Our Approach

How we work

GOAL has four operational and programmatic goals that anchor and guide our work: Emergency Response; Resilient Health; Food & Nutrition Security; and the Pursuit of a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive World. In addition, Goal 5 focuses on Building GOAL's Organisational Resilience.

We engage communities, build on their inherent capacities, and strengthen the systems in which they live and work to help achieve resilient well-being. Throughout our programming, we identify and rely on strategic partnerships that complement and enhance GOAL's delivery of a timely and appropriate responses.

Strategic goals in action

Goals 1-4 are grounded in our Theory of Change and articulate where GOAL believes it can add the most value:

Goal 1 - People Survive Crises
Goal 2 - People Have Resilient Health
Goal 3 - People Have Food & Nutrition Security
Goal 4 - People Pursue a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive World

These four goals also contribute towards the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) - SDG 1 (No Poverty), SGD 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-Being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation).

Goal 5 focuses on strengthening GOAL’s organisational framework and infrastructure to be more responsive, and adaptable to the challenges and opportunities that come with operating in a more complex and rapidly changing world.

From Crisis to Resilience

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How we do this

Overview

Influencing Systems

Strengthening Partnerships

Adaptivity

Accountability

GOAL's Approach - From Crisis to Resilience

No matter how fragile or collapsed the local situation, there are always systems of some kind in place, albeit often overwhelmed or under attack. There are always local actors in place, with unique knowledge and capabilities.

To mitigate duplicating/diminishing local systems and actors, and through comprehensive research and analysis of our programmes in the worst conflicts and crises in the world, externally validated, GOAL has developed a four-pillar integrated approach that constitutes GOAL’s Crisis to Resilience Framework.

Systems Approach

Even in the most fragile contexts there are pre-existing local systems and GOAL works to understand these before offering assistance in emergencies, health, WASH, nutrition, food security and livelihoods. In this way, we support the maintenance of essential services and build readiness for future crises.

Our systems approach ensures that we will:
• Map and analyse local systems and identify gaps to be addressed in order to maintain access to these services.
• Temporarily carry out specific functions to support existing systems, where permanent actors are absent and new actors have not emerged.
• Stabilise critical existing systems that deliver lifesaving and lifesustaining goods and services.

Partnership/Localisation

Understanding that local systems are made up of multiple actors that are the principal catalysts of change, GOAL will facilitate change alongside these permanent local actors, knowing that they will remain in the system long after GOAL has departed. This ensures that our efforts support established local systems and avoid duplicating work already being carried out by resident actors. This is part of GOAL’s commitment to progressing the ambitions of localising partnerships for greater impact.

Our localised & partnership approach ensures that we will:
• Map and analyse the local actors in each context, listen to their needs and programme in consultation.
• Work in partnership, to stabilise, build and/or support resilient local systems.
• Promote strategic networking for collaboration, cohesion and advocacy with other international actors.

Adaptive Management

As crises are characterised by unpredictability, risk and threats, GOAL operates with a proactive approach to risk-monitoring and a readiness for adaptation.

Our adaptation approach ensures that we will:
• Maintain context-specific monitoring of identified risks (e.g., conflict and security monitoring, threats to food system, extreme weather threats) and carry out regular scenario planning to build response readiness.
• Strengthen information systems that allow monitoring of changing contexts, informing rapid operational/programming decisions.
• Learn from our programming through regular analysis and reflection, and make decisions and adapt programmes, in partnership with local stakeholders.

Trust and Assurance Framework

Humanitarian crises are characterised by risks to all stakeholders present. To gain the trust necessary to contribute to long-term resilience, GOAL commits to the highest standards of transparency and accountability to all its stakeholders.

Our approach to building trust ensures that we will:
• Design and implement assurance frameworks that build trust and increase transparency and accountability.
• Inform communities, fully and effectively, of their rights and feedback mechanisms.
• Implement feedback mechanisms that receive regular input, including requests and complaints, using the most relevant local technology.
• Maximise and further enhance GOAL’s complaints response and whistle-blowing mechanisms, Compliance, Internal Audit and Investigations functions.

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