People's Action in Practice: ActionAid's Human Rights Based Approach 2.0

"By facilitating greater links across countries and building coherence we can maximise the impact and reach of our work."

This resource explores a human-rights-based approach (HRBA) to development as developed by ActionAid, a global federation working to end poverty and injustice through the strategy of transforming power relations. Action Aid's approach "prioritises the active agency of people living in poverty, supporting them to become conscious of, organise and claim their rights, holding the powerful to account." In addition to providing an HRBA programme framework, this resource book further elaborates on the theory of change that is outlined in ActionAid's People's Action strategy, providing a practical guide on how to put this into action.

Part one outlines key concepts, provides some history, describes the theory of change and the 8 principles that guide ActionAid's HRBA work, explores areas of programming (empowerment, campaigning, and solidarity), and examines the minimum standards that should be applied in every context. The following excerpt from the chapter on campaigning outlines some communication strategies: "ActionAid's campaigning can actually contribute to empowerment and solidarity work by building relationships between campaigners - from women farmers in local rights programmes and national ActionAid staff to young people across the world and ActionAid supporters. For example, generating evidence with women farmers' groups for a sustainable agriculture campaign can empower and build women's leadership. Linking these groups to one another to build a bigger and more powerful movement across different geographies is also empowering and builds solidarity too." Specific campaigning tools and methods are outlined, illustrated through text boxes that provide concrete examples.

Part two provides resources around ActionAid's 5 strategic objectives: (i) land rights and sustainable agriculture; (ii) accountable governments and redistribution of resources; (iii) education and youth; (iv) resilience and emergency response; and women's control over their bodies and women's economic alternatives. This portion of the resource also focuses on 10 key change promises in ActionAid's People's Action strategy (2012-2017). It includes critical pathways for how the organisation will achieve these promises and how they will track our progress against them, as well as some background rationale and key definitions, case studies, and practical tools designed to help ActionAid staff and partners think through adapting each area of work to their own context.

Part three addresses the People's Action Monitoring Framework that ActionAid will use to monitor progress towards the People's Action strategy goals. It also outlines the core cycle ActionAid programmes should follow, including: appraisal, strategy development, implementation, and evaluation.

ActionAid states: "We hope that this resource book will also be a useful reference point for people in other organisations who might find inspiration and practical guidance in ActionAid's HRBA. While it talks very concretely about the specific change promises in ActionAid's People’s Action strategy, we value ongoing dialogue with other organisations and individuals who share our principles and values."