Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

What is Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)?

AAP represents all efforts to ensure that the views of refugees and host communities are taken on board by partners to influence the design and implementation of programming or other support.

AAP facilitates programming across the humanitarian-development nexus by increasing the influence that affected persons have over decision making, thus empowering communities to shape and realize their long-term development. AAP overlaps with related concepts like “communication with communities,” “risk communications,” “client responsiveness,” and “community engagement.” AAP is sometimes confused with ‘accountability’ more broadly, but it is a separate concept.

Section of the REF and Taskforce members during the 11th REF meeting in Kampala

The 3 Concepts of AAP

Giving account

Includes efforts to inform affected persons about what programs are doing, beneficiary rights and entitlements, and other relevant information (e.g. through information outreach campaigns).

Taking account

Includes efforts to collect and understand beneficiary views, while ensuring that decisions are shaped by these views (e.g. proactive efforts to understand the perspectives and perceptions of beneficiaries, through satisfaction surveys, community meetings, and needs assessments).

Being held to account

Includes efforts to enable beneficiaries to hold organizations accountable for the behaviors and performance of their staff and activities (e.g. mechanisms that beneficiaries can use to raise concerns and make requests, such as through complaints and feedback mechanisms).

U-Learn’s activities in AAP

What does U-Learn Do?

The AAP component of U-Learn works towards a vision of affected populations (refugees and host communities) being increasingly able to meaningfully participate in the refugee response, leading to improved service provision.

 

To this end, U-Learn generates systematic insights into the views and needs of refugees and host communities, and analyses and facilitates improvement of existing AAP mechanisms.

 

U-Learn’s current work on AAP can broadly be divided into the 5 areas:

4. Supporting community consultations and feedback sessions

We are strengthening a two-way communication process by empowering communities to articulate their own concerns and identifying appropriate responses and solutions to problems that affect them with special attention to Age, Gender and Diversity factors.

5. Providing technical support to national and local actors

We provide technical advice and support to partners on AAP, while also supporting coordination mechanisms at the national and local levels within the Uganda refugee response. This allows the entire response to participate more effectively in national and international learning about what works for AAP.

1. Tracking and addressing COVID-19 rumors

In collaboration with the CwC (Communicating with Communities) Task Force, U-Learn is implementing the inter-agency Rumor Tracker to record and analyze trends of rumors in communities. Based on the data collected, we are creating monthly ‘Rumor Bulletins’ and countering rumors with accurate information through a range of channels, such as local media, community leaders, and word-of-mouth.

2. Supporting Refugee Engagement Forum (REF)

We are contributing to building a more powerful and effective REF by increasing the voices of refugees at national level, in collaboration with the REF Task Force and CRRF Secretariat. We are strengthening connections between REF and community leadership structures, such as Refugee Welfare Committees (RWCs), at both regional and national levels.

3. Providing AAP training to partners

In collaboration with UN partners, we designed needs assessments for training, developed manuals and content, and offered regular training to partners on AAP topics, such as client feedback mechanisms and reporting systems. These training sessions aim to strengthen the systems and culture of AAP in the Ugandan refugee response community.

1. Providing technical support to national and local actors

We provide technical advice and support to partners on AAP, while also supporting coordination mechanisms at the national and local levels within the Uganda refugee response. This allows the entire response to participate more effectively in national and international learning about what works for AAP.

2. Supporting Refugee Engagement Forum (REF)

We are contributing to building a more powerful and effective REF by increasing the voices of refugees at national level, in collaboration with the REF Task Force and CRRF Secretariat. We are strengthening connections between REF and community leadership structures, such as Refugee Welfare Committees (RWCs), at both regional and national levels.

3. Providing AAP training to partners

In collaboration with UN partners, we designed needs assessments for training, developed manuals and content, and offered regular training to partners on AAP topics, such as client feedback mechanisms and reporting systems. These training sessions aim to strengthen the systems and culture of AAP in the Ugandan refugee response community.

What does U-Learn AAP Do?

The AAP component of U-Learn works towards a vision of affected populations (refugees and host communities) being increasingly able to meaningfully participate in the refugee response, leading to improved service provision.

 

To this end, U-Learn generates systematic insights into the views and needs of refugees and host communities, and analyses and facilitates improvement of existing AAP mechanisms.

 

U-Learn’s current work on AAP can broadly be divided into the 4 areas:

4. Supporting community consultations and feedback sessions

We are strengthening a two-way communication process by empowering communities to articulate their own concerns and identifying appropriate responses and solutions to problems that affect them with special attention to Age, Gender and Diversity factors.