Concern Worldwide
14 January 2020
Contributions
Cash Works: Time to act and save lives amid starvation in Sudan
Report
As unprecedented hunger grips Sudan, countless lives hang in the balance. Previous humanitarian efforts have fallen short, but a shift to cash-based interventions such as multi-purpose cash assistance and group cash transfers could be the lifeline needed to prevent widespread deaths.
June 2024
Joint Market Assessment Report
Report
This report assesses the feasibility of implementing Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), specifically Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), to support individuals impacted by the recent earthquake. The evaluation focuses on the availability of items, price increases, access to shops, and acceptance of cash and credit cards in the affected areas. The market assessment reveals that essential items...
10 July 2023
Multi-purpose cash assistance for Lebanese – Inter-agency Joint Learning Event Learning Brief
Case Study
On June 27th 2023, Mercy Corps co-organized with Acted, Concern and Oxfam a learning event on the implementation of Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) interventions for Lebanese. While the MPCA modality has been initiated and designed around the assistance to refugees, the provision of unconditional cash assistance for Lebanese is a recent development in the country. This requires an...
July 2023
The Changing Landscape of Cash Preparedness: Lists, Risks and Relationships
Report
What are feasible lead times to deliver CVA to recipients in the Horn of Africa? What are the barriers and enablers to ensuring a timely and high quality humanitarian response? What does it take for organizations to be effectively prepared?
August 2022
Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis: Linking humanitarian Cash and Social Protection in practise
Report
This paper seeks to demonstrate practical ways in which NGOs are linking their humanitarian work to social protection and the added importance of this in the context of COVID-19, following from the earlier work of CCD outlining the role of NGOs to
improve the access to and delivery of social protection in crises and the COVID-19 advocacy paper. This is written for signatories of the Grand...
27 July 2020
The Case for Cash in Responding to Humanitarian Crises in Malawi
Policy paper
A policy paper by the Malawi INGO Cash Consortium which makes the case for cash assistance as a response modality to humanitarian crises. It gives a brief overview of global evidence for cash and previous cash experience in Malawi, and makes several key recommendations. One of these key recommendations is that cash over in-kind food aid should be prioritised in Malawi, except in cases of...
12 March 2020
Somali Safety Net Design: Designing a Scalable Safety Net Program for Somalia Using Household Economy Analysis (HEA)
Report
The aim of the study was to use existing household economy analysis (HEA) data to help in the design of a scalable cash-transfer-based safety net program for Somalia. The study made use of a recently completed 15-year (30-season) time series analysis covering 13 livelihood zones in Somalia.
2019
Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network Global Collaboration Agreement
Guidelines and Tools
The annual meeting of the Grand Bargain (GB) – a facilitation group made up of global humanitarian leaders from Sweden, the US, OCHA, UNICEF, IFRC and InterAction – held on 27th June saw the presentation of a letter of intent endorsed by the CEOs of the Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network partnership. The 15 international non-governmental organisations operate in every crisis context...
2019
Gender and Cash-Based Programming in Malawi: Lessons from Concern Worldwide’s humanitarian and development experience
Report
From ‘Collected Papers on Gender and Cash Transfer Programmes in Humanitarian Contexts’. Existing gender inequalities mean that disasters and conflicts impact women, men, girls and boys differently. Cash based assistance is one of the most significant developments in humanitarian assistance in recent years. But the relationship between gender and cash based assistance in humanitarian...
September 2018
Collected Papers on Gender and Cash Transfer Programmes in Humanitarian Contexts
Report
Existing gender inequalities mean that disasters and conflicts impact women, men, girls and boys differently. Cash based assistance is one of the most significant developments in humanitarian assistance in recent years. But the relationship between gender and cash based assistance in humanitarian contexts is poorly understood. All too often, interventions are designed based on assumptions...
2018
Final Evaluation of the DiRECT Response Emergency Cash Transfer Programme in Zambia
Report
In the past two years (2015 and 2016), Zambia experienced relatively harsh climatic conditions characterised by disruptive rains and the negative impact of El Nino weather patterns. Districts in the southern and western regions of the country were most affected. Many farmers in the affected regions were critically food-insecure and had minimal or no personal household stocks. The affected...
28 August 2017
Research on Food Assistance for Nutritional Impact (REFANI): Literature review
Report
The REFANI literature review identifies existing evidence on the use of Cash Transfer Programmes (CTPs) and the impact of CTPs on acute malnutrition in humanitarian contexts. The review is structured as follows: Section A discusses the global burden of acute malnutrition; Section B highlights traditional foodbased interventions; Section C explores cash-based interventions and...
2015
Factors Affecting the Cost-efficiency of Electronic Transfers in Humanitarian Programmes
Report
Led by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) with support from Concern Worldwide, this research aims to answer the key question: Are electronic transfers more cost-efficient than traditional manual based cash delivery methods, and under what conditions? Cash is increasingly offered to households in humanitarian emergencies as an alternative to in-kind aid. Under certain conditions cash may have...
2014
Community Baseline: A Survey On Resilience In South Central Somalia
Report
A comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic and environmental context of intervention is essential to the success of any resilience-building program. Based on this premise, the BRCiS has taken a series of steps to strengthen its knowledge and understanding of key variables and dynamics in its areas of operations in Somalia. The community baseline here presented is an integral part of...
2014
Community Baseline: A Survey On Resilience In South Central Somalia Summary
Report
A comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic and environmental context of intervention is essential to the success of any resilience-building program. Based on this premise, the BRCiS has taken a series of steps to strengthen its knowledge and understanding of key variables and dynamics in its areas of operations in Somalia. The community baseline here presented is an integral part of...
2014
Evaluation of Concern Worldwide’s Emergency Response in Masisi, North Kivu, DRC (2012-2013)
Report
Populations in eastern DRC have faced serious humanitarian consequences resulting from years of conflict and instability. In Masisi territory in the province of North Kivu, Concern Worldwide has provided emergency assistance since 2008 in order to respond to humanitarian needs created by cycles of displacement and return. From August 2012 to August 2013, Concern provided three types of...
2013
Helping Families, Closing Camps: Using rental support cash grants and other housing solutions to end displacement in camps
Guidelines and Tools
Rental Support Cash Grants have enabled over 14,000 families to move from Haiti’s displacement camps into safe housing. Since October 2010, ten months after the January 12th earthquake, these grants of $500 US Dollars covering one year of rent have proven to be a fast, effective and relatively inexpensive method of providing housing solutions. Questions have been raised about the...
2012
Examining Differences in the Effectiveness and Impacts of Vouchers and Unconditional Cash Transfers
Report
The objective of this study is to examine the differences in the effectiveness and impacts of vouchers versus unconditional cash transfers in the Bushani camp of the Masisi territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo. As part of this research, the study team collected household data from over 230 households in the Bushani camp in September 2011 (before the start of the program), November...
2012
Cash Transfers in Nairobi’s Slums
Report
In Kenya, a combination of factors led to the food crisis of 2008–9, which put around 9.5 million people at risk of starvation. About 4.1 million of those affected were living in informal settlements (slums) in the capital, Nairobi. Oxfam and Concern Worldwide developed a joint programme to address this unfolding emergency. The programme, implemented with local partners in two...
2012
Can you text me now? Mobile money transfer in Niger
Case Study
This case study looks at Concern Worldwide’s ground breaking project using a new mobile money transfer system in Niger, following the severe drought of 2009, to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technology in supporting vulnerable groups to access their basic needs. This very brief document looks at the background of the programme, lists the constraints in using this technology and...
2011
Hard Cash in Hard Times: Cash transfers versus food aid in rural Zimbabwe
Case Study
This case study looks at Concern Worldwide’s pilot project to provide cash, instead of traditional food aid, to food insecure communities in Zimbabwe. The document briefly describes the conditions making it suitable for such a response, positive outcomes for the cash recipients, the cost effectiveness, effects on local markets and the potential negative social impacts of cash. The project...
2011
Learning from Cash Responses to the Tsunami: Issue Paper 6: Monitoring and Evaluation
Report
This is the last of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper focuses on the question of how to monitor and evaluate cash transfer programmes, with special reference to the learning...
2011
Gender issues in Cash transfer programmes
Presentation
Purpose of the study: To assess the changes in gender power relations within households and in the community, as a result of emergency cash transfer programmes. To review the processes followed by agencies in emergency cash transfer programming and analyse their adequacy from a gender perspective
2011
Innovations in the design and delivery of social transfers: Lessons learned from Malawi
Case Study
In 2005/6 and 2006/7, Concern Worldwide in Malawi designed and delivered two emergency social transfer programmes that were evaluated as innovative and effective, and have advanced thinking on best practice and what is feasible, both in emergency contexts and in the delivery of predictable (nonemergency) social protection. This paper reviews the key innovative features of these interventions...
2011
Walking the Talk: Cash Transfers and Gender Dynamics
Case Study
Concern Worldwide (Concern) and Oxfam GB (Oxfam) jointly commissioned this report to look at the impacts of cash transfers (CTs) on gender dynamics both within households and communities. This report was commissioned because of the agencies’ concerns that while CTs, now being used in many different emergency contexts, are expected to benefit women and contribute towards their empowerment,...
2011
Making the most of it: A regional multiplier approach to estimating the impact of cash transfers on the market
Case Study
This study examines the regional multiplier effect resulting from Concern’s emergency cash transfer programme in Dowa district in Malawi, which experienced a food deficit in 2006. It uses a Reduced Social Accounting Matrix to calculate and analyse the impact of the cash transfers on different economic sectors, and the benefits for different businesses. It gives a brief review of the...
2011
Korogocho Cash Transfer Initiative: Supporting ‘Transformative Social Protection’ in the Kenyan Urban Slums
Case Study
This case study looks at Concern Worldwide’s work with the Kenyan government to introduce the concept of transformative social protection (which acknowledges that vulnerability is not only related to income, and seeks to complement cash transfers with components addressing further vulnerabilities) to the urban slums of Nairobi. The Korogocho Cash Transfer initiative seeks to address the...
2011
Evaluation of Zimbabwe’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ZECT) Programme
Case Study
Concern Worldwide have been delivering food aid in three rural districts of Zimbabwe (Gokwe North, Gokwe South and Nyanga) since 2002 as part of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme. The VGF provided a monthly food bundle of 10kg staple, 1kg beans and 600ml oil per person to cover 80% of their monthly food needs, targeted on food insecure households (in...
July 2010
Zimbabwe Emergency Cash Transfer (ZECT) Pilot Programme: Monitoring Consolidated Report, November 2009 to March 2010
Case Study
Concern Worldwide Zimbabwe together with WFP implemented the Zimbabwe Emergency Cash Transfer (ZECT) Pilot Programme in three districts of Zimbabwe as part of the Vulnerable Feeding Group intervention for the food shortages of 2009/2010. In spite of its limited duration (5 months), the ZECT was highly innovative and generated a range of positive effects. Drawing from extensive monitoring...
April 2010
Programme Evolution, Planning and Implementation: Zimbabwe Emergency Cash Transfer (ZECT) Pilot Programme
Case Study
The aim of this document is to draw lessons from the Zimbabwe Emergency Cash Transfer (ZECT) Pilot Programme evolution, planning and implementation. Since this was a pilot programme, documentation of the process of its development was viewed as a crucial programme output. The target audience for this report are development practitioners, who are interested in undertaking cash transfers in...
April 2010
Evaluation of Concern’s Post Election Violence Recovery (PEVR) programme
Case Study
Concern’s Post Election Violence Recovery (PEVR) Programme was a cash transfer programme operating in areas of Kenya (Nairobi, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley) affected particularly badly by the violence that followed the announcement of the national election results in late 2007. Building on several other cash transfer programmes in post-emergency and emergency settings, the PEVR...
February 2010
An independent evaluation of Concern Worldwide’s emergency response in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: Responding to displacement with vouchers and fairs
Case Study
In late 2008, escalated fighting among rebels and the Congolese Armed Forces (FARCD) provoked renewed and widespread displacement in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In response to the unfolding crisis, Concern Worldwide implemented the project Emergency Assistance to Newly Displaced and Host Families in Masisi Territory using funding from the...
September 2009
Cash Transfers through Mobile Phones: An Innovative Emergency Response in Kenya
Case Study
Kenya was the first country in the world to use mobile phones for cash transfers; through a service called M-PESA, developed by Safaricom Limited. Concern Worldwide has pioneered the use of M-PESA for
emergency cash transfers in Kenya. This paper highlights Concern’s experience, which shows that despite initial software and logistical challenges, mobile phone technology offers a unique and...
2009
Dowa emergency cash transfer, Malawi
Case Study
This case study looks at the innovative Concern Worldwide project which provided monthly cash transfers to beneficiary households using smartcards utilising mobile ATMs to deliver the cash. The report examines the choice of programme delivery mechanism, the targeting of beneficiaries, coordination, cost effectiveness and effects of markets, including protection against prices rises. The report...
November 2007
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 1: Analysing markets
Report
This is the first of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This 5-page Issue Paper explores the broad lines of the importance of market analysis in the planning, delivery and management of cash...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 2: Disbursement mechanisms
Report
This is the second of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This 5-page Issue Paper examines the disbursement options available to agencies making cash payments. It discusses key issues such as:...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue paper 3: Setting the value
Report
This is the third of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. A key question in the design of cash transfer programmes is how much money to give people. This 5-page Issue Paper explores the...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 4: Cash and shelter
Report
This is the fourth of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper highlights some of the key factors to consider in thinking about the role of cash in shelter responses. Key topics...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 5: Livelihoods recovery
Report
This is the fifth of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper looks at the use of cash in support of livelihoods recovery. Key issues to consider include: What are the objectives...
September 2006
Walking the Talk Presentation to the Zimbabwe CTWG May 2011
Presentation
Presentation accompanying the report ‘Walking the Talk – the Impacts of Cash Transfers on Gender Relations’ commissioned by Oxfam & Concern.
2001