Assessing Risk in Social Norms Activities
Assessing Risk in Social Norms SBCC
As we have seen, social norms deal with issues that are very close to people’s hearts. They can be controversial to address, especially if implemented by people who are not community members themselves. It is important to assess risks and have some contingency plans in place to avoid things going wrong, or activities having adverse effects!
Consider the following questions to assess and plan for risk:
1. How have you planned to engage respectfully with all sections of the community, including marginalised or vulnerable groups such as women or youth?
2. How have you ensured your messages resonate with local contexts and cultures?
3. How have you partnered with policy makers, opinion leaders, and service providers to ensure their support and buy-in? Are there other “gate-keepers” that may influence acceptance of change?
4. Are you working with local role models/champions to endorse new values and practices, if relevant?
5. Do you have a plan in place to deal with unanticipated consequences? Those might include harm against programme staff, push back from people whose power is threatened by norms change,…
You can use this tool to note your answers. There is a filled-out example in the tool as well.