We created this checklist to support both program design and ongoing implementation of social norms-shifting interventions. Often programmers plan to challenge and shift harmful social norms but are not certain of where to begin and how to adapt their activities to include norms-shifting components, effectively moving beyond individual behavior change. Programs that do not understand how to shift harmful norms may inadvertently reinforce them, or simply be ineffective at challenging and shifting them. This checklist provides examples of questions to ask while designing activities, examples of how to fill in any gaps identified, and what norms-shifting interventions look like in action. The checklist should be used after the program identifies the harmful social norms that act as barriers to positive behaviors and outcomes and thus the context in which norms operate. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.
CARE seeks to contribute to the sustainable transition of leadership and ownership of development and humanitarian assistance to a range of public, private, and civil society partners. CARE’s Localization efforts support diverse local actors in over 100 countries to define priorities, design solutions, drive implementation, and sustain efforts tailored to their unique development and/or humanitarian context. CARE does this while aiming to maximize impact across six priorities – Gender Equality, Humanitarian Response, Food Security, Water and Nutrition, Economic Justice for Women, Right to Health, and Climate Justice. In line with CARE’s SCoRE Framework for Localization, CARE fosters conditions and approaches that shift power to local actors by: Strengthening Capacity: Enhancing the systems and capacity of local partners to implement and sustain programs and the change they enable, while supporting local leaders, amplifying marginalized voices, facilitating capacity sharing, and ensuring effective, inclusive, and accountable governance with and for their communities; Co-creating: Bringing together the perspectives, needs, local knowledge and thought leadership of local partners, communities, impact populations, and other stakeholders to ensure that development and humanitarian responses are fit for the local context, demand-driven, and tailored to the unique needs of diverse communities, engaging them throughout the project cycle we support Resourcing Local Actors: Channeling resources and strengthening systems to sustain and scale community level work, supporting local partners to absorb, grow, diversify, leverage, and manage their resource base; supporting the transition of key partners to direct donor funding and; Enhancing Networks: Developing, strengthening and amplifying local networks that enable coordination, inclusive programming, capacity sharing, and collective action Read More
Power Within (PW) is a competency framework which supports young people’s (ages 10-24) development by building life skills that help them deal with the challenges and demands of their daily lives. This document begins with background on the model, including its origins in 2008, evidence of its impact, and influences guiding this update and refresh of the model. Read More
This Power Within activity toolkit builds on decades of CARE’s program design, implementation, and research with young people. This toolkit can be used as a resource for those designing and implementing programs for adolescents and young adults aged 10-24. The set of activities here may be borrowed and adapted to the needs of participant groups, the contexts in which they live, and the topical focus of a particular program. Read More