Checklist: Do No Harm
☐ Have you assessed political, digital, legal, and reputational risks, including potential unintended consequences, for all actors involved?
☐ Are visibility and communication requirements adapted to the local political and media context?
☐ Have you considered how funding structures may affect sustainability, incentives, and editorial independence?
☐ Are appropriate safety measures in place (physical, digital, legal, and psychosocial where relevant)?
☐ Are secure communication practices and data-minimisation approaches being used?
☐ Are compliance and reporting requirements proportionate to partner capacity and context?
☐ Have you taken steps to avoid influencing editorial content or undermining credibility and independence?
☐ Have you planned for how risks will be managed during and after the programme lifecycle?
☐ Are coordination and communication aligned across actors to avoid unintended exposure or mixed signals?
☐ Are risk-related decisions (e.g. visibility adjustments) explicitly documented and revisited over time?
☐ Is the intervention designed and implemented in line with human rights principles, including freedom of expression and access to information?
Common risk flags
Public visibility in politically sensitive or restrictive environments
Insecure communication or data handling practices
Short-term or fragmented funding with no continuity planning
Disproportionate reporting or compliance burdens
Donor requirements influencing editorial direction
Lack of coordination across donors or implementing actors
No exit strategy or transition planning
Insufficient anticipation of second-order effects or unintended consequences in programme design or implementation
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