Distribution Effects in post-conflict settings

A Distribution Effect occurs when people perceive that an organization has a bias in favor for or against a specific group through the way they distribute resources.

The criteria interveners use to select recipients of assistance or to hire their staff or identify their partners often match with local identity groups. If the choices about who to help, who to hire or with whom to partner favor one group over others, and thus provide important resources for survival to this group, the assistance becomes contested and can be a serious source of tension and conflict.

The following section describes a common type of distribution effect, with some examples. The examples are not exhaustive of the type, but rather illustrative of a pattern we have seen repeated in many places.

Distribution Effects in post-conflict settings

In post-conflict settings, everybody has needs, often quite severe ones. At the same time, a losing side will almost always have more needs than a winning one. The losers have generally suffered more destruction of houses and infrastructure, more killings, and more displacement.

Among the key agendas in post-conflict settings is returning the displaced to their homes. Where homes have been destroyed, assistance is often provided to rebuild them. Rebuilding projects provide jobs in construction, often accompanied by training to provide skills that can be used in the long-term. Where family members have been killed, psycho-social services are offered to the survivors. When breadwinners from a family have been killed, families receive direct assistance and sometimes preference for new jobs.

The focus of assistance on the “people who suffered most,” (i.e. the losers) feeds a perception by the winners that the international community does not care about them. It can seem that the international community is taking sides, re-strengthening the losers, and perhaps reigniting the conflict. This kind of perceived bias feeds rumors about international assistance and its agenda, decreasing security for everybody.

Do No Harm users who recognize this kind of pattern have found ways to work with groups, trusted by all sides in a post-war setting, to decide how to allocate post-war support. Often these groups also recognize that losers have greater needs than winners so they will distribute the bulk of the aid to those who need it most, but because they represent the interests of both winners and losers, they can communicate their decisions on the basis of fairness that is trusted by both sides.

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