What questions could I ask in my branch?
The first step to strengthen a branch is often for a group of people in the branch to start asking themselves questions and discussing the different responses. Here are some ideas of questions that might help to understand the branch better, and where it is going:
Humanitarian needs
What are the humanitarian needs in our branch?
How well are we addressing these humanitarian needs?
How do vulnerable people perceive our branch?
Branch relationships
What are the key relationships for our branch?
How well do we listen to and engage people from across our community in our branch?
How well do we learn from other parts of the National Society and from other organisations?
Branch strengths
What does our branch do really well? What makes us proud of what we do?
What could other branches learn from us?
How could we build on what we are good at?
Branch people
What motivates people to join our branch?
Are there barriers for some groups or parts of the community to join our branch?
How do we make sure that everyone in the branch has their voice heard?
Challenges
What are the main challenges that we are facing?
What can we do about these challenges with the resources we already have?
What challenges might need support from other parts of the National Society or other partners?
Tools for comprehensive assessment
Branch Organisational Capacity Assessment (BOCA) could be used to conduct a comprehensive assessment.