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

42International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent SocietiesBox 12Key skills and learning needed by the VCA teamTeam members should receive training in the following themes:■ Understanding VCA, including relevant terminology and concepts.■ Participatory methods of investigation.■ How communities function.■ Culture and cultural sensitivity.■ Team-building, decision-making, group dynamics.■ Facilitation techniques.■ Recording and interpretation of data.Box 13Learning-by-doing‘Learning by doing’ was developed with the aim of supporting VCApractitioners in developing their skills in the field, whilst maintainingthe standards of the VCA process. It takes into consideration real timeconstraints which may exist when working with people, on a day to daybasis. In this way, a community VCA can be undertaken over a periodof five days, whilst building in a degree of flexibility (i.e. over a weekor at intervals suited to individual community needs and capacities).Such a flexible model of VCA implementation recognizes thatcommunities may have limited periods of time to offer, or that they arenot necessarily fully engaged from the beginning. In addition, ‘learningby-doing’enables the VCA practitioner to be mindful of the dynamicand ever-changing environment of community living.As with similar processes, the challenges of VCA can only be met whenwell-trained VCA practitioners fully understand the methodology and theuse of tools as identified in the VCA toolbox, in a dynamic and creativeway.