3.3.1 Accountability do’s and don’ts for assessments

Do:

• Take a good enough approach.
• Be prepared to introduce CARE as an organisation and describe our mandate and objectives (refer to The good enough guide , Tool 1).
• Involve women and men affected by the disaster.
• Ensure assessment team is gender balanced as much as possible.
• Provide appropriate assistance at the same time as assessing wherever possible.
• Consider joint assessments when appropriate.
• Share assessment objectives, plans and results with the community, and clearly communicate the organisation’s mandate.
• Coordinate assessments, and share plans and results, with other agencies and local authorities wherever possible.
• Ensure the assessment adequately analyses gender, violence, discrimination, protection and ‘do no harm’.

Don’t:

• Duplicate the work of other agencies and contribute to assessment overload.
• Put communities or staff at unnecessary risk.
• Continue assessing without providing assistance, if assistance is urgent and is able to be provided.
• Be a humanitarian tourist (visiting and observing with no purpose or assistance)
• Make promises that cannot be kept.