Do No Harm Tip Sheet

Do No Harm is based on field experience of many different programmes of International Organizations in different contexts that is gathered and compared. Through this process the project has identified clear patterns regarding how assistance and context interact. Do No Harm has developed a tool for the analysis of assistance in the context of conflict. The tool

• reveals the interconnections between programming decisions and context (about where to work, with whom, how the criteria for beneficiaries are set, how to relate to local authorities, etc.);
• heightens the awareness of intergroup relations in project sites and enables agencies to play a conscious role in helping people come together;
• provides a common reference point to assess the impacts of assistance on the context and possible conflicts. This brings a new cohesiveness to staff interactions and work with local counterparts;
• prompts the identification of conflict-exacerbating impacts of assistance much sooner than it could be expected without the analysis;
• enables to identify programming options when things are going badly.