How to do VCA? - International Federation of Red Cross and Red ...

How to do a VCA 19The bottom three rungs – manipulation, therapy (making people feelgood) and informing – contain no participation at all. This is simplyone-way communication: proposed plans have already been decidedupon and the job of the facilitator is to achieve public support throughan exercise in public relations.Rungs four and five – consultation and placation (to appease) – alsofocus on a one-way flow of information. Those running the process useattitude surveys, neighborhood meetings and public enquiries to collectinformation.Working with volunteers and communities does not necessarily meanthat you are working in a participatory way. The actual role of thesegroups in a VCA will determine the degree to which they feel as if they‘own’ the process, or whether they are simply being asked to provideinformation and implement activities. If the volunteers and communitymembers are active participants in implementing a VCA, theircommitment to the process could transform the way branches andcommunities work – as people themselves become the principal authorsin projects that reduce local vulnerabilities.Those guiding the VCA must therefore be clear on what type of participationthey want and what the implications are for the overall process.As a result, those leading the VCA exercise must be prepared forany eventual outcome that the community highlights as a priority– whether it is disaster risk reduction, health or income generation– many of which cannot be foreseen or controlled. This iskey and will be stressed over and over in all the VCA publications.It is natural – and should not be perceived as negative – that communitieswill identify priority issues that fall outside the RedCross Red Crescent’s mandate or capacity. This can be a source ofdifficulty for branches if they are not properly prepared. At thevery least, different branch departments must agree to worktogether before a VCA can be undertaken effectively (e.g. health,youth, disaster management).