CashCast: A podcast from the CALP Network

A new season of CashCast is on its way 🎉. Join us for a fresh episode each week over the next five weeks, as our host interviews a wide range of guests.

Together, we’ll dive into how change unfolds in the humanitarian sphere, with a special focus on cash and voucher assistance.

Check out this trailer for a sneak peek of what’s in store—we hope you’ll be listening!

Series guests:

• Irfan Khan: Director of Humanitarian and International Partnerships at Muslim Hands
• Anna Kondakhchyan: Head of Cash and Markets at NORCAP/Norwegian Refugee Council
• Oliver May: Consultant on risk in the humanitarian and development sector
• Sindhy Obias: Executive Director of the Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD)
• Dr. Kathryn Taetzsch: World Vision International's Senior Director, Global Humanitarian and Development Capacity and Capabilities
• Lydiah Wangechi: Regional Director at GiveDirectly

Series host:

• Karen Peachey: Former Director of the CALP Network.

Series episodes:
3.2. How do we make change happen?
3.3: How to turn an idea into reality? 3 Ps: Policies, processes, and partnerships
3.4: Money Matters! Funding for CVA.
3.5: Risk: it’s inevitable – so what do we do about it?
3.6: Scaling-up the use of CVASubscribe now and never miss an episode.

This episode explores the journey of an organization that has embraced cash assistance as a core approach from its inception. It discusses the benefits and challenges associated with starting with a cash-centric mindset and examines the role of evidence, partnerships, and addressing fraud in scaling up CVA programmes.

This episode features insights from:

· Lydiah Wangechi: Regional Director at GiveDirectly

· Sindhy Obias: Executive Director of the Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD)

Key themes explored in this episode:

· The value of a strong emphasis on research and evidence in establishing credibility and building confidence in cash assistance.

· The importance of close collaboration with governments, moving beyond seeking approvals to establishing true partnerships.

· The need to address skepticism and build trust among communities who may be unfamiliar with unconditional cash transfers.

· Contextual factors that have helped y increased familiarity and acceptance of cash transfers.

· The challenges of expanding programmes geographically, particularly in areas with limited infrastructure and connectivity.

· The importance of ensuring robust systems and processes to mitigate the risk of fraud, particularly as organisations grow.
· The importance of transparency and sharing lessons learned from challenges such as fraud cases.

Listen in to discover the lessons learned and ongoing challenges faced by an organisation fully committed to the use of cash its inception , and how this contributes to scaling up the use of cash in development and humanitarian settings.

En este episodio exploramos junto a expertos en el tema, cuáles son los desafíos existentes, además de las oportunidades e innovaciones necesarias para que la implementación de los programas de transferencias monetarias (PTM) respondan a las necesidades de las personas en movimiento en la región de las Américas.
Ante este contexto, en este episodio de CashCast nuestro panel de expertos explora una serie de preguntas, que incluyen:

• ¿Cuáles son las soluciones que deben buscar los practicantes humanitarios sobre la combinación de estos dos temas: programas de transferencias monetarias y movilidad humana?
• ¿Cómo las necesidades específicas de las personas en movilidad pueden potenciar la implementación efectiva de los PTM?
• ¿Cuáles son los cambios que debemos ver en el sector humanitario para trascender del uso de las transferencias multipropósito y mejorar el capital de las personas vulnerables?

El anfitrión e invitados son:

• Holly Welcome Radice (anfitriona) – Representante regional – Américas, de la CALP Network.
• Paula Gil Baizan – Consultora independiente.
• Diego Prado - Representante regional adjunto – Américas, de la CALP Network.

¡Le invitamos a escuchar esta fascinante y profunda conversación!

La idea para este episodio de CashCast surgió de nuestro reciente estudio, “¿Los PTM pueden alcanzar a las personas en movimiento? Análisis de los programas de transferencias monetarias en contextos de movilidad humana en las Américas”, comisionado por la CALP Network. Para ampliar más sobre este tema le invitamos a explorar los recursos relacionados a este estudio.

In this episode we explore with experts the topic of humanitarian responses in contexts of human mobility. We discuss the challenges as well as the opportunities and innovations that exist when it comes toto effectively delivering recipient centered CVA in the Americas.
Given this context, this episode of CashCast our panel of experts explores a series of questions, including:

• What are the problems that Cash and Voucher Assistance actors should be resolving around human mobility?
• How can we start to consider different populations according to their distinctive attributes, so that we can provide the most effective solutions?
• What changes are needed in the way that CVA is delivered so that interventions do not inadvertently increase the vulnerability of people on the move?

The host and guests are:

• Holly Welcome Radice (host) – Regional Representative – Americas, the CALP Network.
• Paula Gil Baizan – Independent consultant.
• Lucia Steinberg - Global Cash and Voucher Assistance specialist – Danish Refugee Council.

We invite you to listen in on this fascinating and in-depth conversation.

The idea for this episode of the CashCast emerged from this recent study People are on the move: can the world of CVA keep up? Analysis of the use of CVA in the context of human mobility in the Americas, commissioned by the CALP Network. To learn even more take a look at the study and associated resources (theseinclude a blog post and a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the main findings of the study).

This episode is published along with a Spanish episode that explores this same topic.

The CashCast is an occasional podcast from the CALP Network that looks in depth at the critical debates in humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA).

Tech brings new opportunities, risks, and dilemmas. Could the combination of technology and cash bring transformative change and finally make aid more people-centered? What are the risks and what are the opportunities?

Host: Karen Peachey
Guests: Laura Walker and Chris Hoffman