Strengthening Accountability in Chad

27 March 2019

by Alexandra Warner, Guillaume Pocard

In a tucked away country, often out of sight of international media (6th under-reported humanitarian crises of 2018 according to CARE international), not one but three major humanitarian responses are underway. With the continued presence of refugees from Sudan, more recent displacement due to threats from Boko Haram and the arrival of people fleeing conflict in Central African Republic, Chad is one of the most challenging humanitarian contexts in Africa.

Even in face of these challenges, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has delivered on its commitment to accountability towards affected people by putting in place a collective feedback approach to gather the views of affected communities. These views will be used to improve decision-making, strategic planning and programme monitoring processes.

Perception survey in Chad by GTS and CHSA

Survey with a woman in the province of Ouaddaï. Stones are sometimes used to help answer the perception-based questions.

With the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Ground Truth Solutions and the CHS Alliance are supporting the Humanitarian Country Team in this effort. Concretely, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) is responsible for gathering and analysing the perceptions of affected people, field staff and local partner organisations on the implementation of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). The data collected by GTS is intended not just to orient course corrections, but to inform the broader Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) that underpins the 2019 HRP.

So, practically what does this resemble? Firstly, the HCT has linked the HRP strategic objectives to perception indicators that are tied to the CHS commitments.

Chad AAP Perception Indicators for Blog

Secondly, going even further, the HCT has set targets for these indicators. Through the creation of targets for key perception indicators, the HCT is demonstrating its dedication to the implementation of a people-centred approach. Through improved communication with the affected populations and an inclusive approach to humanitarian action, organisations in Chad are committed reaching key perception indicators by the end of 2019.

Chad AAP Perception Indicators for Blog

Overall, the “Strengthening Accountability” project in Chad is a striking example on how to deliver on commitments to accountability enshrined in the Core Humanitarian Standard as well as the Grand Bargain recommendations for the Participatory Revolution.

Following the World Humanitarian Summit, humanitarian action is in the midst of another bout of reforms which aims to shift the power balance between the affected population and the humanitarian actors. Using the Core Humanitarian Standard as a foundation, GTS and CHS Alliance are together contributing to the development of a new approach to accountability where the affected population’s perspective is the cornerstone.

For more information regarding the “Strengthening Accountability” project, and to see the results of the latest round of data collection visit the GTS website.

About the authors

Alexandra WarnerAlexandra Warner / Programme Manager
Alexandra is leading Ground Truth Solutions’ projects in West Africa and is responsible for capacity development and learning. Before joining Ground Truth Solutions, she worked at the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP). There, she developed guidance and conducted research on evaluation, monitoring, and innovation in humanitarian action. Alexandra also assisted with other ALNAP work on feedback mechanisms and was the lead moderator of ALNAP’s humanitarian evaluation community of practice. She has worked in various countries, including Costa Rica, South Korea, and Burkina Faso. Alexandra has a bachelor’s in business administration with a focus on marketing. She holds a NOHA master’s in international humanitarian action with a specialisation in the strategic management of humanitarian aid.

Guillaume PocardGuillaume Pocard / Programme Analyst
Guillaume joined Ground Truth Solutions as a Programme Analyst in March 2019. He previously worked for Restless Development in Nepal, where he had the opportunity to implement and consolidate the monitoring and evaluation framework of several youth-led development projects. After working with North Korean refugees in Seoul, Guillaume developed a strong interest in refugee integration programmes and livelihood development initiatives for refugees. He holds a bachelor’s in international studies from Montreal University and a master’s in contemporary Asian studies from the University of Amsterdam. Guillaume is currently finishing a NOHA’s master’s thesis in international humanitarian action.