Four Do No Harm Techniques

Context + Program = Impact

We cannot know our impact without also understanding both the context and the program. We need to understand all three components.

Do No Harm consists of four techniques that can be structured in two Frameworks. The techniques provide skills for understanding the relationship of an intervention to the context in which it is attempting to have an impact and guide change.

The main tools of Do No Harm are two frameworks, the Relationship Framework and the Action Framework. These place the Six Lessons together into a practical format that people can use. The two Frameworks each serve a different purpose and grew out of different experiences, though they cover the same information.

The Frameworks are built out of four specific techniques that complement and work together.

The techniques help us to gather the information we need to make good decisions in complex situations. Each of them separately offers considerable insight into an aspect of the context or the intervention. Together, they provide the best way to understand what we need to understand to avoid doing harm and to support local capacities for peace.

This Guide discusses the concepts involved in the techniques. Each section of concepts also has an explanation of the technique and how to use it.

The context analysis of Do No Harm is Dividers and Connectors Analysis.

The program analysis is Critical Detail Mapping.

The impact analysis is done through two similar techniques, ABCs: Resource Transfers and ABCs: Messages through the RAFT.

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