Empowering small NGOs to improve their safeguarding processes through skills mapping exercises

Safeguarding is a crucial function for any organisation regardless of size.

In our pursuit to support all development sector organisations to strengthen their safeguarding practices, Bond’s Safeguarding Steering Group listened to small NGOs in February 2023 to understand the challenges they face in relation to safeguarding. We subsequently hosted five skills mapping sessions to support the small NGOs and local partners to address these challenges.

What where the key learnings from the skills mapping sessions?

In these sessions, participants delved into the intricacies of safeguarding, gaining valuable insights that are crucial for effective implementation of a consistent safeguarding approach. In quick feedback surveys from each of the sessions, 100% of attendees improved their knowledge on the topic as a result of attendance.

Here is a summary of what we learned. You will find a recording of each session below each summary.

How to embed safeguarding culture within an organisation

• There are many myths and assumptions of safe organisational culture, a lot of which result from organisations deeming themselves to have a positive culture when, in fact, they are settling for the minimum standards.
• It is the responsibility of every staff member in an organisation to create a positive safeguarding culture as everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and care.
• There are many resources available to support with creating a positive safeguarding culture within an organisation, including Bonds own tools (Leadership tool / Culture tool).

Being incident ready – what do you need?

• Is what is being reported to you a potential criminal offence in the country that you are working in? And is it safe to report the incident to the police? Ensuring that you have a Safeguarding country map (aka referral pathways ) for the country/countries that you are working in will support you in being able to make a quick and informed decision. These should be updated once a year.
• When choosing investigators, remember that investigations are not a competitive area for NGOs. If you asked to speak with an NGO that works in the same area as you with higher capacity to access their expertise in the local context, they will be highly likely to oblige. Remember – If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Safeguarding practitioners’ emotional wellbeing

• Be aware of your team’s ability to support each other, considering what each team member has going on, to establish how to best support one another.
• Safeguarding professionals deserve compassion.
• Understand what staff from global majority-based organisations actually want in terms of emotional support – experiences in the session ranged from a discussion-based retreat to a day at the beach. Listening to local staff is essential – they know their culture best.

Tailoring training using existing resources

• Get attendees on board with safeguarding by giving them tools to understand safeguarding. This will help address comments such as: “I am in finance, why do I need to attend safeguarding training?” from the outset.
• A pre and post survey will give you the evidence of learning that you need.
• Safeguarding training should be fun – safeguarding is a serious topic, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun.
• Using visual tools and aids can help to engage and get attendees to think deeper about safeguarding.
• Taking a trauma informed approach in training helps acknowledge that events have a range of adverse effects on individuals. There are videos out there to support facilitators with this.

How to convert what NGOs are already doing on safeguarding into written compliance

• It’s easy in a conventional and mistrustful way to assume that the fault lies with the partner. Instead of assessing the partners we should be assessing the partnership.
• What do both parties bring to the partnership? What are our strengths and weaknesses and where do we both need training and support?
• It’s not about assessing partners – it’s about assessing and managing the partnership as a collective.

Please reach out to [email protected] if you require written transcripts of the sessions to support accessibility.

Continued support for small NGOs

The journey does not end with the conclusion of these sessions. Instead, it marks the beginning of our sustained support to small organisations in developing their safeguarding processes within Bond’s safeguarding work.

Our commitment to advancing safeguarding practices within small NGOs remains unwavering. The skills mapping exercises have been a catalyst for change, equipping safeguarding professionals with base knowledge and the tools necessary to navigate the complex landscape of preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment in our sector.

By making the recorded sessions accessible, we are ensuring that the benefits extend beyond the confines of a live event, reaching professionals committed to making a change to keep people safe internationally.