Our Work

Key Projects

Our work helps to build the knowledge and skills of individuals and organisations worldwide for effective humanitarian action.

We work around the world, prioritising support for individuals and organisations in disaster-prone countries. We work in partnerships with both humanitarian and development actors across a range of sectors.  

We improve learning across the sector through establishing competencies, standards and systems of recognition, and directly supporting organisations involved in capacity building. Our unique position enables us to act as an honest and neutral broker to the sector, supporting the sharing of best practice and developing professional knowledge and skills. 

COVID-19 Learning Needs Assessment

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected communities all over the world with devastating impacts on individuals and communities worldwide. International aid organisations are also heavily impacted by the situation.

This report outlines findings from the RedR UK Learning Needs Assessment and sectoral surveys and assessments on the challenges organisations are facing within the context of COVID-19. Based on this, capacity building needs and solutions are outlined, as well as next steps and recommendations.  

COVID-19 Learning Needs Assessment

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

In 2018 almost 29 million people worldwide required humanitarian aid and emergency assistance due to disasters such as flooding, heat waves and tropical cyclones.  Many countries face the dual threat of high vulnerability to climate change while having limited capacity to respond to disasters.

By training and supporting humanitarians working in regions threatened by climate change, RedR UK will help build climate-resilience and disaster risk reduction capacity in the humanitarian sector, for the ultimate benefit of the vulnerable communities they serve. 

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

Engineering Skills Project - Uganda

Uganda currently hosts around 1.4m refugees1, mainly from neighbouring countries South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With further threats from disease, locust infestation, and nearby conflicts, as well as the impact of the current nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19, the humanitarian need is only expected to increase in the future.  

Working with the Ugandan Institute of Professional Engineers (UIPE), RedR UK is building in-country capacity to respond to these developing humanitarian needs through the training of local engineers, so that they can transfer their technical skills to a humanitarian context. 

Engineering Skills Project - Uganda

Competency Frameworks to enhance Global Nutrition Cluster coordination and information management

The frameworks are a set of competencies and associated behaviours, skills and knowledge, that cluster coordinators and information managers need to perform their professional roles effectively. They help focus staff behavior on things that matter most to an organization and help drive success in this increasingly complex humanitarian setting in which we are operating.

Competency Frameworks to enhance Global Nutrition Cluster coordination and information management

Standardising Learning in the Humanitarian Sector

The HPass Quality Standards draw together best practice in humanitarian learning and assessment from across the global humanitarian sector. There are two sets of Quality Standards: The Humanitarian Learning Standards and the Standards for Assessment of Humanitarian Competencies.

The Standards can be used by learning and/ or assessment providers to review and improve the quality of the humanitarian learning and assessment they provide.

Standardising Learning in the Humanitarian Sector

The Neighborhood Approach

While the humanitarian community continues to improve the accountability, effectiveness and coordination of emergency response, there is a growing recognition that substantial challenges remain.

Together with Project Concern International and funded by USAID, RedR UK is working to strengthen and promote the Neighborhood Approach; a set of guidelines that aim to create an integrated, holistic and inclusive approach to urban humanitarian response.

The Neighborhood Approach

Bridging the Gap

Faith actors are a critical component of first and lasting response in humanitarian situations. They are already often active as first responders, but can struggle to be recognised in humanitarian response. 

Bridging the Gap is designed to bring together national and international faith and non-faith based actors in South Sudan, to increase understanding, trust, coordination and collaboration in humanitarian response and recovery.

Bridging the Gap

The Urban Competency Framework

With the increasing growth and vulnerability of cities to natural and manmade disasters, there is a growing need to adapt humanitarian expertise to urban crises.

RedR UK is working in partnership with the Global Alliance for Urban Crises to develop the Urban Competency Framework; a comprehensive and adaptable set of minimum capability standards for effectively responding to urban crises.

The Urban Competency Framework

Africa Catalyst

According to a new global study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research there is a strong positive correlation between engineering strength and economic development.

Through the Africa Catalyst project, RedR UK is working to strengthen the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO), a professional engineering body in Nigeria, so that they can effectively promote the profession and increase local engineering capacity in order to help drive development in the country and region.

The project is funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) through their Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Africa Catalyst programme, which aims to strengthen professional engineering bodies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa Catalyst

Security Incident Information Management (SIIM)

Humanitarian organisations need context-specific information to understand the unique security concerns that put staff at risk and hinder access to beneficiary populations. 

The 21-month Security Incident Information Management (SIIM) project, funded by EU Humanitarian Aid, was launched in December 2016. The project aims to tackle these issues by bringing together RedR UK’s capacity-building expertise and Insecurity Insight's strong track-record in humanitarian data management. 

Security Incident Information Management (SIIM)

Building WASH Capacity in Sudan

According to the 2017 Humanitarian Needs Overview, an estimated 3.5 million people in Sudan are in need of some form of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance.

Through three complementary projects, RedR UK's Sudan team is working to build Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) capacity at national, state and locality level. 

Building WASH Capacity in Sudan

Mission Ready: Online Security Training

In recent years, the threats facing aid workers delivering programmes around the world have risen significantly. Mission Ready is an interactive, online security training platform that gives aid workers the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe. 

Mission Ready uses cutting-edge technology to enhance learning through real-time, ‘point-of-view’ (POV) video scenarios, putting aid workers in the kind of situations they are likely to face in the field. This innovative approach results in an immersive and engaging learning experience, which is essential within the current global security context.

Mission Ready: Online Security Training

Ready to Respond

In an ever-urbanising world, aid agencies and relief work must too shift to being more effective and adaptable to working in urban areas, and those operating in the spaces must understand the unique challenges that urban environments present.

Funded by Lloyds’ Charities Trust, RedR UK is implementing the ‘Ready to Respond’ project, aiming to increase the ability of individuals and organisations involved in humanitarian action to prepare for and respond to emergencies, especially in urban centres.

Ready to Respond

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