How do you develop the skills needed for humanitarian coordination?

1 Learn from others

One of the best ways to develop your skills for humanitarian coordination is to learn from others who have experience and expertise in this field. You can do this by seeking mentorship, coaching, or feedback from senior or peer coordinators, joining networks or communities of practice, or attending trainings or workshops. You can also learn from others by reading case studies, reports, or blogs, or watching webinars or podcasts that showcase good practices and lessons learned from humanitarian coordination.

2 Apply the standards

Another way to develop your skills for humanitarian coordination is to apply the standards and principles that guide humanitarian action. These include the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (SPHERE), the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) policies and guidelines, and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. These standards and principles provide a common framework and language for humanitarian coordination, as well as criteria and indicators for measuring performance and quality.

3 Practice the tools

A third way to develop your skills for humanitarian coordination is to practice the tools and methods that facilitate coordination. These include the cluster approach, the humanitarian program cycle, the humanitarian needs overview, the humanitarian response plan, the 3W matrix (who does what where), the humanitarian dashboard, the common operational datasets, the humanitarian exchange language, and the humanitarian notification system for deconfliction. These tools and methods help you to organize, plan, implement, monitor, and report on humanitarian coordination, as well as to share information and data with other actors.

4 Adapt to the context

A fourth way to develop your skills for humanitarian coordination is to adapt to the context and the changing needs and dynamics of the crisis. This means being flexible, creative, and innovative in finding solutions and overcoming challenges, as well as being responsive, accountable, and participatory in engaging with affected populations and other stakeholders. It also means being aware of and respecting the cultural, political, social, and environmental factors that influence humanitarian coordination, as well as the risks and opportunities that arise from them.

5 Reflect on your practice

A fifth way to develop your skills for humanitarian coordination is to reflect on your practice and learn from your successes and failures. You can do this by conducting self-assessments, evaluations, or after-action reviews, or by participating in peer reviews, debriefings, or learning events. You can also do this by documenting and sharing your experiences, insights, and recommendations with others, or by seeking feedback and suggestions for improvement. Reflection helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as to recognize and address gaps or challenges in your humanitarian coordination.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?