Contexte and Challenges
The evaluation team of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wanted evidence and analysis to play a larger role in humanitarian assistance during emergencies. It faced barriers to expanding its work, and needed to make the case internally for a significant increase in investment.
Our Role
Over six months in 2022, Research for Purpose built a change management and communications strategy for the team. We interviewed many local and regional team leaders to understand the challenges and opportunities of expanding the team geographically and in scope.
From these interviews, we developed key messages tailored to each internal audience. We provided ongoing guidance on communicating the changes to staff, management and other teams, together with a timeline, a plan and budget estimates.
Results
ICRC leadership approved the expansion of the team and emphasised the importance of programming based on evidence.
During this project, the team learnt that Evidence generation and evaluation is often misinterpreted by internal stakeholders. When budget is scarce, it is increasingly important to showcase the value and impact of the work and the team to the leadership, and engage with people early on to build these changes together.