Implementing Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector (FutureLearn)

Offered by The Open University,
Implementing Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector (FutureLearn)

Learn how to implement effective safeguarding measures in different programmatic contexts. Improve the safeguarding standards in your international aid organisation. Safeguarding is vital for protecting the children and vulnerable individuals that international aid organisations work with, as well as their staff and personnel from all forms of harm. This has also been identified as an area that needs strengthening in the international aid sector.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This free six-week course will help you consolidate your understanding of the causes of harm, abuse, and exploitation and learn how to implement improvements in your organisation’s safeguarding measures in different programmatic contexts.
Ultimately, the course will equip you with the skills and tools you need to effectively prevent, report, respond, and learn from implementing safeguarding in your work.
Understand the risks posed to safeguarding in the international aid sector
On the course, you’ll have the chance to examine the risks to safeguarding people that are commonly found in different areas of international aid work.
You’ll also get to evaluate the prevention mechanisms used to minimise these risks and consider how these processes could be strengthened.
Develop effective safeguarding procedures and learn improvements for reporting and responding to exploitation and abuse
The course covers appropriate responses to disclosures and survivor-centred referrals, complaints and whistleblower mechanisms, safe marketing and accountability.
Access safeguarding training from the experts at The Open University.
This course was co-created by senior academic safeguarding specialists from The Open University and an international human rights and safeguarding expert who has worked with several international aid and humanitarian agencies.
The course material was developed with advice from BOND, CHS Alliance, and the learner community and reviewed by Safeguarding Leads in international agencies.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Identification
Week 3: Prevention
Week 4: Report and respond
Week 5: Improving accountability in safeguarding
Week 6: Learning and organisational culture

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Mitigate and prevent against safeguarding risks associated with programmatic and organisational practice.
  • Adapt existing tools using a safeguarding lens to implement activities that minimise harm to those who have direct and indirect contact with your organisation.
  • Respond to challenges of safeguarding concerns using a survivor-centred and ‘do no harm’ approach.
  • Support greater accountability and an organisational culture where safeguarding concerns are always reported and responded to appropriately.

Who is the course for?
This course is designed for all staff in development and humanitarian agencies. It will strengthen current individual and organisational knowledge and practice of safeguarding and support the career pathways for those aid workers who are looking to become safeguarding specialists.
This course is intended for those who are aged 18 years and above only.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Raising Funds for Your Startup (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Grenoble Ecole de Management

Raising Funds for Your Startup (FutureLearn)

Get to grips with the basics of funding a start up and understand the process of successful financing rounds. Almost all startups need external financing, but new entrepreneurs rarely have training in fundraising. On this course you will learn the basics of financing a start up, exploring how important financial backing is for success and how to attract and negotiate with investors.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
Arts, Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Aid (NAU) NAU
APECV

Arts, Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Aid (NAU)

Know more about Arts, Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Aid contexts to develop professional skills to design art projects for humanitarian emergencies. The MOOC "Arts, Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Aid" offers a 4 weeks training space dedicated to the different professionals of the humanitarian or artistic field concerned by artistic practices in humanitarian emergencies.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
When Disaster Meets Conflict (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

When Disaster Meets Conflict (Coursera)

This MOOC teaches you to develop accountable, high-quality and ethical responses to disaster in conflict-affected areas. The E-course is meant primarily for practitioners, but also open to students or otherwise interested people. It stimulates participants to think about humanitarian aid, DRR and disaster response in contexts where conflict is ongoing, lingering, or has characterized the setting in recent times, as well as about the hard choices and dilemmas faced by humanitarian actors in conflict settings.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Homeland Security & Cybersecurity Connection - It's Not About the Terrorists (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Homeland Security & Cybersecurity Connection - It's Not About the Terrorists (Coursera)

Welcome to Course 1 in CS4950, Homeland Security and Cybersecruity. In this course we examine the origins of homeland security and its co0nnection with cybersecurity. Homeland security is about safeguarding the United States from domestic catastrophic destruction. Catastrophic destruction comes in two forms: natural and manmade. For most of history the man-made variety came in the form of warfare and required the combined resources of a nation state. All that changed March 20th, 1995. On that date, members of a quasi-religious cult in Japan attacked the Tokyo subway system using Sarin gas. It was the first deployment of a weapon of mass destruction my a non-state actor.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
What Is Leadership? (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Deakin University

What Is Leadership? (FutureLearn)

Leadership is often misunderstood due to its complex nature. Learn what being a leader means and how you can practice leadership. Investigate leaders and leadership to improve your effectiveness as a leader. In this course, we look to answer the question: ‘What is leadership?’ In the first week we explore two fundamental perspectives on leadership: leader as a person and leadership as a practice. In the second week we examine the difference between leadership and management so you can determine whether you are a leader in a management role, a leader without a management role, or a manager who needs to become a leader.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Business Analytics Using Forecasting (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
National Tsing Hua University

Business Analytics Using Forecasting (FutureLearn)

Discover how business can harness the power of big data to make better predictive analysis. Learn how to use data to create powerful business forecasts. Organisations currently collect a vast quantity of data about suppliers, clients, employees, citizens, transactions, and much more. However, many are unaware of the predictive power this ‘big data’ has if anaylsed correctly. On this course, you’ll learn about forecasting using big data, exploring how it’s used by business as an important component of decision making.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Digital Skills: Web Analytics (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Accenture

Digital Skills: Web Analytics (FutureLearn)

Learn about the role of web analytics in business, the types of analytics and how to use different techniques. Explore the world of web analytics and develop skills to grow your career. What is web analytics? And why are web analytics important? With this course, you’ll explore some of the fundamentals of this increasingly popular skill and learn how to apply it to your own online business. You’ll begin by looking at the basics of web analysis, including the different types of analytics and what they’re used for, before exploring some key areas in more detail.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Starting a Business 2: People and Networks (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leeds

Starting a Business 2: People and Networks (FutureLearn)

Find out how working with people and exploring networks can help you take your business to the next level. A successful business relies heavily on people and networking. A good team and wider network are essential to success and growth. Whether you have an idea for a future venture or you already have a side-line business whilst studying, this course will help you to recognise the people who can help you take your business forward in both formal and informal business networks.

Self Paced
2 Weeks