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Livelihood Advisory

CIG is a recognised leader in the field of livelihood advisory, drawing on our wealth of global experience and expertise to inform a profound understanding of the impacts that projects have on people’s livelihoods.

Our advisory services are designed to enhance our clients’ capacity from the outset, equipping them to develop projects that prevent the displacement of people and safeguard access to vital resources essential for livelihoods. In situations where displacement is unavoidable, we guide our clients in formulating people-centred strategies that establish the necessary conditions for sustainable livelihoods and are delivered through effective partnerships. Our approach to Livelihood Restoration Planning (LRP) prioritises the wellbeing of those impacted by a project or programme, through ongoing dialogue and agreement-making with them.

Our approach is realistic and practical and is founded upon the utmost respect for human rights.

CIG’s advisory services cover each phase of project development and livelihoods re-establishment. We focus on building our clients’ in-house capacity so that they can undertake the following tasks:

Project Design Phase

  • Displacement Analysis: Assess likely displacement scale of the Project, analysing risks to livelihoods, human rights, and post-displacement livelihood restoration.
  • Strategic Planning: Plan timing, resources, and skills for all restoration phases when avoiding displacement isn’t possible.

Planning Phase for Livelihoods Re-establishment

  • Continuous Community Involvement: Establish an ongoing community dialogue process.
  • Grievance Redress Mechanism: Design an effective mechanism to address concerns.
  • Socio-Economic Survey: Design a survey to compare pre- and post- displacement living standards, and to measure what matters to affected people while considering the evolving challenges posed by climate change.
  • Social Impact Assessment: Develop Terms of Reference guiding decisions to prevent and minimise displacement—this will influence the engineering design of the Project.
  • Livelihood Restoration Plan: Develop an LRP that incorporates agreed-upon mitigation measures and re-establishment programmes, in collaboration with affected people.

Preparation for Implementation

  • Household Agreements: Facilitate agreements with each impacted household, outlining commitments from both the Project and households for livelihoods support.
  • Partner Capacity Plan: Assess and enhance implementing partners’ capabilities through a targeted capacity-building plan.
  • Resource and Upskilling: Evaluate resources and plan team upskilling for effective programme implementation, compensation payments, and household monitoring.
  • Monitoring and Evaluation: Design an M&E system to track programme performance and progress in creating favourable conditions for livelihoods.

Implementation Phase

  • Continuous Monitoring: Participatory monitoring of activities and outcomes. Adapt strategies in response to evolving circumstances. Ensure compliance where applicable.

Close-Out Phase

  • Third-Party Audit Readiness: Prepare for third-party close-out audits. Demonstrate fulfilment of all commitments in agreements with affected people and in the LRP, and the successful restoration of livelihoods.

Learn more in our Livelihood Advisory brochure.