Fair targeting: setting criteria communities accept

What is targeting, and why do people argue about it?

You have 300 kits and 600 families. Someone has to decide. Targeting is the process of deciding who receives assistance, and it is one of the most sensitive tasks in humanitarian work. People who are left out feel unfair treatment. Community leaders may feel their authority is tested. Poorly explained targeting can start tensions, which is why it connects directly to our work on do no harm.

The Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) asks organisations to use fair, impartial and transparent criteria to define programmes and the people or groups supported. Fairness is the target; clarity is the method.

Which targeting methods exist?

A joint UNHCR and World Food Programme guidance note describes several common methods and says that no single method fits every context. A mix is often used.

The same guidance notes that community-based targeting can enhance ownership, but may be seen as unfair or reinforce existing power imbalances, and it can be hard in insecure contexts.

What makes a good criterion?

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) field guidance for emergencies gives practical rules that apply well to small organisations.

• Simple and easy to explain. Complicated criteria slow the work and confuse people.
• Not subjective. "Large household" is vague unless you say how many members.
• Easy to verify. Income is hard to check. Household size, presence of a pregnant woman or a person with a disability can be seen and discussed.
• Protection-sensitive. The UNHCR and WFP guidance asks that criteria do not contribute to stigma, marginalisation or exclusion.

How to set and test criteria: five steps

1. Start from the assessment. Use your needs assessment to see who is most affected and why.
2. Draft three to five criteria. Fewer is better. Write each as a yes-or-no question.
3. Validate with the community. CRS advises learning the community structures, working with leaders that people recognise, and engaging both male and female leaders and members, minority groups, and displaced and host groups. Check what leaders say with focus groups or other key informants.
4. Be open to adjust. CRS notes that community members may disagree on who is vulnerable, and that more inclusive criteria, or including some host households, can protect social cohesion.
5. Write and publish the rules. Put the criteria on a simple notice in the local language, and explain them aloud at a community meeting.

How should you handle cut-offs and complaints?

A cut-off is often needed, and CRS warns that it may create resentment among people just outside it. Plan a communication message before you publish any list. Say how many people you can help, why, and what the other options are.

Then check the lists. Visit a sample of households, remove duplicates and confirm that people from different groups appear. Publish a way to complain or ask for review, and respond within a stated time. Our guide to a complaints and feedback mechanism shows how to build one.

Myanmar context

Many areas have mixed displaced and host populations, and local trust is fragile. Try these habits.

• Include host households that are also poor, where your funding allows, to reduce resentment.
• Do not rely on one list from one authority. Cross-check with at least one other source.
• Keep names and addresses secure. Lists can put people at risk.
• Where access is limited, train trusted local volunteers to run the validation steps and agree a clear conduct code.

Common mistakes

• Changing criteria mid-distribution without telling anyone.
• Using criteria that staff cannot check.
• Letting one person hold the master list.
• Publishing no complaints route.

How EMPO can help

With 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations, EMPO is a reliable, Yangon-based training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training. We offer training on accountability, community engagement and humanitarian standards, in English and Burmese, online and in person across Myanmar. Teams can commission a session for their own staff. See our training services or contact us.

Sources

• Validating Targeting Criteria — Catholic Relief Services, Emergency Field Operations Manual
• The Standard (Core Humanitarian Standard 2024) — CHS Alliance