The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children will be releasing 
a livelihoods handbook in early 2009 aimed at practitioners working with 
conflict-affected women and youth. Our aim is to assist the field in 
implementing more effective market-driven economic programs. We'd love 
to work with you to make this happen.

A number of researchers have prepared draft chapters, drawing on 
available experience of best field practice in implementing livelihoods 
interventions for displaced women, youth, older persons and individuals 
with disabilities. We are aware, however, that we would benefit from 
much more experience and learning.

The Commission would be most grateful if you could help contribute to 
our understanding by contacting us if:

• your agency has experience designing/implementing/evaluating 
livelihoods interventions for refugees/IDPs
• you can direct us to online sources of information about your agency's 
livelihoods-based projects
• you have case studies you are willing to share for possible inclusion 
in the handbook as program examples (case studies would include: program 
objectives, brief implementation strategy, target beneficiaries, 
outcomes and any further follow-up evaluations on longer-term impact)

It would be greatly appreciated if you could share with the Women's 
Commission any in-house material which is not in the public domain. We 
would, of course, seek your approval of any text we might propose to 
use, as well as whatever form of acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement you 
would prefer.

Would it be possible to briefly answer these questions?

• What are the key lessons your agency has learned from livelihoods 
programs for displaced people?
• What advice would you give to agencies considering a livelihoods 
intervention in a displacement context?

Would you be able to provide more information to our researchers—either 
by email or by phone? If so, how should they reach you?

If you are able to provide more information to our researchers, we would 
be most grateful. The two consultants working with us on this initiative 
are Jenny Reid Austin—who is US-based—and Tim Morris—based in the UK. 
Their email addresses are: [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask], 
respectively.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information about the 
handbook.

With best wishes and many thanks,

Dale Buscher
Director of Protection
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168, USA
Tel: +1 212 551-3115/3000
Email: [log in to unmask]


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