As part of the Listen Learn Act project funded by European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) with DanChurchAid and Save the Children Denmark, Ground Truth is looking to measure and improve compliance with the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) through the eyes of affected people. The CHS sets out nine commitments that all humanitarian organisations should adhere to. The project is being piloted in four different countries: Nepal, Mali, Ethiopia and Lebanon.

In Mali, the Listen Learn Act team is working with in-country counterparts from Mercy Corps, Save the Children, CARE International and Norwegian Church Aid. Mercy Corps’ ‚rise again’ project aims to improve agricultural and food security as well as to accelerate economic recovery and support market systems in Ansongo, northeastern Mali. Save the Children Mali focuses on strengthening local capacity to fight malnutrition of children in and around Mopti, central Mali. CARE International provides food assistance to vulnerable households through direct food distribution and food vouchers in Goundam and Niafunke cercle, northwestern Mali. Norwegian Church Aid runs a water, sanitation and hygiene promotion project in northeastern Mali’s Ansongo and Kidal regions, building and repairing water infrastructure, constructing toilets and washing facilities as well as running hygiene and sanitation awareness-raising campaigns and distributing hygiene kits.

Ground Truth designed individual feedback mechanisms to collect regular feedback from the constituents of the respective projects, which centre around the CHS commitments. Questions include the timeliness of the various services provided, the involvement of constituents in programme delivery and the extent to which constituents are treated with respect and dignity. Answers to these questions provide valuable information about the relevance of services and the quality of the relationship between service providers and receivers. This in turn helps aid agencies improve their services and meet the CHS commitments.

The first round of data collection was conducted in July 2016, followed by a second round in October 2016 and a third round in January 2017.