Humanitarian agencies are stretched in terms of human, technical and financial capacity. Interestingly, in most of these emergencies, local actors have been first to respond, are acquainted with the situation, social - cultural context and nuances and are able to act and collaborate with communities before, during, and after disasters. During the recent 2022 severe drought in ASAL Kenya, local communities were, in most cases, the first and last responders through their own existing locally based structures and systems. Many local communities have a strong social cohesion and are interdependent (culture of being ‘your brother’s keeper’) and will mostly reach out to support each other. Community-led initiatives during crisis response are a unique approach that addresses a community’s immediate challenge by supporting and building upon their existing structure, systems, strengths and opportunities. 

Components of the community-led crisis response

The Survivor and Community-led crisis response (sclr)  approach is a means through which communities affected by crisis are at the center of the response and are given the power and resources to take charge of their own response. The aim of the sclr approach is to strengthen the initiatives of crisis-affected people to help each other (Mutual aid), survive the crisis with dignity and promote communal wellbeing as the root causes of vulnerability are addressed. The foundation of the community-led response and transformation is based on these components:   

a) Empowerment of the local communities to take a lead in their development, progress and transformation. During crisis, most communities will have both formal and informal initiatives to assist each other. The sclr model recognizes that local communities have existing knowledge, systems and structures that have worked for them over time and that response activities and strategies need to be built on these.

Community-led groups have regular discussions to keep track of their progress and learnings. Photo - Eyeris Communication/AHN

b) Participative and Inclusive. Active engagement and participation come from within the community rather than being imposed by external actors. The sclr approach to community participation is not in the traditional sense that we tend to think of from the conventional humanitarian aid perspective. Implementing agencies and other humanitarian actors play a supporting role that ensures active participation and fair representation from diverse community members and being keen to engage marginalized groups not only as recipients but also in the development and implementation of the community initiatives.  

c) Local ownership for long term sustainability. sclr encourages and supports existing group-based initiatives that have the potential for wider impact in the community. Ownership by the community has the potential to encourage and even accelerate the process to address root causes of a crisis and even develop more permanent mechanisms to cope and build their own resilience.  A genuine sense of ownership is important to maximize local agencies and further tap into the local accountability mechanisms. 

Hurri Hills Farmers Field School Harvesting Maize in their Farm - Photo Dub Guyo/IREMO 

d) Respect to local systems and knowledge. Crisis affected communities respond in multiple ways that reflect their priorities, therefore one size fits all interventions are unsustainable. Within crisis-affected communities are existing local, rich and indigenous knowledge, skills and insights for responding to crisis. These need to be recognized and leveraged by the community to enhance their resilience and coping during crisis. 

e) Experiential learning and innovation. Appreciating that learning is a process and equally providing a safe to fail environment where capacity is strengthened by sharing lessons and providing a safe space to fail and learn from these experiences. 

Challenges and potential barriers to community-led initiatives

The sclr approach is however not immune to risks and barriers which may be foreseen or in some instances unforeseen. Implementation of this approach needs the community and facilitating agency to be aware of the potential risks and identify "identify locally sensitive mechanisms of “do-less-harm” " to mitigate these or reduce the negative impact. 

Power dynamics and hierarchies in the community and among other stakeholders. Community-led response and initiatives are at risk of elite capture and domination by power holders in the community and also by other interested parties. Power dynamics are unique within deferent contexts and need to be identified and acknowledged. Community groups plus their partners agencies can take time to identify these and the unique ways these can be handled. 

Accountability issues within the community groups of among the facilitating agency. However, the sclr approach advocates for horizontal accountability among the community members. The community groups responsible for the implementation of the prioritized initiatives are accountable first to their community and to other supporting agencies. Implementing organisations and other partners can agree on an accountability process and structures that promote transparency among all parties.  

Limited resources and capacity gaps – The community may not have all the technical and management capacity required to ensure the efficient implementation of the community-led initiatives. Over time, the community together with other partners can identify the capacity gaps and organize for demand driven training to reduce these gaps. 

Coordination and complementarity among diverse stakeholders for community-led initiatives 

Community-led response is not the sole responsibility of one actor but a united contribution led by the community with complementary support in terms of resources or capacity from development agencies, government, donors and other stakeholders.  Sclr is an approach that is different from the traditional and conventional way of implementing humanitarian response. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of different actors may be different and call for a process of unlearning and relearning some of the aspects of humanitarian response and community empowerment.   

Role of the community groups 

Within the community-led approach, the community assumes an exceptionally active and engaged role throughout the entire process in some of the following ways:  

1)  Identification of priorities and formulation of community-based initiatives. Rather than being passive recipients or mere onlookers, they are enthusiastic participants in the identification of their priorities and the formulation of initiatives aimed at benefiting the larger community.

2)  Continuous learning and active knowledge sharing within the community. Within this approach, sclr further encourages continuous learning and the active sharing of successes and failures among the community groups. 

3)  Creating a collaborative environment that is inclusive and involves diverse stakeholders. The community leadership and other local actor involved in the process are responsible for creating a collaborative environment which not only facilitates knowledge exchange but also promotes community resilience and adaptability in times of crisis

4)   Local mobilization of resources. Additionally, the participating community groups take on crucial responsibilities including the local mobilization of both cash and in-kind resources. This self-reliance empowers the community to shape their destinies and take control of their development

Community-led group in Marsabit has started a communal farm in Hurri hills that contributes to their food security. This initiative is in partnership with IREMO. Photo Eyeris Communication/AHN

5)  Transparency and Accountability to the wider communities and other partners. The community groups are also responsible for fund management (within reasonable agreed on limits) and to ensure transparency and accountability on financial management. Of greater importance is the community groups’ accountability to the wider community, a critical aspect in building trust and ensuring the effective use of resources.

6)  Active implementation of the community prioritized initiative within the agreed-on timelines. Community groups in the sclr approach are responsible for ensuring that the goals and priorities of the identified initiative are achieved. 

7) Advocacy at the local levels (county and village leadership). With time and support by different stakeholders, community groups can organize themselves in such a way that they are able to present their needs and priorities to local governments and agencies for inclusion in the government budgets. In addition, once groups are stable and well organized, they can collectively identify their needs and fundraise for their initiatives while build more mutually beneficial partnerships with other similar groups and stakeholders.

Role of the ASAL Humanitarian Network and local facilitating agencies

As a dynamic movement, that is dedicated to achieving a locally led humanitarian response that prioritizes the people in crisis, the ASAL Humanitarian Network (AHN) and its local facilitating agencies are responsible for: 

1)  Advocacy and influencing for locally led and community-based approaches such as the sclr where local actors take the lead in defining their priorities and determining the most effective initiatives for their development. The network, is also an ambassador to encourage the use of sclr and other community-led approaches as a modality of entry into communities. This approach has the potential to build the resilience and self-reliance of communities not to entirely rely on projects or external actors for all their development needs. Implementing agencies within the network can begin to facilitate a platform where the local communities begin to take a lead in their development with the agencies acting as facilitators of the process.

2)  Facilitating a learning and knowledge sharing platform. Within the AHN is the potential for a learning platform where local agencies, facilitating the community-led initiatives can exchange knowledge and learn from one another while developing their capacities. The network membership too can advocate for and implement demand-led skills training and capacity building

3) Advocate for direct funding to local actors. The network has a role and the platform to lobby to funding agencies and government agencies for the direct funding to local organization and community led initiatives.  for more direct funding to communities/local partners and community led initiatives. AHN members can further lobby for more resources that finance community-led initiatives with the goal of empowering their self-reliance them over time.

4) Consolidation and strategic documentation of gains and lessons of the pilot initiatives. Different methods to document these lessons ad experiences can be done through – focus group discussions, use of informal and formal reports, multimedia (photos and videos), workshops to share experiences among other context relevant methods. AHN is responsible for documenting the progress, lessons and also mistakes made during the implementation of these initiatives. The process is not risk free at all and is 

5) Building and maintaining partnerships and collaborations between community, local government and other stakeholders. The AHN and its broad membership need to be at the forefront in advocating for humanitarian response and development programs that are locally led and creating partnerships whose goal is a people-centered humanitarian and development system. A process where communities engage on their own terms where their needs and structures are acknowledged. 

Role of international actors (Donors and INGOs)

International actors have for many years played a vital role in supporting and advocating for both financial and non-financial support for community projects. The function of international actors, including donors and international NGOs in community-led initiatives encompasses several key aspects:

1)  Acknowledgement of existing local knowledge and systems. INGOs and other international partners need to recognize and respect the preexisting local knowledge, systems and structures that serve as a crucial foundation for community-led initiatives. These existing structures are not perfect or risk proof, however with the close collaboration of different actors, these structures have the potential to be improved and work for the communities.

2)  Support with resources and expertise. These actors play a vital role in providing the necessary financial and non-financial resources. In addition, they can partner with local communities to provide demand driven expertise, technical assistance and guidance to enhance the effectiveness of these initiatives.

3)  Sustainable funding models and direct community funding. INGOs and donors can work towards developing sustainable funding models that empower communities and enable them to have direct control of the funding within mutually agreed on accountability measures. This approach has the potential to ensure that resources are channeled more effectively at the grassroots level.

4)  Enabling platforms for knowledge sharing and demand driven capacity building. International and national actors can facilitate the exchange of best practices, lessons learned and successful strategies among their partner communities. Knowledge sharing enhances the collective capacity of these community-led efforts and fosters continuous learning.

Going forward

The global and local environment within which development and humanitarian actors operate in is fast changing and becoming more complex. There is need to urgently rethink the role and support for local actors in response, anticipatory action and preparedness and also in ensuring sustainability of action. Acknowledging the strengths and experience of the local communities who understand the local political, social and physical contexts and cultural dynamics. Local communities therefore, need to be seen as important and must be at the forefront in actively advocating for and leading in their development and building resilience. 

Community-led initiatives recognize local foundations and a collaborative approach which enhances impact and sustainability. Sclr empowers local communities to be proactive agents of their own development. This wholistic and participative approach leads to more sustainable and impactful response and resilience projects ultimately to the benefit of the greater community. 

More on Community-led transformation

Desert oasis: Community -led resilience building thorough agriculture in Hurri hills, Marsabit

Empowering Women Rights Organisations to implement community-led responses