Humanitarian impact: how to combine quality and innovation?

RCA – distribution alimentaire dans le cadre du mécanisme de réponse d’urgence – 2021

In order to best cover the needs of populations affected by a crisis, Solidarités International (SI) strives to implement qualitative and innovative solutions on a daily basis. The Department of Operations and Programs (DOAP) is the guarantor of the optimal balance between quality and programmatic innovation: reinforcing the quality of the programs implemented and developing new modalities of intervention and adapted activities are the key to the agility and sustainability of the responses implemented.

1/ What are the most effective qualitative levers for improving programs and the implementation of activities?

DOAP has several qualitative levers on which to act in order to guarantee programmatic quality.

The first qualitative lever is at the strategic level: a good humanitarian response is above all a response that solves problems that are often complex because they are multifactorial. The development of the response plan must therefore be based on a precise and holistic situational analysis, which highlights unmet needs, gaps in the existing response and the differentiated impact of the crisis on the population according to a detailed analysis of vulnerabilities. The intervention logic, inspired by the Theory of Change, makes it possible to link this situational analysis carried out at the country and/or grassroots level, and to develop a response strategy focused on solving the problem (instead of a sectoral approach). It pushes program teams to always ask the question of the rationale for the intervention and the chosen modality by answering the question: “Why are we doing what we are doing? DOAP supports teams by developing and training on these methodologies of situational analysis and theory of change.

A good response is also and above all a technical response: covering basic needs such as “eating, drinking, sheltering” in 18 crisis contexts as different as they are complex, requires the mastery of a wide range of technical skills, from the rehabilitation of wells and boreholes, drinking water analysis, physico-chemical and microbiological analysis of wastewater, waste management, drinking water and sanitation networks, vector control, infection prevention and control measures, project management assistance… for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector; market gardening, tree farming, agroecology, urban agriculture, animal health, small and large livestock breeding, fishing, fish farming, product processing and value-added techniques, value chain approach, etc. for the food security and livelihoods sector. This impressive – yet non-exhaustive – list should be complemented by skills in civil engineering, construction and rehabilitation of small and large infrastructures… The reality of sectoral technical expertise is also complementary to more cross-cutting skills such as irrigation, integrated water resources management, climate change, monitoring systems or the market-based approach and cash transfers.

Drainers in action in a latrine in a refugee camp in Bangladesh ®Solidarités International

The DOAP thus ensures the respect of technical standards through the elaboration of technical reference documents and the creation of expertise. The team brings, in addition to the daily technical support, the global vision and the consideration of the stakes related to the environment, the public health, the social cohesion and the protection in order to control the negative impact of its actions.

In order to cover as broadly as possible the range of technical expertise required to carry out its activities, and recognizing that a partnership and multi-actor approach is essential to the successful implementation of activities in the field and to the organization’s capacity building, DOAP regularly calls upon its preferred technical partners.

Finally, one of the central pillars of SI’s quality approach is based on methodological support for program management and learning. DOAP promotes a dynamic and continuous learning approach throughout the project cycle, as well as participatory, monitoring and evaluation methodologies to ensure that humanitarian action is geared towards achieving concrete changes in the lives of the populations we work for and with.

Keeping a sense of action and the perspective of the changes we are contributing to in the lives of the people at the heart of our programs is the best guarantee of the effective quality of our programs.

Sludge treatment plant, Sittwe, Myanmar. 2020 ®Marine Ricau / Solidarités International

2/ Are innovation and humanitarian action really compatible?

The crisis and fragility areas in which we work are particularly conducive to innovation because the diversity of contexts and needs as well as the constraints of implementation (security, technical, land, administrative, temporal, contextual…) that we encounter on a daily basis do not allow the implementation of a single standard solution to the complex problems encountered. Furthermore, the humanitarian imperative to respond to vital needs and to facilitate access to basic services and fundamental rights for the most vulnerable populations affected by crises, leads us to think outside the box and always seek more integrated, more adapted and more sustainable responses.

Thus, DOAP claims the role of internal coordinator of the research and innovation approach as a full-fledged lever of the quality approach: from the identification of innovative solutions emerging both from headquarters and from the field, to the evaluation and capitalization, including support for the development and monitoring of the pilot phase, DOAP ensures the emergence and replication of good practices.

However, it is sometimes tempting to give in and give up in the face of the many paradoxes involved in juxtaposing the terms “humanitarian” and “innovation”:

Donors’ aversion to risk and uncertainty leaves little opportunity for funding in the seed and start-up phases of a new project, a new approach or the implementation of an innovative solution. Paradoxically, however, the humanitarian sector is increasingly endowed with funds dedicated to the implementation of innovative solutions that have already proved their worth in various fields.
The humanitarian culture and the need for rapid and efficient implementation are still far removed from the culture of innovation, research and learning that is inexorably linked to it. The key stage of evaluation and dissemination of good practices and new solutions is also still poorly funded by donors.
Our sectors of technical expertise are conducive to different types of innovation (product innovation, innovation approach or action research). The innovation approach allows us to highlight our technical expertise and increase our credibility and reputation in the sector. However, the technical nature of the solution and the need to adapt it are both the biggest obstacles to the ability to replicate the solution identically in another context, and therefore to the scaling up of the innovation.
Finally, the long temporality of the innovation cycle (multiannual, including a long phase of ideation and preliminary development) cannot be compatible with the necessary efficiency of the solutions implemented in the short term in the phases of response to the shock (rethinking a rapid response mechanism whose short-term response cycles are repeated for many years in the context of repeated shocks, and the temptation is great to look for a more durable solution, is extremely difficult). When people’s lives are at stake, are we willing to risk answering “no” to the question “did the implemented solution work”?

All these constraints increase the risk that organizations focus on “headquarter” / global innovation (e.g. very technological) that brings more communication than impact on people. So, for innovation to solve the transition from theory to practice, we need to encourage the development of innovation in the field, for sustainable solutions that are easy to develop and replicate.

Keeping a sense of action and the perspective of the changes we are contributing to in people’s lives at the heart of our programs is the best guarantee of successful innovation.

Sludge treatment plant, Sittwe, Myanmar. 2020 ®Marine Ricau / Solidarités International

3/ Giving ourselves the means to meet the demands of the humanitarian mandate and to bring the voice of the people to the global level

In addition to being a platform for mobilizing resources to strengthen the organization’s dual approach to quality and innovation, DOAP is mandated to represent the voice of the people at the global level in humanitarian coordination bodies. DOAP represents SI on the steering committees of the EAH Cluster, the SAME Cluster, and the ALNAP Humanitarian Action Evaluation Network.

In order to move from theory to practice, also at the global level, and to be an actor of change in the humanitarian sector and thus promote its dual approach of Quality and Innovation as a guarantee of humanitarian impact, SI has been the incubator of 2 projects financed first by innovation funds, then by institutional funding: The first one, develops a system to strengthen quality and accountability of beneficiaries in the WASH sector (AQA) and the second one, OCTOPUS, allows the improvement of good practices and the monitoring of the implementation of innovative solutions related to emergency sanitation. These two projects are in the process of being transferred to the WASH sector to be integrated as a global coordination tool and approach.


OCTOPUS

Developed by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL in 2018, the OCTOPUS (Operational Collaborative Tool Of Ongoing Practices in Urgent Sanitation) platform is an online collaborative tool related to fecal sludge disposal and treatment in emergency contexts. It aims to improve sanitation practices through the sharing of knowledge and experiences by stakeholders and experts in fecal sludge management. Case studies present detailed technical and contextual information that sanitation practitioners can draw on to adapt their interventions to the crises they face.

AQA

As of late 2018, the Accountability and Quality Assurance Initiative (AQA) aims to increase the capacity of humanitarian organizations to respond effectively and efficiently to crises by providing decision makers with the information they need to continuously adapt to changing contexts. Based on the industry’s Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control methodology, this initiative relies on the collection of simple data to support evidence-based, results-oriented decision-making, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that quality and accountability standards are met and improved over time. This project is a partnership between Oxfam, Solidarités International, Tufts University, and UNICEF, with support from the Global WASH Cluster and the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector.


The final word

Having a body at the heart of operations that carries this dual approach is a real organizational asset that allows a medium-sized structure to implement Quality and Innovation in the same way as large ones.

The risk-taking inherent in innovation and the development of new approaches is only possible with the guarantee of follow-up, technical support and quality control. Quality and Innovation are therefore intrinsically linked and their effects are mutually beneficial.

The multi-stakeholder approach and the ability to mobilize partners contribute to the richness of the approach and reduce paradoxes.

Behind two words and two approaches that could be considered too conceptual, the specificity of SI is to remain an operational actor in the field, always driven by the desire to remain as close as possible to the populations affected by crises.

All the qualitative levers are activated with a single concern: to maintain a sense of action and commitment for and as close as possible to the people in the most fragile and remote areas.

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Who is Anne-Lise Lavaur ?

After studying political science and children’s rights, Anne-Lise Lavaur joined international organizations (Médecins du Monde Argentina, International Catholic Child Bureau), and became a program coordinator and advocacy officer.

In 2014, she joined SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL in the technical and quality department of the programs of which she became the coordinator eight months later. In 2018, this department evolved into the Deputy Program Operations Department (DPOD). Through the coordination of the team of technical and program referents, this department at the heart of operations guarantees the Quality and Innovation approach of the organization.

 


Objective Zero Hunger in 2030? What strategy for Solidarités International?

Breeder in Kabo, RCA – 2015, ©Vincent Tremeau
  1. Conflict, Climate Change and Covid 19, the terrible trio that exacerbate global food and economic insecurity

According to the United Nations [1], “Extreme hunger and malnutrition remain an obstacle to sustainable development and create a trap from which it is difficult to escape. Hunger and malnutrition make people less productive, more prone to disease and therefore more often unable to earn more and improve their livelihoods. “Conversely, when people lack economic security because they are dependent on precarious employment or have lost their means of production, they cannot meet their food needs. 690 million people suffer from hunger in 2020, or 8.9% of the world’s population (FAO). Many of these people are in rural areas and yet contribute to feeding the world as farmers, breeders or fishermen. And ironically, people with access to too much food tend to waste it; according to the UN, each year an estimated one third of all food produced, the equivalent of 1.3 billion tons, ends up in the garbage cans of consumers and retailers.

Vegetable farming, Gado, Cameroon – 2019

The Global Food Crisis Report 2020 [2] analyzed the main factors contributing to food and economic insecurity and classified them according to the importance of their impact on populations: 1) conflicts and insecurity, 2) extreme climate shocks, 3) economic shocks. To a lesser extent, the following factors also aggravate food and economic insecurity: crop, livestock and human diseases.

The Covid 19 pandemic has changed this situation, making it one of the main causes of hunger and loss of income in the world again. Indeed, in many countries, restrictions on movement affect access to employment, access to means of production (seeds, etc.) or the sale of products. The income, and consequently the purchasing power of many people, is thus greatly diminished. In addition, the various restrictive measures implemented by governments (containment, border closures) have degraded access to food markets and the supply of food products on these markets, whether produced in the country or imported from abroad, sometimes causing price inflation [3]. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), speaks of the risk of a “famine pandemic” with 270 million people affected [4]. Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator points out that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance will rise from 168 million in 2020 to 235 million in 2021, a considerable increase of 40%.

Conflicts and climate shocks will also continue to be major causes affecting the food and economic security of many populations in 2021. During conflicts, civilians are often deprived of their sources of income, food systems and markets are disrupted, resulting in higher prices and/or reduced availability of food and productive commodities and tools. Conflicts prevent businesses from operating and weaken the national economy. David Beasley estimated in 2017 that about 60% of the world’s hungry people live in conflict zones. 80% of WFP’s budgets are allocated to war zones. Concerning climatic shocks (floods, droughts, etc.), they affect the livelihoods of populations, especially those who are highly dependent on natural resources (farmers, herders). Land is degraded, crops are destroyed, while livestock struggle to find water for drinking and sufficient pasture. Natural disasters also impact productive and economic infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, buildings, irrigation networks, etc. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that agricultural yields will decrease by 20% per decade by the end of the 21st century in some areas of the Sahel.

Fishermen from the village of Molo, Marsabit County, Kenya – 2016, ©Axel Fassio
  1. The Food Security and Livelihoods Strategy of Solidarités International 2020-2025

Achieving zero hunger in 2030 as desired by the Sustainable Development Goals seems, according to the situation previously exposed, an unattainable goal since world hunger figures are increasing again, whereas they had managed to decrease between 2005 and 2015 [5]. This increase could even accelerate if the current crises, conflicts, natural disasters, pandemics continue to intensify.

Solidarités International has been working in the SAME sector (Food Security and Livelihoods) since its creation with its first food assistance operations in Afghanistan. The general objective of its SAME interventions, recalled in its 2020 – 2025 strategy [6], is to ensure sustainable food and economic security for populations vulnerable to political, socio-economic, climatic and health shocks.

According to the intervention logic of SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI), our SAME activities are part of 3 different phases of intervention to achieve this objective:

How do SAME activities work?

1) Shock absorption: by covering food needs and supporting food markets, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL (SI) helps prevent the risks of hunger and malnutrition and prevents populations from increasing their vulnerability to the crisis.

2) early recovery: through the distribution of productive inputs, technical support and the rehabilitation of economic infrastructure (reconstruction of markets, road rehabilitation, drainage of agricultural fields, etc.), SI contributes to the revival of the population’s economic activities.

3) risk preparedness and adaptation: in-depth analysis of livelihood capacities and vulnerabilities to shocks enables SI to strengthen these livelihoods and diversify them so that they are more resilient. Through the value chain approach, SI strengthens the adaptive capacities of actors along food chains and labor markets.

For 2025, the strategy of the SAME sector focuses on 3 axes:

  •  Developing our emergency response capabilities, particularly by integrating with our Water-Sanitation-Hygiene (WASH) emergency responses to maximize their impact on populations
  •  Better alert and anticipate SAME needs in the face of chronic shocks by participating in food and nutrition security surveillance systems.
  • Develop the long-term adaptive capacities of food and economic systems, particularly in the face of economic and climatic crises.

SI is well involved in the global Food Security cluster co-led by FAO and WFP, where the association is a member of the SAG (Strategic Advisory Group) [7]. 7] It is the voice of NGOs and contributes to the strategic orientation of this cluster and its accountability to its partners and the populations supported by SAME interventions. SI’s objective is to mobilize as many humanitarian actors as possible in order to find relevant, efficient and sustainable solutions to help reduce food and economic insecurity in the world as quickly as possible.

 How is the search for quality and impact of programs organized at Solidarités International?

SI’s Food Safety and Livelihoods (SAME) unit is part of the Deputy Program Operations Department (DOAP), alongside the  Water/Sanitation/Hygiene (WASH) and MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) units, as well as cross-  functional reference points for the Market-Based Approach and Public Health. This Deputy Directorate guarantees the  technical and methodological quality of IS programs. Its mandate is divided into 4 objectives:

To improve the overall quality of IS operations through the development of tools, guides and training, as well as support for  the formulation of intervention logics and the demonstration of the impacts of interventions.

Improve IS technical skills by conducting training, technical workshops and developing technical partnerships

Provide direct technical support to field programs on specific technical aspects or at critical phases (diagnosis of needs,  strategy, implementation, monitoring-evaluation, development of innovations)

Represent SI’s expertise externally to humanitarian coordination networks or networks for the exchange of expertise and  learning (EAH and Food Security Clusters, ALNAP, Global Task Force Cholera, Humanitarian Environment Network, etc.).

Who Is Julie Mayans ?

Trained as an agricultural engineer, she has been working for 15 years in the Food Security and Livelihoods sector (SAME),  emergency development responses in Africa, America and Asia with several NGOs (SI, ACF, CARE, TGH and IFRC). She has  held several positions in the field: Program Manager, Program Coordinator and also Regional Coordinator.

For the past 6 years, she has been working at Solidarités International’s headquarters as a SAME technical advisor and focal  point for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate. Within the technical department, she provides technical support to the  field teams in the different phases of the project cycle (needs assessment, project design, implementation, monitoring and  evaluation). On the other hand, she is responsible for the development and operationalization of the SAME IS strategy and  the technical orientations related to this sector. Finally, she represents SI’s SAME expertise externally to the global food  security cluster and various inter-NGO working groups (Humanitarian Environment Network, DRR Network, Agriculture  Working Group of the cluster).

1] Sustainable Development Goals, UN

2] Global Report on Food Crises 2020: https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000114546/download/?_ga=2.23710714.192553430.1592491272-1602702074.1572458169

3] To go further, see the study of the Covid 19 working group of the Food Security Cluster: https://fscluster.org/sites/default/files/documents/lessons_from_the_wider_industry_with_respect_to_covid_19_and_impact_on_fs.pdf.

4] In addition, the FAO report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020”, although referring to the year 2019, estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic could add between 83 and 132 million people to the total number of undernourished people in the world by the end of 2020.

5] In ten years, between 2005 and 2015, the number of undernourished people increased from one billion to 800 million, i.e., 200 million fewer people (FAO).

6] SAME Strategy 2020 – 2025: https://www.solidarites.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/strategie-securite-alimentaire-moyens-dexistence-SOLIDARITES-INTERNATIONAL.pdf

7] For more information, see the SAG webpage of the Global Food Security Cluster: https://fscluster.org/page/gfsc-strategic-advisory-group-sag.