Index
The Community Trust Index
The Community Trust Index, an evidence-based tool designed to measure and cultivate trust between humanitarian organizations and the communities they serve, owes its success to the collaboration and dedication of National Societies.
Initiated in 2022, the Community Trust Index is spearheaded by the CEA team, working hand in hand with National Societies from each country. The ownership and implementation of the national survey and its results lie squarely with the National Societies themselves. The development of the Community Trust Index, primarily focused on assessing community trust towards Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, was made possible through cognitive research on Trust in Argentina, Azerbaijan, and Argentina. Special thanks are extended to the National Societies for their participation in the design and pilot phases, which were instrumental in refining the tool’s effectiveness. The pilots were conducted in Zambia and Argentina, marking crucial steps towards enhancing our understanding of community trust dynamics and improving humanitarian response strategies.
Methodology Note
(Coming soon)
Community Trust Index

Our modules
Institutional Trust
Understanding the complex relationship between competencies and values is paramount to building trust with communities. The Institutional module seeks to measure this relationship by providing an analytical framework for assessing and improving levels of trust within various sub-dimensions. This module operates on a two-axis framework, anchoring its assessment in competencies and values. Competencies encompass the efficiency, skills and abilities demonstrated by the organisation and it's staff, while values describe the perception of ethics and integrity upheld in their actions and decisions with communities.
- Competencies
- Values
To evaluate the perceived ability that the organisation provides support in a timely manner.
To evaluate the perceived ability that the organisation provides support in a timely manner.
To evaluate how well the organisation is perceived as being knowledgeable of the community needs.
To assess the perception of the organisation as accessible and welcoming to the community
To evaluate the perception of the organisation's approachability specially when it comes to making a complaint.
To evaluate the perception of the NS ability to provide quality information to the community
To evaluate the perception of the NS effectiveness in providing the right kinds of aid and assistance to the target communities it supports
To evaluate the perception of the organisation's fairness in providing support.
To evaluate the perception of the organisation intention to do good to the people it supports.
To evaluate the perception of the organisation seeks the opinions of local communities when making decisions about the support programmes.
To evaluate the perception of the organisation's transparency to report issues publicly.
To evaluate the perception of the organisation's political neutrality
To evaluate the perception of the organisation's accountability to both those we seek to assist and to those from whom we accept resources.
To evaluate the perception to uphold of humanity principle.
To evaluate the perception of the organisation action is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind.
Understanding The Community Trust Index Analytical Framework
The Community Trust Index, developed by the IFRC Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Unit, is an evidence-based tool to measure and enhance trust between humanitarian organizations and the communities they serve. The Community Trust Index is measured through Competencies and Values.