Community Participation

Introduction

Support to community participation, information-sharing, and feedback and complaints are core CCCM activities that must be delivered by CCCM actors, no matter the modality of support or type of site they are working in. They are vital for ensuring accountability to affected people.  

As a Cluster coordination team you might need to: 

• Provide technical guidance to CCCM partners 
• Work with CCCM partners to standardize or ensure consistency of specific activities or procedures  
• Develop a strategy on participation 

The Global CCCM Cluster’s Participation in Displacement Working Group has been active since 2018. Its objective is to enhance practices and guidance on community engagement within CCCM activities and to coordinate and connect relevant initiatives from different CCCM agencies.

The Community Engagement Forum (CE Forum) is an online community of practice, established in 2022 for CCCM practitioners as complementary to the Participation in Displacement Working Group.  It offers an online space to meet and sharing experiences, resources, and learnings for community engagement in displacement practitioners. To become a member, register here. You can also follow the CE Forum on Instagram where practitioners share their top tips, challenges and experiences, and where all events are advertised.

Community Engagement & AAP

There are three aspects of community engagement that help to achieve accountability to affected people (AAP) [1]:

Participation in Decision-Making

According to the Minimum Standards for Camp Management (2021) Standard 2.1 “the site population [should be] able to participate meaningfully in decision-making related to the management of the site.” This includes establishment of governance structures and other community representation such as camp committees, and support to inclusive participation across all aspects of life in a displacement site (or the setting the CCCM actor is working in). In a transit setting this can mean providing input to parts of the decision-making process, but not all the steps. Or it can mean participating by developing proxies and providing input through these.  

As a Cluster coordination team, you may need to work with Cluster members to put in place guidelines or support for establishment of these mechanisms. CCCM partners may need to conduct training on participation, including for new committee members. See Toolkit Section 8.5. Capacity Building for guidance on how to develop a capacity-building approach. 

[1] Figure 1: from UN-OCHA, OCHA on Message: Community Engagement, 2015

Information Sharing with Communities

According to the Minimum Standards for Camp Management (2021) Standard 2.2 “regular communication with the displaced community, host community and all other stakeholders [should be] appropriate and relevant”. In a transit setting it is critical that information is available and accessible at arrival for all demographic groups. 

A Cluster coordination team may need to work with Cluster members on technical guidance to support the establishment of regular information-sharing mechanisms with displaced families. You may also need to work with CCCM partners and other actors such as specialist communications with communities (CwC) actors and Protection to develop standard messaging, materials, or CwC processes for specific events or incidents. 

Feedback & Complaints

According to the Minimum Standards for Camp Management (2021) Standard 2.3 “site populations, both displaced and host, [should] have access to safe and responsive mechanisms to handle feedback and complaints to service providers”. A CCCM actor should ensure that complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFM) are in place in the setting they are working in. In a transit setting these are often simplified systems where the displaced can provide quick feedback, and where closing the feedback loop must often be done over the phone or via networks or representatives, in the following location at a later stage.  

A CCCM Cluster coordination team may need to work with Cluster members on guidance or minimum standards for CFM, and to help escalate issues which cannot be resolved at site level. In a few responses, CCCM partners have worked within the Cluster to establish a CFM system used by all CCCM actors, although

Role of the Cluster in Ensuring Participation

Role of the Cluster

A CCCM Cluster coordination team should support participation in CCCM response including through: 

1. Facilitating the establishment of participatory structures: ensure CCCM partners establish participatory structures that enable the active engagement of affected populations in decision-making processes. This can include community-based committees and other mechanisms that allow for the voices of affected populations to be heard. 
2. Advocating for meaningful participation: advocate for the meaningful participation of affected populations in all phases of the response, from planning to implementation and monitoring. This means ensuring that affected populations have the opportunity to provide input on issues that affect them and that their views and feedback are taken into account in decision-making processes. 
3. Ensuring inclusivity: work to ensure that all affected populations, including the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, are included in participatory structures and have a voice in decision-making processes. This can involve actively seeking out the views and perspectives of those who may be less visible or less likely to participate in traditional consultation processes. 
4. Provide information and feedback: ensure CCCM actors put in place structures to ensure that affected populations have access to information about the response, including roles and responsibilities of different actors, and how decisions are made. They should also ensure feedback mechanisms are in place so that affected populations can provide input, raise concerns, and feed back on the response. 
5. Monitoring and evaluating participation: include monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of participation mechanisms in CCCM response monitoring, so Cluster members can make adjustments as necessary to ensure that they are meeting the needs of affected populations. This can involve gathering feedback from those who have participated in the process, as well as analyzing participation data to identify trends and gaps. 
6. Coordinate different engagement strategies or modalities of different CCCM actors. 
7. Sensitise local actors on the importance of participation and governance. 
8. Advocate for recognition of affected community representation groups by all different stakeholders. 
9. Train (or advocate for) CCCM partners on community engagement techniques and tools 

Tips for Developing a Strategy on Participation

In consultation with CCCM partners, you might wish to develop a strategy on participation either as part of the CCCM Response Strategy, or as a standalone if identified as a priority by Cluster members.  

Developing a country-specific strategy on increasing participation requires a comprehensive approach that involves different stakeholders, including the affected population, humanitarian actors, and local authorities. The following steps can guide a CCCM Cluster Coordination team in developing a strategy: 

1. Assess the context: The first step is to understand the local context, including the cultural and socio-economic factors and power dynamics that influence the participation of affected populations. An understanding needs to be established of existing levels of participation, who participates and how, either formally or informally. This assessment can be done through various means, such as community consultations, surveys, and secondary data review. 
2. Identify barriers and enablers to participation: Once the context is understood, the next step is to identify the barriers and enablers to participation. This can be done by consulting with affected communities, including marginalised groups, and identifying the factors that hinder or promote their participation in decision-making processes and in community governance structures. 
3. Develop an action plan: Based on the assessment, the CCCM Cluster Coordination team can develop an action plan that addresses the identified barriers and enablers.in order to develop/support representation structures and ensure they become the key actor within coordination and decision-making fora.  The action plan should include specific interventions that can be implemented to promote the participation of affected populations and should be followed by a capacity building plan on how to practically do this with the displaced community. 
4. Capacity building: identify capacity gaps / need for capacity-building of CCCM actors & stakeholders 
5. Mobilise resources: The CCCM Cluster Coordination team should identify the resources needed to implement the action plan and mobilize them. This can involve seeking funding from donors, engaging with local authorities, and partnering with other humanitarian actors. 
6. Monitor and evaluate: the implementation of the action plan. This involves tracking progress towards the objectives, assessing the effectiveness of the interventions, and making adjustments as needed. 

Key Messages on Participation

1. Facilitating community participation is an important part of a CCCM Cluster Coordinator's responsibility [2]
2. Meaningful participation of affected communities is essential for effective humanitarian response and ensuring the dignity and rights of affected populations are upheld. 
3. Community engagement is a critical component of humanitarian response as it allows for a two-way dialogue between responders and affected communities, promoting accountability, and building trust. 
4. Participation and engagement must be inclusive, taking into consideration diverse needs and perspectives of all individuals and groups, including women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities. 
5. Effective governance structures and mechanisms are essential for ensuring accountability, transparency, and participation in humanitarian response efforts. 
6. Coordination among humanitarian actors, local authorities, and affected communities is necessary to ensure interventions are complementary and appropriate, and avoid duplication or gaps. 
7. Participation and engagement should be integrated throughout all phases of the humanitarian response, including needs assessments, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. 
8. Capacity building and training for community representatives, including women, youth, and marginalized groups, is necessary to enable them to fully participate and engage in decision-making processes. 
9. Communication with affected communities should be clear, timely, and accessible, using appropriate language, formats, and channels. 
10. Participation, engagement, and governance structures should be viewed as a long-term investment in building community resilience and promoting sustainable recovery and development. 
11. Finally, it is important to recognize and respect the expertise and agency of affected communities in their own recovery and development, and to work in partnership with them to achieve shared goals.

[2] Minimum Standards for Camp Management, 2021

Related Resources