on basis of
age, gender and ethnicity
Social
 a disorganised or fragmented
society
 poor leadership
Constructed  poorly constructed buildings
 weak structural design
 location of houses on an
unstable slope or in a floodprone area
 bad quality roads and bridges
Natural
 lack of natural resources
 restricted access to natural
resources
 mis-use of environment
causing degradation
Economic




a lack of money
single or fragile livelihoods
no credit & savings facilities
few saleable assets
Capacities
 a high level of skills and
knowledge
 a strong, able bodied
population
 strong motivation & hope
 resilience, empowerment
and support
 Shared knowledge of best
practice procedures for
emergencies
 strong social support
structures
 a sharing culture
 good leadership
 well constructed buildings
 good structural design
 well located buildings
 good roads and bridges
 Well-constructed safe
shelters
 abundant water supply
 good forest cover and
wood availability
 available wild foods
 sustainable environmental
practices
 good alternative livelihood
options
 credit & savings facilities
 saleable assets
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Biblical foundations
The Old Testament includes two examples of disaster preparedness. In the
Genesis flood (Gen 6-8), Noah saves his family and a wide selection of land
animals and birds by constructing a large boat. In the story of Joseph, Joseph
interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. He is made Prime Minister and
entrusted with a nation-wide famine preparedness programme (Gen 41 and 47:1326). His actions saved a nation from starvation.
Good Practice commitments
Our commitment is to design our projects in ways that build community
capacities and reduce underlying vulnerabilities as much as possible, thus
equipping them to face future hazards. If local capacities are neglected or even
undermined by a poorly designed project, then this can create a dependency
mind-set. This basic approach can be applied to both emergency response and to
development contexts, especially where the emergency and development divide
is blurred by on-going chronic vulnerability.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our Disaster Risk commitment has close links with:
 Technical Quality, as we need to address underlying vulnerabilities in our
technical design (e.g. by constructing earthquake resilient buildings);
 Child Development and Protection as children are particularly vulnerable
due to their young age, smaller size and less ability to speak for
themselves;
 Gender, as we need to consider the different underlying vulnerabilities
faced by women and men and their different capacities;
 HIV, in recognising that HIV presence in a family is likely to increase
disaster vulnerability;
 Environment, recognising the close connections between disaster risk,
climate change and environmental degradation;
 Sustainability, as benefits will not be sustained if wiped out by a disaster;
 Advocacy, as the root causes of vulnerability are often issues of policy,
oppressive practices and cultural traditions.
Where to look for further information:
 Good Practice Guide on Disaster Risk Reduction:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/TILZ/Topics/DMT/GPG%20%20Project%20Cycle%20Management.pdf
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
 ROOTS 9 on Reducing Risk of Disaster in our Communities:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/roots/reducing_risk_of
_disaster_in_our_communities/
 ROOTS 13 on Environmental Sustainability:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/roots/environmental_s
ustainability/
 PILLARS guide on Preparing for Disaster:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/pillars/preparing_for_d
isaster/
 Sendai Framework 2015:
http://www.preventionweb.net/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf
 Famine Early Warning System: www.fews.net
 FAO GIEWS crop prospects and food situation:
http://www.fao.org/giews/english/cpfs/index.htm
 FAO National basis food prices – data and analysis tool by country:
http://www.fao.org/giews/pricetool/
 WFP Food Security Assessment reports by country:
http://www.wfp.org/food-security/reports
 UN Coordinating Body: www.unisdr.org
 Info portal: www.preventionweb.net
 Global network of civil society org in DRR: http://www.gndr.org/
Quality Standards Field Guide – Second Edition, July 2015
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Practical Steps for carrying out our Disaster Risk commitment
Identification
Step 1: Understand the
context of the project,
including people’s
capacities and
vulnerabilities
Design and Implementation
Step 2: Identify and build up
existing community
capacities
Step 3: Identify and address
long term vulnerabilities
Step 4: Support
preparedness for future
disasters (if applicable)
Step 5: Identify underlying
causes of vulnerability and
address them through
targeted advocacy
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Step 1: Understand the
context of the project,
including people’s
capacities and
vulnerabilities
Assessment
It is important that we understand the context fully in order to ensure our
projects are designed appropriately:
 Carry out an analysis of the Hazards, Vulnerabilities & Capacities. If it is a
location where natural hazards, such as flooding, drought or earthquake are
common, then a comprehensive assessment should be carried out using the
PADR methodology (Participatory Assessment of Disaster Risk). If there are
man-made hazards, then a simple analysis of vulnerabilities and capacities
can be used to assist project design.
 Does this area experience sudden, unpredicted hazards, or is there a
predictable cycle? What are the expected future trends and will an
emergency response be needed in the future?
 What is the potential impact of climate change and how should this be
taken into account in the design of the project?
 If the project is an emergency response, what steps can be taken to avoid
undermining longer-term development work or creating dependency upon
external resources?
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Step 2: Identify and build
up existing community
capacities.
Most communities have traditional methods for coping with extreme, weatherrelated events or conflicts. When these events occur, these methods may be
stretched, but not wiped out. A wise NGO will seek to strengthen these
methods (or coping capacities) and make them more effective. Some examples
of strengthening local capacity:
 Use community members to carry out work projects whenever possible,
teaching new skills, rather than contracting labourers from outside.
 Strengthen local leadership structures, problem solving mechanisms and
support structures for more vulnerable members of the community. (At the
same time, be alert to issues of gender and exploitation; these may need to
be challenged if they are increasing vulnerability of the poor or
marginalised).
 Use local suppliers of goods to boost the local market economy.
 Identify and revive traditional coping strategies, e.g. drought-resistant crops
for drought areas; emergency food sources for people and animals.
 Identify and strengthen local mechanisms for solving disputes.
 The local church, where present, has good knowledge of the community,
including its complex social and political networks, and the existence of
neglected minorities. Through its relationships inside and outside the
church, it is often able to bring people together and facilitate joint action.
If a disaster does occur, the local church has assets and resources which will
be useful in the relief effort – for example, its compound, its building and
its people to serve as volunteers. It may be possible before a flood season to
prepare the church as emergency shelter, or to train up the volunteer team.
 As congregations and sub-groups meet regularly, messages can be
communicated to a significant number of people, for example, health and
hygiene, agricultural practices or disaster preparedness. In situations of
conflict, the local Church can be well placed to support reconciliation and
build peace.
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Step 3: Identify and address
long term vulnerabilities
Both relief and development projects can be designed to reduce long-term
vulnerabilities, particularly if the PADR tool (from Roots 9) has been used to
identify localised vulnerabilities.
Some examples:
 If Food for Work (FFW) and Cash for Work (CFW) is being used to provide
immediate food or employment, then consider work projects which will
address an underlying drought or flood problem – such as digging an
irrigation ditch, constructing a water-retaining cross dam, building a flood
embankment, terracing of slopes, etc.
 Rebuilding houses in a different (safer) place or according to a stronger,
more hazard-resistant design.
 Carrying out health promotion activities, which will not only help families to
stay healthier in the short term, but will also make them less vulnerable in
times of future disaster.
 Seeking new or alternative livelihoods to diversify sources of income such as
market gardening, or adjusting farming or herding methods, in order to be
less affected by a future hazard or changes in climate.
 Incorporating peace-building elements into the project so that the risks of
future communal violence or escalating conflict are decreased.
 Wherever projects are constructing buildings, such as schools or clinics,
consider the risk of cyclones, floods and earthquake and ensure that the
design of the building is resistant to that particular hazard, e.g. earthquake
resistant or cyclone resistant.
 Livestock may be more vulnerable to drought because of poor health; simple
interventions, such as de-worming treatment, will help them survive better.
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Step 4: Support
preparedness for future
disasters (if applicable)
Where there is a significant
risk of a disaster in the future
e.g. an area subject to annual
flooding, cyclical drought, or
located in an earthquake
zone, then try to work with
communities to help them be
better prepared for any future
hazards or shocks. This could
include:
 Carrying out a review of what happened in a recent disaster event and what
essential needs/services were missing. This can lead to developing a
contingency plan which will enable the community to cope better next time.
Contingency plans can be drawn up at both the community and family level.
 Consider forming a Community Disaster Committee, or use an already existing
committee, to develop and implement the plan.
 For rapid onset hazards like flooding, preparedness can include establishing an
early warning system, evacuation plans, evacuation routes, evacuation
shelters, stockpiles of food, stockpiles of rescue equipment, and training of
able bodied disaster volunteers in evacuation, First Aid and other skills.
 For slow onset hazards like drought, preparedness can include establishing an
early warning system, destocking arrangements for livestock, use of grain
banks, and planning to build up available water reserves.
 Providing education and support in disaster preparedness.
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Step 5: Identify underlying
causes of vulnerability and
address them through
targeted advocacy.
The root causes of vulnerability and risk are
often associated with failures in the
development process, or with government
inability to provide the rights and
entitlements of its people. Advocacy is often
necessary to engage with authorities,
businesses and decision-makers at different
levels on disaster risk reduction issues.
 At higher levels, NGO networks may be able to remind the government of their
commitments to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-30 (A
UN agreement, which seeks to integrate activities of all country stakeholders
in reducing Disaster Risk) and runs from 2015-2030, as a successor to the
previous Hyogo Framework for Action).
 Locally, an NGO may be able to influence the operation of a government
Disaster Management Committee, stimulating it to engage in pre-disaster
activity, not just post-disaster response.
 Landowners, commercial farms or business interests may also be contributing
to vulnerability and may respond to appropriate lobbying. (For example, issues
around over-extraction of ground water.)
 The underlying causes of people’s vulnerability are often connected to
cultural values and beliefs. A fatalistic mind-set can significantly hinder both
disaster preparedness and disaster response work in communities. Where there
are local churches, they are well-placed to address these issues given their
positive vision of the future. Churches have experience of wrestling with
values, behaviour and differing world-views, and of seeing transformation in
these areas.
 See Standard 12: Advocacy for more information.
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Standard 4: Disaster Risk
Project Examples:
In Ethiopia, a partner organised cash for work projects with communities
affected by food insecurity. This had the dual effect of providing vitally
needed cash for the most vulnerable families to buy food and undertaking
community projects such as terracing and tree planting to improve soil
quality, thereby reducing vulnerability.
In Niger, a partner working with a pastoralist group has set up a
comprehensive destocking programme to reduce the vulnerability in
drought. This includes monitoring market prices, supporting the timely sale
of livestock while they have a higher value, and supporting transportation to
the market when the livestock need to be sold.
In Ethiopia, a partner undertook an irrigation project using water from a
river to allow for two or more planting seasons each year. This reduced the
vulnerability of farmers in the area to annual food gaps.
In Kashmir, Pakistan, the reconstruction of homes following an earthquake
included training on earthquake resilient design, and the provision of tools
and salvage equipment in communities in order for them to be better
prepared for future earthquakes.
A partner working in NE India worked with local churches to challenge the
fatalistic mind-set of the communities whose land was flooded every year; an
attitude of dependency had arisen from repeated relief hand-outs. This was
a key component to the Disaster Risk Reduction approach.
Local churches in Puno, Peru were mobilised and along with the community
set about building miles of channels to drain away excess water and prevent
the erosion of their land.
Partners in India constructed houses with staircases up to flat roofs so that in
the case of future flooding or another tsunami people would be able to
quickly access a high, safe place. Early warning systems were installed. Small
teams were trained at community level to organise and assist vulnerable
people with evacuation.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Our Commitment:
We are committed to the technical
quality of our projects and to
ensuring that they reflect
communities’ own needs and
priorities.
Latrine block at a school in Kandahar, Afghanistan
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
The issues
Project evaluations in the past have criticised NGOs for carrying out projects
which were of poor technical quality – for example a building which was poorly
designed or which used inappropriate materials, or a feeding programme which
didn’t follow agreed nutrition standards. The project staff had good intentions
but they did not have access to the right technical support or qualified
professionals.
Such criticisms have applied in both relief and development. After the 2004
tsunami, an evaluation of the response noted the poor technical quality of some
projects. One reason for this was the lack of suitably skilled staff and another
was the extension by some NGOs into sectors in which they had no previous
experience or competence. This came alongside another criticism: that the
projects carried out did not actually reflect the priorities of the communities
themselves. The evaluators recommended that NGOs “concentrate their efforts,
and develop deeper competence in specific sectors”.
There is also growing recognition of the differences between demand-led and
supply-driven approaches when working with a community. Demand-led
approaches use processes that empower beneficiaries to address the needs that
they perceive as important. This builds on the comment above about projects
needing to reflect the priorities of the communities themselves. Supply driven
approaches, by contrast, focus on providing assistance, which may require a
little input from the community (or beneficiary) but the project is based on the
supply of materials and services, not upon the priority needs expressed by the
community. More recently we have been recognising the superiority of demandled approaches, such as Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
Projects are sometimes described as having “hardware” and “software”
components. “Hardware” means the constructions or physical inputs of a
project, such as a well, a latrine or a school building. “Software” means the
ownership, knowledge, organisation and skills that are needed if the physical
provisions are to be properly used and have lasting impact. NGOs need to have
both the technical skills to provide the “hardware” requirements of the project
and the sociological skills for engaging with communities to provide the
“software” requirements.
Biblical foundations
The book of Nehemiah provides a good example of technical quality, when the
prophet sets about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In ancient times, most
cities had a perimeter wall. The wall was an important defence that surrounded
the city. It would be strong and high and several metres thick. The wall that
Nehemiah planned to rebuild needed to be of sufficient quality if it was to be a
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
defence. He persisted with the project, despite the unjustified criticism and
mocking from his enemies (Neh.4: 1-9).
Good Practice commitments
Tearfund’s commitment is to ensure that all projects are of good technical
quality, and that they reflect communities’ felt needs and priorities. Technical
quality relates to sustainability and replicability. For example, it may be
possible to design and build a latrine that is of very high technical quality.
However, the benefits are not sustainable if the owner can’t maintain it and
other people are unable to afford to replicate this design. Standards of technical
quality should therefore be influenced by the context; good or appropriate
quality is not the same as best quality.
Every project type will have its own relevant technical standards. If it involves
construction, building codes must be met. If it involves education, then issues of
national curriculum content and standards of teacher training will be important.
Other technical areas of current focus for Tearfund include WASH (Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene), Food Security, Livelihoods, prevention of Sexual
Violence, Cash Programming, Peace Building, Resilience and specifically within
Disaster Management: Shelter, Protection, Nutrition and Psychosocial Support.
Appropriate technical support and quality are needed in each of these areas.
The Sphere handbook (see introduction on page 154) provides core standards for
all project types, plus technical guidance for work in a wide range of sectors.
These standards can be used to guide our assessments, inform project design
and assist our implementation. Assessment checklists are provided and are a
good reference to help design more technical questions. The Sphere standards
and indicators can also be used in the project log frame.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment to Technical Quality has close links with:
 Disaster Risk, as technical quality needs to be sufficiently robust to
address underlying vulnerabilities (e.g. earthquake resilient buildings);
 Children and Gender, as technical design must be appropriate for the
needs of boys and girls, women and men, and all should have the
opportunity to influence the quality of the inputs;
 Accountability, in that there should be community participation in
decision making & opportunity to complain if quality is poor;
 Environment, in that the technical design should not impact heavily upon
the environment;
 Sustainability, as projects need to be locally sustainable and responsive to
demand as well as being of good technical quality.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Where to look for further information:
 The Sphere Handbook (see introduction on page 154)
 Nutrition: Valid International Community Care:
http://www.validinternational.org/about-us/
 Food Security (Livestock): Livestock Emergency Guidelines (LEGS)
 Cash Programming: CALP http://www.cashlearning.org
 WASH: Community Led Total Sanitation:
http://www.communityledtotalsanitation.org/page/about-site
 REDR UK Emergency Preparedness resources:
http://www.redr.org.uk/en/resources/index.cfm/emergencypreparedness
 WHO Technical Notes for Emergencies:
http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/knowledge/notes_emergencies.html
 Shelter and Construction: Lessons from Aceh: Key Considerations in PostDisaster Reconstruction (by Jo da Silva - Disasters Emergency Committee /
ARUP / Practical Action Publishing):
http://www.dec.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/lessons-from-aceh.pdf
 Education: Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies:
http://www.ineesite.org/en/
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Practical Steps for carrying out our Technical Quality commitment
Identification
Step 1: Be clear on your own
areas of specialism and
technical strengths as an
organisation, and those of
your partners
Step 2: Understand the
priorities expressed by the
community, and identify
which areas you have the
technical experience and
capacity to support
Design
Step 3: Ensure your project
staff have the technical
support needed to guide
project implementation
Implementation
Step 4: Ensure quality
control when you are
working with contractors,
and when supervising
construction
Step 5: Monitor and evaluate
the project and make
technical adjustments where
necessary
work directly.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Step 1: Be clear on your own
areas of specialism and
technical strengths as an
organisation, and those of
your partners
Is there a clear understanding amongst staff
of the specialist knowledge and experience
of
your organisation? What are the types or
sectors of project which you do and don’t
carry out?
Avoid the danger of trying to meet needs in a situation where you do not have
the necessary technical experience. Also avoid the temptation of designing
your project based on what donors want to fund, when these don’t fit with
your areas of specialism.
Step 2: Understand the
priorities expressed by the
community, and identify
which areas you have the
technical experience and
capacity to support
When you carry out assessments, ensure
that you gather detailed information that
relates to your areas of specialism e.g.
water and sanitation, or food distribution,
or shelter.
The assessment checklists in the Sphere handbook can be helpful in deciding
what technical questions to ask.
If the community shares priority needs in sectors which are outside of your
areas of specialism, then you should seek to link the community with other
agencies or Government Departments, who do have the skills to respond to
these needs.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Step 3: Ensure your project
staff have the technical
support needed to guide
project implementation
For any project that needs technical input, make sure that this input is
available to the staff responsible for the project, both for its design and
later for implementation. This could be arranged through the hiring of
suitably qualified and experienced staff (e.g. nutritionists, engineers,
nurses) or drawing on the support of technical advisors or consultants.
Such advisors can provide helpful comments, perhaps just by reading
through the project proposal. Remember that both the “hardware”
(inputs) and “software” (knowledge/skills/organisation) requirements of
the project need to be adequately supported and the level of demand
carefully considered.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Step 4: Ensure quality
control when you are
working with contractors,
and when supervising
construction work directly.
Some projects may involve sub-contracting. For example, large scale
construction projects e.g. building homes, clinics or schools. In these situations
the construction company rather than the NGO carries out the actual building
work and good quality control is needed so that you can be sure that the work
carried out by the company is of high technical quality. In these project
situations, it is important to appoint a supervisor to oversee the work, checking
for example that concrete is made to the correct ratios, foundations are
properly laid, building design is closely followed, and so on. Depending on the
situation and the reliability of the contractor, such monitoring may take place
daily.
Step 5: Monitor and evaluate
the project and make
technical adjustments where
necessary
This involves monitoring to ensure
technical
standards
are
being
maintained, capturing learning for
future projects and also checking to
confirm that the project still meets
communities’ own priorities. If this is
the case, then there will be good acceptance. Negative feedback on quality
should be carefully considered and acted upon, with a response given to those
making complaints.
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Standard 5: Technical Quality
Project Examples
A partner working in the Andaman Islands after the tsunami realised that
there was greater technical expertise available in the area of training and
supporting livelihoods by liaising with local government departments than
they would be able to provide internally. Therefore they established a
relationship and linked in their beneficiaries with government schemes. This
was also more sustainable.
A post-tsunami housing project in Indonesia using contractors resulted in
houses that were of poor quality. The decision was made to put in some
more funds for remedial work, but this time to enable the homeowners to do
the necessary improvements themselves. Cluster groups were set up in each
village, the members were trained in each of the issues in the key stages in
house improvement, then they were given a grant for one stage of work, the
quality of that work was checked by partner staff engineers, with the cluster
receiving their next grant instalment only when all their members had
completed the renovations to a satisfactory standard. By the end of the
remedial work, the community were reporting that they were satisfied with
the quality of their homes mainly because they had been enabled to do the
work for themselves.
In Uganda, a partner was implementing water and sanitation projects but
there was demand from the community for the construction of rainwater
harvesting structures at household and community level. To ensure technical
quality, the partner established contact with another partner in southern
Uganda who was very experienced in this area. The partner provided them,
and the local community, with training in the construction of rainwater
harvesting structures, with follow up support and facilitated exchange visits.
This meant the project was of higher technical quality and the partner staff
and community learnt new skills.
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Standard 6: Children
Our Commitment:
We are committed to ensuring that
programmes are child-sensitive by
incorporating child development
and child protection in their design,
planning and implementation.
Children in Kasaba village,
Democratic Republic of Congo
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Standard 6: Children
The issues
Children in emergency situations are highly vulnerable and are often a major
beneficiary group in emergency relief projects. This vulnerability results from a
wide range of factors, such as lack of food and health care which leads to
malnutrition, a lack of access to education due to displacement and physical
damage to property, with the traumatic experiences they may have witnessed,
or separation from parents and loss of a stable environment. Large-scale
population displacement can lead to a break down in family and social
structures, moral norms and a lack of traditional protection systems. Hunger,
domestic violence, lack of access to educational facilities and no prospects of a
future are push factors for boys and girls to be on the streets. Children as young
as seven are taking part in hostilities around the world as child soldiers. They
are often abducted from schools and refugee camps or from their homes,
whether voluntarily, forced or induced through money or other incentives to
take part. Children are impressionable and easily manipulated and therefore can
end up acting without questioning, as has been seen in conflict in Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Sudan, Uganda, DRC and elsewhere.
Children develop in four main areas:
1) Physical Development - refers to the child’s body and growth.
2) Cognitive Development - what the child knows, understands or remembers.
3) Emotional Development - feelings, control over emotions, learning through
social interactions and cultural background.
4) Moral Development – knowing the difference between right and wrong,
influenced by culture, belief and faith.
When children do not get the right kind of input, and they grow up in an
environment where their needs and rights are not respected or fulfilled, then
their development will be affected and can be unbalanced.
Biblical foundations
The Bible teaches us that children are made in the image of God, children are a
blessing, and that boys and girls are equally valued by God. Adults are to care
for children in a loving and caring way, based on respect (Matthew 18:1-6,
19:13-15). Discipline is to be in the form of instruction and guidance in order
that children are then able to explore their environment within safe and healthy
boundaries. Jesus severely warns adults who misguide and sin against children
(Matthew 18:6-7).
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Standard 6: Children
Good Practice commitments
Our commitment is to meet both child development needs – strategies, which
support children’s wellbeing and development; and child protection needs –
policies that ensure their protection from abuse and exploitation.
We are committed to safeguarding children from all forms of physical or
psychological violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation,
including sexual abuse. We are committed to ensuring that the child’s best
interest and well-being is at all times of paramount consideration. Tearfund is a
member of the Keeping Children Safe Coalition, setting the international
standard for child protection.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989 and summarised
on page 153, sets out the rights of children. The convention was unanimously
adopted by every country in the United Nations except Somalia and the USA
(Somalia and the new state of South Sudan are currently undergoing proceedings
to become parties to the treaty), meaning that countries have made a binding
promise to enforce these rights and ensuring the needs of children are met.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment on children has close links with:
 Values, as child abuse is incompatible with our values and standards of
conduct;
 Accountability, as we need to make information on our commitments to
children publicly available and our feedback from communities needs to
include feedback from children and feedback on any child protection
issues;
 Technical Quality, as we need to ensure that technical design is
appropriate for the needs of boys and girls;
 Gender, with our commitment to the development of both boys and girls;
 HIV, recognising the impact that HIV has on children.
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Standard 6: Children
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund’s Child Protection Policy 2009
 Tearfund’s Safeguarding policy (on the Corporate Hub):
https://sites.google.com/a/tearfund.org/imagelibrary/policies/safeguarding
 Tearfund’s Roots Guide on Child Participation (TILZ):
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/roots/child_participat
ion/
 Keeping Children Safe Coalition:
http://www.keepingchildrensafe.org.uk/about
 Keeping Children Safe Child Protection Training Pack (English, French,
Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese): www.keepingchildrensafe.org.uk
 Children and Health: www.who.int
 Child Rights: www.crin.org; www.unicef.org
 Child Participation: http://www.iicrd.org/; www.plan-international.org
 Children and WATSAN: www.schools.watsan.net
 Education: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/what-wedo/education
 Children and DRR: www.unisdr.org; www.quakeschool.org
 Child trafficking: www.childtrafficking.com
 Children and the Environment: https://www.ids.ac.uk/project/childrenin-a-changing-climate
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Standard 6: Children
Practical Steps for carrying out our Children commitment
Identification
Step 1: Ensure assessments
gather the perspectives of
boys and girls
Design
Step 2: Design projects in a
way that is child-friendly
and supports child
development
Step 3: Design specific
project activities
appropriate for boys and
girls
Implementation
Step 4: Carry out child
protection commitments
Step 5: Monitor and
evaluate the impact of your
child development approach
and child protection policy
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Standard 6: Children
Step 1: Ensure assessments
gather the perspectives of
boys and girls
Boys and girls can be easily
overlooked when gathering views
from a community and designing
a project. A determined effort
will be needed to seek out their
views and opinions.
As with the Gender quality standard, it is important to carry out separate
discussions with similar age groups of boys and girls in order that they can speak
freely about their ideas, needs, capacities and vulnerabilities. Children have
their own ideas about what they want and they often know better than adults
about how things can and should improve for them. Children should feel safe to
raise their concerns and trust that their opinions will be taken into account
when decisions are made.
Questions should be open and age-appropriate to gauge the general situation for
children include: How old are they? Who do they live with (with other children?
family? institutions?) Do they access any education? Where do they go to when
they are unwell? Is there a safe place for children to play? What type of
environment are they in? Ask children who they consider are important people in
their lives. This may include their biological family, extended family, civil
society (which could include the local church or mosque, local NGOs, teachers
etc.), INGOs and others.
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Standard 6: Children
Step 2: Design projects in a
way that is child-friendly
and supports child
development
When designing your project consider the four
main ways that children develop, as explained
previously. In what ways are project activities
in general going to support these areas?
1) Physical Development e.g. nutrition support,
hygiene and health, protection from violence
and witnessing of violence.
2) Cognitive Development e.g. education, play,
and safety
3) Emotional Development e.g. a supportive environment, families kept
together, protection from neglect and emotional abuse, support to work through
the effects of being involved in something traumatic.
4) Moral Development e.g. having positive role models to look to as well as good
parenting skills such as praising good behaviour, explaining why bad behaviour is
wrong, etc.
Look at the design of each project sector in relation to these areas in order to
maximise the positive impact and avoid any negative impact on child
development.
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Standard 6: Children
Step 3: Design specific
project activities
appropriate for boys and
girls
There are many projects in emergencies
which are intended specifically for boys and
girls. It is also widely recognised that
children have the capacity to learn quickly
and to adopt new ideas and behaviours. For
example, hygiene promotion teaching has
often been adopted more quickly by
children than their parents, and they then become a positive role model for
positive hygiene behaviour in the home.
Full and meaningful child participation is essential for such projects, with both
boys and girls involved in the decision-making. Boys and girls should be
considered as partners in programme development rather than just passive
beneficiaries.
Child-focused projects in emergencies include:
 Child focused health: health-promotion clubs that meet in school or out of
school or both.
 Child-friendly spaces: an age-appropriate safe play area, with structured
activities in a safe and normalised environment.
 DRR in schools: sensitive teaching on the hazards of disasters (e.g.
earthquakes and cyclones) faced by the community and how to reduce their
impact on children through preparedness activities e.g. evacuation routes.
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Standard 6: Children
Step 4: Carry out child
protection commitments
A child protection policy should be in place for
your organisation, explaining the practical ways
in which the commitment to child protection is to be carried out, how to reduce
risks when working with children and how allegations on misconduct should be
investigated and managed.
 Do staff and volunteers know and understand the organisation’s child
protection policy?
 Are they clear about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour? (see
also Values).
 Are staff informed of their duty of care at induction and are they continually
updated through on-going training?
 Do community members and staff know where to go to if they need to raise
concerns? (see also Values, Step 3, and Accountability, Step 5).
 Are there clear guidelines once a child protection concern is identified?
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Standard 6: Children
Assess the level of risk to children by thinking about the amount of contact that
staff and volunteers are going to have with children in the project and the
community, and the context in which the project is taking place. The following
table can be used to identify the level of risk:
Area of risk1
Low Medium
High
Staff & volunteers (how recruited? was identification
checked? were references verified? are they supervised?)
Place/physical environment (is it a safe area?)
Activities & programmes (is it suitable? age-appropriate?
what is the adult/child ratio?)
Information (child-friendly? understood by staff?)
Organisational culture (open? closed? clear reporting
guidelines?)
If the risks are medium or high, you need to look into ways in which these can
be minimised:
Risk
no2
Do
nothing
Monitor closely and
review again:
(specify time
period & who is
responsible for
monitoring and
review)
(low risk)
Change
activities/policies/
plans/procedures to
reduce risk (specify
action to be taken,
time period & who is
responsible)
(medium to high
risk)
Stop the
activity/hand it over
to another
organisation (specify
action to be taken,
time period & who is
responsible)
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
Table from ‘Keeping Children Safe’ toolkit
Table from Childhope’s Child Protection Policies and Procedures Toolkit, ‘How to Create a Child-Safe
Organisation’ www.childhope.org
2
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Standard 6: Children
Step 5: Monitor and
evaluate the impact of your
child development approach
and child protection policy
Monitor the project to assess whether
the
project
is
supporting
child
development as intended and minimising
or preventing any negative impact. Monitor the project environment, capture
the learning and continually re-evaluate and re-assess the project to ensure
child safety, asking, for example, whether children are being protected from the
risk of kidnap, rape and forced recruitment. Are vulnerable children being
adequately educated and protected from the risk of sexual abuse and
exploitation?
Monitor procedures such as recruitment and selection, performance
management, ensure programmes encourage openness and accountability and
report your concerns of inappropriate behaviour quickly to line management or
the Child Protection Officer so that they can be investigated and dealt with
properly.
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Standard 6: Children
Project Examples
A partner working with children in Zimbabwe has an annual 3-day
conference for representatives of their beneficiary group (orphans) to
provide feedback and influence programming for the following year.
A youth-focused partner working in IDP camps in Sri Lanka saw that the
youngsters crammed into the lines of houses were exposed to violence due
to the adult stress levels following the tsunami, and they also had no space
for study or for play. The partner therefore began to use the local church
building and grounds to run after school study centres, home-work space
with electric lighting, and play areas for both genders. This provided the
young people with a more normal atmosphere than the cramped lines of IDP
housing, along with people who were willing to give time to each young
person to help them through the times of transition. Partner staff were able
to identify all the youth who had lost mothers in the tsunami and thus give
them extra support.
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Standard 7: Gender
Our Commitment:
We are committed to transforming
communities through restored
relationships between men, women,
boys and girls and ensuring
equitable value, participation and
decision-making by all.
Aung Hlaing Gone Village, Myanmar:
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis are asked to share their
experiences, yet the women remain silent
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Standard 7: Gender
The issues
Gender refers to the roles and responsibilities of men and women that are
determined by the society in which we live; it reflects the expectations,
opportunities and behaviours expected by society of men, women, girls and boys.
Roles and expectations differ according to social status. They change over time
within a society and they differ from one society to another. Gender is different
therefore to sex, which is the biological difference between male and female.
Gender is not only concerned with the role and responsibilities of women alone,
although in many cultures women suffer from considerable inequality, but also
the responsibility and roles of men. Women and children form up to 85% of all
those displaced by conflict and disasters. In our emergency response
programmes we must remember that in emergency situations men and women
have different needs, interests, vulnerabilities, capacities and coping strategies.
Widespread armed and ethnic conflict also has a gender dimension - women and
girls are vulnerable to sexual violence, intimidation and abuse. Large-scale
population displacement can lead to a break down in family and social structures,
moral norms and a lack of traditional protection systems. Commercial sex work
and coercive sex (giving sex in order to receive assistance) will often increase.
To guide us in our project design it is helpful to recognise that in different
societies men and women have different needs; practical and strategic. Practical
needs are to do with what people need to carry out their current roles more
easily and strategic needs are concerned with the changing of position and status
in society – for example to be involved in community decision making and having
legal rights.
Biblical foundations
Tearfund believes that the Bible teaches that men and women are equal before
God and the relationship between them is to be one of partnership. God’s
original intentions for partnership have been distorted by power, abuse and
selfishness. Injustice and oppression have many forms in different cultures, but
gender injustice can be seen in the way women lack access to power,
opportunities, wealth and resources.
Good Practice commitments
Tearfund is committed to the vision of the restoration of God’s original intention
of relationship between men and women. Jesus treated both men and women as
individuals, worthy of his full attention. He encouraged and affirmed women
throughout his teaching, at a time when society gave women little value.
Tearfund will work towards this vision of restored relationships by ensuring that
our own policies, practices, and the programmes we support are sensitive to
issues of gender. This commitment includes supporting positive models of
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Standard 7: Gender
masculinity. In keeping with this commitment we are aware of our own need to
reflect this in our own corporate life as an organisation.
Some emergency projects are designed to meet the practical needs of both men
and women without necessarily changing their relative position in society. If a
gender commitment is absent from project design altogether, the project may
actually heighten inequity or make women even more vulnerable to abuse. Our
commitment is to design our projects in a way that addresses both practical and
strategic needs in an appropriate and sensitive way and therefore to see restored
relationships in project communities, where the equitable value of men and
women is recognised and participation and decision-making is enjoyed by all.
Where appropriate, we are committed to challenging cultural norms that increase
women’s vulnerability and can lead to abuse.
Close links with other Standards
Our commitment on gender has close links with:
 Values, as the fundamental worth and equality of men and women is core
to our values and as part of our commitment to address gender based
violence and all forms of unacceptable conduct;
 Impartiality, as our commitment is to the most vulnerable – whether men,
women, girls or boys;
 Accountability, as participation means the full participation of both men
and women and our feedback from communities needs to include feedback
on any exploitation issues;
 Disaster Risk, as we need to consider the different underlying
vulnerabilities faced by women and men and their different capacities;
 Technical Quality, as we need to ensure that technical design is
appropriate for the needs of boys and girls, women and men;
 Children, with our commitment to the development of boys and girls;
 HIV, recognising the close connection between HIV and gender; and
 Conflict, recognising the vulnerability of women and girls in conflict
situations.
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Standard 7: Gender
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund Policy on Gender in relief and development
 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
 UNDP Eight Point Agenda: Practical positive outcomes for girls and women
in crisis
 UNDP Gender approaches in Conflict and Post Conflict Environments
 IASC Guidelines for Gender Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian
Settings
 ISDR: Gender Perspective: Working together for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Good Practices and Lessons Learnt 2007
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Standard 7: Gender
Practical Steps for carrying out our Gender commitment
Identification
Step 1: Understand the
existing roles and
perspectives of men and
women
Step 2: Ensure assessments
gather the perspectives of
women, men, girls and boys
Design
Step 3: Design project
activities appropriate for
the target group
Step 4: Encourage and
facilitate participation of
women and children as well
as men
Implementation
Step 5: Ensure projects
enhance safety for women
and children
Step 7: Model positive
gender relationships within
the team
Step 6: Address underlying
attitudes and help to shape
positive values
Step 8: Measure and
monitor the impact of the
project on men and women
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 1: Understand the
existing roles and
perspectives of men and
women
In order to understand the existing roles and perspectives of men and women,
you need to know the following:
 the traditional roles and responsibilities of men and women
 traditional authority structures
 traditional barriers to participation
 whether these have changed in the crisis
 possible forms of violence against women
 division of labour and workload
 access to/control over resources
How you gather this information can be by asking the following quick
questions:
1. Who does what?
- Activities
2. How? With what?
- Access to resources
3. Who owns what?
- Ownership of assets
4. Who is responsible for what?
- Obligations
5. Who is entitled to what?
- Claim/Rights
6. Who controls what?
- Income/Spending
7. Who decides what?
- Power
8. Who gets what?
- Distribution
9. Who gains and who loses?
- Redistribution
10. Why? What is the basis of this situation?
- Rules/customs/norms
A quick and easy way to understand traditional roles and responsibilities is to
review the activities of both men and women in a typical 24-hour period. This
will bring to light the different roles and responsibilities, the daily schedules
and workloads. It will often highlight an unequal workload between men and
women.
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 2: Ensure assessments
gather the perspectives of
women, men, girls and boys
Women can be relatively more invisible in times of crisis and may be more
confined to their homes than normal. A determined effort may be needed to
seek out their views and opinions separately from men.
It is important to carry out separate discussions with groups of men, women,
boys and girls in order that they can speak freely about their needs, capacities
and vulnerabilities. In some cultures it will be inappropriate for men to
interview female community members. Female staff members should
participate in focus group discussions with women and translators for these
groups should also be female, so that the discussions can be open. You need to
consider the time and place of the assessments to ensure that women are able
to attend in safety and security.
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 3: Design project
activities appropriate for
the target group
Project activities place demands on men and women which they have to
manage alongside their regular routines and responsibilities: domestic duties,
child care, livelihoods etc. One of the reasons why the traditional method of
therapeutic feeding has been replaced by a community based therapeutic care
model was because of the additional burden it placed on mothers.
So it is important to design the activities in a way that is appropriate for the
group in question that considers daily routines, time limitations and multiple
roles:
 Project activities, meetings and training events will be most convenient
at certain times of the day. For example, food for work and cash for
work schemes should be scheduled at times that are convenient for the
participants. This may vary according to the time of year, depending on
the agricultural seasons or other livelihood commitments.
 Meetings and training events may be more appropriate in single sex
groups or in mixed groups
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 4: Encourage and
facilitate participation of
women and children as well
as men
Our commitment is to address both practical and
strategic needs, which includes participation and
decision-making being enjoyed by men and women
alike:
 Find culturally appropriate ways to challenge traditional gender inequity,
which often include women not being able to participate in decision-making.
Begin to challenge some of the unhelpful cultural aspects that restrict or
restrain either women or men from fully participating in the project or in the
community.
 Consider how the community structure overseeing the project can be inclusive
(development committee, water committee etc.) and how best to explain this
expectation to the community. Some projects have made female
representation a condition for the committee, but careful explanation and
sensitisation is needed if their participation is to be meaningful.
 Consider what work can be done to strengthen the partnership of men with
women in their shared responsibilities in the home, workplace, church or
place of worship and community.
 Recognise that some jobs can be undertaken by both men and women, even
when this goes against tradition.
 Consider the differing needs of women and men in participating. In some
countries women have low literacy levels so adapt participation techniques
accordingly.
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 5: Ensure projects
enhance safety for women
and children
Consult with women to understand the
physical environment and encourage them
to decide the location of project services
(e.g. wells, latrines, meeting places, etc.),
and daily routines (day, evening, night
activities), in order to offer protection from gender based violence and abuse.
Monitor community attitudes in case there are any unforeseen outcomes of the
project (heightened tensions, jealousies, etc.).
Step 6: Address underlying
attitudes and help to shape
positive values
There
are
often
underlying
attitudes in a culture which highlight gender disparities. Where there are local
churches in a community these churches can be key in shaping values. As a shaper
of values, the church can play a very significant role in addressing underlying
negative attitudes. The same applies in settings where there are other local faith
based organisations (FBOs) shaping values. What is critical is that discussion on
the local culture and underlying attitudes and values is led by people from within
that culture, rather than outsiders. Project staff can model positive, healthy
relationships and can work with these leaders to begin to tackle unhelpful
traditional attitudes, discrimination and stigma, built on a relationship of trust
and respect.
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Standard 7: Gender
Step 7: Model positive
gender relationships within
the team
We have an important role to play on our
project teams in the way we model
positive gender relationships. Never
condone or participate in behaviour that
increases gender inequity, humiliates, shames or degrades either women or men.
We must strive to have a good overall balance of men and women on the team,
even when local educational levels are a constraint. Having a balanced project
team of men and women can also reduce the potential for sexual exploitation and
abuse to be carried out.
We also need to ensure that the gender of the staff member is appropriate to the
activities he or she is carrying out, recognising that some roles are only
appropriate for men and some only for women, e.g. teaching mothers about
breastfeeding and weaning practices can only be carried out appropriately by
women.
Step 8: Measure and
monitor the impact of the
project on men and women
Ensure that beneficiary statistics and project data
records the numbers of men, women and boys and
girls separately. Design project indicators that can
monitor and measure the impact of the project on
men and on women separately (this is called ‘disaggregated’ data).
Based on this monitoring of impact, change the project approach where needed
to make improvements.
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Standard 7: Gender
Project Examples:
After a health promotion project was completed in Kashmir, Pakistan, an
external evaluation was carried out and the evaluator was told by the women
participants that the single most important impact of the project was that
women in the community could meet together because of the health groups
they formed.
In Liberia, as part of a hand dug well project, the team successfully trained
female as well as male pump mechanics selected from the village. Despite
this going against tradition, it was accepted by the community and
contributed to more effective and sustainable pump maintenance.
A partner working in Sri Lanka had weekly community meetings which were
open to the public, as part of monitoring their project and getting feedback.
Recognising that in the local religious context women were not speaking out,
they organised an additional meeting each week specifically for women in
order for them to be able share their concerns freely.
A post-tsunami housing project was planned for the home owners to oversee
all areas of construction themselves, but this meant that the funds would
have to be advanced to each home-owner. It was proposed by an
experienced community worker on the partner staff that the funds should go
through a bank account opened in the name of the woman of the home. The
senior engineer was sure that this would not work, but allowed the process to
begin. 116 people built their own homes using grants paid through the bank
accounts of women with no-one misusing this money. The men themselves
said, “if you had put the money into bank accounts in our names, we would
have used it for other things, but our wives, they really wanted the houses
and would not allow us to use their money for anything else.”
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Standard 8: HIV
Our Commitment:
We are committed to addressing
the HIV pandemic and reducing
people’s vulnerabilities to HIV.
A visual aid on Gender based violence used for
awareness raising and training in communities,
South Kivu, DRC
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Standard 8: HIV
The issues
The last chapter, Standard 7: Gender, highlighted the ways in which women
and children are vulnerable to sexual violence, intimidation and abuse. Sadly,
such behaviour in some societies is common, but abuse often escalates in
situations of poverty, conflict and disaster. There may be large-scale
population displacement, leading to a break down in family and social
structures, moral norms and a lack of traditional protection systems.
Commercial sex work and coercive sex (giving sex in order to receive
assistance) will often increase. All of these factors directly relate to HIV.
People are vulnerable towards HIV when they are involved in risky behaviour.
In addition, social, economic, political and environmental factors can increase
people’s vulnerability towards HIV. Emergency settings often mean that these
vulnerabilities are even greater than normal as communities cope with the
physical and psychological trauma of the emergency. Extreme and prolonged
poverty may also push women into prostitution, as a way of earning income and
feeding their families. These underlying factors need to be addressed to try
and change the root causes or structures that affect individual risk and
vulnerability to HIV.
If we do not consider HIV in our projects, then the impact of our work may be
reduced. Meeting basic needs such as water, sanitation and food security is not
enough if vulnerabilities to HIV are not addressed and HIV is allowed to spread.
Poorly designed projects may even increase people’s vulnerabilities.
Vulnerabilities that could fuel the HIV epidemic include:













Political upheaval with high numbers of refugees and displaced people
Deepening poverty
Gender inequality and low status of women
Men separated from their wives and families due to recruitment into the
armed forces, or in search of work
Sexual gender-based violence, endemic in some cultures.
High levels of illiteracy
Lack of infrastructure and timely response by health system e.g. – lack of
testing kits, counselling services and provision of triple ARVs for everyone
with CD4 count<350 and for all HIV positive pregnant women.
Lack of antenatal care and sexual and reproductive health services
Prevalence of, and lack of access to treatment for, sexually transmitted
infections, e.g. syphilis.
Lack of treatment of other diseases such as TB, Malaria
Injecting drug use
Competing health priorities
Traditional patterns of sexual union
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Standard 8: HIV
 Lack of culturally appropriate preventative tools
 Vertical transmission from mother to child
The importance given to reducing vulnerability to HIV may depend upon the
overall prevalence of the virus in the population; if the disease is hardly
known, then it may receive a lower priority, but where prevalence is high,
every project must take this into account – for beneficiaries and for staff.
In a low HIV prevalence country, the emphasis will be on addressing people’s
understanding of the disease and any underlying vulnerability factors such as
gender inequality. In a medium or high HIV prevalence country, more emphasis
might be given to advocating for access to HIV services, prevention of risky
behaviour and addressing stigma and discrimination. Measures to increase the
availability of testing and ARV (anti-retroviral) drugs will be particularly
important.
Biblical foundations
Tearfund’s response to HIV is shaped by biblical principles of compassion,
justice, accountability, leadership and participation. Jesus showed compassion
and justice, especially towards those who were broken and rejected, and
challenged stigma and marginalisation. In his culture, leprosy sufferers were
stigmatised and rejected. Today, people living with HIV (PLHIV) and affected
by HIV are often treated in a similar way. Misconceptions about how HIV can
spread can affect people’s attitude towards HIV. Stigma and discrimination can
cause marginalisation of PLHIV and make it more difficult for them to access
services. The Bible calls us to serve PLHIV and their families so that they may
discover their value to God, gain access to proper treatment and be able to live
meaningful lives with dignity.
Good Practice commitments
HIV is a priority concern for Tearfund because it is a major cause of poverty.
Families affected by the disease are less able to engage in hard physical work
and carry a higher financial burden for medical care. These families are more
vulnerable and are less able to cope in times of crisis. Addressing the HIV
pandemic and people’s vulnerability to HIV involves the following:
 Internally for staff: Ensuring that staff working for your organisation are
fully aware of the facts about HIV, addressing issues of stigma and putting in
place policies to provide a positive environment for staff living with HIV or
affected by HIV
 Externally for beneficiaries: Designing all projects to ensure that these do
not increase people’s vulnerability to HIV, in addition to specific projects to
raise awareness and prevent the spread of HIV, to address underlying
attitudes and beliefs, and to advocate on key policy issues. Those with the
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83
Standard 8: HIV
disease should be supported in gaining access to testing and treatment, with
advocacy for such services if they are not available.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment on HIV has close links with:
 Values, in our commitment to combat stigma;
 Impartiality, as our commitment is to the most vulnerable, including
vulnerability to HIV and people living with HIV;
 Disaster Risk, in recognising the particular considerations of HIV and
vulnerability;
 Children, recognising the impact that HIV is having on children; Gender,
recognising the close connection between HIV and gender;
 Conflict, recognising the vulnerability of women and girls in conflict
situations; and
 Advocacy, recognising that policy issues need to be addressed where HIV
is of high prevalence but given low priority by Governments.
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund’s HIV Corporate Strategy to 2015
 Tearfund Good Practice Guidelines on HIV
 The inter-agency standing committee (IASC) guidelines for HIV in
emergencies
 Tearfund’s Think Livelihoods! Guide for HIV-affected families
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Standard 8: HIV
Practical steps for carrying out our HIV Commitment
Identification
Step 1: Ensure staff
understand the HIV
epidemic and address
stigma
Step 2: Understand your
project context in relation
to HIV
Design
Step 3: Design projects to
make people & their
children less vulnerable
towards HIV
Step 4: Design projects to
help save lives & make life
easier for people living with
HIV (PLHIV) and their
families
Implementation
Step 5: Undertake
awareness and prevention
activities with communities
& increase access to testing
& treatment for PLWHA.
Step 6: Advocate and
address issues relating to
HIV where they are a
priority
Step 7: Address underlying
attitudes and help to shape
positive values
Step 8: Monitor and
evaluate the impact of your
HIV approach
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Standard 8: HIV
Step 1: Ensure staff
understand the HIV
epidemic and address
stigma
We can only address the HIV pandemic if we have the facts right ourselves
and our attitudes and behaviours are correct.
Make sure that staff have a full understanding of the basic facts about HIV:
 What is HIV? What is the cause? How is it transmitted? How does it spread?
 What is the prevalence globally and for your country of work? Is it a
concentrated or a generalised epidemic? Who are the most at risk groups?
Do PLHIV have access to testing and treatment?
 What support is there within the team/organisation for people who are
infected or affected by HIV?
 How do you personally feel about PLHIV?
There is often stigma attached to people affected by HIV and misinformation
can increase this. We need to ensure that staff have a correct understanding
of HIV and that stigma is reduced. Organisations need to have policies in
place to support staff in all these areas. Tearfund has an HIV Work Place
Policy (WPP) for this reason.
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Standard 8: HIV
Step 2: Understand your
project context in relation
to HIV
The following questions will help:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
What is the situation that you see, what are the vulnerabilities?
(examples might be: conflict, drought, poverty, displacement, poor
infrastructure, gender inequalities)
What are the effects of the vulnerabilities that you see? (examples
might be lack of education and health services, particularly absence of
HIV testing & ARV treatment, sexual violence, lack of human rights,
increase in disease, unemployment, migration, drug and alcohol
abuse, unprotected sex, no positive role models, etc.).
What are the underlying causes? (gender issues, cultural practices,
war, environment, issues in power, trade, religion, economic)
Who are those groups most at risk of HIV?
Using participatory tools such as the ‘crunch model’ or a ‘problem tree’ will
help you analyse the community and context where you are working and get
the answers to these questions.
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87
Standard 8: HIV
Step 3: Design projects to
make people & their
children less vulnerable
towards HIV
When designing your project, use the information
obtained from step 2 above to design activities that help to reduce the
vulnerabilities identified. There should be measures to both reduce horizontal
transmission and the passing on of infection from mother to child. Reducing
both the individual and community’s risk is essential. Underlying causes such as
gender inequality and protection should be considered (see also the Practical
Steps listed under Gender and Conflict). Funding needs should be identified at
the design stage and included in project budgets to ensure any extra activities
can be supported.
Step 4: Design projects to
help save lives & make life
easier for people living with
HIV (PLHIV) and their
families
This will be especially important in countries of medium or high prevalence. In
these situations, it is important to ensure that PLHIV and their carers (who are
sometimes children) have access to all available community services. In
particular they need to have access to testing and treatment for HIV and coinfections (e.g. TB, Malaria) For example water pump handles should be easy
to use for those people who have muscle wasting and/or for children. PLHIV
may need more water than others and food fortified with vitamins and
minerals.
These activities should not necessarily be targeted at only PLHIV as it may not
be known who has HIV and who does not. Instead these measures can be
considered for the whole community if there is high prevalence and this will
also avoid stigma and discrimination.
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88
Standard 8: HIV
Step 5: Undertake
awareness and prevention
activities with beneficiaries
and communities
Project staff are able to interact with
many different groups to share messages
on HIV awareness, treatment and
prevention ; these may include refugees,
beneficiary groups, families, and women and children. These messages should
be a core part of any health promotion curriculum and need to use creative
methods of communication, such as video and drama. But in addition,
awareness, treatment and prevention messages can be integrated within all
project sectors and included for example in any training with Village
Development Committees.
Staff can also be in a unique position to become equipped to work to
encourage perpetrators of sexual violence and abuse to understand and address
the impacts of their actions and work towards genuine behaviour change whether rebel groups, the military or youth. There is opportunity in these
situations to disseminate HIV messages amongst the perpetrators of violence
and to urge a change in behaviour.
Step 6: Advocate and
address issues relating to
HIV where they are a
priority
There may be major policy issues in the context
which need to be addressed in collaboration
with others. These could relate to the lack of
access to HIV services, particularly HIV testing
and ARV treatment (and treatment for TB and
opportunistic infections), or to a lack of safety
and high levels of gender based violence. See also the Practical Steps listed
under Standard 12: Advocacy.
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Standard 8: HIV
Step 7: Address underlying
attitudes and help to shape
positive values
There are often underlying attitudes in a culture which are highlighting gender
disparities and therefore heightening vulnerability to HIV. Where there are
local churches in a community, these churches are a key shaper of values. The
same applies in settings where there are other local faith based organisations
(FBOs) shaping values. Project staff can work with these leaders to not only
disseminate appropriate HIV awareness and prevention messages but to begin
to tackle unhelpful traditional attitudes, discrimination and stigma.
One of the local church’s greatest strengths is the importance it gives to
relationships. This makes it well-placed to provide relational support. This can
be through prayer, pastoral care and hospitality, acknowledging and caring for
people’s inner hurts and grief. This can include setting an example in loving
and caring for people living with HIV.
Step 8: Monitor and
evaluate the impact of your
HIV approach
Ongoing monitoring and lesson
learning is needed to assess the
appropriateness of the project
design and take account of any
changes in the community or the context. Are vulnerabilities changing, are the
HIV awareness, treatment and prevention messages having an impact, and are
any changes needed in the project approach?
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Standard 8: HIV
Project Examples
In Darfur a project took steps to make people less vulnerable to HIV in a
variety of ways: by locating activity centres and health clubs throughout the
community in order to limit the distance women needed to travel; by
introducing an income-generating project to provide income for women and
reduce the likelihood of them resorting to high risk behaviours to earn
income; by locating latrines and water points in appropriate locations where
these is less likelihood of attack.
In DR Congo HIV prevention messages were integrated into a one week
farmers’ training workshop.
In South Sudan a network was set up, called Sudan Christian AIDS Network
(SCAN), to help church leaders and other faith-based organisations share
resources and discuss their beliefs, attitudes and theology when responding
to HIV.
In Zimbabwe, a project which promotes conservation farming methods uses
an approach which spreads the farming workload over the year in a less
intensive way, as opposed to short bursts of intensive farming. This makes it
more suitable for those who are weakened by chronic diseases such as HIV,
enabling them to be productive and restoring their dignity.
In many countries the local church is playing an active role in ensuring
people have access to testing, ARV treatment and antenatal care for
pregnant women to ensure not only that people with HIV live longer, but also
that transmission of HIV is reduced both horizontally (between adults) and
vertically (from mother to child).
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Standard 9: Conflict
Our Commitment:
We are committed to designing
activities that are sensitive to
situations of conflict and the safety
needs of project participants, and
that contribute to building their
capacities for peace.
“Five UN Helicopters”: Learning to count from 1 to
10 on a children’s activity centre wall in
Darfur, Sudan
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Standard 9: Conflict
The issues
Conflict is a major development issue: poverty and injustice can feed the anger
which leads to conflict, and this conflict can then deepen poverty and increase
injustice. Violent conflict entails the loss of civilian life, social and economic
disruption, displacement, and destruction of the environment and of
infrastructure. There are on-going effects even after a conflict ends: a legacy of
democracy and human rights abuses, landmines, surplus small arms, amputees,
orphans, children who have missed out on education and communities who have
been left mentally scarred by witnessing or taking part in atrocities.
Conflict is also a major factor for providers of humanitarian relief, as it not only
creates the situations that see individuals in need of emergency humanitarian
assistance, but also restricts access to those in need, and prevents communities
from using traditional coping mechanisms. Conflict destabilises government and
political systems that would usually provide services for the population, adding to
distrust and fear between communities and contributing to the physical,
psychological or emotional harm of the population.
Many of the world’s poor people live in countries affected by conflict. Violent
conflict destroys hard-won relief and development gains, prevents progress
towards the Millennium Development Goals and hinders economic growth. Of the
34 poor countries farthest from reaching the Millennium Development Goals, 22
are in or are emerging from violent conflict.3
Biblical foundations
Tearfund’s response to conflict4 is guided by key biblical principles, namely, that:
 Injustice, broken relationships and violence are the result of human sin, and
the victims of conflict often suffer because of the sin of others
 Violence cannot advance the kingdom of God
 Those with power have a duty to defend the victims of injustice, and to
oppose and seek justice towards the perpetrators.
Amongst the Beatitudes, we read that “blessed are the peace-makers, for they
shall be called sons of God” (Matt.5:9). Christians are called to bring peace,
forgiveness and reconciliation, based upon God’s forgiveness of us in Christ.
Good Practice Commitments
Just as violent conflict sets back development, we will also find that poorly
planned development or insensitive emergency response can worsen conflict. Aid
3
Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN
Millennium Project, 2005
4
Tearfund Framework policy on conflict. March 2005.
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Standard 9: Conflict
influences the political and economic dynamics of conflict. It can, for example,
introduce resources that alter power relationships in ways that fuel local
tensions. At worst, programmes that do not consider the conflict situation in
which they work can increase the vulnerability of beneficiaries to violent attack
or heighten the intensity of the conflict itself. It is not enough to rely on
development or relief aid to prevent violent conflict, because it might have the
opposite effect. The potential impact of relief and development work upon a
conflict must be thoroughly evaluated. We should also beware of those people
who use and promote violent conflict for political and personal benefit.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment on conflict has close links to:
 Impartiality, ensuring that our impartiality is clearly understood by all
parties in conflict situations;
 Accountability, in recognising the need for making information publicly
available (e.g. the beneficiary selection criteria), facilitating participation
and creating routes for giving feedback in conflict situations;
 Gender, recognising the vulnerability, particularly of women and girls in
conflict situations; and
 HIV, recognising the vulnerability, particularly of women and girls to HIV in
conflict situations.
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund Conflict management documents:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/quality_standards/conflict/
 Oxfam’s Protection Training pack: http://policypractice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/improving-the-safety-of-civilians-aprotection-training-pack-115396
 ODI Humanitarian Practice Network paper on Oxfam’s approach to
mainstreaming safety in humanitarian programmes
http://www.odihpn.org/humanitarian-exchange-magazine/issue39/reclaiming-mainstreaming-oxfam-gbs-protection-approach-in-drc
 World Bank Conflict Analysis Framework:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCPR/2145741112883508044/20657757/CAFApril2005.pdf
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Standard 9: Conflict
 Conflict Sensitive development:
http://www.saferworld.org.uk/what/conflict-sensitive-development
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Standard 9: Conflict
Practical Steps for carrying out our Conflict commitment
Identification
Step 1: Analyse and
understand the conflict
situation in order to guide
your project design
Step 2: Identify the
appropriate level of
association that the
organisation should have
with different actors in the
conflict
Design
Step 3: Ensure the project
design prioritizes the safety
of beneficiaries when this is
their primary concern
Step 4: Assess the potential
impact of the project’s
design with the community
before you commence
activities
Implementation
Step 5: Publicise the
impartiality and
independence of the
organisation
Step 6: Seek out
opportunities for building
the capacity for peace
Step 7: Monitor the
attitudes within the
community towards the
organisation and adapt
project plans in light of
feedback received
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 1: Analyse and
understand the conflict
situation in order to guide
your project design
 Use conflict analysis tools with project staff and as many community
members as possible and appropriate, including men, women, boys and
girls. to gain a better understanding of the different parties in the area, the
relationships between them and the causes of tension. Available tools
include mapping, time-lines, conflict tree and ABC triangle (see TF Good
Practice Guideline on Conflict Sensitivity).
 Gain a full understanding of the conflict context, the changing dynamics – at
the local level, regional/national and the wider global context: use the
analysis in security reports, look at news websites, look at IRIN or Alertnet
analysis, ask the UN Resident Coordinator for the latest situation report.
 Repeat the analysis at regular intervals (at least twice a year) to keep the
analysis up-to-date; do an extra analysis if significant people move.
 Stay up-to-date with political, humanitarian and security information that
might help identify trends, patterns of abuse, behaviour of conflicting
parties, high risk locations, anticipated increases in conflict, etc.
What to analyse and why? (see also step 4)
What?
Identify all the groups
involved in the conflict
Identify where the NGO
or partner organisation
sits in the conflict (i.e.
with whom does the NGO
have links/relationships?
Find out the history of
the conflict, underlying
grievances, seasonal
patterns, current events
and past experiences.
Find out if the
beneficiary communities
have any safety needs
Why?
To understand who they are, their different perspectives,
aims and objectives, how they relate to each other, where
they get their support, and how they operate.
To assess how activities and targeting could impact upon
the conflict, positively or negatively. E.g. positively if
competition for resources is reduced, or shared activities
increased, but negatively if existing inequalities (eg in
employment opportunities) are re-enforced. This serves as
the basis for developing strategy and plans. The project
should never worsen the situation, nor create risks for
project personnel.
To identify some of the long-standing root causes of the
conflict (e.g. water) which project could try to address.
To assist with project planning – i.e. not to do things which
add to the conflict, nor to put staff at risk by doing field
work in the “conflict season”
To identify ways in which projects could be designed and
implemented in order to improve the safety of
beneficiaries.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 2:Identify the
appropriate level of
association that the
organisation should have
with different actors in the
conflict
NGOs have often become
targets in a conflict if they have
been perceived to be favouring
one group over another when
giving assistance, or if the level
of association with one party
suggests an alliance with that group. “Perception” is the critical consideration
here: even if the NGO has not deliberately set out to associate themselves in this
way, they may be perceived to be showing partiality to one group. The opposing
group may no longer see the agency as impartial or independent, which could
then endanger both staff and beneficiaries.
 Assess how the different power-holding groups are perceived by the
beneficiary groups and the wider population. There may be several different
armed forces in the area – government military, UN peacekeepers, opposition
militias, etc. Local staff will have greater understanding of community feelings
towards these armed groups, and their perceptions of NGOs.
 Ensure that close association with any one group does not cause another group
to question your impartiality and independence.
 Develop key relationships at a number of levels – not just with community
leaders, militia commanders and others, but find out who has the greatest
influence. Local staff will be able to advise on levels of influence within the
local community hierarchy.
 For local safety and day-to-day activities, it may be adequate to maintain a
good relationship with local government or military leaders. The extension of
activities or travel into new areas will usually require contacts and permissions
from those higher up in the authority structure.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 3: Ensure the project
design prioritizes the safety
of beneficiaries when this is
their primary concern
 Assess the safety needs of the community,
as part of the needs assessment process.
Safety from abuse may be the primary
concern of the community. When this is
the case, safety must be amongst the main factors guiding the design of the
project. In every sector (WASH, Hygiene Promotion, Nutrition, Shelter, Food
Security, etc.) activities should be designed in a way that provides safety for
beneficiaries or reduces their vulnerability to violence and attack.
 Ensure that the project does not increase the vulnerability of beneficiaries
(risk of attack, gender-based violence, bombardment, theft, jealousies, etc.)
but aims instead to reduce it.
 Set indicators to measure the improved safety of civilian beneficiaries
throughout the life of the project (e.g. number of recorded attacks).
 Do needs assessments and provide services early in the project to establish an
understanding amongst beneficiaries, leaders and combatants of how an NGO
works. A culture of accountability does not always come naturally to leaders.
If they are allowed to manipulate service delivery or distributions early on it
will be difficult to correct this later.
 Find out what agencies in your location are mandated to protect the safety of
civilians. Assess the risks to beneficiaries if they participate in the project,
and agree an appropriate level of association with the protecting agencies.
This can be done informally in highly sensitive situations.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 4: Assess the potential
impact of the project’s
design with the community
before you commence
activities
 Consult with local staff and beneficiaries to
understand how proposed actions will be
perceived. (See also step 1, about analysing the conflict.)
 Consider the different activities in the log-frame and identify ways in which
these could impact negatively or positively on the conflict. E.g. in selecting a
site for a well, consider access for all and avoid disputed areas of land.
 Ensure the level of assistance provided to different groups is proportionate to
their needs and can be clearly justified. Remember that excluding one
community from a project may add to the insecurity of another group (i.e.
retaliation for perceived partiality). If the needs are mostly found with one
group, look for ways of providing some other inputs for the “excluded” group.
 Look for any possible “side effects” of a programme: indirect repercussions of
your work that add to the conflict.
Step 5: Publicise the
impartiality and
independence of the
organisation
 Ensure your NGO status and commitments to
NGO principles are understood by all – by
beneficiaries, the wider community, and by
all sides of the conflict (also refer to Standard 3: Beneficiary Accountability).
The Red Cross Code of Conduct is very useful in promoting humanitarian
principles. Consider use of posters and sharing booklets of the RCCC with
stakeholders. If a donor agency requires high visibility (e.g. signboards, labels,
etc.) and the donor’s government is seen as taking one side in the conflict,
then consider the consequences carefully before accepting such funding.
 Provide repeated training to reinforce these messages.
 Ensure recruitment of local staff is balanced and cannot be interpreted as you
favouring one particular group.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 6: Seek out
opportunities for building
the capacity for peace
 Ask the staff and communities
what peace would look like in
the local context. If possible, include some actions into your sectoral work
that would move towards this peaceful state. Some people will be opposed to
“peace” in any form and so direct peace-building or even use of the word may
need to be avoided.
 Consult with beneficiaries and others to ensure that activities listed below are
appropriate to your context. They are often possible when a relationship of
respect and trust has been established with the community:
o Introduce peace-building and reconciliation messages within project
activities, such as a Health Promotion curriculum or training for a
development committee
o Create opportunities where issues relating to the conflict and
opportunities for peace & reconciliation can be discussed
o Create appropriate opportunities (only after careful planning and
discussion) where people can interact peacefully with the “opposition”,
such as joint activities on a community project, a health lesson, joint
training for water pump mechanics, etc.
o Use resources or design activities which reward peaceful behaviour and
discourage those which foster hostility.
o Where there are local churches, work with these churches to promote
peace. The church, in many communities, can help to bring
reconciliation and build peace. In complex emergencies, it can have a
role in preventing future outbreaks of violence by helping people to
address issues of resentment, forgiveness, exclusion and alienation. The
church can enable the appropriate resolution of disputes at a local level
before they escalate onto a regional level.
o In both relief and development projects, the church may be able to
challenge favouritism and competition over scarce resources. Justice,
impartiality and forgiveness are important principles in such contexts
and the church is in a position to offer these.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Step 7: Monitor the
attitudes within the
community towards the
organisation and adapt
project plans in light of
feedback received
 It is good to check regularly that your
impartiality and independence is still
understood and accepted. This can be
done with community leaders or with focus groups, asking regularly about
their perception of NGO’s and satisfaction with progress of project activities.
Note any significant changes and adjust the level of association with the
different actors in the conflict, as needed. Use the feedback mechanism to
help to do this. Check if any complaints have arisen and whether or not these
have been dealt with (also refer Standard 3: Accountability for more
information on feedback mechanisms).
 In light of the above, reinforce the messages around your impartiality and
independence, and if necessary adjust your project design (beneficiary
selection, assistance package, etc.)
 If possible, establish “indicators of instability” – i.e. attitudes or behaviour in
the community that suggests that relationships are beginning to break down –
e.g. the closure of local markets, or people migration, or lower attendance at
a clinic or feeding centre.
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Standard 9: Conflict
Project Examples:
In Sierra Leone, alongside water and sanitation projects which supported the
resettlement process at the end of the civil war, projects also included
conflict transformation training with communities. This led to some creating
“peace committees”, where communities resolved to addressing their
disputes without needing to go to the regional authorities (an issue which
was a contributing factor behind the war).
A partner carrying out relief and risk reduction projects in Marsabit, North
Kenya, worked with local churches to establish peace-making forums to
prevent future outbreaks of violence between two pastoral communities
over grazing rights and scarce water sources.
The Baptist and Presbyterian churches in Manipur’s NE India peace initiative
challenged both communities on either side of a conflict to forgive the
wrongs committed against each other and overcome the deep-seated anger
that had gripped both sides of the conflict. The pastors challenged their
communities with Christian values to stop the fighting. These churches and
their pastors were ultimately the only people with sufficient authority to be
able to mobilise the wider community for peace.
In Zimbabwe, a partner implemented a seed, fertilizer and tools project for
victims of political violence relating to the elections of 2008. Beneficiaries
included people from both sides of the violence, who in many cases were
neighbours. The project design included joint training sessions so that
relationships could be re-established in a safe environment and even
encouraged them to work together to prepare their fields. This has
promoted reconciliation and healing.
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Standard 10: Environment
Our Commitment:
We are committed to protecting the
environment through sustainable
resource management and climate
change risk assessment.
Clearing the ground for planting in Liberia, using the
traditional “slash and burn” method
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Standard 10: Environment
The issues
The work of development agencies in development and responding to disasters
can have a significant impact on the environment. Similarly, our work can be
significantly impacted by changes in the environment and climate. Examples
include:
 Disaster response and recovery can damage the environment as populations
are displaced, concentrated, and traditional environmental management is
broken down. The establishment of a refugee camp often results in
deforestation, pressure on water sources and damage to a large area of land.
For example in Darfur, massive deforestation around the camps has reduced
soil fertility and harmed other plants and animals. This also means that women
have to travel further to collect firewood, putting them at increased risk from
attack.
 Inequality, poor policies and corruption can force communities trapped in
poverty to over use environmental resources to an extent that wood, water,
and other natural resources are depleted beyond the rate at which they are
naturally replenished.
 Environmental resources are usually crucial to traditional coping strategies and
to developing future recovery and development strategies. In many cases
environmental resources are critical for livelihoods; for example the collection
of fire wood, the grazing of life stock and the farming of land. Allowing the
environment to be degraded during a crisis will undermine the recovery and
make the recurrence of disaster more likely.
 Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms and changing rainfall
patterns, temperatures and consequently harming plants, animals and
impacting health. These changes can increase the impact of disasters and
reverse development gains.
It is almost always the poorest, most vulnerable people who suffer most from
disasters, lack of development opportunities and from environmental degradation
and the impacts of climate change.
Biblical foundations
Men and women were made as part of a perfect creation and were given a
specific responsibility to care for it. We are stewards, not owners, of God’s earth.
As stewards, we should encourage sustainable development, providing for present
needs in a way that will ensure that the needs of future generations are met.
Scientific consensus is that humans have caused harmful climate change,
primarily through burning fossil fuels and widespread deforestation. The impact
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Standard 10: Environment
of climate change is already evident and includes flooding, droughts, rising sea
levels and increased severity of cyclones. Climate change is already hitting the
world’s poorest, most vulnerable people the hardest. Loving our neighbour, in
this context, means using the earth’s resources responsibly and fairly and making
lifestyle choices that will reduce our impact on the environment.
Good Practice commitments
Our commitment is at a minimum to avoid negative impacts on the environment
and the depletion of environmental resources, and wherever possible to have a
positive impact on the environment. It is also to design our projects to be
resilient to the impacts of climate change and disasters.
A challenge for field workers is managing the tension between meeting shortterm community or emergency needs while considering long term environmental
issues. For example, managing the need for timber poles for constructing
temporary shelter against long-term deforestation. We need to carefully consider
in our projects how we can protect the environment through sustainable resource
management and alternative technologies.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment to the environment has close links to:
 Disaster Risk, recognising the close connections between disaster risk,
climate change and environmental degradation;
 Technical Quality, with the need to consider impact on the environment
and resilience to environmental change in our technical design; and
 Sustainability, with the need to ensure sustainable environmental resource
management.
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund Good Practice Guide on Environmental Sustainability:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/TILZ/Topics/DMT/GPG%20Environm
ental%20sensitivity.pdf
 Tearfund CEDRA Tool (Climate Change and Environmental Degradation Risk
and Adaptation Assessment)
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/themes/environment_and_climate/cedra/
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Standard 10: Environment
 Tearfund Environmental Assessment Tool
http://tilz.tearfund.org/~/media/Files/TILZ/Topics/Environmental%20Sust
ainability/EA_C9465_web.pdf
 Tearfund ROOTS 13 Environmental Sustainability book:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/roots/environmental_su
stainability/
 Tearfund Research Report: Darfur: Relief in a Vulnerable Environment
http://tilz.tearfund.org/~/media/files/tilz/research/relief%20in%20a%20vu
lnerable%20envirionment%20final.pdf
 www.Adaptationlearning.net links to UNFCCC climate change risks and
required adaptation for different countries
 UNEP website database identifies other environmental risks / sensitivities:
http://www.unep.org/
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Standard 10: Environment
Practical Steps for carrying out our Environment commitment
Identification
Step 1: Understand the
context by talking to the
community and to local
experts
Design
Step 2: Assess impacts of
your programme on the
environment and of the
environment on your
programme
Step 3: Design the project
to decrease environmental
damage and increase
positive environmental
outcomes
Implementation
Step 4: Monitor and manage
environmental impact in
project implementation
Step 5: Reduce our own
impact on the environment
as staff
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Standard 10: Environment
Step 1: Understand the
context by talking to the
community and to local
experts
 Facilitate community discussion
– the leaders, women’s groups,
farmers, herders, children,
disabled, and people with
livelihoods that depend on
environmental resources. Find out about their traditional environmental
management customs, coping mechanisms during times of hardship, and
vulnerable resources.
 Discuss the social implications of environmental degradation. What existing
practices deplete or pollute natural resources? Which groups in the community
will be affected? For example women collecting firewood, slum dwellers
relying on the water course downstream or groups competing over access to a
new water supply.
 Discuss the underlying environmental dynamics. Is there a long term process of
change in land use, soil quality, climate, deforestation, soil erosion, loss of
plants and animals, reduction in crop yields or rangeland carrying capacity,
pollution, etc.?
 Ask local experts – local council/government technical officers, agricultural
officers, universities, civil society and NGOs – local environment groups are
best placed to advise on local environmental issues.
 Read appropriate literature, browse the web and seek advice. Are there local
or national laws / regulations regarding the environment? Take the time to
understand the context of the country – how it is at risk from climate change
and local environmental degradation and what types of projects are necessary
to respond e.g. is food security the big problem, or floods, or soil degradation,
etc.?
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Standard 10: Environment
Step 2: Assess the likely
impacts of your programme
on the environment or of
the environment on your
programme
 Carry
out
an
environmental
assessment (EA) using the formats
provided by Tearfund (unless the
donor has a particular format – this is
a requirement of an increasing number
of donors). An EA involves listing the
different aspects of your projects and then analysing the impact that these
will have on the environment. Carrying out a comprehensive EA is especially
important for projects with a direct impact on the environment, e.g. water,
sanitation, food security, livelihoods, construction. Rapid Environmental
Assessments are also available if required in the early stages of a disaster
response.
 Build on traditional knowledge and resource management practices within the
community. Involve the community in determining what the impacts are.
 Weigh up the priorities of meeting emergency needs with the long-term
impact of meeting those needs that could make the community more
vulnerable over time.
 Coordinate with other NGOs in the sharing of assessments and data.
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Standard 10: Environment
Step 3: Design the project
to decrease environmental
damage and increase
positive environmental
outcomes
Having identified the impact
your projects could have on the
environment, you should now
look at ways in which the
project can be modified in
order to reduce this impact.
Alternative options should be
identified and assessed. Modifications to the project could include:
 Introduce new technologies e.g. alternative construction technologies such as
stabilised soil blocks. Look at adjacent communities to find new technologies
where possible, as this will help to ensure that the technology is transferable
and will increase acceptance. Knowledge exchange visits taking members of
the community to see new technology working will greatly enhance
acceptance and uptake.
 Change the design – e.g. dome slabs that do not need timber supports to
reduce quantities of timber used.
 Change the materials and energy sources used – e.g. switch to solar or hydro
power.
 Incorporate messages on construction of fuel efficient stoves and sustainable
resource management into health promotion topics and any education
programmes being supported e.g. refugee schools.
Increased positive environmental outcomes could include things such as:
 Planting trees even if your project is not using any, e.g. incentivised.
 Health promotion club topic on “caring for your environment”.
 Coordinate with other NGOs so you’re not undermining each other’s efforts.
 Protect your project from environmental damage e.g. flood diversion channels
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Standard 10: Environment
Step 4: Monitor and manage
environmental impact in
project implementation
 Work should be undertaken
periodically to capture learning
and review the effectiveness of
the environmental mitigation
measures. Where necessary,
new mitigation measures may need to be introduced. The problem of
environmental degradation needs on-going management.
 For example, find out if it takes longer for women to find firewood than it did
6 months previously. Arrange tree planting to compensate for wood being used
for project activities, e.g. shelter, latrines, bricks.
 For water projects where there is a concern about over abstraction from the
water table, carry out groundwater monitoring.
Step 5: Reduce our own
impact on the environment
as staff
We need to reduce our own impact on the
environment however possible:
 Vehicle use: using 4 wheel drive vehicles only
when needed. Keeping engines running only
when they are in use.
 Power use: using electricity sparingly in
offices and accommodation; switching off lights and fans when rooms are not
in use. Switching to solar power.
 Flights: avoid unnecessary flights.
 Project equipment: avoid large-scale use of plastic where possible, ensure safe
waste disposal.
 Minimise use of resources and production of waste e.g. water, paper, food,
gas, packaging, etc.
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Standard 10: Environment
Project Examples:
In Liberia, where the traditional “slash and burn” form of agriculture is
contributing to the loss of rainforest, a food security project encouraged
farmers to establish swamp rice farming as a more sustainable and more
productive form of rice cultivation.
In South Sudan the use of stabilised soil blocks has been introduced for the
construction of health centres as an alternative to traditional “burnt bricks”
(fired clay bricks). Huge quantities of firewood have to be used in order to
make burnt bricks.
In Sri Lanka a project promoted the use of solar ovens in order to reduce the
use of firewood.
In Darfur, Sudan, a water project includes the monitoring of ground water
levels to measure whether water extraction is having a long term negative
impact on the availability of ground water.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Our Commitment:
We are committed to seeing that
projects have a lasting benefit,
being built on local ownership and
using local skills and resources, as
appropriate to the situation.
A community grain bank in Niger; a project designed to
be entirely sustainable in order that food is available to
community members in times of crisis, every year.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
The issues
The concepts of sustainability, local ownership and participation are central
to good development, in wishing to see positive, lasting change that is not
dependent on outside help. Whilst it is clear that in development work,
plans that are based on a community’s own resources and capacities will be
more sustainable, emergency situations often require a higher level of
outside help. The basic needs of disaster-affected people must be provided
for, if they are no longer in a position to meet those needs themselves.
In development projects, long-term sustainability is usually considered in the
design phase, so that benefits continue after the project budget is finished.
In emergency projects, sustainability is often neglected, but the potential
for long-lasting benefits is often still present. We need to consider how to
provide outside help in a way which can be built on local ownership, using
local capacities. By nature, relief projects often have a short life, but there
is an opportunity to provide new skills, to build new community organisations
or to set up new supply chains that will be continued long after the project
has ended.
If the principle of sustainability is not fully considered in a project, the
design may be poor, with benefits ending as soon as the project finishes.
Resources may be wasted and communities left in a disappointed or
frustrated state. At worst, they may become long-term dependent upon
outside help and future attempts to work with them using local resources
will become much more difficult.
Biblical foundations
The concept of sustainability is consistent with the biblical message of
seeing lasting change in people’s lives. Sustainability is a continuing process
of positive personal and community change, not simply financial
independence or the continuation of the physical products of development.
Reconciliation with God makes possible this on-going change, breaking the
power of harmful traditions, setting us free for service and creating an
openness to further change.
Good Practice commitments
Sustainability in development work may be difficult but not impossible to
achieve, if strong community participation and ownership are built in to the
project design. The six factors below will need to be considered.
Emergency situations vary tremendously. There is a big difference between
a project that is providing basic services for newly displaced people, and a
project which is supporting permanent resettlement in villages at the end of
a conflict. We need to think carefully about the meaning of sustainability in
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Standard 11:Sustainability
each situation, helping us to decide which approaches are appropriate and
realistic for that particular context.
Similarly, different types of projects bring different considerations in
relation to sustainability – for example, a supplementary feeding project is
not intended by design to be long-term and sustainable, as it will be closed
once the nutrition crisis is over. On the other hand, a hand-dug well in a
settled village is intended to provide long-term water provision, and a
community grain bank is intended to provide service to a community year
after year: in both cases, sustainability should be a central consideration in
all aspects of project design. Even in the first example of supplementary
feeding, there may be learning for mothers about child-care and nutrition
which will bring improved health into the future.
The importance of government services should not be overlooked and our
aim must be to strengthen long-term government services wherever possible
and appropriate.
There are a range of factors to look at when considering sustainability:
Knowledge and skills – what knowledge and skills will be needed to maintain
the benefits, e.g. healthier behaviour or water-pump repair skills?
Community organisation – what sort of organisation, committee or
community structure will be needed?
Government – what type of ongoing support is required from government or
other indigenous bodies such as banks or co-operatives?
Finances – are there recurring costs or future expenditures that need to be
covered? What sort of funding arrangement will be needed?
Materials – are there materials or equipment that will be needed on an
ongoing basis? Are these things readily available and affordable?
Environment – can the local natural environment sustain the project over
the long-term (e.g. water supply, tree cover, soil fertility, etc)?
Alongside sustainability, another important principle is replicability, which
means the ability of a community to copy or repeat something which the
project has provided. For example, a latrine project may wish to see nonbeneficiaries building their own latrines. Similarly, an improved agricultural
technique may be introduced, hoping to see the new methods taken up by
increasing numbers of farmers as a result of their own initiative.
Replicability is an important aspect of wider impact; our project may only be
able to reach a limited number of people but we want to see the benefits
extend throughout the community. Spontaneous uptake by others is
sometimes called the ‘multiplier effect’ of a project. Some projects adopt a
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Standard 11:Sustainability
demand-led approach, relying upon demand from within a community to
ensure its uptake and replication by a larger number of families.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment to sustainability has close links to:
 Disaster Risk, as a project will not be sustainable if wiped out by
disaster;
 Technical Quality, as projects need to be demand led and include
appropriate technical quality if they are to be sustainable; and
 Environment, with the need to ensure that the environment can
sustain the demands of the project.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Practical Steps for carrying out our Sustainability commitment
Identification
Step 1: Carefully consider
the context and the
requirements for
sustainability & replicability
Design
Step 2: Identify the
knowledge and skills
required for the long term
Step 3: Identify the type of
community organisation
required for the long term
Step 4: Identify the type of
relationship required with
government or other
service providers for the
long term
Step 5: Identify the
financial input required for
the long term
Step 6: Identify the
materials and supplies
required for the long term
Step 7: Identify the
environmental
requirements for the long
term
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Step 1: Carefully consider
the context and the
requirements for
sustainability & replicability
 Expectations
will
be
different
depending on the context – whether a
relief
project
or
longer-term
development. Sustainability is harder
to achieve in emergency interventions,
but our approach will still influence
community attitudes. We can build
capacity (leading to sustainability), or
control and provide everything, sowing
the seeds of dependency.
 Is the ownership of the project remaining with the implementing
organisation (for example, an emergency water supply in a refugee
camp), or is ownership by the community absolutely central to the
project, (e.g. a village well)?
 Consider the time frames of the project and programme – how much time
is available to carry out effective mobilisation and to encourage local
ownership?
 Consider the size and breadth of the project – it is usually better to plan
a smaller project which will be sustainable, rather than a large scale
project that will not be sustainable once the funding ends.
 Consider the need for demand and replicability – this will have a direct
influence on the project design as the priority will be on low cost and
acceptance.
 Consider what approaches other NGOs and organisations in the area are
taking, for example with paying incentives to volunteers, or providing
payment for community labour. It is more challenging to adopt one
approach when others are taking a totally different approach. Decisions
made on such policies will also have implications for the long term – i.e.
once a precedent has been set, it will be hard to change later.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Step 2: Identify the
knowledge and skills
required for the long term
 Ensure the knowledge and skill
requirements are realistic.
 Build on local knowledge and skills wherever possible
 Agree the messages that need to be delivered in support of the project
and make them as clear as possible. It is better to have a small number of
clear messages that will be remembered, rather than a comprehensive
list of messages that will be forgotten. For example, develop a set of
short, clear messages on health topics or agricultural techniques.
 In a health promotion project the required health knowledge will need to
be effectively shared with Community Health Volunteers (or Promoters)
who can then pass these messages on to community members in an
accurate and confident way over the long-term.
 In a water project, key skills need to be transferred to pump mechanics
so that they can carry out future maintenance work.
Step 3: Identify the type of
community organisation
required for the long term
 Is a committee required to oversee the
project? If so, it is usually better to work
with an existing traditional committee, rather
than creating something new for this project
 Don’t try to form a committee in haste – time is
needed to have proper consultation, to select
the right people and to ensure clarity on the purpose & responsibilities of
the committee. The formation of multiple committees should be avoided,
because it often leads to confusion and even conflict within the
community.
 Where there are local churches within target communities, identify how
best to work with the local church in supporting the project over the long
term in appropriate ways.
 Where there are no local churches, work with existing community-based
organisations to deliver the project & support sustainability longer-term.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Step 4: Identify the type of
relationship required with
government or other
service providers for the
long term
 Ensure that the level of on-going
support required from government or others is appropriate and realistic.
 If long-term support is expected by a community from a government line
ministry, then this should be discussed and agreed at the start of the
project. Examples might include the Ministry of Education providing books
and supplies to a school, or the Ministry of Health providing drugs to a
clinic. These needs should be clearly identified from the start and
meetings held with the relevant authorities to agree realistic levels of
support. This will help to avoid disappointment later.
 Wherever appropriate, build up relationships with government authorities
at the local, district and national level in order to influence their policies
or implementation of existing policies. Strengthening of government
services might reduce the need for future projects.
Step 5: Identify the
financial input required for
the long term
 Ensure the level of on-going financial input
required is realistic. Many projects cease to function when this has not
been done.
 If income is needed on an on-going basis, how will this income be
obtained? In some types of project, a cost-recovery system may be
appropriate. For example, in a water project, community members may
be willing to contribute a sum of money for the use of the water supply,
perhaps once a year or every time they collect water. In a health project,
a charge could be made for medicines, etc.
 In emergency settings, it will usually be totally inappropriate to expect
such a cost recovery system. It is often more appropriate to provide
water, or other services for free and recognise that the project is not
financially sustainable over the long-term.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Step 6: Identify the
materials and supplies
required for the long term
 Use local materials and supplies wherever
possible. Replicability of a project will be
impossible without this. Projects which depend
upon external, imported goods will not be sustainable.
 Key questions to ask include: Is equipment needed in the future, or spare
parts? Are these available locally? If not, is it possible to set up a
sustainable local business to supply equipment or parts? If the project
uses imported equipment, is it possible to find locally made alternatives?
 In construction or engineering, always seek the local equipment – e.g.
bicycle parts!
Step 7: Identify the
environmental
requirements for the long
term
 Projects need to be designed in such a
way that they can be sustained by the
environment in which they are located,
including water use, land use, wood use, soil fertility etc.
 For all water projects, this will include understanding how plentiful the
water supply is (recharge of water table, spring yield etc.) to ensure
water is not over extracted.
 For sanitation projects, it will include ensuring the water source is not
contaminated by situating latrines in the wrong places. Provision is made
for emptying latrines in the future or for filling them in and building new
ones.
 For food security projects, it will include considering soil fertility,
erosion risks, etc.
 For projects involving construction and replication of buildings (e.g.
homes, latrines) it will include considering the use of local materials for
construction: sand, wood, wood for burnt bricks etc.
For further information refer to Standard 10: Environment.
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Standard 11:Sustainability
Project examples:
In Liberia a water project included helping to establish a pump parts dealer
in the local town, in order to help ensure a local, ongoing supply of spare
parts.
In Zimbabwe a partner working with orphans and the households that care
for them, chose as their main strategy to mobilise local churches to take
responsibility for orphans in their community. This recognises the role that
churches have in caring for the vulnerable, and supports sustainability since
the churches are a long-term presence in the community.
In Indonesia, a partner supported the re-establishment of rice farming
groups, and networked with other service providers until it was possible to
re-establish large scale rice production on land that had been damaged by
the tsunami.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Our Commitment:
We are committed to influencing
key decision-makers to make and
implement policies and practices
that work in favour of people who
are poor, vulnerable and
marginalised.
Members of a farmers organization in Zoungou
village, Burkina Faso, meet to discuss the issues
and policies that affect them
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Standard 12:Advocacy
The issues
Poverty, marginalisation and vulnerability to disasters all have both causes
and effects. ‘Causes’ are the things that lead to these things happening; the
reasons why they exist. ‘Effects’ are the repercussions; the things that occur
as a result of poverty, marginalisation and vulnerability to disasters. For
most NGOs, it is easier to address the effects (for example, by providing
shelter to people made homeless by an earthquake or anti-retro viral drugs
to people living with HIV) than it is to address the causes (for example, by
putting early warning and preparedness systems in place for people living in
earthquake zones or educating people about how to prevent contracting
HIV).
Most NGOs are recognising that they need to address the causes, as well as
the effects, of poverty, marginalisation and vulnerability to disasters if the
impact of these things are going to be reduced. Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR) is one way of doing this. Advocacy is another way.
Here is an analogy to explain:
Imagine that you are standing by a river and someone in front of you
has floated downstream and is drowning. What would you do? You
would probably help to pull that person out of the river. But what if
it happens again and someone else floats downstream and starts
drowning in front of you? What if it keeps happening? How many times
can you keep pulling people out of the water? You can keep trying,
but you will probably burn out.
If you are able, you might start teaching people how to swim, so they
can stay afloat and get themselves out of the water. But someone,
somewhere, needs to head upstream and find out why people are
falling into the river in the first place. They then need to do
something to try and prevent anyone else falling in and drowning.
Each time someone falls in the river and starts to drown, it is as if a
disaster is occurring. Rescuing these drowning people is similar to
relief work, in that we are responding to an immediate need in the
face of a crisis. Teaching people to swim is like our longer-term
development work, in that we are empowering them to cope with the
situation they are facing. Heading upstream to make investigations,
and to try and prevent people from falling into the river in the first
place, is where our advocacy work fits in.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
At the root of many situations of poverty, marginalisation or vulnerability to
disasters, there is often a law or policy which needs to be addressed.
Advocacy aims to change these policies. It does this in several ways:
 It may seek to bring a new law or policy into existence, to address and
unjust situation;
 It may seek to prevent a new law or policy coming into existence if it
would be unjust;
 More often, it may seek to change an existing law or policy, which is not
working properly or which is badly worded.
 Most frequently, it may seek to implement an existing law or policy,
which is perfectly adequate, but is not actually being put into practice.
Every time advocacy takes place, it is targeted at the government
departments, institutions or individuals that are responsible for making,
deciding and implementing policy. These people are collectively called
‘decision-makers’. They can be in the community, at the local or national
level, or even the international level.
Advocacy can be done directly by those affected by injustice, or on their
behalf, or through a combination of both. Anyone can undertake advocacy
work. It does not have to be done by professionals or experts. Good
advocacy work empowers people. It enables people to speak for themselves
and their communities. It helps them to influence decision-makers in
strategic and contextually appropriate ways, so that they are able to access
what they are entitled to and what is rightfully theirs.
Example 1:
In an emergency setting, people might be malnourished. Advocacy
work might involve asking the local health authority to provide money
to local hospitals, in order to enable them to provide facilities for
treating malnutrition. When money is given, the hospital might be
able to build a stabilisation unit for people who are malnourished.
Example 2:
After a conflict, people might be urged to return home, but there
might be no water and sanitation facilities back home. Sometimes,
there is a government resolution in place to provide water and
sanitation. Advocacy work might involve speaking out to the local
authority in the home districts and urging them to comply with the
provisions of the government resolution. When they comply, water
and sanitation facilities are provided, and people are more willing
and able to return home.
Example 3:
A national government may have devolved powers, and transferred
funds, to municipal authorities to spend on public services. Where this
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Standard 12:Advocacy
is the case, advocacy work might involve empowering local
communities to engage with their municipal authorities, by actively
participating in the processes involved in setting the budget, and in
influencing decisions about how to allocate municipal spending
towards different public services.
Example 4:
A country may not have any policy concerning care for people living
with HIV/AIDS, although the government and NGOs may implement
their own ad hoc systems. In this scenario, advocacy work may involve
taking the initiative to gather together interested and relevant groups
and organisations, and then working together to draft a suitable
policy and present it to the government for approval. It would need to
reflect good practice, and the members of the working group would
need to commit to ensuring it is implemented after it is approved.
Without advocacy work, projects and programmes will only address the
immediate problems without also addressing the underlying causes that have
caused the problems in the first place. Without advocacy work, preventative
measures will be limited, and underlying power structures will be
unchallenged. Without advocacy work, beneficiaries may not be aware of
their entitlement to have their basic rights fulfilled, nor the responsibility of
powerful decision-makers to fulfil those rights.
Biblical foundations
The advocacy quality standard recognises that we have a responsibility to
speak for those who are poor, weak, vulnerable and destitute, before those
who are powerful decision-makers. The Bible has many examples of
advocates: Moses, who pleaded with Pharaoh to set the Israelites free from
slavery in Egypt; Nehemiah, who challenged the government officials to stop
exacting usury; and Esther, who risked her life to ask the king to stop
oppressing the Jews. The Bible urges us to “Speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and
judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Good Practice commitments
In the context of our projects and programmes, being an advocate means
asking, “Is there an unjust policy underlying this situation, or a policy that is
not being implemented? Who has decision-making power to change and/or
implement it? How can I influence them to favour people who are adversely
affected by poverty, marginalisation or vulnerability to disasters?”
As an organisation, Tearfund is committed to influencing the key decisionmakers in relief and development situations, so that their policies work in
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Standard 12:Advocacy
favour of people who are poor, marginalised or vulnerable to disasters. For
example:
 In a conflict situation, we might advocate to tribal chiefs to encourage
peace building and power sharing.
 In a place vulnerable to flooding, we might advocate to wealthy
landowners to allow access across their land so that those who live in the
flood risk zones can get to safety on higher ground.
 In a place vulnerable to earthquakes, we might advocate to local
authorities to reinforce the structure of public buildings and to put in
place preparedness measures.
 In a place where HIV/AIDS is prevalent, we might advocate for increased
access to anti-retro viral medicines.
 In a setting where access to water and sanitation is limited, we might
advocate for government funding to pay for bore holes, pipes, wells,
latrines and other infrastructure.
 In a context where people are frequently displaced, or forced to become
refugees, we might advocate for land rights to enable them to settle.
Advocacy is all about influencing these powerful people to act in equitable
ways. It is about urging them to make and implement just decisions and fair
policies, and it is about holding them to account for their promises.
Close links to other Quality Standards
Our commitment to advocacy has close links to:
 Values, with our commitment to justice;
 Disaster Risk Reduction, as the root causes of vulnerability are often
issues of policy;
 HIV, recognising that policy issues need to be addressed where HIV is a
priority concern.
Where to look for further information:
 Tearfund advocacy toolkit (ROOTS 1&2):
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/roots/advocacy_to
olkit/
 Seeking Justice for All (PILLARS guide):
http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/pillars/seeking_ju
stice_for_all/
 TILZ advocacy learning zone – including ‘Why Advocate’ guides on
HIV/AIDS, climate change, disaster risk reduction, governance and
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Standard 12:Advocacy
corruption, and water, sanitation and hygiene:
http://tilz.tearfund.org/Topics/Advocacy
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Practical Steps to carrying out our Advocacy commitment
Identification
Step 1: Identify the problem
issue that needs to be
addressed and gather
information about its causes
and effects
Step 2: Identify the policies
that relate to the problem
issue, at which level they
sit, and who has
responsibility for them
Design
Step 3: Identify key
stakeholders and establish
relationships with them
Step 4: Assess the risks and
benefits of going ahead with
advocacy
Step 5: Put it all together in
an action plan and integrate
it into your project plans
Implementation
Step 6: Engage in advocacy
using the most contextappropriate methods
Step 7: Continually reflect
on what is being learnt in
order to continually
improve
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Step 1: Identify the problem
issue that needs to be
addressed and gather
information about its causes
and effects
To undertake advocacy, you need to
identify the key problem issues need
to be identified. A budget line needs
to be set aside, at least initially, to
pay for the initial research involved.
It is good practice for these issues to
relate to emergency, or existing,
projects and programmes, rather
than being freestanding.
A facilitator needs to listen to those affected and ask them questions,
perhaps through semi-structured interviewing or focus groups, and then
agree which issues are priority needs. This process may link with the Disaster
Risk quality standard, where capacities and vulnerabilities are identified.
Once the main problem issues have been identified, a facilitator needs to
work with the beneficiaries to identify the main effects and causes of the
issues. This can be done using a problem tree, a contextual analysis, or
another similar tool. To identify the causes, it is helpful to keep asking why
problems exist until you find the root cause which may be related to
policies, culture or finance. An allocated resource person then needs to
gather information about the causes and effects. Local churches can be key
information providers.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Step 2: Identify the policies
that relate to the problem
issue, at which level they
sit, and who has
responsibility for them
Using the information gathered in Step 1, you
need to research and identify whether a policy
or policies or practices relate to the problem
issues and, if so, what they are. At the same
time, you need to establish whether the policy
or policies are local, provincial, national,
regional or even international. You also need
to identify who has responsibility for the policy
or policies. All this will help determine the level at which advocacy is
undertaken. For example:
 If the problem issue relates to land ownership, there might be a local
authority policy or certain practices about land rights, so any advocacy
would be done at local level and targeted at the local authority.
 If the problem relates to HIV, there might be a national policy in
place, which allocates decision-making to provincial level, so any
advocacy would be done with the provincial authorities.
 If the problem relates to resettlement of internally displaced people,
there might be a national government policy about resettlement, so
any advocacy would be done at national level and targeted at the
national government.
 If the problem relates to climate change, this is not confined to
country borders, and there are regional and international policies in
place, so any advocacy would be done at regional or international
level and targeted at regional bodies, such as SADC, or international
bodies, such as the UN.
This process of identification could be done through independent research or
through conversations with other peer agencies. (See Step 3) The level of
detail and the amount of information needed will vary in different
situations, but it always needs to be easily accessible, in the language and
format most appropriate for the target audience that you will influence, and
updated regularly.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Step 3: Identify key
stakeholders and establish
relationships with them
You need to identify other people
who are concerned for the same
problem issues as you. You could do
this through a stakeholder analysis
or another similar tool. Amongst
others, you will need to establish relationships with other peer agencies and
the communities affected by the key problem issues, including the
emergency if it is a disaster setting.
It is good to identify other people who are concerned with the same problem
issues because it allows potential for joint advocacy action. This has several
advantages. Firstly, it generates a more powerful collective ‘voice’, which
decision-makers are more likely to listen to. Secondly, it offers some
protection for those involved in speaking out in advocacy, because any
repercussions are directed at the collective group rather than the individuals
involved. Thirdly, it enables those with less experience in advocacy to learn
from those with more experience.
National church bodies can be key stakeholders, and they often represent a
wide network of local churches. The church often has natural links with the
wider world. It may be in touch with a district co-ordinating body such as a
diocesan office, through which it may have access to, and contact with,
NGOs and INGOs. It will also be recognised by, and often have contact with,
local government. It can act as an introduction agency and gate-keeper
between the NGOs, INGOs and the local community. The church can also
pass information through its networks and structures to the national level
and the wider church.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Step 4: Assess the risks and
benefits of going ahead with
advocacy
Advocacy is not always a suitable course
of action in every situation, so it is
important to assess whether to go ahead
with it. This is only possible once Steps
1-3 have been completed, i.e. you have
done your research, you have gathered
your evidence, and you have identified
your key stakeholders. You can do this using a risk/benefit tool, such as a
SWOT/BEEM analysis, or you could speak with other peer agencies and the
communities affected about the potential risks and benefits involved. What
is important is that the decision about whether or not to go ahead with
advocacy is made and approved by your leadership.
Step 5: Put it all together in
an action plan and integrate
it into your project plans
If the decision is made to go ahead with advocacy,
in full awareness of the risks and benefits, the next
step is to put all your preparatory work together in
a plan of action. Wherever possible, your plan should be incorporated into
your project log frames or equivalent theory of change tools. In addition to
the normal components of your log frames (or equivalent), you must be clear
about your allies, your targets (who you will influence), your assumptions,
and the risks/benefits involved, as these all need to be monitored and
evaluated.
You might decide to appoint a dedicated staff member within your project
team (such as a Policy Officer or an Advocacy Officer). This would apply if
you have identified a major issue that needs dedicated capacity to research
and address it (otherwise Project staff can coordinate advocacy activities as
part of the project).
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Step 6: Engage in advocacy
using the most contextappropriate methods
Your plan then needs to be put
into action and you need to start
advocating! This means clarifying
your main advocacy messages, and then establishing relationships with key
decision-makers who you are targeting with your advocacy messages. Your
advocacy methodology will vary depending on the decision-makers and other
stakeholders involved, but could include meetings, phone calls, letterwriting, petitions, information boards, leaflets, local radio, street marches
and other mass mobilisation methods, or any other means that are
appropriate. The methods you choose must be context-specific and those
that are most likely to influence changes.
Step 7: Continually reflect
on what is being learnt in
order to continually
improve
This final step involves reflecting on
the risks and benefits identified in Step
4, now that advocacy is underway.
Were the assumptions made in Step 4
correct? If not, what plans and actions
need to change in light of what is being
experienced? It is important to make
adjustments to your advocacy approach
to ensure it is effective.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
Project Examples
In Niger, a partner working with pastoralist communities advocated
against a government decision to create a law that would negatively
impact the livelihoods o nomadic herders. They met with government
officials to explain the potential problems with the proposed law, and
made recommendations for how it could be improved. They also
requested that pastoralist communities be consulted. After this
happened, the government decided to stop the law proceeding.
In Mozambique, a partner advocated for a law setting out the rights of
people living with HIV to adequate food security. Together with others,
they lobbied the government officials responsible for health and food
security, and they helped to draft a new law. After the law was passed,
they worked with others to ensure that people living with HIV were
aware of what it said, and to ensure that local authority leaders knew
what they had to do to ensure the law was implemented.
In Haiti, a partner, working in coalition with others, advocated against
barriers to education, and especially the two big barriers of
accessibility and affordability. They developed relationships with, and
met with, key government officials, requesting a national policy that
would commit to reducing the cost of education, whilst improving the
quality of education. Following extensive sector-wide dialogue, the
government passed an appropriate law, and the partner, with the
coalition, is seeking to ensure it is implemented.
In Bangladesh, a partner advocated with local Disaster Management
Committees (DMC) to provide resources to reinforce embankments to
protect them against annual river flooding. They also contacted a
journalist to publicise the problem and their proposed solution. The
journalist wrote media articles and the DMCs, not wanting bad
publicity, committed the required resources, which the affected
communities utilised to build embankments.
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Standard 12:Advocacy
A partner in India advocated with local landowners in a flood-prone area
to be able to build a raised evacuation route across their private land.
Their successful negotiation with 47 landowners resulted in a safe
evacuation route from the frequent flooding.
In Niger, a partner as part of its work with a pastoralist group has tried
to change the text of the “Code Pastoral”, a government law outlining
the rights and entitlements of pastoralists. The partner has also worked
to ensure these rights are understood on the ground by the community
and local authorities so that the existing law can be better implemented.
A partner in Zimbabwe discovered that many of their beneficiaries
(households caring for orphans) were being left off lists for receiving
official food aid. They therefore advocated on behalf of these
households to be included on the distribution list.
In Afghanistan, a project team identified the need to raise awareness
about World Water Day and to work with media groups to have
information on water issues and the importance of water conservation in
Afghanistan broadcast by radio. The team produced an 18-minute special
radio programme and then lobbied the government and private radio
stations for free broadcasting of the programme. The media houses
initially objected to this, but through persistence and by making
reference to the life saving nature of these messages for the Afghan
people, one radio station agreed to waive its fees and then other major
radio stations followed suit by agreeing to free broadcasts.
A project manager in Darfur, Sudan recognised that the local hospital
which was running a therapeutic feeding centre did not have sufficient
rooms to accommodate the patients. After lobbying donors to recognise
the need for upgrading the service available, UNICEF provided the
necessary funding to provide new rooms.
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Quality Standards in the Identification Phase:
Here are some of the key questions to ask as you seek to include the Quality
Standards in the identification phase of the project cycle:
Values:

Prior to carrying out assessments, do staff fully understand the values of
the organisation in order to reflect these in their interactions with
communities - showing dignity and respect, and acting with compassion
and sensitivity?
Impartiality and Targeting:



Will you explain in your community meetings the commitment to
impartiality and the importance of targeting the most vulnerable?
Will the assessment include an analysis of the different ways in which
people have been made vulnerable as a result of the emergency?
Will you agree with the community the criteria for identifying those who
are most vulnerable?
Accountability:




Will you obtain the consent of the community to carry out the
assessment?
Will you be transparent with the community about your organisation, your
programme, and the purpose of the assessment?
Will you ensure the full participation in the assessment by all groups
within the community, including those who are less visible?
Will you invite the community to ask questions and ensure that the
assessment is a two-way conversation?
Disaster Risk:


Will your assessment gather information on peoples’ underlying
vulnerabilities and capacities, as well as their immediate needs?
Will your assessment identify the root causes of vulnerability: whether
official policy, cultural traditions, climate change, other factors?
Technical Quality:



Do you have a clear understanding of your areas of specialism and
technical strengths as an organisation and will this guide the questions
asked in your assessments?
Will you refer to the Sphere handbook to help identify the questions to
ask?
Will you gain a clear understanding of the priorities expressed by the
community and see which areas you have the technical experience and
capacity to support?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Children:



Will your assessment find out how many children have been particularly
affected and in what ways?
Those who are carrying out the assessments, do they have a good grasp of
for child development and their needs and rights?
Does your assessment include boys and girls’ views?
Gender:



Will you gain an understanding of the existing roles of men and women –
their daily schedules and workloads and the prevailing attitudes towards
men and towards women?
Will your assessment gather the perspectives of women, men, boys and
girls through separate focus group discussions?
Will your assessment identify the ways in which vulnerability has
increased for men and women as a result of the emergency?
HIV:


Will you gain an understanding of the HIV prevalence rates in the area
and the practices and traditions that contribute to vulnerability to HIV?
Will you identify the ways in which vulnerability to HIV has increased for
men and women as a result of the emergency?
Conflict:



Will your assessment include an analysis of the conflict situation, using
conflict analysis tools?
Will your assessment find out what types of project activities or
approaches would have a positive impact for the beneficiaries and which
might escalate conflict or increase their vulnerability to attack?
Have you gathered information from staff, community, local authorities
about their perceptions of your organisation, NGOs in general, UN,
Government and those involved in the conflict?
Environment:


Will your assessment find out the environmental context – climate change
risk, environmental management customs, coping mechanisms and
vulnerable resources?
Will your assessment find out the changing trends in the environmental
situation – rainfall patterns, degradation or other underlying changes?
Sustainability:

Will your assessment assess the context and the expectations of
sustainability and replicability for the different needs and services
discussed in the assessment?
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Self-Assessment Checklists

Will you find out what government services are in place or planned and
think through how to support them where appropriate?
Advocacy:


Will your assessment seek to identify the underlying policy issues, their
causes and effects, that are at the root of the identified situation and
that are contributing to vulnerability?
Will your assessment identify who has responsibility for these policies?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Quality Standards in the Design Phase:
Here are some of the key questions to ask as you seek to include the Quality
Standards in the design phase of the project cycle:
Values:


Have leaflets, brochures or briefings been developed to explain the
organisation’s values to staff?
Are staff clear on the types of conduct that are unacceptable to the
organisation?
Impartiality and Targeting:



Have the beneficiary selection criteria been agreed with the community
and communicated to staff and to the community so that everyone is
clear?
Are you using actual household size to determine the level of assistance
provided to different targeted families, rather than relying on an average
household figure?
Have you considered the amount of funding or materials available for
distribution in comparison to the level of need, so that meaningful
assistance is provided to those who have been targeted, and the
assistance isn’t spread too thin?
Accountability:







Have you set aside a budget line for Accountability, to cover
accountability staff and associated costs?
Have you gained consent of the community to carry out the project,
including signing a Memorandum of Understanding where appropriate?
Do you have structures in place to solicit ongoing participation from the
community such as beneficiary committees, public meetings, stakeholder
interviews, or focus groups, which are truly representative of the
community as a whole and include vulnerable groups which may
traditionally be overlooked?
Have you agreed with the community the type of information regarding
the organisation, your standards, project plans, progress reports and
feedback procedures to be made publicly available?
Have you agreed with the community what are the best ways of making
this information available (e.g. Information boards, leaflets, public
meetings, etc.) so that all groups within the community have access to
the information?
Have you agreed with the different groups within a community how they
would like to give feedback to the staff during the project?
Are you budgeting and planning for external project evaluations?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Disaster Risk:










Has the project design identified and sought to build up existing
community capacities?
Are community members providing labour assistance in the project as
much as possible, rather than employing labourers from outside?
Are local suppliers being used for project materials?
Are local leadership structures being used?
Are you working with local churches where they exist, to strengthen and
support their role in the community and the project?
Is the project designed to address long-term vulnerabilities?
Where buildings are being constructed in an area of known hazards, does
their design include specific resilience to the hazard, e.g. earthquake
resilience, cyclone resilience etc.?
Where food or cash is to be distributed, are food-for-work or cash-forwork options available which can meaningfully help to address underlying
vulnerabilities through the choice of project activities in addition to
providing immediate food or cash?
Where there is a significant risk of repeat disaster, does the project
include community preparedness for future disasters?
Can some of the underlying causes of vulnerability be addressed through
targeted advocacy?
Technical Quality:



Do the project staff have the technical support needed to guide project
implementation – whether through advisors, consultants, qualified staff
on the ground?
Have arrangements been put in place to ensure quality control when
working with contractors?
Have you referred to the Sphere handbook in incorporating technical
minimum standards and indicators into project design?
Children:





Have you designed projects in a way that is child friendly and supports
child development?
Have children participated in the planning of any child-focused projects,
to ensure design is appropriate?
Have you carried out a risk assessment prior to working with children and
vulnerable young people?
If there are medium or high risks, have you taken steps to minimise the
risks?
Have you considered working together with other stakeholders whom you
could work together to meet the needs of vulnerable children?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Gender:




Have you designed individual project activities in a way that is
appropriate to the target group of men or of women – in light of their
daily routines, livelihood activities, domestic duties etc.
Has the project been designed to enhance the safety of women and
children e.g. in relation to the physical location of project services or the
time of day that meetings are held?
Are community committees or structures that will be overseeing the
project going to be inclusive of both men and women and working in a
way that participation is meaningful?
Will the structures in place to solicit on-going participation from the
community such as beneficiary committees, public meetings, stakeholder
interviews, or focus groups, be encouraging and facilitating the
participation of women and children as well as men?
HIV:






Do you understand your project context in relation to HIV: the
vulnerabilities, the underlying causes, the groups most at risk?
Have you designed projects to help people to be less vulnerable towards
HIV?
In situations of medium or high prevalence have you designed projects to
help make life easier for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their families?
Have you designed HIV awareness and prevention activities for
beneficiaries and communities?
Where there are perpetrators of sexual violence and abuse, have you
sought out opportunities to interact with these groups and influence their
behaviour?
Have you designed projects to advocate for and address policy issues
relating to HIV where they are a priority?
Conflict:




Where lack of safety is a primary concern have you designed your project
approach to help to meet the safety needs of the community?
Has the project been designed to work with all groups proportionate to
their need?
Have you discussed with the community the potential impact of the
project design and the impact on those you are not working with?
Where there are local churches have you sought to build on their role in
promoting peace and reconciliation?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Environment:






Have you assessed the likely impacts of the project on the environment
before beginning?
Has a full environmental assessment been carried out where the project
directly impacts on the environment, e.g. Water and Sanitation, Food
Security, Livelihoods and Construction?
Is the project designed to decrease environmental damage and to
increase positive environmental outcomes?
Have you assessed the risk of climate change impacts on the project or
community? Have you strengthened the project against these?
For projects requiring wood e.g. for shelter or latrines, is the use of wood
being minimised and does the project include the replanting of trees?
For water and sanitation projects is the water source being kept free
from contamination, and over abstraction avoided?
Sustainability:







For each individual project, have you identified the knowledge and skills
that will be required within the community for the long-term?
Have you identified the type of community organisation that will be
required for the long term to oversee the work and can it build on
existing or traditional structures?
Have you identified ways to support and strengthen government services,
where appropriate?
Have you identified the type of relationship with government or other
service providers required for the long-term and ensured that these are
realistic?
Have you identified the financial input required for each individual
project over the long term and ensured that this is realistic?
Have you identified the materials and supplies that are required for each
individual project over the long-term, ensuring that they are local as
much as possible?
Have you identified the environmental requirements for the long-term
and ensured that these are sustainable – water use, land use, wood use,
soil fertility etc.?
Advocacy:



Have you put together an action plan or integrated advocacy work into
your project log frame?
Have you assessed the risks and benefits of going ahead with advocacy?
Do you have approval by your leadership of the proposed advocacy
strategy which takes full account of the risks and the benefits?
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Self-Assessment Checklists
Quality Standards in the Implementation &
Evaluation Phases:
Here are some of the key questions to ask as you seek to include the Quality
Standards in the implementation and completion phases of the project cycle:
Values:



Is refresher training and induction being carried out throughout the life of
the project for staff on the organisation’s values and policies?
Are clear procedures in place to investigate allegations of unacceptable
conduct?
Have staff members been identified and trained to carry out
investigations when required?
Impartiality and Targeting:

Are you monitoring the project to ensure that the selection criteria
continue to be appropriate and are reaching the most vulnerable?
Accountability:





Have you established an appropriate mechanism to receive feedback from
beneficiaries and the wider community, which reflects the preferences of
the community?
Is the whole community aware of the feedback mechanism and how to
access it?
Are representatives of the community involved in addressing complaints
and resolving disputes?
Are you changing project plans in light of the feedback received?
Are you keeping a record of the feedback received, the responses given
and project decisions made?
Disaster Risk:

Are you monitoring the project to check that vulnerabilities are being
reduced and capacities are being built and not undermined?
Technical Quality:

Are you monitoring the technical quality of the project and making
technical adjustments where needed?
Children:



What measures are there to ensure the impact of the programme is
reaching the most vulnerable children?
Are there avenues for children to feedback safely on implementation of
programmes?
Are these complaints taken seriously and responded to appropriately?
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Self-Assessment Checklists

Are there identified focal persons within the programme to support
children where abuses have been reported?
Gender:




Are you discussing gender attitudes and issues within the team and are
you modelling positive gender relationships?
Is there a good overall balance of men and women on the team?
Is the gender of staff appropriate to the specific activities that need to be
carried out, recognising that some roles are only appropriate for men and
some only for women?
Are you measuring and monitoring the impact of the project on both men
and women and keeping disaggregated data?
HIV:


Are you addressing underlying attitudes and help to shape positive values
by working with local church leaders or other religious leaders?
Are you monitoring and evaluating the impact of your HIV approach and
making changes where needed?
Conflict:





Are you taking steps to communicate and reiterate your impartial and
independent position as an organisation in the community?
Do all staff understand the organisation’s commitments and principles in
order to represent them to others?
Are you aware of the tribal or ethnic balance of your staff?
Have you thought through how to include messages of peace in your
sector work?
Have you set indicators in order to monitor whether relationships with the
community are breaking down or the conflict dynamics are changing?
Environment:


Is the project being monitored to observe and manage its environmental
impact?
Have steps been taken to reduce your own impact on the environment as
members of staff – the use of vehicles, power, project resources, flights
etc.?
Sustainability:


Are the local skills and knowledge required for the long term in place or
are changes to the project approach needed?
Is the required long term community organisation or structure (e.g. a
village committee) in place and effective or are changes to the project
approach needed?
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Self-Assessment Checklists




Are any required long-term relationships with government or other
service providers in place and effective or are changes to the project
approach needed?
Are any required long-term systems to provide on-going financial input
working (e.g. village contributions or user fees) or are changes to the
project approach needed?
Is the reliance on materials and supplies which are locally available
proving to be effective or are changes to the project approach needed?
Are the required long term environmental requirements proving to be
sustainable – water, land, wood, soil, etc., or are changes to the project
approach needed?
Advocacy:



Have you identified key stakeholders and established relationships with
them?
Are you seeking to work in coalition with other NGOs and organisations in
order to have a collective voice?
Are you reflecting on what is being learnt through the advocacy approach
and making changes where needed to ensure it is effective?
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SECTION TWO:
INTERNATIONAL CODES AND COMMITMENTS
SUPPORTING THE QUALITY STANDARDS
1
The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster
Relief
149
2
The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and
Accountability (CHS)
152
3
The SPHERE Project – Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in Disaster Response
153
4
The Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse by UN and non UN Personnel
157
5
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
159
6
The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
160
7
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
162
8
The Keeping Children Safe Coalition standards
164
9
The HIV Code of Practice
166
10
The OCHA Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
168
11
The People in Aid Code of Good Practice in the
management and support of aid personnel
169
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The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster
Relief
Tearfund is a signatory of the Code of Conduct for the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs
in Disaster Relief. The Code sets out the following
commitments:
1. The Humanitarian imperative comes first
The right to receive humanitarian assistance, and to offer it, is a fundamental
humanitarian principle which should be enjoyed by all citizens of all countries.
As members of the international community, we recognise our obligation to
provide humanitarian assistance wherever it is needed. Hence the need for
unimpeded access to affected populations is of fundamental importance in
exercising that responsibility. The prime motivation of our response to disaster
is to alleviate human suffering amongst those least able to withstand the stress
caused by disaster. When we give humanitarian aid it is not a partisan or
political act and should not be viewed as such.
2. Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients
and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on
the basis of need alone
Wherever possible, we will base the provision of relief aid upon a thorough
assessment of the needs of the disaster victims and the local capacities already
in place to meet those needs. Within the entirety of our programmes, we will
reflect considerations of proportionality. Human suffering must be alleviated
whenever it is found; life is as precious in one part of a country as another.
Thus, our provision of aid will reflect the degree of suffering it seeks to
alleviate. In implementing this approach, we recognise the crucial role played
by women in disaster prone communities and will ensure that this role is
supported, not diminished, by our aid programmes. The implementation of such
a universal, impartial and independent policy can only be effective if we and
our partners have access to the necessary resources to provide for such
equitable relief, and have equal access to all disaster victims.
3. Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint
Humanitarian aid will be given according to the need of individuals, families and
communities. Not withstanding the right of NGHAs to espouse particular
political or religious opinions, we affirm that assistance will not be dependent
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149
on the adherence of t he recipients to those opinions. We will not tie the
promise, delivery or distribution of assistance to the embracing or acceptance
of a particular political or religious creed.
4. We shall endeavour not to act as instruments of government foreign policy
NGHAs are agencies which act independently from governments. We therefore
formulate our own policies and implementation strategies and do not seek to
implement the policy of any government, except in so far as it coincides with
our own independent policy. We will never knowingly - or through negligence allow ourselves, or our employees, to be used to gather information of a
political, military or economically sensitive nature for governments or other
bodies that may serve purposes other than those which are strictly
humanitarian, nor will we act as instruments of foreign policy of donor
governments. We will use the assistance we receive to respond to needs and
this assistance should not be driven by the need to dispose of donor commodity
surpluses, nor by the political interest of any particular donor. We value and
promote the voluntary giving of labour and finances by concerned individuals to
support our work and recognise the independence of action promoted by such
voluntary motivation. In order to protect our independence we will seek to
avoid dependence upon a single funding source.
5. We shall respect culture and custom
We will endeavour to respect the culture, structures and customs of the
communities and countries we are working in.
6. We shall attempt to build disaster response on local capacities
All people and communities - even in disaster - possess capacities as well as
vulnerabilities. Where possible, we will strengthen these capacities by
employing local staff, purchasing local materials and trading with local
companies. Where possible, we will work through local NGHAs as partners in
planning and implementation, and co-operate with local government structures
where appropriate. We will place a high priority on the proper co-ordination of
our emergency responses. This is best done within the countries concerned by
those most directly involved in the relief operations, and should include
representatives of the relevant UN bodies.
7. Ways shall be found to involve programme beneficiaries in the
management of relief aid
Disaster response assistance should never be imposed upon the beneficiaries.
Effective relief and lasting rehabilitation can best be achieved where the
intended beneficiaries are involved in the design, management and
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implementation of the assistance programme. We will strive to achieve full
community participation in our relief and rehabilitation programmes.
8: Relief aid must strive to reduce future vulnerabilities to disaster as well as
meeting basic needs
All relief actions affect the prospects for long term development, either in a
positive or a negative fashion. Recognising this, we will strive to implement
relief programmes which actively reduce the beneficiaries' vulnerability to
future disasters and help create sustainable lifestyles. We will pay particular
attention to environmental concerns in the design and management of relief
programmes. We will also endeavour to minimise the negative impact of
humanitarian assistance, seeking to avoid long term beneficiary dependence
upon external aid.
9. We hold ourselves accountable to both those we seek to assist and those
from whom we accept resources
We often act as an institutional link in the partnership between those who wish
to assist and those who need assistance during disasters. We therefore hold
ourselves accountable to both constituencies. All our dealings with donors and
beneficiaries shall reflect an attitude of openness and transparency. We
recognise the need to report on our activities, both from a financial perspective
and the perspective of effectiveness. We recognise the obligation to ensure
appropriate monitoring of aid distributions and to carry out regular assessments
of the impact of disaster assistance. We will also seek to report, in an open
fashion, upon the impact of our work, and the factors limiting or enhancing that
impact. Our programmes will be based upon high standards of professionalism
and expertise in order to minimise the wasting of valuable resources.
10: In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall
recognise disaster victims as dignified humans, not hopeless objects
Respect for the disaster victim as an equal partner in action should never be
lost. In our public information we shall portray an objective image of the
disaster situation where the capacities and aspirations of disaster victims are
highlighted, and not just their vulnerabilities and fears. While we will cooperate with the media in order to enhance public response, we will not allow
external or internal demands for publicity to take precedence over the principle
of maximising overall relief assistance. We will avoid competing with other
disaster response agencies for media coverage in situations where such coverage
may be to the detriment of the service provided to the beneficiaries or to the
security of our staff or the beneficiaries.
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Core Humanitarian Standard
The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and
Accountability (CHS) sets out Nine Commitments that
organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian
response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they
provide. It also facilitates greater accountability to communities and people
affected by crisis: knowing what humanitarian organisations have committed to
will enable them to hold those organisations to account.
As a core standard, the CHS describes the essential elements of principled,
accountable and high-quality humanitarian action. Humanitarian organisations
may use it as a voluntary code with which to align their own internal
procedures. It can also be used as a basis for verification of performance.
Tearfund has transitioned from Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP)
accreditation to CHS, and was audited by CHS in May 2015. The new Core
Humanitarian Standard (CHS) was launched in December 2014. CHS has been phased
in to replace HAP over 2015. HAP is no longer certifying agencies, as it has been
superseded by CHS. However, the benchmarks of HAP still apply to Tearfund’s work.
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The SPHERE Project – Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in Disaster Response
The Sphere Project was developed after
the lesson learning from the Rwanda
humanitarian response and is based on
two core beliefs: that all possible steps
should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of calamity and
conflict, and that those affected by disaster have a right to life with dignity and
therefore a right to assistance. Sphere represents an important global
commitment to quality and accountability. Established in 1997, the Sphere
Project is not a membership organisation. Governed by a Board composed of
representatives of global networks of humanitarian agencies, the Sphere Project
today is a vibrant community of humanitarian response practitioners.
The vision:
"Sphere works for a world where the right of all people affected by disaster to reestablish their lives and livelihoods is recognized and acted upon in ways that
respect their voice and promote their dignity, livelihoods and security."
Sphere contains a Humanitarian Charter which sets out principles based on
humanitarian law and the right to life with dignity.
It also sets out four Protection Principles which underpin all humanitarian
action and encompass the basic elements of protection in the context of
humanitarian response.
Protection Principle 1: Avoid exposing people to further harm as a result of
your actions
Those involved in humanitarian response take steps to avoid or minimise any
adverse effects of their intervention, in particular the risk of exposing people to
increased danger or abuse of their rights.
Protection Principle 2: Ensure people’s access to impartial assistance – in
proportion to need and without discrimination
People can access humanitarian assistance according to need and without
adverse discrimination. Assistance is not withheld from people in need, and
access for humanitarian agencies is provided as necessary to meet the Sphere
standards.
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Protection Principle 3: Protect people from physical and psychological harm
arising from violence and coercion
People are protected from violence, from being forced or induced to act against
their will and from fear of such abuse.
Protection Principle 4: Assist people to claim their rights, access available
remedies and recover from the effects of abuse
The affected population is helped to claim their rights through information,
documentation and assistance in seeking remedies. Peope are supported
appropriately in recovering from the physical, psychological and social effects
of violence and other abuses.
Sphere then sets out six Core Standards which are to be adhered to in
combination with the sector-specific standards which follow.
Core Standard 1: People-centred humanitarian response
People’s capacity and strategies to survive with dignity are integral to the
design and approach of humanitarian response.
Core Standard 2: Coordination and collaboration
Humanitarian response is planned and implemented in coordination with the
relevant authorities, humanitarian agencies and civil society organisations
engaged in impartial humanitarian action, working together for maximum
efficiency, coverage and effectiveness.
Core Standard 3: Assessment
The priority needs of the disaster-affected population are identified through a
systematic assessment of the context, risks to life with dignity and the capacity
of the affected people and relevant authorities to respond.
Core Standard 4: Design and response
The humanitarian response meets the assessed needs of the disaster-affected
population in relation to context, the risks faced and the capacity of the
affected people and state to cope and recover.
Core Standard 5: Performance, transparency and learning
The performance of humanitarian agencies is continually examined and
communicated to stakeholders; projects are adapted in response to
performance.
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Core Standard 6: Aid worker performance
Humanitarian agencies provide appropriate management, supervisory and
psychosocial support, enabling aid workers to have the knowledge, skills,
behaviour and attitudes to plan and implement an effective humanitarian
response with humanity and respect.
Sphere contains a set of Minimum Standards for specific sectors:
Water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion
Food security and nutrition
Shelter, settlement and non-food items
Health action
The Standards:
 Are the basic minimum level of service provision, cannot be changed and
are Qualitative
The Indicators:
 Reflect the local situation and can vary according to local context with
justification
 Refer to process or an output
 Show whether a standard is being met or not
The Guidance Notes:
 Expand the indicators and explain controversial areas
Understanding the difference between Standards and Indicators:
Our commitment is to meet Sphere Standards using Indicators which are
appropriate for the context. Take ‘water supply standard 1: access and water
quality’ as an example: The standard states ‘all people have safe and equitable
access to a sufficient quantity of water for drinking, cooking and personal and
domestic hygiene. Public water points are sufficiently close to households to
enable use of the minimum water requirement’.
To measure if we are meeting the standard we need to look at the key
indicators and ask:
 Is there an average of 15 litres of water per person per day?
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 Is the maximum distance from any household to the nearest water point
500 meters?
 Is queuing time at a water source no more that 15 minutes?
 Does it take no more than 3 minutes to fill a 20 litre container?
 Are water sources and systems maintained such that appropriate
quantities of water are available consistently or on a regular basis?
Every context is different and it may be that these indicators are unattainable,
for example when the distance to the water source is much greater than 500
metres due to the scattered population or the location of springs. When this is
the case, project proposals and logframes need to explain these differences.
The ideal is for NGOs to collectively agree indicators that are appropriate for
the country or emergency context in question. Coordination is crucial so that all
of the emergency projects are setting standards and indicators that are
consistent with each other.
It is also important to read the indicators in conjunction with the guidance
notes at the end of each standard. This gives more detail about how to interpret
the indicator. Using the example of water supply the guidance note actually
states 7.5 to 15 litres of water per person per day are required. Of this only 2.5
– 3 litres is for drinking and food needs so the remainder does not need to be
treated/protected.
Comparing Sphere standards to the standards of the local or host population:
In countries where the vulnerability to disasters is high and/or where there is
widespread poverty, humanitarian aid providers may find that local populations
live below the Minimum Standards every day. However, the disaster-affected
population may initially need more resources to survive as their coping
strategies have been severely diminished and their health may be weakened
through trauma and a lack of sufficient food or clean water.
This needs to be balanced with the need for a “conflict sensitive” approach,
ensuring that differing levels of assistance provided to different groups do not
contribute to conflict or heighten the vulnerability of beneficiaries. Programmes
must be designed with local conditions in mind. Additionally, the Sphere
Minimum Standards can be used for advocacy purposes to usefully demonstrate
the minimum level that should be available for all people all of the time.
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The Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse by UN and non-UN Personnel
Following earlier scandals in
West Africa, in 2004 the UN
Inter
Agency
Standing
Committee (IASC) drew up a set of 6 core principles through which UN agencies
and NGOs committed to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse by their staff.
The Six Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse are:
1) Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers constitute acts of
gross misconduct and are therefore grounds for termination of employment.
2) Sexual activity with children (persons under the age of 18) is prohibited
regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken belief
regarding the age of a child is not a defence.
3) Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for sex, including sexual
favours or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour is
prohibited. This includes exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries.
4) Sexual relationships between humanitarian workers and beneficiaries are
strongly discouraged since they are based on inherently unequal power
dynamics. Such relationships undermine the credibility and integrity of
humanitarian aid work.
5) Where a humanitarian worker develops concerns or suspicions regarding
sexual abuse or exploitation by a fellow worker, whether in the same agency or
not, he or she must report such concerns via established agency reporting
mechanisms.
6) Humanitarian workers are obliged to create and maintain an environment
which prevents sexual exploitation and abuse and promotes the implementation
of their code of conduct. Managers at all levels have particular responsibilities
to support and develop systems which maintain this environment.
The December 2006 Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse, re-affirms signatories’ commitment to achieving full
implementation of these 6 principles as a matter of urgency. Alongside UN
Personnel and other NGO signatories, Tearfund is a signatory to this binding
agreement, committing to:
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1) Develop organization-specific strategies to prevent and respond to sexual
exploitation and abuse. These would include time-bound, measurable
indicators of progress to enable our organizations and others to monitor our
performance.
2) Incorporate our standards on sexual exploitation and abuse in induction
materials and training courses for our personnel.
3) Prevent perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse from being
(re)hired or (re)deployed. This could include use of background and criminal
reference checks.
4) Ensure that complaint mechanisms for reporting sexual exploitation and
abuse are accessible and that focal points for receiving complaints
understand how to discharge their duties.
5) Take appropriate action to the best of our abilities to protect persons
from retaliation where allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse are
reported involving our personnel.
6) Investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in a timely and
professional manner. This includes the use of appropriate interviewing practice
with complainants and witnesses, particularly with children.
7) Take swift and appropriate action against our personnel who commit
sexual exploitation and abuse. This may include administrative or disciplinary
action, and/or referral to the relevant authorities for appropriate action,
including criminal prosecution.
8) Provide basic emergency assistance to complainants of sexual exploitation
and abuse.
9) Regularly inform our personnel and communities on measures taken to
prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse. Such information
should be developed and disseminated in-country in cooperation with other
relevant agencies and should include details on complaints mechanisms, the
status and outcome of investigations in general terms, feedback on actions
taken against perpetrators and follow-up measures taken as well as assistance
available to complainants and victims.
10) Engage the support of communities and governments to prevent and
respond to sexual exploitation and abuse by our personnel.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United
Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all
peoples and all nations. There are 30 Articles in the Universal
Declaration which include the following:
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
A helpful ‘plain language’ version of the full text of the articles, alongside what
they mean to individuals, can be found here.
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The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General
Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for
women. It defines what constitutes discrimination against
women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such
discrimination. The Convention defines discrimination against
women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex
which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis
of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."
By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of
measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:
 to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal
system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones
prohibiting discrimination against women;
 to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective
protection of women against discrimination; and
 to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by
persons, organisations or enterprises.
On 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly. By the tenth anniversary of the Convention in 1989, almost one
hundred nations had agreed to be bound by its provisions.
The convention consists of a preamble and 30 articles. It provides the basis for
realising equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal
access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life - including the
right to vote and to stand for election - as well as education, health and
employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including
legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their
human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive
rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping
gender roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change
or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children. States parties
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also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in women
and exploitation of women.
The main focus of the convention is the legal status of women as it relates to a
number of areas of life, work and home. The political rights of women are
stated in article 7, equal rights for women to represent their countries at the
international level (article 8) and article 9 providing for the statehood of
women, irrespective of their marital status. This draws attention to the fact
that often women's legal status has been linked to marriage, making them
dependent on their husband's nationality rather than individuals in their own
right. Articles 10, 11 and 13, respectively, affirm women's rights to nondiscrimination in education, employment and economic and social activities.
These demands are given special emphasis with regard to the situation of rural
women, whose particular struggles and vital economic contributions, as noted in
article 14, warrant more attention in policy planning. Article 15 asserts the full
equality of women in civil and business matters. In article 16, the Convention
returns to the issue of marriage and family relations, asserting the equal rights
and obligations of women and men with regard to choice of spouse, parenthood,
personal rights and command over property.
Aside from civil rights issues, the Convention also devotes major attention to a
most vital concern of women, namely their reproductive rights. It advocates in
article 5 for ''a proper understanding of maternity as a social function",
demanding fully shared responsibility for child-rearing by both sexes.
Accordingly, provisions for maternity protection and child-care are proclaimed
as essential rights and are incorporated into all areas of the Convention,
whether dealing with employment, family law, health core or education.
The Convention gives formal recognition to the influence of culture and
tradition on restricting women's enjoyment of their fundamental rights. These
forces take shape in stereotypes, customs and norms which give rise to the
multitude of legal, political and economic constraints on the advancement of
women. Noting this interrelationship, the preamble of the Convention stresses
"that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in
society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality of men and women."
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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special
convention just for them because people under 18 years old
often need special care and protection that adults do not. The
leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized
that children have human rights too.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out these rights in 54 articles and
two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children
everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection
from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in
family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are
non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to
life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every
right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and
harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's
rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social
services.
By agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention (by ratifying or
acceding to it), national governments have committed themselves to protecting
and ensuring children's rights and they have agreed to hold themselves
accountable for this commitment before the international community. States
that are parties to the Convention are obliged to develop and undertake all
actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.
The convention gives children and young people over 40 substantive rights.
These include the right to:
 Special protection measures and assistance
 Access to services such as education and health care
 Develop their personalities, abilities and talents to the fullest potential
 Grow up in an environment of happiness, love and understanding
 Be informed about and participate in achieving their rights in an
accessible and active manner
All of the rights in the convention apply to all children and young people
without discrimination.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is presently the most widely ratified
international human rights instrument.
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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: the articles
Articles 1-41 of the convention set out the rights of children and the
corresponding obligations of governments to safeguard these rights. Article 42
requires states to publicise the principles and provisions of the convention - to
children, young people, parents and carers, and everyone working with children
and young people.
The convention covers the following subjects:







Definition of children as all persons less than 18 years of age, unless the
legal age of majority in a country is lower.
General principles, including the right to life, survival and development,
the right to non-discrimination, respect for the views of children and to
give consideration to a child's best interests, and the requirement to give
primary consideration to the child's best interests in all matters affecting
them.
Civil rights and freedoms, including the right to a name and nationality,
freedom of expression, thought and association, access to information and
the right not to be subjected to torture.
Family environment and alternative care, including the right to live with
and have contact with both parents, to be reunited with parents if
separated from them and to the provision of appropriate alternative care
where necessary.
Basic heath and welfare, including the rights of disabled children, the
right to health and health care, social security, child care services and an
adequate standard of living.
Education, leisure and cultural activities, including the right to education
and the rights to play, leisure and participation in cultural life and the
arts.
Special protection measures covering the rights of refugee children, those
affected by armed conflicts, children in the juvenile justice system,
children deprived of their liberty and children suffering economic, sexual
or other forms of exploitation.
A helpful ‘plain language’ version of the full text of the articles, alongside what
they mean to individuals, can be found here (Annex 2: starts p. 110).
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Keeping Children Safe Standards
Since 2001, a number of aid and development agencies,
along with the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), have been working
together to share experience and knowledge and to
identify a common approach to child protection. These
agencies make up the Keeping Children Safe Coalition. Tearfund is a member.
The aim is to increase the safeguards offered to children, through improved
child protection policies and practice within the agencies and authorities that
work with children.
Statement of commitment:
 Organisations committed to child protection must aim to achieve the highest
level of protection for children with whom they come into contact and to
work towards achieving the standards outlined by Keeping Children Safe.
 We affirm our belief in the right of all children to be protected from all
forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, as set out in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.
 We recognise that all organisations coming into contact with children have a
fundamental duty of care towards them, and we acknowledge our
responsibilities to keep children safe in both relief and development
interventions.
 Though the achievement of the Keeping Children Safe standards may often
be influenced by factors beyond our control, we commit ourselves to
consistently work towards achieving them and we expect to be held to
account accordingly.
A Toolkit for Child Protection
The standards document is based on the following set of principles:
1. All children have equal rights to protection from abuse and exploitation.
2. All children should be encouraged to fulfil their potential and inequalities
should be challenged.
3. Everybody has a responsibility to support the care and protection of
children.
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4. NGOs have a duty of care to children with whom they work and with
whom their representatives work.
5. If agencies work through partners they have a responsibility to meet
minimum standards of protection for the children in their partners’
programmes.
The Standards cover 4 areas:
Standard
Standard
Standard
Standard
1: Policy
2: People
3: Procedures
4: Accountability
Keeping Children Safe has produced a toolkit to help organisations implement
these standards both nationally and internationally.
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The Code of Good Practice for NGOs responding to HIV
This Code sets out a number of Guiding Principles which apply a
human rights approach to the range of HIV/AIDS-specific health,
development and humanitarian work undertaken by NGOs
responding to HIV/AIDS. These principles provide a common
framework applicable to all NGOs engaged in responding to
HIV/AIDS, and are embodied within good practice principles, which guide both
how we work as NGOs and what we do.
Programming principles
Chapter 4 of the Code provides good practice principles to guide:
 HIV/AIDS programming, including HIV prevention; voluntary testing and
counselling; treatment, care and support; and addressing stigma and
discrimination; and
 mainstreaming HIV/AIDS within development and humanitarian
programmes.
The principles in Chapter 4 relate to services, programmes and advocacy work
(the term ‘programmes’ is used to encompass all three). Given the wide
diversity of programming work undertaken by NGOs, different good practice
principles will be applicable to different organisations.
HIV/AIDS Programming
Cross cutting issues
 Our HIV/AIDS programmes are integrated to reach and meet the diverse
needs of PLHA and affected communities.
 Our HIV/AIDS programmes raise awareness and build the capacity of
communities to respond to HIV/AIDS.
 We advocate for an enabling environment that protects and promotes the
rights of PLHA and affected communities and supports effective HIV/AIDS
programmes.
Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT)
 We provide and/or advocate for voluntary counselling and testing services
that are accessible and confidential.
HIV prevention
 We provide and/or advocate for comprehensive HIV prevention
programmes to meet the variety of needs of individuals and communities.
 Our HIV prevention programmes enable individuals to develop the skills to
protect themselves and/or others from HIV infection.
 Our HIV prevention programmes ensure that individuals have access to
and information about the use of commodities to prevent HIV infection.
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 We provide and/or advocate for comprehensive
programmes for people who inject drugs.
harm
reduction
Treatment, care and support
 We provide and/or advocate for comprehensive treatment, care and
support programmes.
 We enable PLHA and affected communities to meet their treatment, care
and support needs.
Addressing stigma and discrimination
 We enable PLHA and affected communities to understand their rights and
respond to discrimination and its consequences.
 We monitor and respond to systemic discrimination.
 We enable communities to understand and address HIV/AIDS-related
stigma.
 We foster partnerships with human rights institutions, legal services and
unions to promote and protect the human rights of PLHA and affected
communities.
Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS: development and humanitarian programming
 We review our development and humanitarian programmes to assess their
relevance to reducing vulnerability to HIV infection and addressing the
consequences of HIV/AIDS.
 We work in partnerships to maximise the access of PLHA and affected
communities to an integrated range of programmes to meet their needs.
 We design or adapt development programmes to reduce vulnerability to
HIV infection and meet the needs of PLHA and affected communities.
 We ensure that our humanitarian programmes reduce vulnerability to HIV
infection and address the needs of PLHA and affected communities.
 Our programmes for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS
(OVC) are child-centred, family- and community-focused and rightsbased.
 We advocate for an environment that supports effective mainstreaming of
HIV/AIDS.
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The OCHA Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
In September 2005, the heads of state and governments
assembled at the World Summit in New York recognized the
Guiding Principles as "an important international framework for
the protection of internally displaced persons." The Guiding
Principles are intended to serve as an international standard to
guide governments, international organizations and all other
relevant actors in providing assistance and protection to IDPs.
They address the specific needs of internally displaced persons worldwide. They
identify rights and guarantees relevant to the protection of persons from forced
displacement and to their protection and assistance during displacement as well
as during return or resettlement and reintegration.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are persons or groups of persons who have
been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual
residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed
conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural
or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally
recognized State border.
There are a set of General Principles which include the following:
Principle 1 (1)
Internally displaced persons shall enjoy, in full equality, the same rights and
freedoms under international and domestic law as do other persons in their
country.
Principle 3(1)
National authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to provide
protection and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons within
their jurisdiction.
Principle 4 (2)
Certain internally displaced persons, such as children, especially
unaccompanied minors, expectant mothers, mothers with young children,
female heads of household, persons with disabilities and elderly persons, shall
be entitled to protection and assistance required by their condition and to
treatment which takes into account their special needs.
Furthermore there are Principles Relating to Protection from Displacement,
Protection During Displacement, Humanitarian Assistance, and Relating to
Return, Resettlement and Reintegration.
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The People in Aid Code of Good Practice in the
Management and Support of Aid Personnel
The Background to People in Aid
In 1996 after the Rwanda Genocide a review
revealed that the care and movement of
overseas staff was poor. More importantly, there was no benchmark upon which
to compare performance to measure if agencies were reaching an acceptable
standard. Because of this early meeting a number of NGOs produced the PIA
Code of Best Practice (1997).
The Code
It is a code of good practice in the management and support of aid personnel
that its members sign up to. It has a statement of 7 principles each with its own
key indicators. The indicators are what each member organisation is measured
against when they are audited.
Code of Conduct – works on the premise that:
 the people who work for aid agencies overseas are integral to the
effectiveness and success of the work
 policy is written in consultation with field staff, and that best practice is
met, policy is fair, effective and transparent
 planning and budgeting reflects our responsibility towards our field staff
 training and support is provided
 reasonable security and well-being is considered
The code was revised in 2003 and is now called the People In Aid Code of Good
Practice. It has seven principles which are as follows:
Principle 1: The people who work for us are integral to our effectiveness and
success
Our approach to the people in our organisation is a fundamental part of our
work. We recognise that the effectiveness and success of our organisation
depend on all the people who work for us. Human resource issues are integral to
our strategic plans.
Principle 2: Our human resource policies aim for best practice
We recognise that our human resource policies should aim constantly for best
practice. We do not aim to respond solely to minimum legal, professional or
donor requirements.
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Principle 3: Our human resource policies aim to be effective, efficient, fair
and transparent
We recognise that our policies must enable us to achieve both effectiveness in
our work and good quality of working life for our staff. Our human resource
policies therefore aim to be effective, efficient, fair and transparent and to
promote equality of opportunity.
Principle 4: We consult our field staff when we develop human resource
policy
We recognise that we must implement, monitor and continuously develop our
human resource policies in consultation with the people who work for us. We
aim to include field personnel in this process, whether they are full-time, parttime, temporary, short-term or long-term members of our staff.
Principle 5: Plans and budgets reflect our responsibilities towards our field
staff
We recognise that the effectiveness and success of our field operations depend
on the contribution of all the salaried, contract or volunteer staff involved in
them. Operational plans and budgets aim to reflect fully our responsibilities for
staff management, support. Development, security and well-being.
Principle 6: We provide appropriate training and support
We recognise that we must provide relevant training and support to help staff
work effectively and professionally. We aim to give them appropriate personal
and professional sup-port and development before, during and after their field
assignments.
Principle 7: We take all reasonable steps
being
We recognise that the work of relief and
great demands on staff in conditions of
reasonable steps to ensure the security
families.
to ensure staff security and welldevelopment agencies often places
complexity and risk. We take all
and well-being of staff and their
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