Strengthening Accountability and Inclusion in Lebanon

Effective Feedback, Complaints and Response Mechanisms (FCRM) play a vital role in ensuring Concern Worldwide is accountable to the communities we work with. FCRMs help encourage suggestions, ideas, feedback, and programmatic issues and are a critical opportunity for sensitive complaints, including safeguarding and fraud to be raised and responded to appropriately.  

Communication is key to ensuring communities understand what to expect from Concern and where and how to voice dissatisfaction. Our communication strategies encompass information on entitlements, rights, risks and how to report. This is not only central to our accountability framework but also an essential part of delivering effective assistance. 

As part of our commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness, the Concern Lebanon team for example, continues to enhance its FCRM, particularly in the regions of Akkar and North Lebanon where we support Syrian refugees and host families. 

Between 2020 and 2024 Concern Lebanon received 7,537 reports through the FRCM channels; telephone, suggestion boxes or talking directly to members of staff. These reports included requests for assistance and information as well as feedback and complaints, with 42% of reports received from males and 58% from females in 2024. 

Concern’s Safe and Inclusive Programming Unit provides global leadership and technical support to its 26 country teams in order to enhance their FCRMs. Accountability is a key priority in the Protection and Safeguarding Strategic Framework 2021-2026 with a focus on the continued development of a safe, accessible, responsive, and empowering culture, and FCRMs that make it safe to ‘speak up’. 

To ensure equitable access to information, Concern has prioritised inclusive communication methods. Since 2022, Concern Lebanon has been distributing posters and flyers as well as FCRM business cards, that include the braille language, in order to reach individuals with visual impairments. These materials are designed to provide essential information about available services and community rights as well as feedback and complaint mechanisms. The country team continuously evaluates and adapts its tools to reach marginalized groups by conducting annual consultation surveys to assess whether participants find our tools accessible and effective, and based on the findings, the necessary modifications are made. 

Our FCRM materials aim to remove barriers to communication and empower all community members to engage actively with the services they receive. Individuals regularly reach out to Concern through multiple channels such as our telephone hotline, suggestion boxes, and direct communication with staff ensuring that their voices are heard and integrated into our programming in a timely and responsive manner. 

Another key component of Concern Lebanon's FCRM is awareness and engagement. The country team regularly conduct awareness sessions with both staff and beneficiaries, serving as platforms to inform stakeholders of any programmatic updates, changes in service delivery, or new mechanisms introduced under the FCRM. 

This two-way communication approach strengthens trust between the organisation and the communities in which we work, creating an environment where feedback is valued and acted upon. It also ensures that Concern team members are always aligned with the principles of accountability, thereby improving service quality and responsiveness. 

Every child has the right to freedom of expression (Article 13: UN Convention on the Rights of a Child), to express their thoughts and opinions and to access all kinds of information within the law. Every child has the right to complain and be taken seriously, and children are a key beneficiary target group for Concern’s programmes in Lebanon.  

Therefore, Concern Lebanon has implemented a child and adolescent-friendly feedback and complaint mechanism. This contains practical ways for children to receive information, provide feedback, and meaningfully participate in Concern’s work, protecting children from harmful or inappropriate content and incorporating the views of children towards evidence-based improvements.  

 These include: 

• A tailored PowerPoint presentation, used during sensitisation sessions to enhance children’s understanding of the FCRM.
• An animated awareness video, designed to convey essential information in a fun and engaging way, helping children understand how they can share their thoughts and feelings.
• A coloring book, offering a hands-on, interactive resource that reinforces key messages while allowing children to express creativity This combination of tools provides a tangible and enjoyable learning experience, helping to ensure that even the youngest programme participants are informed, empowered and can participate safely in our activities. 

While these tools have been piloted and are not yet fully integrated into all of Concern Lebanon's programmes, they represent a promising step toward more inclusive and child-centered accountability practices. 

As implementation will primarily be conducted through local partners, as part of our capacity-building plan we are working to strengthen our partners' ability to uphold accountability standards and foster a shared culture of transparency and community participation. To achieve this, we are sharing our FCRM tools, policies and training. Simultaneously, Concern’s own FCRM channel remains available and accessible to all. 

Concern Worldwide is committed to continuous learning, strengthening and adaptation of its FCRM across the organisation and the countries in which we work. As we move forward, we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these tools, gather feedback from communities, and refine our practices to ensure that accountability remains at the heart of our humanitarian response in Lebanon. 

Through inclusive design, active engagement, and collaborative implementation, we aim to ensure that every voice is heard and that every individual has the means to participate in shaping the assistance they receive.