Commitment 4.2:
We analyse and understand the contexts in which we work.

Compliance Indicators

Compliance with the Commitments will be assessed against the following Compliance Indicators. All of the applicable Compliance Indicators must be met by every ACFID Member to be considered compliant with the Code. Each of the Compliance Indicators has one or more compliance Verifiers. Verifiers are the description of evidence that is required to substantiate compliance with each Compliance Indicator. Guidance is also provided.

4.2.1 Members’ planning and practice are informed by analysis of context, evidence and research, and inclusion of the perspectives and knowledge of primary stakeholders.

  • Design or planning framework, tools, templates which require or approaches which consistently show context and stakeholder analysis, including the consideration of the perspectives and knowledge of primary stakeholders and an analysis of power dynamics including issues of gender equality and equity.
  • Appraisal/selection process that requires designs to include systematic consideration of context and stakeholder analysis, evidence and research, and the perspectives and knowledge of primary stakeholders, including analysis of power dynamics and issues of gender equality and equity.            

Guidance

Your design or planning framework, tools and templates could include: explicit sub sections or prompts in the design document template requiring contextual analysis including the identification of different primary stakeholder groups and an analysis of the power dynamics for each, reference to research or other evidence and how primary stakeholder’s perspectives were sought.

Your appraisal/selection process could include sub sections or criteria covering: an assessment of the adequacy of: contextual analysis; stakeholder analysis; the research or evidence used; and how the perspectives of primary stakeholders were sought.

4.2.2 Members assess and manage risk in their development and humanitarian initiatives.

A risk framework, risk management plan or approaches which assess and address risks for initiatives, including from a protection / safeguarding perspective.

Guidance

Your design template could include a requirement to compete a risk management matrix or analysis. Your appraisal/selection process could include sub sections or criteria covering an assessment of the risk analysis and management strategies. Protection/safeguarding is a critical area of practice to ensure we ‘do no harm’. To ensure protection/safeguarding is always considered in all risk assessments, your risk management matrix and your appraisal/selection process should explicitly include a section or criterion on protection/safeguarding.

There will be variation in the detail and complexity of risk analysis and risk management tools depending on the size and scope of your organisation and the initiatives, but there are accepted standard approaches. Your approach should always include consideration of protection/safeguarding risks regardless of the size or scope of your organisation or the initiative. You can download an example of a risk analysis and management tool in the Resources Section below.

4.2.3 Members undertake research and establish their own ethical guidelines for research.

This indicator and its verifier is relevant only to Members which undertake research.    

  • Ethical guidelines for research.      

Guidance

If your organisation undertakes research, you will have documented guidelines to inform these processes. Guidelines should reflect the four principles of:

  • respect for human beings;
  • beneficence;
  • research merit and integrity; and
  • justice.

You can download ACFID’s Principles for Ethical Research and Evaluation in Development in the Resources Section below.

Good Practice Indicators

The following Good Practice Indicators describe a higher standard of practice than that set out in the Compliance Indicators. While Members do not need to meet the Good Practice Indicators to be considered compliant with the Code, they will self-assess against these indicators once every three years. This provides a clear pathway for Members to strengthen and improve practice over time.

  • The Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network Principles for Ethical Research and Evaluation in Development are used to inform approaches to research.
  • Training is provided to key personnel and partners on undertaking contextual, stakeholder and risk analysis, including the analysis of power dynamics and gender.
  • Structured processes to periodically re-assess contextual and stakeholder analysis and risk on an ongoing basis are in place.
  • Research plans and results are shared with those who are involved in or impacted by the findings.
  • The results of research are shared with local partners and primary stakeholders.

Good Practice Guidance

Here are some practical suggestions for your organisation to further deepen and improve practice over time.

Context and Stakeholder Analysis

  • Develop a full understanding of the program’s context including the impact of national and community-level political, social, economic, cultural, power, gender and environmental factors, as well as the enablers and the barriers to social change
  • Seek the perspectives and experiences of primary stakeholders directly impacted by poverty or inequality
  • Seek the perspectives of all vulnerable or marginalised groups where protection/safeguarding risks could be increased e.g. people with disability, women, children, people identifying with different or non-binary gender etc.
  • Carry out an analysis of the key relationships that will impact the project, how that impact will occur, and how those groups or people can be positively engaged
  • Train staff in how to carry out power analyses as a basic step in the preparation of any development activity
  • Periodically review the context as it changes over time as part of regular monitoring activities and reflect any changes by adapting project plans and approaches.
  • Ensure program guidelines explicitly outline the importance of identifying the needs and expectations of all key stakeholders, including potential differences in interests and points of view.
  • Use stakeholder analysis tools in project design so that you can identify the key local organisations and stakeholders and the relationships between them that contribute to or can break down poverty and inequality; vulnerability, risk and capacity for each stakeholder group.
  • Identify key groups marginalised through vulnerability and analyse the increased vulnerability and risks posed through intersectionality of vulnerabilities.
  • Conduct research to identify the enabling factors and barriers for participation of local people.
  • Invest resources in and create opportunities for local organisations and/or primary stakeholders to discuss and agree on their own priorities for development and to fully contribute to the design and planning of initiatives that affect them.
  • Assess the level to which primary stakeholders have been involved in the initial planning of the program and the level of consultation and engagement with various community groups and the local government.

Gender and Power Dynamics Analysis

Undertaking an analysis of gender and power dynamics should ideally be done in close consultation with your partners and the communities or target groups with whom you work. The focus of your analysis should be nuanced depending on the context although there are some common issues or areas that can be considered. These include:

  • Ensure careful analysis of how gender and power intersect and the impact each aspect has on the other.
  • The legislative or regulatory environment within a particular country that could inhibit or enable. This could include regulations or laws relating to industrial relations or labour, land and asset ownership, marriage, sexual orientation and gender identity, child protection, sexual exploitation and abuse.
  • Cultural and religious norms that could inhibit or enable how decisions are made in work places, within households and within communities – who holds the information and knowledge, who influences decision making and who controls decision making.
  • Ownership and control of land and other productive assets e.g. land, animals, productive trees, water ways.
  • The division of labour in general and in regards to these productive assets i.e. men may own the assets but women may undertake all the labour
  • The control and use of other assets within the workplace or community i.e. public spaces and services
  • Ownership and control of profits and incomes
  • Control of body and sexuality – how are decisions about sex and relationships made within families, households and communities
  • Attitudes in the workplace, households and communities towards sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

Resources to help organisations undertake an analysis of power dynamics, including issues of gender equality and equity, can be found in the Resources section below.

Approaches to risk analysis

  • Consider both organisational and initiative based risk analysis.
  • Establish protocols for the conduct of regular risk reviews.
  • Share risk assessment, analysis and management strategies with the governing body and periodically review these.
  • Appoint a staff person or committee to be responsible for ensuring regular risk assessments are carried out.
  • Use ISO standards to guide your risk assessment processes.
  • Undertake targeted risk analysis for particular initiatives, for example risks related to child protection, risks related to vulnerable groups, risks related to gender or gender identification.
  • Communicate your commitment to risk analysis and management amongst your staff, governing body, and partners.
  • Work with partners to develop their risk management capacity and procedures. 

Risk Areas

Risk identification should be a collaborative process that involves partners and staff from key functions that are relevant to logistics, security, field offices, programs, technical staff, HR and partner management. In any development and humanitarian initiative, there will be a wide range of risks to be considered that are specific to the sector of work and the context. In all initiatives, however, there are some risks that should always be considered. These include:

  • Child safeguarding incident involving staff or partners
  • Sexual exploitation or abuse incident involving staff or partners
  • Resources being diverted to proscribed ‘terrorist’ groups
  • Poor fraud management planning leading to repeated fraud incidents
  • Lack of staff or specific technical skill-sets in country office or partners
  • Security situation affecting implementation negatively

Safeguarding Risks

Each context will present different protection and safeguarding risks, and it can be helpful for organisations to systematically identify what these risks are and how they can mitigate these. If the initiative is working directly with children, a child protection and safeguarding risk assessment should be undertaken.  Some questions to consider include:

  • What contact will this activity have with children?
  • What contact will this activity have with vulnerable adults?
  • What contact will staff and volunteers have with children and/or vulnerable adults?
  • What hazards exist in the activity or the context that may make children and adults vulnerable to exploitation and abuse?
  • What safeguards exist to prevent the exploitation and abuse of children and vulnerable adults?
  • What mechanisms exist for children, vulnerable adults and staff to report concerns and incidents relating to exploitation and abuse?
  • What policies and procedures are in place to safeguard children and adults from exploitation and abuse?
  • What additional mitigating strategies are needed to protect children and adults from exploitation and abuse? 

Approaches to research

  • Use ACFID’s Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network Principles for Ethical Research and Evaluation in Development to inform your approach to research.
  • Ensure that local stakeholders have a meaningful input into the design of research initiatives and in undertaking the research.
  • Provide appropriate training to local staff and primary stakeholders who may be involved in research activities
  • Include local stakeholders in research teams and hold meetings at the completion of the research with local stakeholders to share the findings and receive feedback on them.
  • Translate research findings into local language and conduct forums where this information can be shared. 

ACFID Resources

ACFID’s PMEL Guidance Tool

Developing an Effectiveness Framework- A toolkit for small and medium sized NGOs

The purpose of this Toolkit is to provide small and medium sized Australian NGOs with some guiding principles and ...

Other Resources

Feminist Research Framework – IWDA

This Framework sets out IWDA’s approach to feminist research and provides guidance for designing ethical, feminist ...

How to collaborate with Pacific Churches for development research

This guide offers academics and practitioners the tools and knowledge to navigate the unique demands and ...

How to Partner for Development Research

Recognising that effective partnerships require intentional management, this practical guide offers tools, tips ...

Principles and Guidelines for Ethical Research and Evaluation in Development

Essential guidance tool for research conducted with human participants in developing country contexts.

Quick Guide to Power Analysis

Looking at unequal power relations as a cause of poverty and suffering, how these are manifest in many different ...

Risk Management Plan – assistance and templates

These help sheets and checklists are designed to help you introduce and improve risk management processes in your ...

Stakeholder Analysis Matrix Template

A matrix template to map out and analyse stakeholders

This is why we need to think again about ethical guidelines for research

In this blog for the Spotlight on the Code series, Dr Philippa Smales, Network Manager for the Research for ...

About

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Annual Report 2022-23

Reporting on ACFID’s activities to ensure transparency and accountability

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Code of Conduct

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2022-23 ACFID Code of Conduct Review

The ACFID Code of Conduct is periodically reviewed to ensure it continues to reflect good practice and the needs of ACFID and its members.

Code of Conduct

The Code is a voluntary, self-regulatory industry code of good practice.

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This section outlines the responsibility to be taken by each Member to ensure compliance with the Code.

Complaints Handling

How to make a complaint and information on the Code’s independent mechanism to address concerns relating to an ACFID Members’ conduct.

Other Standards

Mapping the Code with other professional standards and principles in the humanitarian and aid sector in Australia and internationally

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