Strengthening Accountability through Community Engagement: Practical Recommendations for Donors in 2026

There is an increasing pressure on donors to prioritise what they fund in 2026. To support donors in making sure the priorities are guided by the affected population, the Community Engagement Forum (CEF) has developed a guidance with practical recommendations for what donors need to insist on and how to apply this practically in agreements with displacement response organisations.

This guidance is structured around four key recommendations and breaks down what these should look like in practice:

1. Invest in participation from the start
2. Build and fund inclusive structures
3. Enable adaptive (project) management
4. Promote shared measurement