A feminist perspective on trauma-informed project management

Many NGOs and charities across the world run projects that work with and alongside individuals and communities in crisis. For example, NGOs running projects in war zones, natural disasters or other catastrophic events, or working with people who have experienced violence, abuse or cruelty from others.

However, within mainstream project management practise there is often little space given to thinking about how we manage and lead projects that can involve working with trauma. In this post, we explore how Feminist Project Management (FPM) intentionally supports designing and managing projects to centre trauma-informed practices, and offer some tips for how to incorporate it into your practice.

A trauma-informed approach

A trauma-informed approach gives space to recognising how trauma can impact and show up in people's lives, equips individuals and organisations to help respond to the impact trauma can have, and reframes responses to trauma and coping as normal and understandable to assist the person or community to heal and grow. 

In recent years, there has been growing attention within service delivery to what it means to work with those who have experienced trauma, and in response many organisations are adopting trauma-informed approaches. Despite this, these conversations are yet to reach project management.

Often see as a neutral framework that offers us an outline for how to run a project from start to finish, in our earlier learning brief on feminist project management we noted that: 

There is a pressing need for all project managers and those leading projects to be mindful that project management is not neutral. Trauma can not only exist within the projects we run, but can also be reinforced through processes, procedures and working practices. This means that whilst we can have the best of intentions for our projects and meticulously plan them to every last detail, those working as part of the project or who are the beneficiaries of it, can still be harmed. Therefore, as part of FPM, we advocate for ways of managing projects that actively avoid re-traumatising those we are working with and for, by using an approach that incorporates a trauma-informed lens. 

How to be trauma-informed when managing projects

1. Acknowledge points where trauma is present or could occur within the project 

The first step in taking a trauma-informed approach is to acknowledge initially within the project you are running in what kinds of ways trauma may show up, both for staff and any project beneficiaries. Within a project there are different roles and ways that we may come across trauma. For example, there could be first hand work with survivors of trauma (e.g. interviews), as well as reading and writing about their experiences. Depending upon our unique backgrounds we may respond to this differently, particularly taking into account the gendered and racialised ways we experience the world. There is also the lived experience that staff, volunteers or others may bring to the project and their ongoing experiences, as well as considering trauma that may occur as part of the project. For example, unhealthy communication practices or working in oppressive organisations. Reflecting on where trauma might show up in your project is key. 

Questions for practise:

• Where is the potential for trauma to occur on this project? Consider first hand work, reading, writing, analysing data, group discussions, as well as the wider context of the project. 

• How might this change as the project progresses? Remember to continuously reflect on this throughout the project, especially in response to current affairs and the socio-political context.

• How might staff, volunteers and beneficiaries of the project have experienced trauma? How might this affect their wellbeing on the project? 

• How might experiences of trauma influence involvement in the project?

2. Ensure awareness of trauma & explicitly highlight the impact of it 

This could look like training at the outset of a project around compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma, or workshops around the experiences of beneficiaries to help staff understand their perspectives if they do not have lived experience or will not be working directly with service users. It can be helpful to acknowledge how people may feel or what may happen as the project progresses. The more you talk about what is ‘usual or normal’ to feel or experience during the project, the more the team will feel able to voice their experiences or feelings (e.g. acknowledging at the start that it’s highly probable that there will be survivors of abuse in the room and there is potential for the content on the project to be upsetting). Those managing projects should equip themselves with a good understanding of trauma, even if time or budgetary requirements do not allow for further team training. 

Questions for practise:

• What is the current level of knowledge on trauma within the project team and at individual level? 

• What kind of training or raising awareness could you put in place, if relevant? Who might provide this? Look for organisations that are by and for those communities to deliver training.

3. Outline support for project staff 

It is crucial to detail opportunities or resources for support to project staff and beneficiaries. Resources for support should not only recognise the impact of trauma and normalise help seeking, but also provide details of where people can go for support. Furthermore, be aware that (seeking) support can look different for different people, therefore try to accommodate or refer to different types of support. Outlining support may look different for different types of projects, and it can include both internal as well as external support resources. 

Questions for practise:

• What kinds of support are on offer for those working on a project?

• Do you have a resource sheet for support? Are you including a wide range of resources, both in terms of different types of trauma (e.g. racism, domestic abuse, etc.) as well as different types of support (counselling services, support groups, online resources, etc.)?

• Does the organisation under which the project runs have support resources available internally?

4. Be constantly alive to the impact of trauma

Speaking about the impact of trauma regularly allows others to do the same and also contributes to normalising it. You can use project meetings to reflect about the impact of the project, use supervision or individual check ins and add wellbeing as an agenda point. Another example is using intentional debriefs after difficult or challenging experiences. Promoting a culture that supports staff wellbeing is important, this can include creating safer meeting spaces where staff can speak honestly, leadership that shows vulnerability, and managing workloads to ensure no one is overwhelmed. Particular attention should be paid to the planning phase of a project, checking for bottle necks and ensuring the pace feels realistic, building in time for self and collective care, and ensuring the plan incorporates time for annual leave and holidays. Be aware that sharing the emotional impact of a project can be difficult for a multitude of reasons and be sensitive if some do not want to share about this.

Questions for practise:

• Why might some spaces feel unsafe for certain staff members? How can you provide safer environments to make your meetings more inclusive?

• How can you bring in the concepts of collaboration, choice and empowerment?

• How can you structurally embed practices of self and collective care in projects?

5. Be aware it is not a checklist or a one-off action 

Adopting a trauma-informed, feminist approach to project management is not a checklist or a one-off action, but rather it is ensuring you are thinking about individuals and their varied experiences at every step of the way. It should be woven into the fabric of the project structure, pace, the facilitation, activities and methods, and support on offer. Within FPM we pay as much attention to the process as well as the progress of a project, and recognise there is no one size fits all way of managing projects. Instead, respond to the human challenges and needs of each individual project and its context. 

Questions for practise:

• In what ways are those on the project embodying feminist leadership principles while acknowledging and adapting to the unique contextual needs of individuals in the project?

• How do you ensure trauma-informed practices are centralised in each phase of a project?

• How are you taking into account the potential to experience trauma at every stage of a project? Is there space built in to continually reflect on how this is going?

Concluding

It’s important to recognize that this post does not provide an all-encompassing answer to how projects can best operate in a trauma-informed manner. If anything, this post tries to build a bridge between the day-to-day reality of managing projects in the realms of trauma. We believe that using a FPM approach can support in designing and managing projects that intentionally centre trauma-informed practices throughout a project. However, we also acknowledge that it can be hard and challenging, both in practical and emotional ways, and that care needs to be taken to also work from an inclusive, anti-oppressive standpoint that recognises a wide range of trauma. 

Some of us may already work in ways that combine trauma-informed and feminist practices. Others might find themselves longing to put this into practice more, but facing a multitude of barriers as we navigate the patriarchal societies we live and work in. We would love to hear and learn from other practitioners out there: about successful strategies and examples of where a project has implemented a trauma-informed approach, as well as the barriers and hardships you are facing. Please let us know in the comments below the post. 

Did this post make you want to explore more about FPM? Consider signing up for our Feminist Project Management Training Course starting in March 2024. For details visit: https://feministprojectmanagement.com/ 

Further exploration of trauma-informed practices

• Heinrich Böll Stiftung - trauma-informed project planning

• Simona Goldin & Debi Khasnabis - Trauma-Informed Practice Is a Powerful Tool. But It’s Also Incomplete

• SVRI - Trauma policy template

• SVRI - Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

• Thrive LDN - The gift of reconnection: trauma-informed practice training (free training on trauma-informed practices)