Research (and practice) on community engagement – Understand how to interact with communities to improve PSEA reporting.

As part of UNICEF’s broader commitment to Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), our SBC expert led the development of a regional toolkit to support the design and implementation of inclusive community-based complaints mechanisms (CBCMs) across MENA and ESARO regions.

The work applied behaviorally informed approaches and community engagement principles to identify key feedback behaviors, social drivers, and participation barriers. Drawing from a comparative review of four operational contexts, the consultant conducted first an in-depth desk review, and then created a practical, cross-context toolkit and rolled it out through inter-regional trainings and webinars.

The toolkit continues to strengthen country office capacities and has contributed to UNICEF’s global approach to AAP and feedback systems — directly informing behaviorally grounded, community-driven SBC work across sectors.