Module 1: The Key Concepts

This module provides an overview of the Good Enough Guide and of key concepts.

The concepts will not be presented as the “fad of the day”, or as theoretical. The module seek to demonstrate that the concepts are at the core of humanitarian action and are indeed the key concerns for these practitioners seriously engaged and driven to humanitarian work.

The importance of the Good Enough approach is to remind practitioners to focus on what matters, and to put the most affected and vulnerable people at the center of action. The purpose of the Good Enough Guide – and of this training! – is to remind field staff that two questions, ultimately, matter:

• What difference are we making?
• How are we involving the women, men, and children affected by an emergency in planning, implementing, and judging our response?

In particular participants will understand:

• The concept of “Good Enough”: what does “good enough” mean? How do we know when our work is “good enough”?
• What is accountability (and impact measurement), and what are its elements? It is important to remember that accountability – as promoted by the guide – seeks to put people first.
• What are other important accountability initiatives?

It is important that participants appreciate that while much has been written at the policy level about accountability and impact measurement, the challenge for us is to find practical and simple mechanisms and processes that involve people affected by emergencies and to listen to those people. Many field projects already have accountability or impact measurement activities in place that they may not have recognised as such. This module seeks to highlight what participants are already doing and also acknowledge some of the challenges. This is why all exercises are very participatory, and demand participants to share their expertise and practice.

At the end of the session participants will

• Understand the focus on accountability and impact measurement – first and foremost – as a commitment to support the most vulnerable amongst the affected people
• Articulate “accountability” and its elements
• Master the idea of “Good Enough” and be able to apply it to their work
• Be familiar with the Good Enough Guide and understand its structure
• List other quality and accountability initiatives
• Share practice, challenges and learning on accountability and impact measurement

Key Learning Points

At the end of this session the trainer will have covered the following points:

• Accountability and impact measurement is about “putting people back into projects”. The intention of accountability and impact measurement is to give people affected by emergencies a voice in their own projects at all stages of the project cycle.
• Humanitarian accountability includes the obligation to involve and consult, the obligation to inform, the obligation to listen, and the obligation to respond and report back. From a practical point of view, people affected by crisis have capacities, knowledge and understanding of the crisis situation and how to resolve it.
• Good enough does not mean “second best”!
• Accountability and impact measurement in practice should be simple and practical.
• The Good Enough Guide is NOT prescriptive!