Risk
CaLP’s State of the World’s Cash report found that the perception that CVA is riskier than other forms of aid was one of the main barriers to CVA being routinely used. This concern is linked to the growing emphasis from donors on anti-terrorism and money laundering, and shrinking budgets for humanitarian assistance. CaLP’s work under this theme aims to debunk myths, facilitate collaboration, and share learning to ensure that CVA is systematically and equally considered, based on evidence of actual risks across modalities.
Current priorities
A variety of organisations are currently working on CVA and risk. CaLP is working to identify synergies among actors, avoid duplication, and define joint priorities that can be better addressed collectively. Together with WFP, CaLP is co-leading the risk priority within the Grand Bargain workstream on cash.
Featured content
Podcast: Will risk aversion hold us back from realizing the potential of CVA?
Podcast
Episode 1 of the CashCast, exploring how attitudes to risk have impacted the use of CVA in the Middle East and North Africa region.
CVA and Risks: What happens in the field, stays in the field?
Blog Post
In October 2019 in Douala, Cameroon, CaLP facilitated a learning event exploring the risks to beneficiary protection in Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA). This closed-door workshop, held as part...
Webinar: Data sharing in CVA: ethics, ownership and privacy
Event
Thematic lead
Latest
Guidelines for Cash Transfer Programming
Guidelines and Tools
A practical guide, including guidance sheets and a section on practical tools. Building on the broad range of cash experiences within the Movement and in the humanitarian sector, these guidelines provide practical, step-by-step support to the design and implementation of cash programmes.
Independent Evaluation of Oxfam GB Malawi’s Emergency Cash-Transfer Programme
Report
Poor rainfall in Malawi in the 2004/2005 growing season resulted in significantly reduced cereal and non-cereal food production in the country, leaving up to 4 million people in need of assistance. In response, Oxfam planned a programme in southern Malawi, which included a ‘pilot’ cash-transfer...
Mapping the Risks of Corruption in Humanitarian Action
Report
The issue of corruption in emergency relief and rehabilitation is a key concern for practitioners, who invest considerable resources and energy in trying to minimise it. However, it has barely been discussed in policy terms, and little researched. This paper aims to map the risks of corruption in the...
Cash Transfer Programming in Emergencies
Guidelines and Tools
A compact and concise guide aimed at supporting programme managers to assess whether cash is the most appropriate response in an emergency and choose between different types of cash-based interventions. This guide is based on the experience of Oxfam GB over five years (2000–2005) in a variety of...
Seed Vouchers and Fairs
Guidelines and Tools
This manual describes a new (2002) approach to post-emergency seed distribution in Africa, where farmers receive not free seed but vouchers that can be exchanged for seed at a specially organized seed fair. Seed fairs rely on commercial seed firms (where they are in operation), as well as local seed...
Cash Transfers in Emergencies: Evaluating Benefits and Assessing Risks
Report
In terms of both theory and practice, there appears to be a strong case for cash-based responses to food emergencies where the supply and market conditions are appropriate. Amartya Sen’s work on entitlements offers a solid theoretical base for cash transfers, and the practical experience so far, limited...