Humanitarian Academy

Cash assistance

Cash Transfers in Humanitarian Action: From Feasibility to Monitoring

Cash, vouchers or in-kind: analyse markets, target, pay safely and monitor results.

  • 3 days · 18 hours
  • 3 levels · 3 certificates
  • 2 scenarios
  • Verifiable certificate
Start the course
  • Free, unlimited access
  • 3 one-day modules
  • 2 scenarios and 9 quiz questions
  • 3 graded case studies and 3 exams
  • Certificate in your name, verifiable online

What you will learn

  • Distinguish between the modalities (cash, vouchers, in-kind assistance) and the conditions under which each is appropriate.
  • Analyse feasibility: markets, risks, acceptance, delivery mechanisms.
  • Design and monitor a programme: targeting, transfer value, distribution, post-distribution monitoring and market monitoring.

Course information

Level
Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced (one certificate per level)
Study time
18 hours over 3 days (lessons, case studies, exercises)
Format
Online, at your own pace, free and unlimited access
Assessment
Per level: graded case study + 20-question exam (30 to 40 min, pass marks 70%, 75% and 80%)
Credential
Named, numbered certificate of achievement, verifiable online (QR code)
Reference frameworks
CALP Network · CALP Network · Sphere Association

💼 Food security and livelihoods jobs

Put this course into practice: the latest jobs in this field.

See all 52 Food security and livelihoods jobs →

Prepare for the written test and interviewA model written test in this field, interview questions with sample answers and the STAR method.See the model test →

A 3-level certification pathway

Progress from Beginner to Advanced. Each level ends with a graded case study and a timed exam, and leads to its own verifiable certificate.

Level 1Beginner

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 70% to pass

Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Distinguish cash, vouchers and in-kind aid, with their advantages.
  • Understand the role of markets in choosing the modality.
  • Know the minimum expenditure basket (MEB).
  1. Day1Understanding and designing a cash transfer programmeWhy cash transfers? · The modalities · Market analysis and feasibility · Setting the transfer value · Response analysis: the complete method, from assessment to choice of modality · Assessing markets in the field: tools, sampling and decision thresholds · Building the minimum expenditure basket and calculating the transfer value · Worked example: multipurpose programme for 4,800 displaced households in Saraba · Contextual variations, common mistakes and donor expectations · Interview questions and key references Scenario: Cash or food?
  2. Graded case study : Cash or food? Rural area after a drought · 20 questions including a case study · 70% to pass
Level 2Intermediate

Exam: 20 questions · 30 min · 75% to pass

Intermediate certificate · Opens after the Beginner certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Analyse feasibility (markets, risks, acceptance, protection).
  • Target households and set the transfer value.
  • Choose and contract a payment service provider.
  1. Day2Implementing, managing risks and monitoringTargeting and registration · Payments · Monitoring and accountability · Designing and conducting targeting: methods, errors and quality control · Registration, identity verification and responsible data management · Selecting, contracting and managing the payment service provider · Worked example: a mobile money payment cycle in Tamoro, from list to reconciliation · Post-distribution monitoring and accountability: sampling, indicators and complaints mechanism · Contextual variations, common mistakes and auditors' checkpoints · Interview questions and key references Scenario: Payment day
  2. Graded case study : Targeting and transfer value Urban neighbourhoods · 20 questions including a case study · 75% to pass
Level 3Advanced

Exam: 20 questions · 40 min · 80% to pass

Advanced certificate · Opens after the Intermediate certificate

By the end of this level, you will be able to:
  • Manage post-distribution monitoring and adjustments (prices, inflation).
  • Manage the risks of fraud, data protection and security.
  • Link humanitarian transfers with national social protection.
  1. Day3Advanced module Cash transfers at scale: risks, data and social protectionMonitoring markets and adjusting values · Risks: fraud, security, data · Towards social protection · Adjusting transfer values: indexation, inflation and exchange rate risks · Fraud, diversion and sanctions: a control system commensurate with scale · Data at scale: interoperability, requests from authorities and incidents · Linking humanitarian assistance with social protection: options, conditions and method · Worked example: 12,000 households in Kalandor, 30% inflation, fraud and transition · Contextual variations, common mistakes and expectations at scale · Interview questions and key references
  2. Graded case study : Inflation, fraud and data Programme reaching 12,000 households, month 6 · 20 questions including a case study · 80% to pass

Who is it for?

Food security, protection or shelter programme officers, cash officers, MEAL, finance and logistics staff involved in cash transfer programmes.

The certificate

With at least 70% correct answers in the final assessment, you receive a certificate in your name, with a unique code that recruiters can verify on Humanitaires Jobs. A free Humanitarian Network account is required.

Key concepts

The vocabulary you need to master for this course and the exam.

MPCA
Multipurpose cash assistance to cover several basic needs.
Minimum expenditure basket (MEB)
The monthly cost of a household's essential goods and services.
Conditionality
An action to be carried out in order to receive assistance (for example, sending a child to school).
Restriction
A limitation on the use of the assistance received (for example, food vouchers).
Mobile money
Payment by mobile phone through an operator and its agents.
Price monitoring
Regular recording of prices to adjust the value of transfers.
Payment reconciliation
Comparison of approved lists, payments and withdrawals.
rCSI
Reduced Coping Strategies Index, a food security indicator.

References and recommended reading

The official texts and sector reference works on which the course is based.

  1. CALP Network (2024). CALP Network library and standards (Cash Learning Partnership). www.calpnetwork.org/fr
  2. CALP Network (2017). Minimum Standard for Market Analysis (MISMA). www.calpnetwork.org
  3. Sphere Association (2018). The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. spherestandards.org/fr/manuel-2018
  4. CALP / Cash working groups (2019). Minimum Expenditure Basket: guidance document. www.calpnetwork.org