Protection Mainstreaming Toolkit, Field Testing Version

SUMMARY

The Global Protection Cluster (GPC) Protection Mainstreaming Toolkit (hereafter referred to as “Toolkit”) is designed as a companion to the GPC Protection Mainstreaming Training Package (hereafter referred to as “Training Package”). The Training Package is the starting point to understand the concept and principles of “protection mainstreaming”.

The Toolkit is designed to practically assist humanitarian workers to mainstream protection at the individual programme or project level as well as at the collective strategic and coordination level.
The Toolkit targets coordination structures (e.g. Clusters, InterCluster Coordination Groups, and Humanitarian Country Teams) and donors by providing the tools and necessary advice to mainstream protection into their strategies and throughout the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). It also targets operational organisations (e.g. UN, INGOs and NNGOs), with the tools to mainstream protection into their organisational procedures and programmes. Finally, the Toolkit allows humanitarian workers to monitor and evaluate the process and the impact of having mainstreamed protection on the affected population.

For coordination structures, the Toolkit highlights roles and responsibilities of different actors, and emphasizes the role of the Protection Cluster in making available up-to-date Protection Risk Analysis.

For donors, the Toolkits includes recommendations for how protection mainstreaming can be better reflected in guidelines and the allocation process.

For operational organisations, the Toolkit is structured according to the programme cycle:

1. NEEDS ASSESSMENT & RISK ANALYSIS – Step 1 identifies threats and vulnerabilities, and assesses the community’s capacities and mechanisms to cope with those protection risks.
   This forms the basis for identifying prevention and mitigation measures to ensure protection principles are mainstreamed in the intervention.

2. PROJECT DESIGN – Step 2 defines whether the project design (project proposal) is aligned with protection mainstreaming principles and if staff knowledge and understanding of protection mainstreaming is satisfactory. Those assessments may lead to readjustments of the proposed intervention.

3. IMPLEMENTATION – Step 3 outlines key prevention and mitigation measures identified in Step 1 and plans for the implementation of protection mainstreaming activities. It details the resources necessary, and helps the organisation track the implementation and monitoring of mainstreaming activities.

4. MONITORING AND EVALUATION – Step 4 monitors and evaluates whether protection mainstreaming is taking place and what impact this has had on affected populations in terms of safety, dignity, meaningful access, accountability, participation and empowerment.