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Technical Resource: Partnership and Capacity Strengthening
Capacity Building Training on Seed Demand Data Management
S34D conducted a study on seed demand forecasting in Ethiopia in 2020 and provided recommendations to improve seed demand data collection and reporting. The overview of the questionnaire used for data collection is refreshed and key variables...More
Regulatory Framework of Food Fortification in West Africa
West Africa has made significant progress on harmonized mandatory standards on the levels of iron in wheat flour (60-ppm), folic acid in wheat flour (2.6ppm), vitamin A in vegetable oil (11-24ppm) and iodine in salt (15-45ppm) in most countries. These levels have been adopted by all Francophone...More
Public Private Partnerships For Food Fortification
West Africa bears the highest burden of undernutrition in Africa, with stunting and wasting rates surpassing global averages. Women of Reproductive Age in the region face nutrition-related health issues, including a high prevalence of anemia. The Global Nutrition Report reveals that no West...More
CRS Supply Chain Management Handbook
The CRS Supply Chain Management Handbook captures best practices in supply chain management that enable CRS to effectively meet the needs of those we serve. This handbook is the product of numerous peer...More
Manual Estufas Uk´u´xJa, corazón del hogar
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) , es la agencia internacional humanitaria de la iglesia católica de Estados Unidos, fundada en 1,943 tiene como misión asistir a los pobres y desamparados, trabajando en el espíritu de la enseñanza católica social para promover la santidad y la dignidad de la...More
Community Development Plans
Guatemala continues to be a country with great inequalities. According to the 2020 Human Development Report, Guatemala placed 127th out of 170 countries in the Human Development Index ranking and 119th in the Gender Inequality Index. Inadequate social services and infrastructure, as well as...More
CLD youth entrepreneur initiative
Communities Leading Development (CLD) is a USAID and CRS development project implemented in five departments of the Western Highlands in Guatemala. CLD leverages financial resources and partnerships with local groups and organizations to propel development projects that are community driven....More
Community Based Development Planning
In the seven-year period between 2016 and 2023, USAID and CRS implemented the Communities Leading Development (CLD) Project. This project worked intensively with more than 200 rural communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, building their capacity to lead a highly participatory and...More
The Human Face of the Communities Leading Development (CLD) Project
Upon the completion of the Communities Leading Development (CLD) project in 2023, USAID and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) decided to compile the project's key programming, methodological, and human aspects into a publication titled The Human Face of the CLD Project.
The CLD project was...More
Integration of the Care Group Model within Ministry of Health Structures
This learning study was designed to trace the development of the Budikadidi project care group model, assess its integration within government structures and document the project’s handover process.
Between 2017 and 2023, a CRS-led consortium implemented the USAID-funded Budikadidi...More
Health Annex of the CRS Supply Chain Management Handbook
The CRS Supply Chain Management Handbook includes a Health Annex for CRS staff who manage projects and activities that involve health products, with a special focus on strengthening national health...More
Exploring Community Volunteer Incentive Structures
In 2022, the DRC Budikadidi team launched a study to capture learning on the coherence, impact, and sustainability of the project’s incentive structures.
Between 2017 and 2023, a CRS-led consortium implemented the USAID-funded Budikadidi Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in the...More
Youth Engagement
As part of its 2020 – 2030 strategy, Vision 2030, CRS has committed to focusing on youth as one of five agency-wide goals. This goal recognizes the...More
Private Sector Engagement Theory of Change, Key Metrics and Learning Agenda
This document outlines a theory of change, key metrics and a learning agenda for private sector engagement (PSE) across CRS. The document draws from existing PSE work across CRS as well as from PSE work around the world. It not only illustrates what CRS is already achieving through PSE but...More
Analyze, Convene, Contextualize, Implement and Monitor (ACCIM) Social Accountability Guide
The ACCIM guide is for staff and partners to help them skillfully integrate accountable and responsive governance in different contexts and programs. This is available in both English and French.More
Peace in the Sahel: Policy Recommendations for the U.S. Government
Introduction
The Sahel region of West Africa is experiencing increased violence and extremism, weak national institutions, and shrinking natural resources, which have contributed to the displacement of millions of people who have left their homes in search of security. Despite the...More
Protecting Peace in Coastal West Africa
The Global Fragility Act (GFA) presents a fresh opportunity for the United States government to invest in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. By focusing on reducing the risk of large-scale violence and instability, rather than responding to its aftermath, the United States government can...More
Understanding Natural Resources
Small-scale farmers in developing countries depend heavily on their natural resources: water, soil and the broader ecosystem. They need to use these resources wisely so they can continue to produce crops and raise animals.
This manual shows how field agents, extension workers and program...More
Introduction to the SMART Skills for Rural Development
The Seven Steps of Marketing
Marketing is one of the biggest challenges for small-scale farmers in developing countries. Many farmers would like to improve their output or the quality of their products, but they need a way to sell their produce and increase profits.
This manual outlines seven steps that field agents...More
Marketing Basics
Marketing is one of the biggest challenges for small-scale farmers in developing countries. Many farmers would like to improve their output or the quality of their products, but they need a way to sell their produce and increase profits.
This manual introduces the basic concepts of...More
Managing Natural Resources
Small-scale farmers in developing countries depend heavily on their natural resources: water, soil and the broader ecosystem. They need to use these resources wisely so they can continue to produce crops and raise animals.
This manual shows how field agents, extension workers and program...More
Organizing and Managing Farmers' Groups
Getting organized is vital for small-scale farmers in developing countries. On their own, individual farm families can do little to improve their livelihoods: they lack the capital, skills, experience and scale to solve problems, invest, market or innovate.
But if they work together,...More
The Case for Inclusive Agricultural Development
With this policy brief, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs aspires to add to the growing conversation about inclusive development through the lens of agriculture and food security.
Recognizing that inclusive agricultural development is a nuanced and multifaceted issue, this brief...More
Digitizing Health Campaigns Improves Outcomes
Based on CRS Benin’s support to the Ministry of Health to digitize successive ITN, SMC, and Onchocerciasis campaigns, this learning brief describes what is needed to ensure that digitization investments are optimally leveraged. While the success of a one-off campaign is often measured by more...More
Collaborative Infrastructure: The Foundation of Systems Change for Youth Livelihoods and Leadership
The brief focuses on one of the key aspects of the Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN), the Collaborative Infrastructure, the process that develops and sustains relationships among ecosystem actors – including youth - in a “community” (which can be as a district, department or other levels)...More
CRS Framework for Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) Intervention
This CRS Framework for Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) (ECE Framework) aligns with and reflects CRS’ Global Education Conceptual Framework, which recognizes that for all children to learn and thrive, they must be healthy, safe, engaged, supported and resilient as they grow and...More
Burkina Faso Pilots SMC Campaign Digitization
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country lying in the semi-arid Sahel and Savanna zones of Africa with a population of roughly 21 million people. A partner in Burkina Faso’s development since 1960, CRS works with the government, local partners, and other members of civil society to address major...More
Enhancing Outcomes by Integrating Social Cohesion & Justice
Thriving societies begin with social cohesion and justice. When people and communities are empowered to address what divides them, uphold what unites them, and act together for stronger, healthier and more just social ties, they are better able to achieve their recovery and development...More
Renforcer les capacités des partenaires en matière de protection contre l’exploitation et les abus sexuels
Cette boîte à outils a été élaborée dans le cadre du projet Strengthening Partners in Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse through Protection Mainstreaming (SPSEA), un projet pilote de trois ans soutenu par le Bureau d’aide humanitaire (BHA) de l’USAID.
Cette boîte à...More
Strengthening Partners in Protection Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SPSEA)
This toolkit was developed under the framework of the Strengthening Partners in Protection Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse through Protection Mainstreaming (SPSEA) project, a three-year pilot project supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).
This toolkit...More
Communicating with Communities on PSEA
Communicating with Communities on PSEA recommends tools and approaches for engaging communities on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), with the aim of introducing it in a way that is non‑threatening, accessible to all groups, and contextually and culturally appropriate...More
Communication avec les communautés sur la PEAS
Ce guide Communication avec les communautés sur la PEAS propose des outils et des stratégies pour interagir avec les communautés sur la question de la protection contre l’exploitation et les abus sexuels (PEAS). Le module vise à présenter le sujet de façon accessible et non menaçante...More
CIRCA II Evaluation Summary
This report summarizes key findings and recommendations from the final external evaluation of Phase II of the Capacities for Inter-Religious Community Action (CIRCA) project, which aimed to contribute to human development and peaceful coexistence among Muslim and Christian communities in Niger...More
Monthly Interval Resilience Analysis (MIRA)
The Monthly Interval Resilience Analysis (MIRA) is CRS’ high-frequency resilience monitoring approach and is used for measuring resilience and well-being for stronger food security and resilience programming.
MIRA was jointly designed by CRS and Cornell University to provide short-...More
Garden Toolkit
Gardening is a widely implemented intervention in development programming that can deliver positive results in nutrition, agricultural income and women’s empowerment. In Ethiopia, projects have used gardens to strengthen household resilience and nutrition. In Timor Leste, mothers were taught...More
Goat Breed Improvement Interventions in Earthquake Recovery Project
A massive earthquake in 2015 caused large scale losses to life and livelihoods of communities in Gorkha district in Nepal. CRS, through the three-year Gorkha Recovery and Resilience Project (GRRP), supported communities to restore their agricultural livelihoods as well as promote improved...More
Promoting Large Cardamom Cultivation in Post-Earthquake Nepal
A 2015 earthquake in Nepal led to large-scale losses of lives and livelihoods for communities in Gorkha district. CRS responded to the immediate and longterm needs of the communities through integrated shelter, WASH and livelihood relief and recovery activities. Taking cue from global evidence,...More
Inclusive value chain study for Lentil sub-sector in Nepal
The Government of Nepal (GoN), through its Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), has identified 15 potential value chains and prioritized five: dairy, lentil, maize, tea and vegetables. CRS Nepal conducted a comprehensive value chain study in Palpa and Dang districts in Province 5. Based on...More
Earthquake Recovery in Nepal: Cash transfers and embedded extension for improved goat shelters
The rationale for goat shelter support, practical interventions and positive results.More
Inclusive Value Chain Study for Ginger Sub-sector in Nepal
The Government of Nepal (GoN), through its Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), has identified 15 potential value chains and prioritized five subsectors: dairy, lentil, maize, tea and vegetables. CRS Nepal proposed to conduct a comprehensive value chain study in Palpa and Dang districts in...More
MARKit: CRS Market Monitoring, Analysis and Response Kit-2nd Edition 2020
The aim of the Market Monitoring, Analysis and Response Kit (MARKit) is to improve program quality by enabling managers to adapt their programs to changes in the local market environment. MARKit provides a framework for market monitoring, analysis and response decision‑making, using prices as...More
Practical Guidance on Developing a Projects Theory of Change
This short practical guide provides step-by-step guidance, tips and best practice to develop Theories of Change (ToCs) that reflect a project’s operating environment, assumptions and evidence base; are useful for adaptive management and learning; and are responsive to donor requirements. The...More
SILC Field Agent Guide 5.1
This guide describes how to establish Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC). The instructions are intended for two audiences: field agents and those who train and supervise...More
Purdue University and Catholic Relief Services: A Case Study of University – Non-Governmental Organization Institutional Partnership
This article was published in the Journal of the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID), in Volume 8, Number 2....More
Building More Robust NGO-University Partnerships in Development:
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and US-based universities are under increasing pressure to collaborate on international development efforts in order to achieve greater impact and influence. To date, however, most of these project-based collaborations have made only limited strategic...More
Ukraine Crisis Response
What to Consider When Establishing a Strong Private and Public Partnership in Water Access and Management
From 2009 to 2013, Catholic Relief Services worked with private sector actors within two projects in Madagascar to improve access to safe water and sanitation services. This brief shares insights and lessons learned about public-private partnerships.
...More
Short-term Capacity Strengthening Interventions Can Lead to Sustained Improvement
Sustained social change requires profound change among individuals, teams, institutions, and even the external environment. Enabling and strengthening the capacity of these actors and systems requires time and often intensive, customized resources. Yet those who could most benefit from...More
Using CRS Partnership and Capacity Strengthening Approaches to Improve Early Childhood Development Service Quality
A CRS-supported project in Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania helped strengthen the capacity of ten local organizations to provide quality services to vulnerable children. This brief summarizes our approach, activities and results.
...More
A Journey of Partnership and Capacity Strengthening with the Government of Vietnam
A Partnership Against Malaria in The Gambia
This learning brief discusses how partnership and capacity strengthening may have influenced the success of malaria control interventions in The Gambia. The Gambia’s National Malaria Control Program saw malaria prevalence decrease dramatically from 4% in 2011 to 0.2% in 2014. Malaria case...More
Análisis sobre construcción de paz, gobernanza, género, protección y juventud
Building Capacity for Interreligious Action: Final Evaluation of CIRCA Project
This publication is the final evaluation of a three-year capacity-building project financed by GHR Foundation and supplemented by CRS. The project's overarching goal was to contribute to human development and more peaceful coexistence among Muslim and Christian communities in Egypt, Kenya, Niger...More
Case Management for Children Orphaned or Made Vulnerable by HIV
PEPFAR’s OVC programming delivers child-focused, family-centered interventions that seek to improve wellbeing and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on children and families. This effort involves working in partnership with children and families to identify, plan, and complete a series of...More
Private Service Provider Implementation Manual
This manual provides step-by-step guidance to local organizations that wish to use the Private Service Provider, fee-for-service approach to implementing a savings group program.More
Participation by All
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) undertook a sustainability evaluation in 2015 to evaluate the sustained outcomes of its Programme de Securite Alimentaire et Nutritionelle (PROSAN) project that ran from 2006-2012 in Niger. PROSAN was implemented by three NGOs: CRS, Cooperative for Assistance and...More
Case Study: Integrated Child Protection and Care and Treatment Programming
A growing body of evidence supports the theory that child protection and HIV care and treatment outcomes are inextricably linked. Protecting children from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect, is essential to achieving an AIDS-free generation, and providing children living with...More
MARKit
The MARKit: Price Monitoring, Analysis and Response Kit was developed by representatives from the Local Regional Procurement Learning Alliance to guide food assistance practitioners through the steps to monitor markets during the implementation of food assistance programs, and to ensure...More
How-To Guide
Inclusive education has been internationally recognized as a philosophy for attaining equity, justice and quality education for all children, especially those who have been traditionally excluded from mainstream education for reasons of disability, ethnicity, gender or other characteristics....More
Partnership Reflection
The Partnership Reflection is a facilitated process designed to strengthen the relationship among the partners in order to help them be more effective. The process is almost always done in person and the event can either take a shorter “fostering” or a longer “restoration” form, with more days...More
Partnership and Capacity Strengthening Basics
Engaging Men to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health
Because of their roles as decision makers and heads of household, men play an important role in improving maternal and child health care in their communities. This facilitator's guide focuses on training male volunteers to become "counselors" who encourage fathers to change practices or adopt...More
Using Play for Growing Smart Children
This manual was written to help caregivers at home or at early childhood development (ECD) centers to understand the relationship between toys and a child’s developmental milestones. The manual also guides the caregiver in stimulating children with age appropriate activities and in making toys...More
How Capacity Strengthening Readied a Local Partner for Sustainability and Growth in Uganda
Comprehensive capacity strengthening helped a local partner to transform itself in Uganda. The organization tripled the size of its donor base and doubled its program value. It now provides large-scale services on its own.
This learning brief describes how Catholic Relief Services helped...More
How Capacity Strengthening Helped a Local Partner Grow by 4.1 Million in Ethiopia
This learning brief describes how Catholic Relief Services helped a local partner to reach 1.5 million more beneficiaries and increase its value by $4.1 million.
The partner made dramatic improvements in program implementation, logistics, human resources and finance. It developed a solid...More
How-To Guide
This guide promotes education for all in conservative areas, outlining a step-by-step process for bringing about positive change at the community level based on CRS' experience in working with religious leaders, communities and schools in Pakistan.
This publication is part of CRS’ series...More
Learning from Transitioning a Large Grant to Local Control in Tanzania
This learning paper describes CRS' successful transition of a large grant to local control in Tanzania.More
Learning From Comprehensive Capacity Strengthening in Kenya
In Kenya, CRS selected 15 partners for capacity strengthening in comprehensive HIV and AIDS service delivery. The project produced changes at every level of the partners' operations.
This learning brief draws on quantitative and qualitative data to distill insights about the capacity...More
How a Partnership Set Itself Up for Success in India
Partnerships often look good on paper but may be challenging in practice. This learning brief describes a promising partnership in India and the partners' innovative approach to strengthening the capacity of local organizations.More
Communication Toolbox
The Communication Toolbox offers practical guidance for program managers who want to communicate more effectively with program participants and community members. The tools are designed for both emergency and development programs.
This toolbox was inspired by programs in Haiti,...More
Capacity Strengthening With the Catholic Church of Rwanda (Case Study)
This case study describes how CRS and the Catholic Church of Rwanda developed a particularly successful partnership.
CRS provided technical assistance, accompaniment and eventually modest funding for capacity strengthening. The work expanded to include the Episcopal Conference, four...More
Capacity Strengthening With the Catholic Church of Rwanda (Technical Brief)
This learning brief summarizes how CRS and the Catholic Church of Rwanda developed a particularly successful partnership. The document provides tips to consider for future partnerships.More
Humanitarian Response in Violent Conflict
This toolbox adapts a sample of 15 indicators from the SPHERE Project's Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response to be even more conflict-sensitive while remaining practical and user-friendly. It facilitates more intentional collaboration between humanitarian response...More
Toward Resilience
Toward Resilience is an introductory resource for staff of development and humanitarian organizations that are working with people whose lives and rights are threatened by disasters and climate change. The guide provides
- essential introductory information, ...More
Step-by-Step Guide to Shelter Construction
This manual describes how to build disaster-resistant shelters. Catholic Relief Services used this guide to build flood-resistant shelters in West Bengal.More
A Guide to Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) for Agricultural Products
This manual seeks to provide a basic understanding of marketing concepts and how this knowledge can be used to assist farmer groups to produce goods. It also aims to identify opportunities to introduce or strengthen local business development services, all based on market demand.More
CRS Guide to Working With Volunteers
Volunteers perform invaluable services in projects across all sectors in which CRS works. Many CRS-supported and partner-implemented projects rely heavily on community volunteers to achieve project objectives. Although volunteers are integral to the success of many CRS projects, depending on the...More
AIDSRelief Nigeria
From 2004 to 2012, AIDSRelief Nigeria provided HIV care and treatment to more than 100,000 people through a network of 34 health facilities. During that time, nearly every program activity emphasized strengthening health systems. This new case study outlines AIDSRelief’s contributions to...More
Financial Education
This 11-lesson financial education curriculum, part of CRS' SMART Skills series for rural development, has two main purposes:
- To provide trainers with the tools to teach groups about financial management
- To help group members improve their financial and money management ...More
Promoting Innovation
Small-scale farmers in developing countries are constantly making observations, developing ideas and trying out new things. They need to do so to improve their production, adjust to a changing environment and strengthen their livelihoods.
This manual shows how field agents, extension...More
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning in Emergencies
This resource pack offers practical advice about how to implement a system for monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) in emergencies. It provides standards for MEAL in emergencies; an overview of informal and formal monitoring; guidance on how to conduct monitoring and...More
Managing Post-disaster Reconstruction Projects
This step-by-step guide explains how to manage the two main types of CRS post-disaster or post-conflict construction: owner-driven and contractor-built. The guide is for non-construction professionals, construction professionals who are new to international relief, and engineers.More
The AIDSRelief Rwanda Partnership
This case study documents the transition of AIDSRelief responsibility for overall management of a large antiretroviral treatment program to the Rwanda Ministry of Health. It is hoped that the Rwanda case study will contribute to the learning of other countries, working in AIDSRelief or other...More
Institutional Strengthening
Institutional Strengthening is a reference for organizations that wish to develop or improve existing institutional strengthening systems and processes. It presents principles, minimum standards, best practices, business processes, references and tools for effective, efficient and...More
A Practical Guide for Building a Simple Pit Latrine
This do-it-yourself guide copublished by the Global Water Initiative provides step-by-step instruction on building simple pit latrines. It was designed for use at the individual household level to assist families in West Africa who have already decided to build their own latrines. The goal of...More
CRS Southern Africa Guidelines for Gender-Responsive Programming
Gender-responsive programming means addressing the gender roles, relations, needs and interests of women and men, girls and boys to meet their immediate needs and achieve equal rights, opportunities and outcomes. By providing reference and background information on some of the best thinking...More
CRS Manager's Guide to SARAR-Based Community Health Modules
This guide has arisen from the request of CRS country programs to understand how SARAR*-based community health modules should be programmed into their projects and how to train facilitators who will implement these methods at community level. It is for CRS heads of programming, program managers...More
CRS Manager's Guide to PHAST Methodology
The first edition of this manual was published by the World Health Organization in 1998. Since then, a great deal has been learned about how to successfully implement PHAST.
This manual provides updated advice based on over ten years of field-based learning. It was created in direct...More
How-To Guide
This guide from CRS JWBG addresses Values Building Education. This is a two-year curriculum that guides students through a process of civic engagement and reflection on their relationships with their peers, families, schools and communities. It was designed specifically to counter the feeling...More
M&E Training and Capacity-Building Modules
CRS and the American Red Cross collaborated on this nine-part series of training and capacity-building materials in program monitoring and evaluation. The modules provide practical information across a wide range of topics, from hiring M&E staff to preparing for a program evaluation. They...More
The AIDSRelief Zambia Partnership
From 2004 to 2013, the CRS-led AIDSRelief project supported rapid scale up of HIV care and treatment for 700,000 people in ten countries, including Zambia. Sustainability was a key component of the original project design, which incorporated a vision for eventual local ownership of the care and...More
The AIDSRelief South Africa Partnership
This case study documents the transition of AIDSRelief responsibility for overall management of a large antiretroviral treatment program to local partners in South Africa. It is hoped that the South Africa case study will contribute to the learning of other countries, working in AIDSRelief or...More
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Considerations in Home-Based Care for People Living with HIV
This guidance document offers water supply and sanitation facility and hygiene promotion design considerations and recommendations intended to increase access to these facilities by people living with HIV. People living with HIV often require modifications to their water supply and sanitation...More
A Facilitators Guide to Developing OVC Program Sustainability and Transition Plans
In the first phase of OVC emergency funding by foreign donors such as the United States government, CRS assumed the primary responsibility for managing the OVC grants by monitoring program spending, activity planning, and conducting trainings for partner staff. A key assumption, however, was...More
GAIN Peacebuilding Indicators
This publication includes eighteen globally-accepted indicators that present many of the necessary components and considerations for holistic M&E for Peacebuilding. It includes a series of indicator templates and a library of indicator resources with information to assist project teams in M...More
Groundwater Development
This document explains basic groundwater and well drilling concepts, and shows how they can be employed to strengthen and expand water development programs.More
Water and Conflict
Much of the world’s population lacks adequate clean water, either because of physical scarcity or because they are denied equitable access to water resources. Such conditions inevitably breed conflict. Water-related violence is common in many parts of the world and is generally expected to...More
Working Together, Learning Together
When CRS decided to shift the emphasis of its agriculture programs from subsistence-focused production to market-oriented enterprise development, it needed to both develop new approaches and build staff capacity to implement them.
To do so it turned to the concept of the "learning...More
Protocol for Relations with Church Partners (English, French and Spanish)
To support the process of developing relations with the Church, CRS presents this protocol for relationships with Church partners, designed to strengthen bonds of solidarity and promote a strategic dialogue in our service to the poor. The protocol presents guidelines and ideas for building...More
How-To Guide
These guidelines explore the ways that peer-to-peer learning networks of teachers and administrators can overcome many of the challenges traditionally associated with in-service training for education professionals.
The publication presents a basic methodology for setting up school...More
How-To Guide
Achieving a more inclusive school environment is a key objective. School improvement plans are a useful tool in promoting parents' and communities' transformational engagement in schools.More
How-To Guide
This manual explores the ways that children can be mobilized as leaders in the effort to create more healthful school environments and communities. A child’s health status is a major determinant in whether or not s/he will succeed in school. Reducing environmental threats to health and promoting...More
Best Practices in Water and Sanitation
This document is intended to provide guidance to nontechnical CRS program managers and decision makers—as well as field workers—in developing, designing and implementing water, sanitation and hygiene projects.
Short descriptions of best practices and reviews of technology cover topics...More
Consortium Alignment Framework for Excellence (CAFE)
This tool is designed to help CRS staff and partners improve their ability to form strong consortia that respond to the needs of the most vulnerable and meet donor requirements while strengthening the relationships between agency and partner institutions. The focus of CAFE is to make the...More
Community-Integrated Management of Childhood Illness
This facilitator’s guide is intended to help plan for the training of community-based health-care providers to children outside the formal health system. It is designed to operationalize Element 2 of C-IMCI, which is specific for improving the technical abilities of community health workers in...More
Identifying Market Opportunities for Rural Smallholder Producers
This manual combines market research, product concept evaluation and business analysis techniques that enable practitioners to identify market opportunities for rural agro-enterprise development projects within a defined area or territory. The guide provides a simple and systematic participatory...More
Advice Manual for the Organisation of Collective Marketing Activities by Small-Scale Farmers
This step-by-step manual is designed to help development agency staff lead smallholder farmers to use group marketing strategies that can increase the value of the goods they sell. It provides guidance to groups on how to choose strategies. Topics include democratic decision-making systems, task...More
A Market Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Agroenterprise Development
This manual seeks to empower farmer groups with the necessary skills to make informed decisions for their economic development, based on an analysis of their surroundings, assets and skills. The methodology also aims for outcomes that are equitable, gender focused and participatory. This is a...More
Participatory Market Chain Analysis for Smallholder Producers
This manual aims to enable service providers to work with a range of actors in selected market chains and design interventions that initiate systemic changes in the marketplace. It leads practitioners to select market chains, conduct rapid market surveys, create business plans, conduct...More
A Participatory Guide to Developing Partnerships, Area Resource Assessment and Planning Together
This manual is part of a series of good practice guides describing the components of the participatory and area-based approach to rural agroenterprise development.
The manual lays the groundwork for rural agroenterprise projects by leading service providers through an asset-based...More
Nutrition and Food Security for People Living with HIV and AIDS
Applies the Integral Human Development (IHD) framework to nutrition and food security for people living with HIV and AIDS. In addition, several programming options and best practices with nutrition and food security for this target group are highlighted. The best practices and recommendations...More
Cantines scolaires au Bénin
In 2001, in support of the Government of Benin’s stated priority of primary education for all and with funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Food for Peace program (USAID/FFP), CRS expanded its community-managed canteen initiative in Benin. The canteen program was...More
School Canteens in Benin
In 2001, in support of the Government of Benin’s stated priority of primary education for all and with funding from the United States Agency for International Development’s Food for Peace program (USAID/FFP), CRS expanded its community-managed canteen initiative in Benin. The canteen program was...More
Preparing Farmer Groups to Engage Successfully with Markets
How can we strengthen groups of farmers who are at a very early stage of engaging with markets and who aspire to successful agro-enterprise development? This manual provides advice for program managers and field staff on how to foster several crucial skill sets.
The five key skill sets...More
How-To Guide: Student Dropout Prevention and Response
Dropout is an almost universal problem for education systems in countries where CRS works. Although the causes are different in each location, there are common strategies that can reduce the problem.
This guide presents steps to develop strategies for both preventing student dropout and...More
How-To Guide
Child participation is one of the guiding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This guide presents practitioners with many useful suggestions for ways to increase child participation; however, it also requires practitioners to recognize the value of child participation and...More
How-To Guide
Children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized groups in terms of access to education today. CRS' mission and the principle of Education for All call on all of us to expand our programming in support of quality education for children with disabilities. This guide presents many...More
How-To Guide
This document presents a progressive methodology that puts the learner at the center of a process that not only improves literacy, but also raises participants’ self-awareness and develops cultural pride. The Integrated Community Literacy methodology is based on local experience, and is flexible...More
Reflective Peacebuilding
The toolkit emphasizes learning before, during and after the implementation of peacebuilding programs. It explores the connections between learning and effective peacebuilding practice, and suggest practices for reflection and learning as individuals and communities. The tool kit looks at...More
Guidelines for the Development of Small-Scale Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Projects in East Africa
This document provides general technical guidelines for the planning and implementation of small-scale water supply and sanitation activities in rural East Africa, which includes both projects funded under the USAID Title II (Food for Peace) Program and projects funded by other donors. It is...More