Needs analysis, participation and Rohingya voices
All of BRAC’s interventions are informed by comprehensive and participatory needs analysis processes carried out prior to the inception of projects. Communities are consulted and contribute to the identification and prioritisation of projects and activities, designed to respond to their needs. BRAC ensures that communities are consulted and participate in the entire project cycle management processes including planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This ensures ownership and sustainability of interventions. BRAC recognises the need to promote refugee voices, as this builds agency and thus change that is driven by the refugees themselves. In this respect, key to our interventions will include providing refugees with forums that they can use to advance their cause, share ideas, learn from one another and make themselves heard.
Gender and social inclusion
BRAC at all times uses gender and social inclusion perspectives in its work. BRAC put women and girls at the centre of everything that we do, promoting women’s equal participation and empowerment at different levels of society. In addition, BRAC focus on the most vulnerable of groups, such as people living in ultra poverty, women-headed households, persons with disabilities and the elderly. This approach minimises women’s and other minority groups’ exposure to vulnerabilities by increasing their agency to interact, influence and contribute to the societies that they live in.
Fostering social cohesion
To address the root causes of tensions between the host and refugee communities, BRAC will continue to target host communities through its interventions, and will scale up its multi-dimensional ultra-poor graduation approach, skills development and cash-based interventions. As the lack of direct and clear communication between affected communities and service providers can deteriorate both inter and intra community relations, BRAC has been promoting dialogue and community consultations. This will continue to be one of BRAC’s approaches and will be further strengthened this year. To create opportunities for positive interactions and mitigate conflicts, BRAC will continue to engage both Rohingya volunteers and staff from the host community to assist in implementing its interventions.
Localisation
BRAC’s approach to both its development and emergency interventions is geared towards empowerment of communities and their organisation at the grassroots level. BRAC identifies community-led entry points and solutions and seeks for ways of strengthening those with a view of ensuring localised processes of interventions. BRAC is cognisant of the fact that local actors are key in sustainable and effective change, have distinct strengths, and often play a crucial role in ensuring early response and access, acceptance, cost effectiveness, and link with development. In order to ensure and reinforce these potential benefits BRAC will invest in local actors and improve partnerships and coordination with local responders. Localisation gives access to a wider pool of sector partners, stakeholders and increases an organisation’s network and programme reach, beyond its traditional geographical coverage areas. BRAC will continue to strengthen its localisation approach by identifying strategic partners and providing them with technical support and other strategies for capacity building.
Coordination and collaboration
BRAC fosters a collaborative environment within the humanitarian community to maximise synergies between its work internally, and that of other actors. This allows for coordinated approaches where ideas are shared, leading to the sharing of skills, resources, knowledge, the development of common tools, and building a common voice particularly over advocacy issues. BRAC works closely in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies, and other international, national and local aid and development agencies. The organisation actively engages in a number of coordination mechanisms including those of the Rohingya Refugee Repatriation Commission (RRRC), the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), and camp level coordination mechanisms.
Quality assurance
Quality assurance and impact driven programming will underpin BRAC’s approach to implementation in 2019, will include adherence to sector and Sphere standards, and will incorporate BRAC’s internal quality assurance systems. To this end, the current monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes will be reviewed and updated to ensure a comprehensive M&E system that is responsive to the needs and requirements of the HCMP programme. In addition, a fully functional M&E team will be established and resourced to ensure that the implementation of the M&E system is achieved across the program.
Accountability
BRAC is committed to deliver services that are relevant, timely, strengthen local capacities, avoid negative effects, coordinated, complimentary, based on feedback and learning, delivered by competent and well-managed staff, and resources that are used efficiently and ethically. A core standard on quality and accountability for BRAC is direct accountability for the quality of work placing the affected people at the centre. To protect employees, beneficiaries and partners from harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation of all forms, BRAC has in place strengthened Safeguarding Policies and Procedures, including alignment with international guidance and standards around the protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), with a strong system in place to collect and process complaints. Regular monitoring and comprehensive staff performance measurement metrics, aligned with international standards, facilitate continuous improvement.
Advocacy
BRAC will employ a two pronged strategy of both direct implementation on one hand, and advocacy on the other. Advocacy will ensure that issues from grassroots and local levels are linked to the national, regional and international. To systematically collect Rohingya and host community perspectives and showcase them, BRAC will systematise capturing and incorporating their voices into reporting, promoting these in national and international forums, including in the media. BRAC will further strengthen its evidence-driven advocacy initiatives through partnering with other NGOs on sectoral research and disseminate advocacy papers focusing on critical topics, including women andgirls’ rights. BRAC has already partnered with institutions and organisations, including Harvard University and Amnesty International, and is engaged with UN agencies and the European Parliament to ensure the Rohingya crisis is kept on the international agenda.
Sustainability and resilience
BRAC consistently employs sustainability approaches to ensure that communities can continue enjoying benefits of its intervention after projects end. This is done by ensuring community support and buy-in during project inception and throughout the project cycle. BRAC builds the capacity of communities and their structures, uses local problem-solving approaches and resources, tools and methods. In doing so, the organisation builds community agency and ownership thus ensuring the sustainability of interventions. In addition, BRAC works with communities to build their resilience to survive even in adverse shocks. This approach ensures community resources, methods, knowledge and skills are strengthened so that communities proactively interact with their environment with the capacity to put in place contingency measures aimed at the anticipation of challenging periods. This approach is meant to shore up community coping mechanisms and sustainability, and ensures that gains made by communities are protected and permanent.