Mercy Corps
15 January 2020
Contributions
Community Participation in the Design of Multi-purpose Cash Programs – Perspectives from the field
Report
The design of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) programs, especially when implemented at scale, is often driven by technical considerations. The conversations often focus on the survival minimum expenditure basket, financial service provider’s fees and targeting algorithm. Important decisions regarding the design of CVA systems are made at the proposal stage and can be difficult to reverse...
June 2024
Integrating Livelihoods Support into Emergency Assistance Programming
Guidelines and Tools
This report draws on research and learning to advocate for broader consideration of expanded humanitarian response programming, especially in situations of prolonged crises. Livelihoods programs have a crucial role to play in emergency settings, especially when combined with and aligned with cash assistance. Integrating livelihoods programming into humanitarian cash assistance demands careful...
April 2024
Will our Opinion Matter? Community consultations on the design of multi-purpose cash programmes in Lebanon
Report
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with a severe economic and financial crisis. The Lebanese lira has lost more than 98 percent of its value, and over half of the Lebanese population is estimated to be living in poverty. The Government of Lebanon and development and humanitarian agencies have scaled up their cash response and increased the reach of social safety nets to alleviate...
December 2023
Piloting Mobile Money Cash Assistance in Sudan
Case Study
In the 7 months since the onset of conflict in Sudan in April 2023, an estimated 6.1 million people have been displaced, making Sudan the country with the highest number of displaced individuals globally. Humanitarian organizations are considering cash assistance as a response to the crisis, employing methods such as direct cash payments, bank transfers, vouchers, and digital payments. Cash...
15 November 2023
Working with Financial Service Providers to Provide Emergency Cash Assistance
Guidelines and Tools
This report, prepared and published as part of VenEsperanza’s research and learning agenda, presents lessons learned and best practices related to the collaboration between humanitarian actors and financial service providers (FSPs) in delivering multi-purpose cash assistance in emergency contexts. Using VenEsperanza as a case study, this report documents and explores the important role FSPs...
23 October 2023
Making the Most of Cash at Scale: Policy paper
Policy paper
This Policy Brief draws out key messages from Mercy Corps’ Cash at Scale study and makes recommendations for the better use of cash at scale. This explores the potential of cash at scale to meet increasing humanitarian needs and deliver people-centric response.
For Mercy Corps, cash at scale to date has been delivered via consortium models. Over the past few years, Mercy Corps has led...
10 October 2023
Operational Alignment of Humanitarian Cash Programming with Ukraine’s Social Protection System
Report
This paper explores the extent to which humanitarian Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) in Ukraine has been able to leverage different elements of the delivery chain of national social protection (SP) programming. The basis of this paper is the framework developed by Seyfert et al., in their 2019 paper Unbundled: A Framework for Connecting Safety Nets and Humanitarian Assistance in Refugee...
September 2023
What’s Next for Cash: Mercy Corps’ approach to cash and voucher assistance
Presentation
The brief outlines Mercy Corps' CVA approach & standards applied across our CVA portfolio and sets the direction for CVA in Mercy Corps moving forward.
The approach outlines how CVA contributes to Mercy Corps Pathway to Possibility strategy by focusing on areas that drive impact & sector leadership, including cash at scale, embracing the safe use of digital cash, and focusing on the...
1 September 2023
Layering Cash Into Market Systems Programs: Catalyzing Market-Driven Recovery in Nigeria
Case Study
Mercy Corps has been implementing the USAID funded Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity (RRA), a market systems development (MSD) program, in Northeast Nigeria since 2019. In response to COVID-19, RRA layered on a short-term cash transfer activity to help households cope, jumpstart local economies, and prevent further backsliding among the businesses that marginalized groups rely...
22 August 2023
Alignment Options for Humanitarian Cash with the Ukrainian Social Protection System
Report
Cash assistance, and multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) specifically, are a vital part of the humanitarian response in Ukraine. Over half of the projects listed in the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan have a cash transfer or voucher component. By June 2023, approximately 8 million people received multi-purpose cash assistance from 50 organizations (Ground Truth Solutions, 2023). Cash-based...
August 2023
Multi-purpose cash assistance for Lebanese – Inter-agency Joint Learning Event Learning Brief
Case Study
On June 27th 2023, Mercy Corps co-organized with Acted, Concern and Oxfam a learning event on the implementation of Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) interventions for Lebanese. While the MPCA modality has been initiated and designed around the assistance to refugees, the provision of unconditional cash assistance for Lebanese is a recent development in the country. This requires an...
July 2023
Cash and Voucher Assistance to Improve Maternal and Child Nutrition Outcomes in Emergency Contexts of Nigeria
Case Study
In Nigeria, nearly 12 per cent of children under 5 years are wasted according to the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (2021). Wasting is largely concentrated in the North with 58 per cent of all cases residing there. In the Northeast and Northwest regions of Nigeria, the prevalence of wasting is 17 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. In 2023, it was projected that nearly...
July 2023
Alternative Approaches to Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance Delivery in Active Conflict Contexts
Case Study
On April 15, 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This conflict has had dire consequences, forcing people to flee. Both displaced and host communities, as well as those who have chosen to remain in sheltered locations, are grappling with immediate livelihood losses and the struggle to meet their basic needs. Escalating food...
July 2023
Layering Cash into Market Systems Programs: Catalyzing market-driven recovery in Nigeria
Case Study
This paper examines the case of the Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity (RRA), a five-year, US$49 million Activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future portfolio within the states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Gombe (BAY-G) in North Eastern Nigeria (NEN) and implemented by a consortium led by Mercy Corps, in partnership with Save the Children...
May 2023
Musical Money Messages – Mobile Innovation from Mercy Corps
Blog Post
We don’t usually put music, quizzes and voice messages in the same category as effective humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA). So, our interest was piqued when Mercy Corps won USAID’s ‘2022 Digital Development Award’ for a human-centered program which used songs, games, and quizzes sent via mobile phone to engage with people receiving CVA. Phone apps and interactive voice...
9 February 2023
Meeting immediate needs and protecting development gains: Lessons from Ethiopia’s drought response
Case Study
From April to October 2022, Mercy Corps’ Resilience in Pastoral Areas, North (RIPA-North) program provided a humanitarian drought response in the Somali Region of Ethiopia funded by the activation of a crisis modifier. This drought response was designed to complement and build on the Market Systems Development (MSD) approach which focuses on enhancing resilient, sustainable economic...
December 2022
Evidence of impact research study: Cash and voucher assistance in Niger
Case Study
While in-kind assistance constitutes the bulk of humanitarian aid globally, Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is quickly gaining ground among donors and practitioners. Between 2014 and 2020, the share of CVA-based support within the overall humanitarian assistance portfolio) increased 4.5 times — from 5% to 20% of the overall aid distributed. Samuel Hall conducted a study to identify key...
November 2022
Cash consortium guidance: How to launch and manage a cash assistance program and consortium. Lessons from VenEsperanza, Latin America’s largest humanitarian cash consortium
Case Study
The VenEsperanza Consortium is working to expand its research and influence on issues related to the provision of MPCA in emergencies and coordination between humanitarian actors in emergency settings. With this objective in mind, VenEsperanza has prioritized investment in greater evidence generation and analysis to harvest lessons learned for the benefit of humanitarian agencies and cash...
30 September 2022
Risks and safeguarding strategies in multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) programming. Lessons from VenEsperanza, Latin America’s largest cash consortium
Case Study
This report, prepared and published as part of VenEsperanza’s research and learning agenda, provides an account of VenEsperanza’s cash transfer program in Colombia and lessons learned to date. The report describes the five phases of VenEsperanza programming and presents prominent potential risks and safeguarding strategies during each phase, including lessons learned and best practices....
30 September 2022
Links and bridging mechanisms between cash assistance and livelihoods development/restoration programming. A review of evidence and learning from the VenEsperanza consortium
Case Study
As part of VenEsperanza’s research and learning agenda, this report provides guidance on links and bridging mechanisms between cash assistance and livelihoods development/restoration programming using the VenEsperanza Consortium as a supporting case study. This research adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the promise and potential for bridging cash and livelihoods programming....
30 September 2022
Savings Groups in Emergencies Learning Brief
Guidelines and Tools
We know that savings groups work – and that they are powerful. But, in emergencies, we must revisit some of our approaches and assumptions. Integrating savings groups into more humanitarian programming – and doing it better – holds significant potential to improve the outcomes of humanitarian aid. In 2021, 8 organizations – committed to improving and understanding this process – came...
19 September 2022
Savings Groups in Emergencies Training Slide Deck
Guidelines and Tools
This Training Slide deck provides actionable guidance to organizations to promote or work with Savings Groups in emergency settings. We know that Savings Groups work – and that they are powerful. But, in emergencies, we must revisit some of our approaches and assumptions. Integrating Savings Groups into more humanitarian programming – and doing it better – holds significant potential to...
19 September 2022
Value for Money Analysis of VenEsperanza
Case Study
The VenEsperanza consortium in Colombia participated in a Value for Money analysis that evaluated financial transactions during the first years of operation of the consortium. The analysis focuses on efficiency, effectiveness and equity of the work of the consortium.
9 August 2022
Rapid Market Assessment in Warsaw
Report
Civilians in Ukraine continue to suffer the devastating consequences of the violence by the Russian invasion. Data indicated that at humanitarian corridors for civilians, artillery and missile strikes have continued and are increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure, leading to over 3.7 million Ukrainians choosing to flee across the borders in neighbor countries.
16 April 2022
Northwest Syria Cash and Voucher Assistance Risk and Mitigation Matrix
Guidelines and Tools
This risk matrix is a working document which outlines the key risks that can have an impact on Cash and Voucher Assistance programming in Northwest Syria and identifies mitigation measures that can help aid agencies address these risks. These CVA risks and mitigation measures were identified through an inter-agency collaborative process, thereby reflecting the key risks and feasible mitigation...
30 March 2022
Rapid Market Assessment at Romanian border crossings
Report
As the Russian invasion in Ukraine enters its fourth week, civilians continue to suffer the devastating consequences of the violence. According to the latest figures, about half a million (500,747 up to March 21st) fled through just Romania, with registered between 800 and 2,000 arrivals per day, on each border crossing.
In order to have a clearer picture of the broader market functionality at...
25 March 2022
Outsmarting La Niña: Lessons and Recommendations for Strengthening Resilience Through the Drought Response in the Horn of Africa
Policy paper
One of the worst droughts in a generation is currently unfolding in the Horn of Africa. The impacts of the drought are exacerbated by, and in some cases further fueling, increases in conflict in the region. As a result, more than 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are already experiencing extreme hunger. In many ways, those living in the drylands of the Horn are more prepared...
21 March 2022
Paving Pathways to Self-Reliance in Iraq: Exploring Referral Pathways from Cash to Livelihoods Assistance to increase program participants’ resilience in conflict-affected areas of Iraq
Report
This piece of research was commissioned to explore and identify best practices for referral pathways from MPCA to livelihoods assistance for programme participants, and subsequently to generate recommendations for programme implementers and donors. The research focused on the operational models used by CLCI partners NRC and DRC in the past for referring socio-economically vulnerable households...
February 2022
Iraq MPCA Vulnerability Model Review 2021: Technical Report
Guidelines and Tools
A new socio-economic vulnerability assessment tool (SEVAT) used to target vulnerable IDP, returnee, and host community households eligible for multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) in Iraq was developed in 2021. Actors delivering MPCA in Iraq have used a harmonised tool to identify households since 2016 and the previous revision took place in 2019. The vulnerability model review process was led...
14 December 2021
Meeting Needs Index – guidance note
Guidelines and Tools
The Meeting Needs Index, or MNI, is a proxy measure of household welfare, providing a single-figure composite indication of how able a household is to meet multiple basic needs. It was first developed and utilized by Mercy Corps in the Gaza Strip, then at larger scale by the Gaza Protection Consortium, as an outcome indicator in multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) programming. The MNI...
17 November 2021
Gender Analysis of Livelihoods Programming and Individual, Household and Community Dynamics in Iraq
Report
Women throughout the world are constrained in their economic activities, and face major challenges trying to pursue better paid and more productive jobs, including in Iraq. Iraq is in a time of change after ISIS and in light of the pandemic. Though economic upheaval brings hardship, it also can open doors for women’s economic empowerment. Understanding how current livelihood and economic...
30 August 2021
Exploring Self-Reliance at the Humanitarian-Development Nexus: A Longer-Term Review of MPCA Outcomes
Report
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) is provided to extremely socio-economically vulnerable individuals to alleviate financial hardship. In Iraq, MPCA is intended to act as temporary consumption support so that households may eventually be linked with social protection assistance or return to income-generating activities after the period of shock has passed. The long-term effects of the...
30 August 2021
Financial Inclusion in Fragility: Wealth, Saving, Borrowing and Lending in Iraq
Report
Access to credit and savings are critical to a household’s resilience to shocks. Socio-economically vulnerable populations in Iraq often bear the brunt of the crises and respond by using accessible financial coping mechanisms. By having access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, households can use them to cope with crises and invest in pathways out...
25 June 2021
Financial Inclusion in Fragility: Wealth, Saving, Borrowing and Lending in Iraq – Summary Report
Report
Access to credit and savings are critical to a household’s resilience to shocks. Socio-economically vulnerable populations in Iraq often bear the brunt of the crises and respond by using accessible financial coping mechanisms. By having access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, households can use them to cope with crises and invest in pathways out...
25 June 2021
Data Responsibility Toolkit: A Guide for CVA Practitioners
Report
This updated toolkit builds on ELAN’s widely-used 2016 Data Starter Kit, which was one of the first resources providing orientation on data privacy and security in humanitarian work. The new toolkit offers a range of ways to work data responsibility into programme planning, design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning) activities. The toolkit offers...
10 March 2021
Gaza Multi-Purpose Cash Programme: Endline Evaluation
Report
This report presents the key findings of the pilot Gaza Multi-Purpose Cash Program (GMPC) implemented by Mercy Corps Palestine in the Gaza Strip during 2019-20. The aim of the programme was to allow 1,227 poor and food insecure households to meet their varied basic needs, by delivering three cash assistance modalities using two delivery mechanisms, and to compare the impact of the modalities...
10 September 2020
Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis: Linking humanitarian Cash and Social Protection in practise
Report
This paper seeks to demonstrate practical ways in which NGOs are linking their humanitarian work to social protection and the added importance of this in the context of COVID-19, following from the earlier work of CCD outlining the role of NGOs to
improve the access to and delivery of social protection in crises and the COVID-19 advocacy paper. This is written for signatories of the Grand...
27 July 2020
Presentation for the CALP Network’s webinar on remote registration and verification in the COVID-19 response
Presentation
Watch the webinar recording here Speaker presentations from the CALP Network’s 14 July 2020 webinar on: Peril or pitfalls?: Emerging practices on remote registration and verification in the COVID-19 response Remote CVA programming has been highlighted as a key challenge for the community of practice in scaling up CVA to mitigate and address the widespread economic impacts of COVID-19....
16 July 2020
Cash Transfers and Social Protection: From Alignment to Integration
Policy paper
As the use of cash transfer programming grows in response to COVID-19, demands on the aid community’s own interventions and capacity to support state-led measures continue to grow in equal measure. Originally envisioned as a means of better coordinating parallel and remarkably similar humanitarian and state-led systems, efforts to explore these linkages to enhance impact and scale are...
10 July 2020
Mercy Corps’ Tipsheet No 5: Evidence-based Selection and Targeting
Guidelines and Tools
Mercy Corps’ Tipsheet No 5: Evidence-based Selection and Targeting
11 April 2020
Mercy Corps’ tipsheet No 4: CVA and Social Protection Systems
Guidelines and Tools
Mercy Corps’ Tipsheet 4 – CVA and Social Protection Systems
31 March 2020
Tipsheet: CVA and social protection systems (COVID-19)
Guidelines and Tools
Building on the Covid-19 and CVA, the Payments and Digital Data Management, Door-to-Door Distributions and Group Distributions tipsheets, this fourth guidance note offers a brief summary on how to approach anticipated or planned scale up in government-led efforts to combat the economic impacts of Covid-19 through the institutions of social protection. Often, social protection systems/social...
31 March 2020
Mercy Corps Tipsheet No 3: Door to Door Distributions
Guidelines and Tools
Mercy Corps Tipsheet No 3: Door to Door Distributions
27 March 2020
Mercy Corps Tipsheet: CVA payments and digital data management
Guidelines and Tools
Building off the COVID-19 and CVA tipsheet , this guidance helps you think through considerations to be making alongside your current payment providers. This also includes tips on if/when/how to anticipate
transitions to newly viable forms of transfer mechanisms/technologies in a given context.
26 March 2020
Mercy Corps Tipsheet: COVID-19 and CVA
Guidelines and Tools
This tipsheet serves as guidance to help field teams think through different ways to mitigate the spread and impact of Covid-19 through ongoing cash and voucher assistance (CVA), inform the adaption of CVA programming in the context of Covid-19, and promote sensitivity to changing market dynamics and prices.
This tip sheet is general, but we are ready to work with you to tailor advice to your...
17 March 2020
Response Options Analysis Planning Guide
Guidelines and Tools
The inter-sector Response Options Analysis and Planning (ROAP) is a structured decision-making process, which draws from the information generated through a multitude of needs and operational environment assessments. The ROAP gives way to the selection of the most appropriate, operationally feasible and cost-efficient response options to achieve sector and inter-sector objectives for specific...
2019
Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network Global Collaboration Agreement
Guidelines and Tools
The annual meeting of the Grand Bargain (GB) – a facilitation group made up of global humanitarian leaders from Sweden, the US, OCHA, UNICEF, IFRC and InterAction – held on 27th June saw the presentation of a letter of intent endorsed by the CEOs of the Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network partnership. The 15 international non-governmental organisations operate in every crisis context...
2019
Basic Needs Assessment Guidance and Toolbox Part 1: Background and Concepts
Guidelines and Tools
This document covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The view expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it
contains.
This document together with Part 2, constitute the final...
5 September 2018
Moving Forward with Cash in Haiti: A Review of Cash-Based Interventions during Hurricane Matthew Response in Haiti
Case Study
Mercy Corps, with funding from European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) has conducted an extensive review of lessons learned and contextual data, combined with key informant interviews and workshops to compile, analyse and present core lessons from the Hurricane Matthew cash-based response. Mercy Corps compiled and reviewed over 50 reports on cash responses in the...
July 2018
Standard Operating Procedures for Multi-Purpose Cash (MPC) grants
Guidelines and Tools
These Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) outline the systems, roles and responsibilities, and critical actions for implementing [insert agency]’s Multi-Purpose Cash (MPC) programming on behalf of vulnerable [insert population(s)/groups] in [insert country/region/location].
May 2018
Emergency Response Capacity (ERC) Consortium – Ethiopia: Building an evidence base on operational models for the delivery of CTP
Report
The Emergency Response Capacity (ERC) Consortium for the Uptake of MPGs is formed by Save the Children, the CALP Network, Danish Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, and OCHA with ECHO financing. Its primary aim is the improvement of capacity, coordination and evidence for multi-purpose cash grants through the design of collaborative tools and mechanisms to enhance the capacity of agencies to set up...
April 2018
Multipurpose Cash Grants (ERC consortium) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Guidelines and Tools
The purpose of this document is to provide a road map of the essential components when assessing, designing, implementing and monitoring multipurpose cash grant (MPG) programmes. The Assessment and Response Option Analysis and Planning (ROAP) phases encompass the Basic Needs Approach as the key starting point for MPGs, while the Design, Implementation, and Monitoring, Evaluation,...
April 2018
Nigeria Cash Working Group (CWG) Inter-Sector Working Group (ISWG) Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) Presentation, March 2018
Presentation
Presentation to the Inter-Sector Working Group (ISWG) advocating for the use of Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) in the response in Borno state, north-east Nigeria
March 2018
Greece Cash Alliance: Building an Evidence Base on Operational Models for the Delivery Of CTP
Report
The primary aim of this case study is to map out aspects of the Greece Cash Alliance (GCA) operational model influencing key drivers of quality (effectiveness, efficiency and accountability) in the delivery of multipurpose cash grants (MPGs). The GCA was launched in April 2017 with funding from ECHO, in an effort to harmonize the various MPGs implemented in Greece under a single platform...
March 2018
Multi-purpose Cash and Protection for South Sudanese Refugees in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement: A Learning Event Report
Report
This paper will present evidence on how cash transfers empowers conflict affected populations. The evidence is based on two projects implemented by DCA in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda. Furthermore, the paper present evidence on how the two projects successfully linked cash and protection. 14, 520 beneficiaries (80% females) including 26 vendors benefited from the projects. The MPGs...
2018
The Delivery Guide: Scoping the Humanitarian Payments Landscape
Guidelines and Tools
Mercy Corps has developed a Delivery Guide (FSP Assessment Tool) that helps humanitarian workers identify appropriate delivery mechanisms for cash transfer programming, particularly multipurpose cash grants (MPGs). In past responses, organisations have faced challenges in understanding and assessing how regulations will affect cash programming. The Delivery Guide takes users through a two-step...
2018
Evaluation Brief: Experience and Learning from Pilots of Good Practices in Humanitarian Market Analysis
Guidelines and Tools
As part of the “Improving the Uptake of Humanitarian Market Analysis” project, the IRC, CRS and Mercy Corps teamed up to pilot practices that were thought to help humanitarian teams better understand and use market information in programming. In Niger and Nigeria, IRC and CRS teams explored how incorporating non-price indicators into market monitoring could provide a more comprehensive...
2018
Basic Needs Assessment Guidance & Toolbox Part 2: How-to Guide & Tools
Guidelines and Tools
This How-to Guide is Part 2 of the BNA Guidance & Toolbox, with Part 1 describing the background and concepts underpinning the BNA approach.
The How-to Guide describes the sequence of practical steps necessary to ensure a successful BNA during emergencies, from initiation of the BNA up to reporting and dissemination of the final findings.
The chapter details the main activities and refers to...
2018
Response options analysis and planning for Fafan zone (Somali region, Ethiopia)
Guidelines and Tools
Between October 2017 and March 2018, the Consortium began the pilot in Ethiopia with the aim of providing technical and strategic support to country-based humanitarian organisations, enabling them to engage in collaborative assessments and decision making. Whilst the Consortium has not been conceived to provide direct assistance to crisis-affected populations, it is intended to have an...
2018
E-Transfer implementation guide
Guidelines and Tools
This updated E-transfer Implementation Guide replaces the original guide published in 2014. In cash transfer programming (CTP), electronic transfers (e-transfers) are a digital replacement for paper vouchers or physical cash. E-transfers are a disbursement mechanism – a way of transferring money, goods or services to program participants – not a specific type of CTP. They can automate and...
2018
Taking Market Analysis Beyond Theory: Practices that Facilitate the Use of Market Information in Humanitarian Programming
Guidelines and Tools
Although strong examples of emergency programming that considers and responds to local market dynamics are out there, they are relatively few in number, and there is no consolidated review of these programs to inform good practice. Under the Improving the Uptake of Market Analysis project, a USAID/OFDA-funded effort that IRC conducted in partnership with Mercy Corps and CRS, the IRC reviewed...
2018
Ethiopia Payment Mecanism Assessment Report
Guidelines and Tools
Humanitarian organizations today are facing unprecedented challenges in addressing crises in the Middle East, Africa and across the world. The crises are both urgent and, in many cases, protracted in nature; the varying scenarios have driven the need to better understand how to select the modality of humanitarian Multipurpose cash grants (MPGs) and how and with which partners to execute such...
December 2017
Guidance and Toolbox for the Basic Needs Analysis
Guidelines and Tools
The Basic Needs Analysis (BNA) is a multi-sector needs analysis approach that can be applied in both sudden onset and protracted emergencies. The methodology comprises the Guidance (this document) presenting the conceptual BNA framework and related processes, and a Toolbox, which
October 2017
includes tools, templates, training materials, and examples drawn from its first pilot, in Borno State(Nigeria).
Payment Services in Nigeria: A humanitarian perspective
Guidelines and Tools
This assessment was conducted as one component of a broader inter-agency exercise to inform the use of Multi-Purpose Grants in Nigeria. As such, it examines the financial services landscape in Nigeria, in order to support the review and selection of financial service providers (FSPs) for the delivery of cash assistance.
The quantitative and qualitative data is representative and is not...
July 2017
Libya Humanitarian Cash Working Group (CWG) Key Messages on Government Payments
Report
The purpose of this document is to address one of the primary concerns of stakeholders prioritising the delivery of cash based interventions in Libya:
The majority of beneficiaries receiving cash assistance are already have other sources of income (government payments in particular) Therefore they do not need humanitarian cash assistance
So priority should be to beneficiaries not receiving...
March 2017
ELAN Humanitarian KYC Case Studies
Report
Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, also known as customer due diligence, are designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the financial system. They refer to the ID checks that financial institutions perform to comply with national financial regulations. While humanitarian agencies are not subject to KYC regulations, they do apply to financial...
2017
Northeast Nigeria joint livelihoods and market recovery assessment
Report
Mercy Corps Nigeria, in conjunction with Action Against Hunger, Cooperazione Internazionale, Catholic Relief Services, the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam undertook the assessment across the three most affected states in Northeast Nigeria; Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, to better understand post-insurgency livelihood and market recovery strategies and identify opportunities for future...
2017
Response Option Analysis for Jere, Konduga and MMC (Borno), Inter-sector Workshop
Guidelines and Tools
In March 2017, the Consortium began the pilot in Nigeria with the aim of providing technical and strategic support to country-based humanitarian organisations, enabling them to engage in collaborative assessments and decision making. Whilst the Consortium has not been conceived to provide direct assistance to crisis-affected populations, it is intended to have an indirect, positive impact on...
2017
Learning Event Report: Multipurpose cash and protection for south sudanese refugees in Bidibi refugee settlement Uganda
Report
A consortium of partners comprising DanChurchAid (DCA), Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) and Mercy Corps (MC) have been implementing an 8-month Cash-based Interventions and Protection (MHPSS) response for South Sudanese refugees in Bidibidi settlement. The response was aimed at addressing food insecurity and increasing access to basic and most immediate needs, and to improve their...
2017
Can E-Transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Ethiopia
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched this research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial
services. They also wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and use of digital financial services (DFS).
This case study explores an emergency...
2017
Can E-Transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Zimbabwe
Case Study
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial services. They wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and use of e-transfer services, including mobile money. This case study explores a humanitarian...
2016
Prepaid Card Products For Humanitarian Programs: Actors, Insights & Recommendations
Guidelines and Tools
Today, over 130 million people need humanitarian support to survive. Fortunately, new tools such as prepaid cards allow us to respond to these needs with increasing flexibility and efficiency. Today’s leading humanitarian agencies are increasing their use of prepaid cards in places like Jordan, the Philippines, Greece and Turkey, where payments infrastructure is relatively well-developed. In...
2016
Increasing the Uptake of Multi-Purpose Cash Grants in Emergency Responses for a More Efficient and Effective Humanitarian Action
Report
Reduced funding in the humanitarian sector has propelled a new drive for efficient responses, with cash transfer programming (CTP) gaining traction in high-level discussions. Humanitarian actors have made significant use of multipurpose cash grants (MPGs) as the most efficient and effective way of meeting basic needs across traditional sector divides. However, newly proposed coordination...
2016
Mobile money assessment and contracting guide
Guidelines and Tools
Mobile money offers tremendous potential to enable cash transfers at scale and connect program participants to financial services. Oftentimes, however, humanitarian practitioners struggle to understand mobile money terminology to confidently evaluate different mobile money operators and to design contracts that lay the foundation for successful programs. Furthermore, the majority of...
2016
What to know: working with humanitarians on e-cash programs
Report
International humanitarian assistance rose to a record US$24.5 billion in 2014. The 2015 Global Humanitarian Assistance Report indicated that over US$200 million of this was used in cash and voucher programs. An increasing number of humanitarian actors have begun to deliver cash electronically, through mechanisms such as mobile money, mobile banking, prepaid debit cards or electronic...
2016
ELAN Mobile Money Workshop Report
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) hosted two mobile money workshops in January 2016 in Dakar (Senegal) and in Gisenyi (Rwanda). The workshops were attended by 52 individuals from seven countries across West Africa and the Great Lakes region representing 16 humanitarian agencies (HAs) and 11 private sector service providers (SPs). The events were guided by...
2016
Mobile Money Transfers – For Humanitarian Assistance & Development Programming: Service Provider Perspective
Report
This report summarizes findings from research on how digital payment services providers in Africa have worked with Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) customers to deliver digital payments to their program participants/beneficiaries in the context of providing humanitarian assistance and/or for development programming. The overall aim is to to understand supply side perspectives on use of...
2016
Rapid Assessment for Markets: Bidibidi Refugee Settlement
Report
The Rapid Assessment of Markets (RAM) conducted within the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement and in the surrounding Ugandan towns and trading centres sheds some light upon the rapidly developing network of marketplaces within one of the world’s fastest growing refugee settlements. The RAM highligthed key challenges and opportunities for cash-based interventions and supported decision-making...
2016
Can E-transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Bangladesh
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial services. They wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and use of e-transfer services including mobile money. This case study explores two humanitarian...
2016
Economic Recovery Assessment
Report
As Ebola cases in Sierra Leone have dropped, the country and policymakers have turned their eyes to the challenging task of economic recovery. While some people are beginning to bounce back from the crisis, others, including petty traders and youth, continue to face reduced sales and limited alternatives for replacing lost sources of income. With weak financial services and limited cash...
July 2015
Operationalizing Emergency MPCA: Learning from the Ramadi displacement, May to July 2015
Report
Iraq is an upper middle-income country with high literacy rates, sound infrastructure, functioning markets, and a comprehensive hawala network that covers all 18 governorates, making it a potentially appropriate context for cash transfer programs. Despite this apparent enabling environment, cash transfers have remained on the periphery of the Iraq humanitarian response. This report focuses on...
2015
Annex 9: Sample Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Report
Included here are SOPs from two Mercy Corps e-transfer programs. The first are from TabangKO, Mercy Corps Philippines’ mobile money cash transfer program that reached 25,000 participants affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The second set of SOPs (starting on page 8) are from a e-voucher pilot program in Nepal.
2015
E-Vouchers in Northeast Nigeria
Report
OVERVIEW OF RED ROSE PLATFORM
DECISION TO USE IT. WHY?
The urgency of rapidly responding to the urgent food security needs of
vulnerable households in Northeast Nigeria displaced by conflict while
supporting the rapid recovery of small businesses in the food market
chain.
The importance of fostering household’s decision making in how to best
meet their food needs by providing purchasing...
2015
Voucher and Fair Implementation Guide
Guidelines and Tools
Mercy Corps’ Voucher and Fair implementation Guide provides clear, step-by-step guidelines for teams implementing cash, restricted cash, or commodity voucher programmes. Written for an internal audience, the Guide may also be useful for peer agencies.
2015
Cheaper, Faster, Better? A case study of new technologies in cash transfers from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Report
Over the past decade, there has been a growing consensus in the humanitarian community that cash, as compared to in-kind aid, is the best form of assistance to provide during an emergency. For families that have been displaced by a crisis or natural disaster, cash offers aid recipients more flexibility and the opportunity to prioritize their most urgent needs. With broad consensus that cash...
November 2014
E-Transfers: One Year Later Workshop Learning Document
Report
In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda), an estimated half million storm-affected Filipinos received an electronic cash transfer (e-transfer) to help them rebuild and recover from the storm’s devastation. The presence of a large number of Financial Service Providers (FSPs) with the requisite infrastructure was critical to enabling a cash response...
2014
Cash Transfer Programming Toolkit
Guidelines and Tools
The Cash Transfer Programming (CTP) Toolkit is a basic guide to cash transfer programming in emergency response and early recovery settings. The publication is based upon best practiced and practical experience from Mercy Corps programmes. The Toolkit provides general guidance for CTP, as well as rationales and best practices relevant to the different types of cash transfers. The...
2013
MasterCard Worldwide and Mercy Corps: ELEVATE phase I report
Report
The Nepal pilot focused on testing several key stages in the deployment of mobile vouchers, including the following: Identify a technology partner, Customize a mobile voucher platform, and Use the platform to distribute goods to people in need. Two different types of mobile vouchers (SMS and smartphone application) were tested and evaluated. The vouchers provided assistance to some of...
2013
Learning from Cash Responses to the Tsunami: Issue Paper 6: Monitoring and Evaluation
Report
This is the last of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper focuses on the question of how to monitor and evaluate cash transfer programmes, with special reference to the learning...
2011
EMMA – Wajir, Kenya
Report
Mercy Corps conducted an adapted Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) assessment in Wajir County of Kenya from 2-6 August 2011. The assessment was organized as a response to the hunger crisis resulting from the worst drought in the region in the last 60 years. The EMMA methodology was adapted for this chronic emergency that has seen a steady escalation over the preceding two years...
2011
Inter-Agency Impact Assessment of the Cash Transfer Programs in West Sumatra
Case Study
Following the 2009 earthquake in West Sumatra, cash transfer programming (CTP) has proven successful in delivering a fast and effective recovery response—providing households the opportunity to recover shelter and basic needs for their livelihoods. Success of these CTPs has been supported well by the IASC Clusters Coordination system, which has enabled agencies to coordinate for greater...
May 2010
A summary of the British Red Cross cash grants for livelihood recovery in Aceh, Indonesia
Case Study
From April 2005 to June 2008, the British Red Cross Society (BRCS) disbursed more than USD 10 million in cash grants directly to over 10,000 tsunami-affected people in Aceh to support the recovery of their predominantly agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods. This study draws lessons from the rich experiences of the British Red Cross livelihoods programme in Aceh to inform and strengthen...
2008
Guide to Cash-for-Work Programming
Guidelines and Tools
Cash-for-Work is a short-term intervention used by humanitarian assistance organizations to provide temporary employment in public projects (such as repairing roads, clearing debris or re-building infrastructure) to the most vulnerable segments of a population. The methodology is relatively new, but its use has become increasingly common in food insecure, disaster-affected or post-conflict...
2007
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 2: Disbursement mechanisms
Report
This is the second of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This 5-page Issue Paper examines the disbursement options available to agencies making cash payments. It discusses key issues such as:...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 1: Analysing markets
Report
This is the first of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This 5-page Issue Paper explores the broad lines of the importance of market analysis in the planning, delivery and management of cash...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 4: Cash and shelter
Report
This is the fourth of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper highlights some of the key factors to consider in thinking about the role of cash in shelter responses. Key topics...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue Paper 5: Livelihoods recovery
Report
This is the fifth of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. This Issue Paper looks at the use of cash in support of livelihoods recovery. Key issues to consider include: What are the objectives...
September 2006
Learning from cash responses to the tsunami: Issue paper 3: Setting the value
Report
This is the third of six issue papers which form part of a project to document learning around cash-based responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. The project was funded by the British Red Cross, Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, Mercy Corps and Concern Worldwide. A key question in the design of cash transfer programmes is how much money to give people. This 5-page Issue Paper explores the...
September 2006
ODI/UNDP Cash Learning Project Workshop in Aceh, Indonesia
Case Study
This is a report from a workshop on sharing experiences and learning for cash-based interventions. The workshop was held in Aceh, Indonesia in July 2005. The workshop included case studies from Mercy Corps, Panglima Laot, Save the Children, British Red Cross, Swiss Development Corporation, Oxfam and others. It also included themed presentations on cash disbursement, transparency and...
2005