Over the last few decades, it has been recognised that adaptation approaches are more likely to succeed if they are rooted in local knowledge and empower communities to make their own decisions. However, research conducted by GTS and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in 2021 shows that the fine aspirations found in the documentation to engage and empower vulnerable communities are rarely matched by the reality on the ground.

Ground Truth Solutions aims to provide Rohingya and local communities with a way to express their views and give feedback.

The 34 camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh are some of the most densely populated areas in the world, housing some 860,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled their native country to seek protection from persecution and violence. Fears of a deadly coronavirus outbreak prompted a swift government-issued lockdown in March 2020, with humanitarians having to limit operations to essential services only.

As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, we knew that listening to community feedback about what worked and what didn’t would be more important than ever when humanitarians, health workers, governments, and others came together to combat the virus.

Ground Truth Solutions worked with the OECD Secretariat from 2016 to 2019 to provide people affected by crisis with a way to assess progress on humanitarian performance.