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1. Action Learning for Frontline Humanitarians: a resource pack

Author:
Jennifer Doherty, Amelie Sundberg, and Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Course Pack
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
The knowledge of frontline staff – those directly involved in programme implementation and monitoring – is fundamental to good humanitarian action. These individuals make decisions and solve problems every day in their work with crisis-affected populations. The interactions they have with communities produce important information on how to implement projects most effectively to meet local needs. Decisions stemming from this experiential knowledge can be as valuable as decisions reached through more formal, explicit evidence. The pack is for programme staff who are implementing projects, staff in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) roles who are collecting data and evaluating projects, and for team leaders or managers who work with them. Individuals, project teams or cross-organisational and inter-agency groups can all use this approach.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Decision-Making, and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Action Learning and Tacit Knowledge: A mapping of approaches for humanitarian action

Author:
Christine Abbott, Cheryl Brook, Grace Evans, Alice Obrecht, and Amelie Sundberg
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Learning is critical to good humanitarian action – particularly for those who are directly involved in delivering a humanitarian response. Yet many efforts to strengthen learning in the humanitarian sector fail to support the specific learning needs of frontline staff. This mapping paper identifies a range of approaches that support practitioners to engage in ‘on the job’ reflection and learning. It also informed the development of an ALNAP resource pack to support learning processes at field level in humanitarian responses. This paper outlines potential approaches that can be applied to support national and international humanitarian field staff to strengthen their learning processes without placing additional burdens on their time. It also includes a review of approaches to sharing the less explicit and more experience-based knowledge that field staff often develop through their work.
Topic:
Management, Performance Evaluation, Humanitarian Response, and Personnel
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Shifting Mindsets: Creating a more flexible humanitarian response

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
As humanitarian needs and situations change, and as our understanding of complex problems evolves, humanitarian agencies must be able to adapt. Yet in recent years, international humanitarian agencies have struggled with flexibility when it comes to adapting to context, changing the type and quantity of support at the right time, or responding quickly and appropriately to unexpected crises or challenges. To date, the flexibility of modern humanitarian agencies, and the capacities needed for response level flexibility, has not been explored in depth for modern crises. This is the end-of-project report for a two-year workstream that sought to address this gap by undertaking exploratory research on the support factors and barriers to flexibility and adaptation in contemporary humanitarian action.
Topic:
International Organization, Crisis Management, Humanitarian Response, and Flexibility
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Shifting Mindsets | Section 5: Funding

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This standalone section of the ALNAP Study Shifting Mindsets: Creating a more flexible humanitarian response focuses on funding for greater flexibility. This is one of the three pillars that flexibility relies upon according to this research and also one of the starting points to make humanitarian responses more flexible. It covers types of humanitarian funding and their relationship to flexibility, characteristics of funding mechanisms that support flexible and adaptive humanitarian action, and the future of flexible bilateral funding.
Topic:
International Organization, Crisis Management, Donors, Funding, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Shifting Mindsets | Section 4: Culture and people

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This standalone section of the ALNAP Study Shifting Mindsets: Creating a more flexible humanitarian response focuses on culture and people for greater flexibility. This is one of the three pillars that flexibility relies upon according to this research and also one of the starting points to make humanitarian responses more flexible. It covers flexible approaches in organisational culture and staff, as well as anticipatory and adaptive strategies to this extent.
Topic:
International Organization, Culture, Performance Evaluation, Humanitarian Response, Flexibility, and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Shifting Mindsets | Section 3: Systems for greater flexibility

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This standalone section of the ALNAP study 'Shifting mindsets: creating a more flexible humanitarian response' focuses on organisational systems to support flexibility. This is one of the three pillars that flexibility relies upon according to this research and also one of the starting points to make humanitarian responses more flexible. It covers flexible approaches in: logistics, supply chain and procurement systems; programme design and programme cycle management; and monitoring of these systems.
Topic:
Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chains, Monitoring, Humanitarian Response, and Flexibility
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Making it Count: a feasibility study on collective indicators to monitor progress in the Agenda for Humanity - Summary

Author:
Alice Obrecht, Tim Harcourt-Powell, and Amelie Sundberg
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This feasibility study undertaken by ALNAP seeks to identify a set of potential indicators for monitoring the Agenda for Humanity and assess how practicable it is to use these indicators, given current consensus on method and the availability of data. To assess the feasibility of using shared indicators to track progress in the Agenda for Humanity, ALNAP developed 71 indicators for 10 Transformations (two for each Core Responsibility). Each indicator was ranked using the ranking system in table 1 below, adapted from the ranking system used for the SDG indicators. The study concludes that better collective monitoring of progress in the Agenda for Humanity is possible – if the sector considers it to be a priority.
Topic:
Sustainable Development Goals, Accountability, Performance Evaluation, and Feasibility
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. Using Evidence to Allocate Humanitarian Resources: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
A significant World Humanitarian Summit outcome, the Grand Bargain reforms aim to make the humanitarian system more financially efficient and fit for purpose. But, Alice Obrecht suggests, these reforms cannot be successfully achieved without paying attention to how donors gather, use and share evidence and information. Drawing on ideas from the public health sector and charity evaluation, Using Evidence to Allocate Humanitarian Resources suggests ways forward which can be incorporated into ongoing reform efforts: clarifying priorities, investing in evidence, coordinating and consolidating current data sets, and adapting.
Topic:
Public Sector, Performance Evaluation, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus