The Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) launched officially in the Latin America and Caribbean region in November 2023 with a focus on upskilling humanitarians in local organisations and across Save the Children with core humanitarian skills to effectively respond to crisis within the region.

The Humanitarian Operations Programme (HOP) covers the essential elements of setting up and running a humanitarian response. HOP provides humanitarians with a platform for a successful career, allowing participants to gain theoretical knowledge and practice the skills needed to respond to the kind of emergencies local responders face – and skills they can share with others.

This training garnered much interest and activity resulting in highly involved and invested participants, persons interested in also becoming trainers for HOP in their organisations and across their countries.

This study showcases Mirtha Carrasco’s journey and experience with the HOP training – the positive impact on her career and for the organisation she works – CEDEPAS NORTE over the period of training and following on.

Increased confidence in response delivery is a theme that runs through this case study as this study supports HLA’s provision of this important training programme for humanitarians.

This case study is also available in Spanish.

Digital Learning Lab Case Study Series

These guides will show you how new technology and approaches are helping to transform the humanitarian and development sectors

Read the case study

About the Digital Learning Lab

As part of a new series in 2024, our Digital Learning Lab will be regularly publishing case studies of how new technology and approaches are helping to transform the humanitarian and development sectors.

Our easy-to-read guides will show you how you can start to solve real-world problems, as well as start to honestly discuss what barriers exist to innovation and potential solutions. They are aimed at anyone with an interest in digital learning innovations, capacity strengthening and leadership as well as future leaders and potential donors to help us test and scale innovations.

About this case study: QR codes and Augmented Reality for capacity strengthening initiatives for health providers treating children with paediatric blast injuries

Children injured in conflict pose specific problems for those trying to treat them. Paediatricians are often not trained in the specific management of conflict trauma, such as blast injuries. First responders, emergency physicians and surgeons may be experienced at managing this type of trauma in adults but often do not know the specific adjustments needed to treat children safely and effectively, leading to excess paediatric mortality and disability.

Quick Response (QR) codes, are two-dimensional barcodes that can store a variety of data types including text, URLs, and other information.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital information, such as images, videos, or 3D models, onto the real-world environment in real-time, typically through devices like smartphones, tablets, or AR glasses

In this case study, learn how scanning QR codes can launch AR experiences, helping providers access valuable learning resources in real time.

Keywords: Just in time learning, QR codes, AR, augmented reality, training manuals, training intervention, Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual.

Is this case study for me? 

This case study is aimed at anyone wishing to educate, inspire or simulate scenarios in their environments in a more digitally-experimental manner, as well as potential partners who might be interested in helping us test and scale this innovation.

You may also be interested in our case study: The potential of QR stickers to provide just in time learning.

Contact

This case study was published in June 2024 by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy’s Digital Learning Lab.

For more information, please email digitallearning@savethechildren.org.uk

Digital Learning Lab Case Study Series

These guides will show you how new technology and approaches are helping to transform the humanitarian and development sectors

Read the case study

About the Digital Learning Lab

As part of a new series in 2024, our Digital Learning Lab will be regularly publishing case studies of how new technology and approaches are helping to transform the humanitarian and development sectors.

Our easy-to-read guides will show you how you can start to solve real-world problems, as well as start to honestly discuss what barriers exist to innovation and potential solutions. They are aimed at anyone with an interest in digital learning innovations, capacity strengthening and leadership as well as future leaders and potential donors to help us test and scale innovations.

About this case study: The potential of QR stickers to provide just in time learning   

Aid and supplies often arrive without accompanying training content. When training materials are available, they are usually separate physical assets like manuals, which may not be accessible at the point of need. This can cause misunderstandings and inconsistencies in application of training content.

Quick Response (QR) codes, are two-dimensional barcodes that can store a variety of data types including text, URLs, and other information. QR codes have since become widely used for various applications due to their quick readability and large storage capacity.

In this case study, the Digital Learning Lab highlights how QR codes could be used as real world solution to address this problem.

Keywords: Just in time learning, QR codes, QR stickers, training manuals, training intervention.

Is this case study for me? 

This case study is aimed at a wide range of humanitarians delivering tangible assets that would benefit from further instruction and/or those needing a simple way to signpost further resources at the point-of-need, as well as potential partners who might be interested in helping us test and scale this innovation. 

You may also be interested in our case study on QR codes and Augmented Reality for capacity strengthening initiatives for health providers treating children with paediatric blast injuries

Contact

This case study was published in June 2024 by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy’s Digital Learning Lab.

For more information, please email digitallearning@savethechildren.org.uk

Poland’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis stands out as a unique example of a locally led humanitarian response with an extraordinary level of mobilisation of the general population and involvement of non-traditional actors (private businesses, civil society, private citizens). Many local responders to Ukraine crisis in Poland were new to the humanitarian sector. The HLA’s Humanitarian Operations Programme (HOP) Core training aimed to fill the gaps in knowledge, systematise existing practical experience, and empower participants to create a more cooperative and capable humanitarian response network. The training covered the essential elements of setting up and running a humanitarian response such as conducting rapid needs assessments, proposal writing, conflict sensitivity programming, safeguarding in emergencies, wellbeing in emergencies, and gender.

This case study provides insights gathered after the HOP training in Poland in 2023. It is based on the feedback and reflections provided by three individuals who took part in the trainings, tracked for three months after completing the training. The second part of the study provides feedback from trainers, who took part in the HOP Training of Trainers (ToT) and later delivered the HOP Core training. The training took place in Warsaw, over 5 days and involved 21 humanitarian actors operating in Poland and Ukraine in local NGOs, INGOs, and civil society organisations.

This study supports the HLA to better understand the HOP training from the participants’ perspectives and highlights how local actors have put into practice knowledge acquired in the training. The study also helps to get a better understanding of the learning needs of less experienced humanitarian actors.