Our competitive advantage is the inter-disciplinary nature of our backgrounds coupled with extensive field work, which provides a strong practical knowledge of international child rights, human rights and humanitarian laws and standards, and an appreciation for the efforts required to move beyond the elaboration of organisational policies and international norms to their implementation on the ground. We believe in an evidence-informed, participatory, appreciative, equitable, child- and young person-centric and rights-based approach to child protection based on collaborative, inter-sectoral relationships with child and young person partners, families, communities, civil society and the state. 

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Our approach emphasises:

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• Highly-contextualised understanding of the manner in which childhood/human development and child protection is constructed, understood and experienced in webs of social relations and diverse political, economic and socio-cultural contexts, and identifying strategic entry points for action;

• A participatory and appreciative approach to programme design and assessment that considers the resources and power of children and young people, families and local communities;

• An evidence-informed approach to programme design, learning and development; 

• Recognition of the agency and resilience of even the most vulnerable and marginalised children and young people in child-led and child--centred research and programme design;

• Rigorous adherence to ethical standards, including a code of conduct and child protection policy, as well as data protection and data sharing protocols;

• Comprehensive interventions and research that build child protection systems and support social change, both at the community level and with authorities;

• Results-based management, grounded in coherent theories of change and with clear, impact-driven indicators;

• A human rights-based approach to child protection, with an equity lens that focuses on the most marginalised children and young people;

• The establishment of relationships of mutual respect and learning by working collaboratively with colleagues, particularly local staff, who often have deeper understanding of the social context;

• The provision of technical support to authorities in harmonising national laws with international human rights norms, policies and standards; and

• The strengthening of institutional mechanisms that would assist at-risk children and young people and provide holistic solutions to complex problems, by enhancing inter-sectoral coordination among key actors and stakeholders.