Training Resources and Capacity Strengthening

This section compiles a curated selection of online courses on Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), encompassing foundational concepts as well as advanced topics including digital payments, social protection, market assessments, livelihoods, anticipatory action, and disaster risk management. By sharing these learning opportunities, the Asia-Pacific Regional Cash Working Group (RCWG) seeks to enhance the capacity of practitioners, foster alignment with harmonized standards, and contribute to more inclusive, timely, and effective cash-based interventions across all phases of the disaster risk reduction and management cycle. Partners are encouraged to utilize and disseminate these resources as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen a shared community of practice in the region and beyond.

Cash and Voucher Assistance – The Fundamentals

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). Self-paced introductory course covering key CVA terminology, principles, and the project cycle. Designed for beginners in humanitarian cash assistance. Offers a certificate upon completion. The course is free.

Humanitarian Cash Transfers (HCT) – Online Training

Offered by UNICEF, available on Agora (UNICEF Learning Portal). UNICEF’s foundational e-learning on using cash transfers in humanitarian response. The course is free.

Introduction to Cash and Voucher Assistance

Offered by IOM & DisasterReady, available at DisasterReady.org. A short online course introducing CVA as an effective, context-appropriate modality for humanitarian aid. The course is free.

Introduction to Cash Transfer Programming (CTP)

Offered by the IFRC, available on the IFRC Learning Platform. Entry-level self- paced course (approx. 2 hours) based on IFRC guidelines for cash transfer programming. Available to Red Cross/Red Crescent staff and anyone via IFRC’s Open Learning (registration required). The course is free.

Core CVA Skills for Programme Staff (Online)

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya. A comprehensive 12-week online facilitated course covering the full project cycle for cash programs. Targets program managers/officers and technical specialists designing or overseeing CVA. Free to join; a certificate is awarded upon completing all modules and workshops in a scheduled cohort. The course is free.

Certification in Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA

Developed by International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) (with CALP), and has PHAP Certification (Online Assessment). A professional certification program covering essential CVA knowledge and skills. Course is free but certification exam has a fee.

Linking Humanitarian CVA with Social Protection

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). A 4–5 hour self-paced course on connecting Humanitarian cash assistance with national social protection systems. Split into Part 1 and Part 2, with a certificate awarded upon completing both. The course is free.

What is Social Protection? (micro-Course)

Offered by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) & International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), and available at socialprotection.org. A brief (2-hour) introduction to social protection concepts and system. The course is free.

Inclusive Social Protection: Making the Case

Offered by Irish Aid and available at socialprotection.org. A more in-depth course (approximately 10 weeks, tutored) exploring how to design inclusive national social protection programs. To be confirmed (TBC) if new cohort becomes available.

Livelihoods and Cash Transfer Programming (Comprehensive)

Developed by the IFRC Livelihoods Resource Centre & Spanish Red Cross. A blended training Program combining livelihoods programming with cash transfer modalities. The course is free.

Cash for Work (CfW)

Developed by IOM and available at DisasterReady.org. A short online course focused on Cash-for-Work programs as a form of livelihood support. It outlines key criteria and steps for implementing CfW interventions, where participants are paid in cash for labor (such as community infrastructure projects). The course is free.

A Practical Guide to Market Analysis in Humanitarian response

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). A three-to-four-hour online course designed to provide future humanitarian market assessment team members with a solid understanding of theory and steps of market assessments so that they can join assessment teams prepared with a basic understanding of what they will be doing and why. The course is free.

Market-Based Programming in Emergencies

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). This new online course aims to simplify and demystify market-based programming in emergencies by covering how to map, analyse, design, and monitor market-friendly programmes through the project cycle. The course is free.

MEB, Gap Analysis and Calculating the Transfer Value

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). This course will introduce you to the minimum expenditure basket (MEB), gap analysis and addresses how to calculate transfer values. The course is free

Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) in humanitarian coordination

Offered by UNICEF. Learn how to support CVA coordination in clusters to ensure a more flexible, dignified, market-friendly, efficient & effective response. It explains information needs for including cash in cluster plans, how to coordinate CVA across sectors, and ways to increase the use of cash by cluster partners. The course is free.

Coordinating multi-sector Cash and Voucher Assistance

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). This scenario-based course takes around 2 hours to complete and allows learners to practice using their Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) knowledge and skills in a programmatic setting. The course is free

Core CVA Skills for Donors

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). The CALP Network have developed CVA training for donor staff. Donors can take any of the six modules to better understand how to integrate CVA into ways of working. The course is free

Disability Inclusive CVA

Offered by the CALP Network, available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). The Disability Inclusive CVA e-learning which we developed in collaboration with CBM Global and the support of the African Disability Forum. This course will introduce you to disability inclusive Cash and Voucher Assistance and is designed for those who are involved in the management, design and implementation of CVA programmes. The course is free

The Remote Cash Course

This course was created by NRC, posted to this site by CaLP, and available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). This course is for any humanitarian staff who may be involved in delivering cash remotely. It is designed for partner and field staff in hard to reach areas where sticking to normal best practice is impossible. The course is free.

How to Integrate Cash Assistance into GBV Case Management

Following the launch of UNFPA's Guidance on How to Design and Set Up Cash Assistance in Gender-Based Violence Case Management, UNFPA has launched an e-learning course on the integration of cash assistance into GBV case management. The online, self-paced course is open to both UN personnel and non-UN personnel and takes around 3-5 hours to complete. The course is free.

Why Data Rights Matter

This course was developed by Oxfam and will give you an overview of why Data Rights is so important to humanitarian and development work. Available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). The course is free. 

Digitising Humanitarian and Social Assistance

Developed by the Digital Frontiers Institute, this is a 6-week online course introducing the use of digital payment technologies (e.g. mobile money, e-vouchers, prepaid cards) in humanitarian and social assistance programs. The course is free.

Anticipatory Action – Acting Before a Crisis

Offered by the IFRC, available on the IFRC Learning Platform. A new online course (≈75 minutes) covering essential competencies for anticipatory humanitarian action. Participants learn to design early action protocols, assess risks, and understand financing for AA, including the role of cash distributions before disasters. The course is free

Developing an Anticipatory Action System

Offered by the FAO, available on the FAO eLearning Academy. A comprehensive 3.5- hour e-learning course guiding learners through all steps of creating an anticipatory action system. Using food security and agriculture contexts, it covers prioritizing hazards, setting up early warning triggers, designing anticipatory interventions, and impact analysis. The course is free

Course 1. Foundations of anticipatory action

Part of Anticipation Hub learning modules. Learn the basics of anticipatory action through a concise yet comprehensive introduction, explaining what it adds to existing approaches. From understanding the fundamentals to grasping practical applications, Foundations lays the groundwork for what's to come by exploring case studies from different places and contexts around the world. (4 x 45 minute modules). The course is free

Course 2. Getting ready for anticipatory action

These modules delve deeper into the practicalities of anticipatory action. Through practical exercises and real-life scenarios, you will begin to develop the skills needed to implement anticipatory action in cooperation with key actors and communities (5 x 5-hour modules). The course is free

Anticipatory Action #1: Introduction to Gender Responsive & Locally Led Anticipatory Action

Developed by CARE. This course provides a basic understanding of Anticipatory Action, its role in the Disaster Risk Management Cycle, and its connections to resilience building. It identifies the key components that make up Anticipatory Action and explains what Gender-Responsive and Locally Led Anticipatory Action is, as well as its importance in reducing the impact of various disasters.

Anticipatory Action #2: Gender Responsive & Locally Led Anticipatory Action in Practice

Developed by CARE. This course will explore the three key components of Anticipatory Action: triggers, early action, and pre-arranged financing, along with MEAL for Anticipatory Action. It provides recommendations and examples to ensure these components are Gender-Responsive and Locally Led.

Introduction to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) (Self-paced)

Developed by the World Bank and available at the Open Learning Campus. This introductory course familiarizes development practitioners with contemporary concepts and practices in disaster management and discusses the paradigm shift from re-active to pro-active approaches in this cross cutting field of development. This course is free

Global Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Pathway

Developed and available on available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). This Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) course has been designed to provide an in-depth overview of DRRM to humanitarian professionals interested in expanding their knowledge on DRRM. This course is free.

Community-Based Disaster Risk Management

Developed by World Vision International (WVI) and available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). In this course, you will learn more about key community-level tools for disaster risk management (DRM), including hazard prioritization, risk analysis, contingency planning and scenario building. You will have opportunities to practice using these tools to support communities on their resilience pathways. This course is free

Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Course

Developed by CBM Global Disability Inclusion and UNDRR, and available on Kaya (Humanitarian Leadership Academy). The Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) e-Learning Course is an innovative, scenario-based training program designed to bridge critical gaps in disaster risk reduction (DRR) practices by ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities. This course is free.

Risk Analysis in Disaster Risk Financing (DRF)

Developed by the Start Network. This self-guided course will follow up on the knowledge gained from the pre-request course “Introduction to Disaster Risk Financing (DRF)” to build the knowledge on the 2nd pillar which is Risk Analytics after understanding the 1st pillar which was Contingency plan. It is divided into two units to: define risk analytics, its importance, and components; then the process to build the model and importance of using dynamic risk monitors. This is all as according to Start Ready Building Blocks framework. This course is free