Analysis Standard 2: Response Strategies

Inclusive education response strategies include a clear description of the context, barriers to the right to education and strategies to overcome those barriers.

Key Actions

Response strategies reflect assessment findings

See Guidance Notes:

• Education responses progressively meet the needs of affected populations for inclusive and quality education

See Guidance Notes:

Response strategies are designed and implemented in ways that do not harm the community or providers and do not worsen the impact of the emergency

See Guidance Notes:

Information collected from the initial assessment and context analysis is regularly updated with new data to inform ongoing education responses

See Guidance Notes:

Response strategies include capacity building to support education authorities and community members to carry out assessments and implement response activities

See Guidance Notes:

Education responses complement and are harmonised with national education programmes

See Guidance Notes:

Baseline data are collected systematically at the start of a programme

See Guidance Notes:

Guidance Notes
1
Response strategies

Education stakeholders must invest in a thorough analysis and interpretation of assessment data to ensure that their response strategies are based on the key findings and major priorities revealed by assessment. This avoids the risk of assessment findings confirming already formed ideas for programme responses.

The response strategies should demonstrate the leading role of education authorities and collaboration with other stakeholders. For example, the levels of education expenditure for items such as teacher remuneration and equipment should be harmonised across organisations, considering long-term sustainability of expenditure levels.

The response strategies should be based on appropriate contingency plans where they exist and should be developed with active community participation. They should indicate different levels and types of education, awareness of risks and hazards, and whether other agencies are supporting education activities. Budgets should provide for essential education activities, including baseline data collection and evaluations.

There should be an analysis of the barriers, including gender barriers, to accessing all levels and types of education and activities for addressing these barriers. There should be as much flexibility as possible to provide inclusive education and to respond to increasing demand for education.

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2
Capacity building for data collection and analysis

Response strategies should include capacity building, including for education authority staff and community members. Youth community members in particular may be involved in data collection and analysis, monitoring and evaluation. It is important that staffing is gender-balanced to ensure comprehensive and effective collection and analysis of assessment data.

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3
Do Not Harm

Emergency education responses involve the transfer of resources such as training, jobs, supplies and food into frequently resource-scarce environments. These resources often represent power and wealth. They can become an element of the conflict or exacerbate marginalisation or discrimination within communities. In a conflict situation, some people may attempt to control and use such resources to support their side, to weaken the other side or to gain personally. If this happens, education responses may cause harm. Efforts should be made to avoid this, based on an understanding of risk and conflict analysis.

The transfer of resources and the process of conducting emergency education responses can also strengthen local capacities for peace. Activities can reduce divisions and sources of tension that lead to destructive conflict by building on or creating ties that bring communities together. For example, teacher training programmes can unite teachers in their professional interest across ethnic divides. More equitable community relations can be promoted through the incorporation of previously marginalised groups.

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4
Updating response strategies

Education stakeholders should regularly review and update their response strategies during emergencies through to recovery and development. They should demonstrate achievements to date, changes in the emergency and security situation and concurrent changes in strategy. There should be current estimates of unmet needs and rights and appropriate changes in strategy to meet those needs. Interventions should promote progressive improvements in quality, inclusion, coverage, sustainability and shared ownership.

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5
Donor response

Donors should regularly review both the quality and coverage of emergency education response to ensure that the minimum level of educational quality and access is met. Special attention should be paid to the enrolment and retention of learners from vulnerable groups, aiming for equal access to a range of educational opportunities in emergency-affected locations. ‘Equal access’ refers to equality of opportunity for male and female children, youth and adult learners, particularly those who are marginalised due to ethnicity, language or disability. Funding for education response should be given equal priority with water, food, shelter and health responses to ensure education provision for affected populations. This includes communities that host refugees or internally displaced populations. Adequate funding is critical to upholding the right to education for all. Programmes should not be limited by short-term funding cycles and should continue well into the recovery period.

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6
Strengthening national programmes

Emergency education responses should be harmonised with and should strengthen national education programmes, including early childhood development and vocational and livelihood programmes. This includes national and local education planning, administration and management as well as physical infrastructure and in-service teacher training and support. Emergency education responses should work with education authorities to build a better system for the future, strengthening an inclusive education system for all children, such as those with disabilities and from minority groups.

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7
Emergency response preparedness and disaster risk reduction

Development agencies and donors should promote and support activities for disaster risk reduction and preparedness for emergency response as prevention measures and during recovery after crisis. Investment in disaster risk reduction and preparedness can be cost- effective and efficient because it can contribute to better planning, coordination and response by education authorities and partners. Investment in disaster risk reduction and preparedness may also mean that less investment may be required during emergencies.

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8
Overcoming constraints of organisational mandates

Humanitarian organisations with limited mandates – such as for children, primary education or refugees – should ensure that their education responses complement those of the education authorities and other education stakeholders. Overall education strategies should cover:

  • early childhood development;
  • inclusive primary education;
  • the needs of youth, including secondary, higher and vocational education;
  • adult education;
  • pre-service and in-service teacher training.

Strategies for adult learners should include non-formal education programmes for literacy and numeracy, life skills development and awareness-raising for safety and security, such as landmine awareness. Educational development in areas receiving returnees should include provisions for longer-term support such as catch-up classes and vocational training.

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9
Collecting baseline data

‘Baseline data’ refers to information collected from the targeted population before new education activities begin. It helps programme staff understand the education situation and is used to form a basis for comparison with information collected later, during monitoring and evaluation. Baseline data should be collected systematically. Examples include disaggregated population data, school attendance rates and teacher-student ratios. Data may be specific to an intervention. For example, if a programme is intended to improve girls’ school attendance, the attendance rates of girls before the programme begins will be needed as a baseline.

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Supporting Resources

Supporting Resources
1 January 2015 Book
Good Practice Review (GPR)

Disaster Risk Reduction - Good Practice Review 9

This Good Practice Review identifies and discusses the principles and practice of disaster risk reduction (DRR), drawing on experiences from around the world. The book is intended primarily for practitioners, principally project planners and managers already working in the DRR field or planning to undertake DRR initiatives, mainly at subnational and local levels.

18 December 2017 Toolkit Save the Children

Education in Emergencies Toolkit

The EiE Toolkit aims to raise the quality of Save the Children's EiE programmes through providing guidance on how to employ a more systematic and tools-based approach to analysing EiE needs and designing and implementing programmes.

14 September 2022 Manual/Handbook/Guide Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI)

EiE-GenKit

The EiE-GenKit is a core resource package for gender in education in emergencies. The EiE-GenKit is the first resource of its kind, providing education practitioners with practical tools to promote gender-responsive programming  from crisis to peace and sustainable development.

1 January 2007 Manual/Handbook/Guide Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) issued these Guidelines to enable humanitarian actors to plan, establish and coordinate a set of minimum multi-sectoral responses to protect and improve peoples mental health and psychosocial well-being in the midst of an emergency.

1 January 2012 Manual/Handbook/Guide Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)

INEE Reference Guide on External Education Financing

The INEE Reference Guide on External Education Financing was developed by the INEE Working Group on Education and Fragility in response to requests from education specialists for an easily accessible description of the different types of external assistance for education. 

1 November 2016 Manual/Handbook/Guide United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Programming Guide: Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding

The Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding Programming Guide is a tool for UNICEF field staff and leadership to understand, situate and operationalize conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding through UNICEF’s existing work or new initiatives in different contexts and in partnership with other stakeholders.

1 February 2021 Manual/Handbook/Guide United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Reimagining Girls’ Education: Solutions to Keep Girls Learning in Emergencies

Reimagining Girls’ Education: Solutions to Keep Girls Learning in Emergencies presents an empirical overview of what works to support learning outcomes for girls in emergencies. The overarching aim is that this evidence be used to inform programming in crises and support diverse stakeholders in mitigating the impact of emergencies on girls’ education.

Indicators

Untitled Spreadsheet
INEE Domain INEE Standard Indicator/Program Requirements Clarification Numerator Denominator Target Disaggregation Source of Indicator Source of Data Available Tool Crisis Phase
Foundational Standards Community Participation Participation (FDN/Community Participation Std 1)

Community members participate actively, transparently, and without discrimination in analysis, planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of education responses.
1.1 Percentage of parents actively participating in the conception and implementation of education in emergencies services Number of parents consulted Number of parents To be defined by program Gender Based on OCHA Indicator Registry Program documentation No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient All stages
1.2 Percentage of parents satisfied with the quality and appropriateness of response at the end of the project Number of parents satisfied with the quality and appropriateness of response at the end of the project Number of parents 100% NA Based on OCHA Indicator Registry Program documentation Tool required All stages
Resources (FDN/Community Participation Std 2)

Community resources are identified, mobilized and used to implement age-appropriate learning opportunities.
1.3 Analysis of opportunity to use local resources is carried out and acted on Scale 1-5 (1 = low, 5 = high) 5 NA New Program/procurement documentation Tool required All stages
Coordination Coordination (FDN/Coordination Std 1)

Coordination mechanisms for education are in place to support stakeholders working to ensure access to and continuity of quality education.
1.4 Percentage of regular relevant coordination mechanism (i.e., Education Cluster, EiEWG, LEGs) meetings attended by program team Number of regular relevant coordination mechanism (i.e.; Education Cluster, EiE Working Group (WG), Local Education Group (LEG) meetings attended by program team Number of regular relevant coordination mechanism (i.e. Education Cluster, EiEWG, LEGs) meetings held during organizational presence 100% NA New Meeting records No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient All stages
Analysis Assessment (FDN/Analysis Std 1)

Timely education assessments of the emergency situation are conducted in a holistic, transparent, and participatory manner.
1.5 Percentage of education needs assessments, carried out by the relevant coordinating body the program has participated in These include initial rapid and ongoing/rolling assessments Number of assessments organization contributed to Number of possible assessments organization could have contributed to 100% NA New Assessment records No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient All stages
Response Strategies (FDN/Analysis Std 2)

Inclusive education response strategies include a clear description of the context, barriers to the right to education, and strategies to overcome those barriers.
1.6 Strength of analysis of context, of barriers to the right to education, and of strategies to overcome those barriers Scale 1-5 (1 = low, 5 = high) 5 NA New Program documentation Tool required All stages
Monitoring (FDN/Analysis Std 3)

Regular monitoring of education response activities and the evolving learning needs of the affected population is carried out.
1.7 Percentage of education needs assessments carried out in defined time period Frequency to be defined by organization. Monitoring measures should be relevant to the desired program outcomes Number of education needs assessments carried out per year Number of education needs assessments required per year 100% NA New M&E plans and results No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient During program implementation
Evaluation (FDN/Analysis Std 4)

Systematic and impartial evaluations improve education response
activities and enhance accountability.
1.8 Number of evaluations carried out Number of evaluations carried out NA NA New M&E plans and results No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient Program completion
1.9 Percentage of evaluations shared with parents Number of evaluations shared with parents Number of evaluations 100% NA New M&E plans and results No tool required; INEE MS and indicator definitions sufficient Program completion