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Digital Activism: The Good, the Bad, the Future

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June 18, 2020
Digital Activism: The Good, the Bad, the Future

Digital activism has transformed the way events, protests and movements are organised, helping to mobilise supporters and raise awareness of a diverse range of causes. But critics argue that people can feel like they’re making a difference, when in reality they’ve done very little.

What is Digital Activism?

Digital Activism is when digital tools such as the internet, social media, email and mobile phones are used for mobilisation, political action and to incite change. It has existed in some form or another since the 1990s and has continued to grow with the advent of Web 2.0 and the social media boom. Today it is likely one of the first methods of activism that comes to mind because of how quick and easy it is to reach people on a global scale.

Tools and resources

There is a huge amount of different tools used in digital activism that are constantly changing as technology evolves.

Online Petitions: Websites such as Change.org and 38degrees.org.uk allow anyone to create an easily shareable petition, obtaining signatures to gain traction for their organisation or movement.

Social Media: Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that have millions of users all over the world have proven useful in spreading messages, raising awareness and gaining support for issues and movements that may have been previously overlooked by mainstream media. The hashtag function on social media sites allows anyone to contribute to a multi-user conversation and is used frequently as a digital tool for spreading a message. The protests that took place across the Middle East in 2011, now known as the Arab Spring, were in part organised via social media.

Mobile phones: Mobile phones have proven to be an incredibly useful tool for digital activism. It is now possible to instantly donate an amount of money to an organisation simply by texting. Smartphones provide instant access to the internet and social media. This combined with the fact almost all mobile phones now have a built in camera, has resulted in significant changes to how people respond to global events. People now have the ability to instantly document and share evidence online, such as documenting police brutality.

Blogs: Blogs are essentially uncensored journalism. Anyone can start a blog and write blog posts about any topic they choose. They provide an unfiltered method of long-form communication and have been used in many digital activism campaigns.

Crowdfunding Platforms: Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo allow anyone to create a digital fundraiser for their project or campaign.

Accessible in different global climates

Perhaps the most obvious advantage of digital or online activism today is that it is accessible during a global pandemic. Countries all over the world have had to implement restrictions and lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Traditional methods of activism involve social contact in the forms of mass gatherings, door-knocking, and protests. Being able to collect signatures with an online petition shared via social media or email allows people to abide by the social distancing measures and restrictions put in place by governments.

Getting the message out

One of the biggest advantages of digital activism is the ability to connect with a large community and potentially globalise campaigns. Digital tools offer instant connectivity to a potentially huge audience to spread messages and campaigns and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow disparate groups to mobilise faster than ever before. Beyond this, it also enables anyone with access to the internet to have a platform for their voice.

Exclusion

While digital activism lends itself to being readily accessible to huge numbers of people on a global scale, there are of course a number of factors that affect who can get involved and how, particularly in parts of the world where internet access is limited, digital literacy skills are low or where online activity is strictly monitored.

Speed and Half-Life

The online world is characterised by speed so updates need to be relevant and timely. The term half-life in regards to digital content refers to the time it takes for a post to make half its overall impressions, and it differs depending on the platform. Our modern culture of 24 hour news, updates at our fingertips and the speed at which we hear of, learn about and move on from topics, news stories and issues often means that an issue or campaign can be trending across the web one day and vanish the next. But advocacy takes time, the building of strong relationships, and lasting impact.

Clicktivism, Opportunism & Echo Chambers

Critics argue that online activism – sometimes referred to as “clicktivism” or “slacktivism” – is lazy and ineffective compared to traditional methods of activism. It is suggested that sharing a hashtag or an image on social media can make the user feel like they’ve contributed to a cause, when in reality they have had little impact.

“Virtue Signalling” is a term often used to describe people or organisations and companies that jump on the bandwagon of a trending cause or movement to score virtual brownie points and then do not follow it up with an action. There is also an issue with opportunism in that even if intentions are good, individuals or organisations hijack a trending hashtag and flood the online space with their own messaging. This can be potentially damaging as the clarity and point of the original message can get lost in a sea of posts.

Another issue with online activism is that one cannot necessarily see the bigger picture because of their echo chamber. People typically connect with likeminded people online, and therefore tend to only see content that they generally agree with, rather than any alternative views. This can mask the reality of the situation as well as reinforce or amplify someone’s beliefs.

Online activism, offline impact

Clearly, the main criticism of digital activism is that people can get the same feeling of doing a good deed and score brownie points while actually doing very little. It takes little effort to share a post on social media in solidarity with an organisation or movement.

Sharing the message and raising awareness is a critical part of activism but it needs to translate into action to drive real change. Digital activism needs to be used in conjunction with traditional forms of activism to be successful. A great example of this in action is the climate strikes that took place in September 2019. Rallying behind Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future, millions of people all over the world were able to use online platforms to mobilise and organise strikes and protests to address the climate crisis, demanding a commitment to action on climate change from the world’s governments.

Online activism needs to be employed before, during and after on-the-ground action for full impact and to ensure that the movement is not buried under new updates and stories.

Please note: HAD do not endorse any particular view of any specific group/cause.

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Written by Romey Watters

Digital Marketing Officer

Rethinking Localisation: The Case of Muslim NGOs in the UK and France

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April 27, 2020
Rethinking Localisation: The Case of Muslim NGOs in the UK and France

Localisation is one of the buzz words that have recently been dominating debates about humanitarian aid and international development. In this blog post, which is based on a presentation at the Best Practice Forum jointly organised by the MCF, MBRN and HAD, French programmeser Lucas Faure (Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Aix-en-Provence) reflects on the concept by discussing the example of Muslim NGOs in the UK and France.

What can we learn about localisation from Muslim NGOs?

Localisation is one of the trending topics in the humanitarian and development sectors. My doctoral programmes on localisation aims to answer the following question: what can we learn about localisation through the study of Franco-British Muslim NGOs? As part of my programmes on Muslim NGOs in the UK and France, I have conducted three years of ethnographic fieldwork in both countries. Rather than using an institutional definition of localisation in my work, I have examined aspects of the local dimension of Islamic humanitarian organisations.

New ways of thinking about localisation

Localisation first emerged at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, which was attended by international aid stakeholders from all over the world. In the broadest acceptation of the term, it is a general concept which aims at reinforcing the efficiency of humanitarian aid by taking better account of local actors. The general idea of localisation is not to deliver aid when there is an emergency, but to build trusting relationships and work hand in hand with locally-led organisations and communities. According to this first classic usage of the term, localisation mainly refers to overseas deployment of aid by NGOs. However, the analysis of British and French Islamic humanitarian organisations opens new avenues for reflection on localisation and breaks down the binary distinction between funders and receivers.

Developments since the 1990s

From a historical point of view, the biggest Muslim British NGOs opened fundraising offices in France in the early 1990s up to the 2010s, as France was perceived a strategic location with one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe. Secours Islamique (the former French branch of Islamic Relief), Human Appeal, Human Relief Foundation, and Muslim Hands, are all examples of this trend. During this initial period, funds collected in France were sent to the head offices in the UK, where they would be allocated to different projects, which were mainly international. Since the beginning of the 2010s, a strong inclination towards local action in France is visible (Faure, 2020). This is the result of an increased awareness of humanitarian emergencies in Europe, such as the so-called “refugee crisis”.

Humanitarian action “at home” in the form of domestic programming

Hence, a larger amount of money is now collected and allocated in France by Franco-British NGOs via the creation of domestic programmes, while donors take on a new role as volunteers in local solidarity programmes. As evidence of the popularity and credibility of these Muslim NGOs in France, more and more people are involved locally with humanitarian action “at home”, and one can see localisation as a widening of the humanitarianism sphere. A dual trend is visible with both the desire for NGOs to be closer in the field, and also the fact that the field of action is getting closer to NGOs’ headquarters due to globalisation.

Fundraising offices, field offices – or both?

In this sense, localisation reflects the importance of addressing local needs in situ, including in Europe, where former French fundraising offices seem to increasingly become field offices. At the same time, a similar trend towards local action is noticeable in the UK, with the relatively recent growth of Islamic charities that cater to domestic needs, for example, providing for homeless people and abused women.

Considering national and local particularities

However, despite similarities, these two trends seem to obey different logics, leading to another challenge related to the localisation of Muslim charities. Localisation sheds precious light on the importance for Muslim NGOs taking into consideration national contexts. It also raises questions about governance challenges between British and French NGOs. What is the status granted to French and European antennae by their British head-offices, and how “national” are these international branches? For example, how efficient can fundraising be without considering national and local particularities? Regarding the two case studies which are the focus of my programmes, France and the UK have different approaches to the management of Islam and, as such, a British discourse is unlikely to be effective or relevant in the French context and vice versa.

Including local considerations at every step of the process

Consequently, localisation is a necessity for Muslim charities in order for them not to be disconnected from their local environment. This can be achieved by including local considerations and diversity at every step of their processes, on the one hand. On the other hand, more autonomy could be given to their decentralised branches. As such, localisation is not a concept that should only take shape during the implementation of programmes, but it has to be incorporated into organisational practice during the conception and design of their interventions. In other words, such a definition of localisation argues in favour of funders and recipients working in concert through the humanitarian process in order to ensure a holistic and relevant process.

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Written by Lucas Faure

Doctoral programmeser, Institut d’Etudes Politiques Aix-en-Provence

Reference:

FAURE Lucas. «L’agir « ici » et « là-bas » : questionner les catégories des pratiques du bien au prisme du Secours Islamique France», in Ruiz de Elvira, Laura et Saeidnia, Sahar (dir.), Les mondes de la bien-faisance. (Se) mobiliser pour le « bien », (se) gouverner par le « bien », Paris, CNRS Editions, 2020.

How NGOs Can Use Behavioural Insights

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April 14, 2020
How NGOs Can Use Behavioural Insights

Many are still unaware of how charities and NGOs can use behavioural insights to help boost donations. A few simple changes to how an NGO communicates with its audience across all channels can significantly increase donations.

What is Behavioural Science?

Behavioural science refers to any field of study that deals with human behaviour such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology, as well as aspects of biology, economics, geography, law, psychiatry, and political science.

Behavioural insights are the nuggets of information that can be extracted from the scientific data to discover how people make choices, which can be utilised to help inform future projects.

Which Behavioural Insights can NGOs utilise?

In 2010 the UK government set up a Behavioural Insights Team (also known as the Nudge Unit) to generate behavioural insights to inform policies and improve public services. The Behavioural Insights Team, now a social purpose company partly owned by the Cabinet Office, published the 2013 report Applying Behavioural Insights to Charitable Giving. This report has been a staple document for charities and NGOs and describes four key behavioural insights that can be utilised to ‘nudge’ people towards charitable giving.

Make it easy – One of the best ways to encourage people to make charitable donation is to make it easy to do so. For example using prompts on your website to encourage people to become donors, using auto-fill on online forms, or offering to automatically increase monthly donation amounts in line with inflation.

Attract attention – Making charitable giving more attractive is a simple way to increase donations. This could include using personalised messaging in targeted remarketing campaigns, rewarding donations with small gifts or improving the design of a web page.

Focus on the social – People are influenced by what others do. If we see charitable giving as the social norm we are more likely to do it ourselves. This can be utilised by making acts of giving more visible to others such providing the option to share the fact you’ve donated on social media or using prominent individuals such as influencers or celebrities to post on their channels about a cause.

Timing matters – If you get the timing right you can really boost charitable donations. Ensure that appeals and campaigns are launched at time when they are likely to be most effective such as in December or during Ramadan.

REDRESS as a real life example

Digital marketing agency Fat Beehive helped the charity REDRESS increase donations by utilising behavioural insights on their website. The charity, which represents victims of torture to obtain justice and reparation, made three simple changes that resulted in a huge increase in donations.

Firstly, using the insight that humans relate to each other more when we look them in the eye, powerful images where sourced to help online visitors feel engaged straight away. Then several combinations of different images and donation amounts were tested and the feedback enabled the organisation to establish the most successful combination.

Secondly, REDRESS uploaded an impact statement to their website, highlighting the difference people’s donations make, which included a direct quote from a torture survivor. People struggle to relate to facts and figures but emotive story-telling resonates with the part of our brains that responds quickly and intuitively.

Finally, people feel more inclined to give when they receive something in return. REDRESS made use of this by making donating to them more attractive. They did this by emphasising the benefits, which for regular donors includes receiving regular updates, event invitations and a copy of their annual review.

These three simple changes to the REDRESS website lead to a 70% spike in donations, with the average number of regular donors increasing by 300%.

Why should NGOs apply Behavioural Insights?

Behavioural insights are already used across the private and commercial sectors to influence consumers’ decision making to boost sales. There is no reason why these same insights and methods can’t be utilised by charities and NGOs to boost donations. It can feel a bit immoral at first, as though you’re tricking people into donating, but it’s no different to any other marketing efforts charities and NGOs already do and ultimately, the profits are for a good cause.

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Written by Romey Watters

Digital Marketing Officer

HAD and Islamic Relief assess Orphans Sponsorship Programme

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April 7, 2020
HAD and Islamic Relief assess Orphans Sponsorship Programme

“They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, “Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler. And whatever you do of good – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.”

Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 215 (2:215), Holy Qur’an (Translation: Sahih International)

Biggest Islamic Relief Impact Study so far

This year, HAD’s Research and Development Department, alongside Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)’s MEAL team and the Orphans and Child Welfare Department, are conducting an impact study of Islamic Relief’s global Orphans Sponsorship Programme. The assessment aims to inform future IR programming in this area. This is the first study of its kind for Islamic Relief, being the biggest impact study conducted by the organisation so far. Funded by Islamic Relief Canada, UK and USA, the project consists of a training element, quantitative data collection (in 9 countries), and qualitative programmes (in 5 countries). The project officially commenced in February 2020 and is due to be completed in December 2020.

Vulnerability of orphans

In 2015, UNICEF estimated there to be nearly 140 million child orphans (without one or both parents) in the world. The variety of hardships they face in daily life are often exacerbated by their geographical location as well as intersecting identity characteristics such as age, gender, and disability. They can suffer from stigmatisation and marginalisation which is often linked with the parental cause of death. Due to the vulnerability of orphans, it is critical that any interventions aimed at helping them do not cause any additional harm whatsoever and that these interventions are proactive in reducing any protection risks which they may face.

Orphans in Islam

Care for orphans has a special role in Islam. In fact, the word ‘orphan’ is mentioned more than twenty times in the Holy Qur’an, emphasising the need for kindness to those without fathers or parents. The Orphan Sponsorship Programme (OSP) is one of Islamic Relief’s longest-running and biggest initiatives. Having started in 1986 and now supporting over 63,000 orphans worldwide, the programme aims to provide basic necessities to orphans, improve their health and support their education, amongst other things.

HAD lead on the implementation of this study

HAD’s Research and Development Department lead on the implementation of the study and provide academic quality assurance. The team will also be involved in the data collection on the ground. With its experience in conducting projects in the areas of evaluation/impact, programmes and capacity-building, the Department is particularly well-placed to conduct this project. HAD are one of the co-chairs of the Joint Learning Initative on Faith and Local Communities’ Learning Hub on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning, which is aimed at promoting best practice in MEAL initiatives involving local faith actors. The Academy and its staff have extensive experience of working with local communities in hard-to-reach and conflict-afflicted areas, including those that the study focuses on.

We will be blogging regularly about the project, so do keep an eye for more updates on the HAD blog

Written by Madiha Zeb Sadiq

Research and Development Assistant

Anticipatory Action: The Way Forward

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March 24, 2020
Anticipatory Action: The Way Forward

Anticipatory Action has been gaining increasing traction with donors, humanitarian agencies, and disaster risk managers over the last few years.

What is Anticipatory Action?

The term anticipatory action refers to methods of providing critical support to at-risk communities before disasters occur or at least before the full extent of a disaster’s effects occur. This is done by using forecasts or early warnings of imminent shock or stress with the aim to reduce or mitigate the impact of disasters and enhance post disaster responses.

Forecast-based financing is when pools of funds are made available for humanitarian action, triggered by scientific forecasts of extreme weather events. The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement used this method in 2015-2016 in Peru during El Niño – an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific. Existing data showed that past El Niño-related events lead to strong rains, floods and severe droughts which had a large impact on health, drinking water, food security and housing. By utilising the FbF method, it was possible to use the funds to ensure basic needs, such as drinking water, would be met at the time that communities needed it most.

Forecast-based action is when actions are taken in the window between the release of a forecast and the occurrence of a disaster or crisis. In 2017, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization triggered an early warning mechanism for predicted droughts in Madagascar, which could seriously harm food security in certain areas. This enabled humanitarian actors to provide 8,460 households with seeds for crops with a short growing cycle and agricultural tools, distribute water pumps, water storage solutions and micro-irrigation systems, and train community leaders and workers on farming techniques and crop diversification. This action enabled the effected communities to produce and store more food to see them through the peak of the crisis.

The benefits

Anticipatory action can help save more lives and reduce the suffering of beneficiaries, as well as offset some of the economic impacts of disasters and crises. It enables actors and communities to be more prepared; and improves the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts, while reducing reliance on ad hoc, slow and often costly post disaster humanitarian aid. It is a much more proactive method of delivering humanitarian aid.

While anticipatory action is about practice on the ground, it needs to be rooted in programmes-based evidence that is produced with regards to anticipatory action methods, which ensure the effectiveness of forecasting systems are improved. This in turn, further improves the efficiency of anticipatory action models as a whole.

The drawbacks

As it stands, there isn’t a huge amount of evidence on anticipatory action projects because it is still a relatively new model of providing aid. Studies that have taken place are of varying quality and most are produced by the implementing agencies. Independent studies are scarce and there is a significant set of challenges when conducting thorough programmes on anticipatory action.

Quantifiable data: It is very difficult to quantify the effectiveness of anticipatory action methods, particularly in monetary terms, as each action is different and used in different contexts with many variables. For instance, some countries have much better records on historical natural disasters and more advanced data on previous crises than others. Anticipatory action projects in countries with less available data will need to invest more in initial data collection and programmes to advise the action strategies. This variable makes it difficult to calculate a return on investment as it is subject to change depending on context.

Disasters: It is difficult to carry out thorough programmes during times of disaster and crisis.

Diversity and context: Because anticipatory actions are designed to meet specific needs within a specific context, the same methods will not necessarily work across contexts or yield the same results elsewhere, making it difficult to compare and contrast results and programmes. For example, a project to mitigate the economic impact of flooding in Bangladesh by providing businesses with cash transfers prior to the crisis will have a completely different set of targets, goals, predicted outcomes and results to a project aimed at providing training to health centres in Malawi in anticipation of a cholera outbreak.

Conditionals: There is currently no agreed upon universal system of measurement to evaluate the effectiveness of anticipatory actions. Existing studies have taken different perspectives on what the costs and benefits of anticipatory action should be compared against.

The future

While there are drawbacks to anticipatory action at the moment, this is mainly focused on the programmes aspect. Although currently there is not a huge amount of evidence, the evidence that we do have suggests there are positive returns on investment for donors and beneficial impacts on communities who do initiate some type of anticipatory action.

Acting early is intuitive, makes logical sense and mitigates the full impact of disasters and crises. The more anticipatory actions are utilised, the more the evidence base will grow, causing better programmes practices and informing future actions. It’s proactive rather than reactive, and paves the way for more long-term solutions within humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts.

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Written by Romey Watters

Digital Marketing Officer

Coronavirus, the Humanitarian Sector and the Media

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March 20, 2020
Coronavirus, the Humanitarian Sector and the Media

On Wednesday 11th March 2020 the World Health Organisation declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, acknowledging that it is likely to spread to every country in the world. The full extent of Coronavirus and its impact on the humanitarian sector is not yet known but the outbreak is likely to have a significant impact on NGOs.

The situation with Coronavirus is changing daily, with the death toll increasing and governmental and NGO precautions adapting based on the evolving circumstances of coronavirus and its impact, as of 18th of March the details below are correct.

What is Coronavirus?

According to the World Health Organisation, coronaviruses (CoV) are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as a common cold, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-Cov). COVID-19 is a new strain of the virus which has previously not been identified in humans but has now, at the time of writing, spread to at least 118 countries and territories and killed more than 7,000 worldwide.

As it is a new disease, not much is known about its origins and how it is spread, other than that first cases were reported in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and have spread across the globe since. Aljazeera has created a timeline of how the virus has spread.

How are governments responding?

Italy has had the worst outbreak by far outside of China, resulting in a total shutdown. All schools, gyms, museums, restaurants, nightclubs, venues, shops (excluding food stores and pharmacies) and anywhere else people gather have been closed, and travel to and from the country restricted. Other countries are following suit, with the US suspending travel from Europe to the US and most countries have responded with strict travel restrictions and quarantine and self-isolation methods. Large events which attract a lot of people such as sporting events and music festivals like Coachella are being cancelled or postponed.

The UK government is now advising anyone who can should work from home and is urging all citizens to practice social distancing, limiting contact with other people as much as possible.

The UK government have also announced up to £150 million of UK aid funding in a recent budget to help mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the world’s most vulnerable countries.

How has this affected the sector?

As with every sector, the Coronavirus and its impact on the humanitarian sector has already been huge. Many NGOs such as CARE, Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services are issuing new travel restrictions for staff and developing prevention and response plans to better aid the worst impacted and most at-risk countries. The United Nations is undertaking risk assessments “to evaluate how critical proposed travel is in relation to the risk posed to the traveller.”

In the global north, banks are cutting interest rates and governments are offering loans and enabling quicker access to benefits to support the economy. However, in more vulnerable countries loans are not an attractive solution because of the longer-lasting economic damage they can have. This has resulted in a sector-wide push for more grants for local governments, service providers and NGOS to pay for more staff, treatment facilities, drugs, and protective equipment.

How are UK charities responding?

As the Coronavirus and its impact on the humanitarian sector is still unfolding, many different charities have offered specific advice based on the communities that they serve. The National Eczema Society has offered advice on handwashing techniques for people with skin conditions, Carers UK have issued recommendations for carers, and Asthma UK have provided specific advice for people with asthma.

The Fundraising Regulator has suggested “All charities should now be thinking about what they will do if their fundraising event needs to be cancelled or postponed.” Some charities are already cancelling events to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus, particularly if events include people who are more vulnerable to Covid-19 or require international travel. This includes Bond’s annual conference. The conference was due to take place on the 23rd and 24th of March 2020 and is the biggest international development event in Europe. Increasing concerns over the spread of coronavirus has led to the cancellation of the event.

On 12th March the Charity Commission issued guidelines for charities on how to respond to Coronavirus, which was heavily criticised for its tone and being unhelpful. The guidance has since been withdrawn.

Foodbanks

As always in a crisis, it’s the poorer communities in the UK who are likely to be most affected. Food charities are preparing for an “unprecedented challenge” as foodbanks run low on supplies. The panic-buying, stock-up mentality amidst the Coronavirus fears has meant a drop in donations for some foodbanks, while other are struggling to buy supplies from supermarkets. The Sufra foodbank in London has launched a coronavirus emergency appeal, stating that “We are struggling to buy the food and toiletries we need to help homeless people and families experiencing hunger – many of the essential items we need are out of stock.”

Discrimination

Covid-19 does not discriminate and the spread of the virus is in no way linked to ethnicity, yet some communities are facing discrimination and racism because of the outbreak. Therefore, it is important to support these communities at this time. Stop Hate UK are providing a 24-hour reporting service for anyone experiencing or witnessing discrimination.

What is the general advice?

It is everyone’s responsibility to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to ensure high-risk groups such as the elderly and people with lower immunity and health conditions are better protected. The current advice is as follows:

  • Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser – this is particularly important after using public transport
  • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then throw the tissue in a bin – if you do not have a tissue cough/sneeze into your sleeve rather than your hand
  • Disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces at home and at work such as keyboards, mice, phones & smartphones, door handles and desktops
  • Avoid touching your face
  • Work from home where possible
  • Avoid unnecessary travel

The media reaction

As the coronavirus continues to make an impact at a global and local level, and as more people are self-isolating in an effort to promote social distancing, the media are a key actor in informing the ordinary person about what the virus is, what to do and what the next steps are. It is a huge advantage to be able to access vast amounts of information quickly via a diverse number of platforms (TV news, social media, WhatsApp groups, etc.). However, there is also the ugly side of information overload, as people are exposed to news that is not only not helpful but in fact detrimental to their situations (and those of their communities, if they are possibly spreading the virus to others inadvertently).

“Social media is both offering a window into our collective response to the coronavirus outbreak, as well as shaping our reaction in the first place — for good and for ill” (De La Garza)

The spread of ‘fake’ news

Many of us rely heavily on social media as a key information source in difficult times. As many countries initiate states of emergencies, they are also using social media to alert citizens to any updates and restrictions being enforced. Social media has become the ‘go to’ information provider for many people, with 330 million monthly active users on Twitter and 145 million daily users. Social media use worldwide is expected to reach 2.96 billion people in 2020, which makes these platforms prime targets for those wanting to spread fake news.

The prevalence of fake news or disinformation on social media has already prompted Twitter to issue a statement that it will remove any tweets that it considers to contravene its safety rules. The social networking site said “we will enforce this in close co-ordination with trusted partners, including public health authorities and governments, and continue to use and consult with information from those sources when reviewing content”.

As people increasingly seek information to dispel the fear of the unknown, many are being lured to information that claims to provide bogus cures or claims about a vaccine. In addition, much other disinformation relates to conspiracy theories about where the virus started and whether it was manufactured. Governments, scientists and charities are all working to counter these types of claims. For example, the WHO has a ‘myth-busing’ resource to counter fake claims and includes information such as: taking a hot bath does not prevent it; cold weather, snow, garlic and hairdryers cannot kill it; and vaccines against pneumonia do not protect against it.

Finding credible sources

As news media throw words like ‘lock-down’, ‘quarantine’, ‘cabin fever’ and other catchy but scary phrases around, it becomes more important to find sources of information that are credible, based on science, but also easy to understand. What becomes important during this time is to filter information and perhaps adopt a local and global strategy – use local community networks on social media to stay tuned to what is happening around you, and refer to reliable global sources to get the big picture. At the local level, Prof Jeff Hancock says community forums are useful, because they are “reflecting how society is thinking and reacting to the crisis…allowing society to sort of talk its way through what is an unprecedented kind of threat”. Finding community forums which are offering support to vulnerable populations and provide an outlet for volunteering are becoming more popular and are a good way to stay connected with those around you.

At the global level, looking for sources of information from large reliable organisations such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations, public health departments at universities, and verified national governments. Increasingly, “scientists and other public health experts are also using social media to more directly engage with the public or discuss emerging programmes”. One example is Prof Marc Lipsitch, who is Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and who tweets regularly about the work he does and those of his peers. Ordinary people can tap into the work of reputable scientists who are sharing important information by linking and following the people that scientists such as Prof Lipsitch follow. Rather than trying to find your own experts, use the resources from already-established experts to help point the way. Specht & Gimenez provide six points on how to be critical and ‘read like a scientist’ when finding information online.

“Disinformation experts say it’s more important than ever for those with accurate information to be sure they’re being heard” (De La Garza)

Scientists are increasingly playing their part to debunk fake news by making their experiences, their programmes and their findings available to the public via social media. TIME writes that

“social media – Twitter in particular – has been a significant tool for scientists who can counter misinformation with accuracies and programmes. The sharing of information and updates on Novel Coronavirus by members of the science and medial communities has grown organically, and many scientists, doctors and other experts have accumulated thousands of followers”.

What can humanitarian organisations be doing to counter misinformation?

Large international NGOs can be at the forefront of countering misinformation and fake news as the pandemic spreads globally. Often, these organisations are already accustomed to ensuring accurate information is available during humanitarian crises and other disasters, and can be using these skills to promote accurate and timely information during today’s worrying events. Some of the ways in which INGOs can be promoting reliable information include: a) tapping into networks, particularly those that work in the health sector; b) sharing information on the ground; c) circulating information from reliable sources through their own social media accounts.

“The prominence of fear as a theme in reports of the coronavirus suggests that much of the coverage of the outbreak is more a reflection of public fear than informative of what is actually happening in terms of the spread of the virus.” (Wahl-Jorgensen)

INGOs are well-equipped to collate information gathered at country level into global trends that provide a big picture view of what experiences on the ground are. They can also work more closely with the mainstream media to promote reliable information and shift the narrative we are currently seeing around fear, panic and negativity to one that promotes unity, humanity and solidarity in the face of uncertainty.

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Written by Romey Watters

Digital Marketing Officer

& Dr Vanessa Malila

Research and Development Officer

5 Reasons Charities Should Work Together

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March 18, 2020
5 Reasons Charities Should Work Together

When organisations have similar aims, working together can reduce costs, amplify a shared message and generally have more impact. At HAD, we really value our partnerships with other organisations, and we want to encourage more charities and NGOs to collaborate to increase the capacity of the sector, so here are 5 reasons charities should work together.

1. It reduces costs

One of the biggest reasons charities should work together is the opportunity to save money. Pooling together funds and resources for a campaign or project means that the impact can potentially be twice as big as it would if attempted solo. For instance, hosting a fundraising event can be especially effective as all costs can be shared. Not only that, but it also reduces the amount of time and resources required to run a successful event.

2. It increases awareness

By working together charities can double their reach, resulting in increased exposure for both organisations as well as their cause. This is especially important for smaller charities which may not have much reach initially. Raising the profile of a charity and its cause is also likely to lead to an increase in donations and funding.

3. It builds networks

Ultimately, working with other charities and organisations adds to your network of like-minded NGO professionals. This network can hold countless opportunities for your organisation or even yourself! The more people that are aware of the charity, the bigger reach it will have, amplifying your message and hopefully leading to an increase in donations. Your network may also be kind enough to share your content with their networks, further increasing awareness and reach.

4. It’s a chance to learn new skills

Working with another charity can provide the chance to learn new skills – a fantastic reason charities should work together. Networking with or pooling together with another charity to access training courses provides excellent opportunity for capacity building within both organisations. You could also learn a lot just from how another organisation is run or how they approach campaigns or projects.

5. It’s an opportunity for innovation

Collaborating with another charity can highlight solutions to existing problems. By combing skills and resources you can help solve these problems and increase your impact. Maybe you’re able to identify where each other’s organisation needs support, which you can then offer, or maybe you now qualify for certain funds/bids which you otherwise wouldn’t, or wouldn’t have the capacity to apply for.

With so many reasons charities should work together, we really want to encourage relationship building and networking between UK NGOs.

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Written by Romey Watters

Digital Marketing Officer

What Makes a Good Proposal?


March 16, 2020
What Makes a Good Proposal?

The primary purpose of a proposal is to convince a donor agency to fund your project. Effective proposals are important for any organisation and is one of the most crucial aspects of any NGO. It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation is, you cannot get away from writing a project proposal, with the aim to secure funds. But what makes a good proposal? Generally, most proposals usually include the following elements:

  • Executive Summary: States the rationale for putting the proposal into effect, and summarises the proposal.
  • Statement of Need: Details about why the project the proposal recommends is necessary.
  • Organisation Details: Provides information about the organisation submitting the proposal, including its mission, and the scope of its programs and services.
  • Project Description: Explains specifics of the project, and how it will be implemented and how it will be evaluated.
  • Budget Analysis: Provides and explains how the project will be financed.
  • Conclusion: Summarises the proposal’s main points.


The ingredients for a winning proposal

A proposal has a lot of different purposes, but there’s only one good way to write one: the way that pulls together all of the information in a concise and persuasive way and helps you get what you want. When you start writing a proposal, you need to remember the basic principle of a robust proposal. Here are my 7 top tips:

  1. Follow the guidelines: In most cases, donors provide specific instructions about what they expect. It’s important to follow these guidelines and/or instructions in addition to understanding all of the requirements included in the application. When reading through the instructions, its good practice to go through them over again while making note of key information to help you remember the important stuff that will be required for writing your proposal.
  2. Start early: Never delay writing your proposal, or even worse, leaving it until near the deadline date for submission. It’s vital to begin writing your proposal early. In my experience of writing proposals, I’ve made it a habit to prepare myself a simple work plan of action, with deadlines, for preparing each section of the proposal. This way, you’re ahead of schedule and you’ve given yourself time to complete the proposal accordingly.
  3. Write clearly and make it convincing: Reviewers have to go through several proposals, so make it an objective to make your case clear and avoid writing unnecessary details. Put yourself in the position of a reviewer. Avoid writing irrelevant things.
  4. Engage your team: It’s very important to engage your team or, as I like to call them, “key players” when preparing your proposal. For example, a project manager is more experienced for writing about how your project or idea is going to be implemented. Therefore, it’s important to engage him/her into the process. Additionally, a financial manager’s expertise is most definitely required for ensuring your proposal meets the budget requirements of the donor. So it’s important to keep your key players engaged during the proposal writing process.
  5. Use data and facts to support your proposal: Only write what’s important and mention the facts that strengthen your case. Most importantly, make sure your facts are up-to-date, particularly when using facts such as government reports, programmes articles, news articles, etc.
  6. Avoid too much technical language: Always keep in mind that the reviewer reviewing your proposal may not be an expert in a particular field. Therefore it’s important to use easy to understand language throughout the proposal.
  7. Review, review and revise: I strongly recommend and advise that final proposals be reviewed by colleagues before submitting them. Ask them to provide their feedback, criticisms, ideas and comments. Reviewing it over and over helps in improving the quality of the proposal. Then lastly, do a final revision check to make sure you’ve followed the instructions of the donor agency and that you’ve met the requirements.


Capacity building in proposal writing

The Humanitarian Academy for Development offers a 3 day course in Proposal Writing and covers topics such as understanding the donor’s requirements, proposal writing process and roles, assessment and analysis, project design, budgets and other key areas which helps participants write, not just good proposals, but winning proposals too. To better understand the course objectives, HAD has developed a proposal triangle which describes the areas that piece together a good proposal. The course is specifically aimed at Project managers, Coordinators and Officers in addition to Grant Managers, Coordinators and Officers. By the end of the course, participants will:

  • List the contents of proposals and concept notes, and outline key differences between the two documents.
  • Recall the need to consider organisational strategy, donor interests and humanitarian or development need before developing a proposal.
  • Develop a plan for the proposal writing process and engage key stakeholders in the process.
  • Outline the use of a Theory of change to demonstrate how change will happen.
  • Outline the use of a logical framework and recognise the difference between activities and results at different levels.
  • Compare requirements of and templates used by different donors.
  • Write proposals in a style which is concise, accurate and engaging.
  • Write narrative to accompany an activity-based budget.
  • Integrate international standards and cross cutting themes throughout a proposal.
  • Review proposals and make suggestions for improvements.

Learn more about our courses

Written by Yasser Yehiah

Partnerships and Programme Manager

Reflections on the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2020


March 11, 2020
Reflections on the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2020

In February this year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) held a 5 day conference for Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) which brought together over 2,300 participants from 450 organisations including representatives from the UN, governments, the military, NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, academia and the private sector. The event provided a forum for humanitarian networks and partnerships to meet and address key humanitarian issues currently affecting the world.

Key takeaways

The 250+ sessions offered the opportunity for participants to address a few selected priority topics of major concern across the sector. Some of the key points discussed were:

Localisation: A topic which still is understood in different ways, localisation was one of the key priorities at HNPW 2020. One important take away for us at HAD was that HNPW participants agreed on the need to support local leadership capacities and resources. This aligns well with HAD’s recent capacity-building projects supporting local NGOs in Turkey and Yemen.

Nexus, humanitarian-development-peace: “We know how to do it, we do not know how to do it together” was the conclusion of HNPW. At HAD, as we bridge together development, humanitarianism and peace-building through our capacity building projects, we are at the heart of Nexus approach. We are always looking for new and innovative ways of working together and welcome many types of partnerships.

Anticipatory Action: Getting ahead of hazards and conflicts to minimise the impact of those affected and using technology to anticipate action at local level was another hot topic for discussion over the week.

Accountability to Affected Populations: Over the week, funding agencies concluded that while there is a need for data programming, as a sector we need to do more than just collect data. There needs to be more trust in local communities to act – we must go beyond simply consulting with local actors and actively empower them to respond. At HAD, our capacity building courses do just that, with our very successful Train the Trainer course enabling representatives from local NGOs to go on to further build the capacity of their organisation(s).

Launch of IASC Guidelines for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action: Disability inclusion is a huge priority in the sector at the moment. Our partner Islamic Relief Worldwide have contributed to the Arabic translation of the IASC guidelines and participate in projects developing tools and resources for implementing these guidelines. At HAD, we are looking at potentially streamlining the IASC Guidelines and implementing them into our existing training courses. You can also read our guest blog on ensuring people with disabilities are included within humanitarian action.

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week continues to be a great opportunity for humanitarian and development professionals and subject matter experts to learn from each other and exchange valuable knowledge and best practice methods within the sector.

Written by Magdalena Lukowska-Sumila

Business Development Manager

Driving Systematic Change to Ensure Persons with Disabilities are included in Humanitarian Action


March 10, 2020
Driving Systematic Change to Ensure Persons with Disabilities are included in Humanitarian Action

Islamic Relief’s Protection and Inclusion Advisor on age and disability, Tom Palmer, explores how humanitarian actors can accelerate progress on inclusion following the publication of the new IASC Guidelines.

Few humanitarian workers these days, whether based at an international headquarters or on the frontline of a crisis, would disagree that including persons with disabilities in their programmes is essential.

The evidence is stark:

Persons with disabilities represent more than 15% of the world’s crisis-affected population. In disasters they are more likely to lose their lives. And in displaced populations, children with disabilities are at greater risk of abuse and neglect, while women with disabilities are more likely to experience sexual violence. The vast majority of persons with disabilities face barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance and protection.

No longer seen as the domain of specialist agencies, a wide range of humanitarian actors have committed to improving disability inclusion, for example, at the 2018 Global Disability Summit. Many have now gone further and pledged to implement the new Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action.

How do we turn commitments into systemic change?

The IASC guidelines are an important milestone. Fourteen years after the first edition of the IASC Gender Handbook, and thirteen since the IASC MHPSS Guidelines, we now have guidelines for disability inclusion from the highest level of humanitarian coordination.

They provide essential, practical tips for humanitarian workers building on existing frameworks such as the Core Humanitarian Standards, Sphere Handbook, and the Humanitarian Inclusion Standards, as well other resources on more specific topics, such as children with disabilities, shelter and disability data.

Is this a paradigm shift for the humanitarian sector?

The process for developing IASC Guidelines provides an important example to follow.

They are the first such guidelines to be developed with and by persons with disabilities alongside traditional humanitarian stakeholders. This represents an essential shift to recognising persons with disabilities as experts of their own experience and agents in decision-making rather than as passive ‘victims’ or ‘beneficiaries.’

Global guidelines are often dismissed as too abstract for humanitarian field staff. But while we shouldn’t claim that they provide all the answers, they do help us to ask the right questions and demand the necessary training, resources and technical support to develop our own solutions. They also help to normalise key concepts such as universal design and reasonable accommodation.

To broaden access to the guidelines, Islamic Relief is translating them into Arabic and a collection of case studies, published jointly by the International Disability Alliance, Humanity & Inclusion and CBM, provides practical examples to accompany the guidance.

How can we bridge the training gap?

All humanitarian programmes staff must improve their level of understanding about disability. They must learn how to respectfully interact with persons with disabilities; collect and use disability data; design activities to tackle stigma and discrimination; and collaborate with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) – and much more besides.

But where do they go for training?

Not all organisations can invest in bespoke in-house training programmes, or outsource training to specialised agencies. So it’s critical to work together to develop and share materials – and crucially, to collaborate with persons with disabilities in this process. As such humanitarian agencies must invest in the capacity of OPDs and recruit staff which represent the diversity of the communities we support.

This work has begun with development of a module on humanitarian action within the CRPD-SDGs BRIDGE training initiative on the rights of persons with disabilities. Islamic Relief’s Maureen Nderitu participated as an observer to the module’s first edition and has used the knowledge she gained to forge connections with OPDs in Kenya.

What tools do we need to ensure disability inclusion?

Organisations are often challenged by the scarcity of tools to implement the Guidelines. One area where this has advanced in recent years is disability data collection.

Many agencies are now adopting the Washington Group Questions, which more accurately identify persons with disabilities. Integrated into survey tools, they enable us to disaggregate needs assessment data, for example, which is essential for planning a response.

However, the questions are sometimes misused to ‘diagnose’ health issues. To avoid such pitfalls, accompanying training materials include an introductory module to sensitise users on the human rights approach to disability.

The Washington Group on Disability Statistics is developing additional question sets to identify barriers in areas such as access to education and civic participation. This often overlooked aspect of disability data is essential for understanding how to adapt interventions for inclusion.

Are humanitarian agencies collaborating enough?

A number of humanitarian actors, including the International Organisation for Migration, are working together to test questions on barriers to humanitarian assistance.

To complement the advances on data collection, Islamic Relief is testing a tool for incorporating disability into intersectional analysis of needs, control of resources, and protection risks. To ensure uptake of these tools inter-agency collaboration is vital. For example, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has established an external advisory group, including many OPDs, to develop disability-inclusive community feedback mechanisms.

Collaboration is also at the heart of the new global Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, established to coordinate development of further tools and resources to complement the IASC Guidelines. It’s essential that field staff from non-specialised actors are involved to ensure that any tools can be integrated into all the routine processes of humanitarian action and adapted for different contexts.

What else is needed to achieve real change?

Of course, delivering systemic reforms of humanitarian policies, processes and practices requires financial investment.

Budgeting for inclusion means earmarking funds for training, accessibility, reasonable accommodations and targeted activities. And to secure the necessary resources for inclusion, fundraisers have to be able to explain the cost and value of disability inclusion to donors.

But cash alone can’t deliver the sea change that’s needed.

Organisations must integrate inclusion minimum standards into accountability mechanisms at all organisational levels – including individual objectives.

And leaders must nurture an environment in which change can happen. We need safe spaces to share and discuss failings; encouragement to seek opinions and innovation from outside the sector; and incentives to prioritise collaboration over competition as well as learning over recognition.

Written by Tom Palmer

Protection & Inclusion Advisor (Age & Disability) at Islamic Relief Worldwide

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