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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042149/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document reviews disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), orchestrated between 2005 and 2010 by 5 NGOs: ActionAid, Christian Aid, Plan International, Practical Action, and Tearfund. It discusses best practices for building capacities for community-based DRR. This review is divided into four sections, each outlining a major theme. In the first section the authors stress the importance of setting priorities while understanding limitations. They point to difficulties balancing between meeting collective community needs while targeting the most vulnerable. They also discuss differences in expectations between agencies and the communities they serve, and the potential loss of credibility. The second section places emphasis on participatory vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCA), and their importance in setting the context for community-based DRR. Through this process communities and agencies develop a shared understanding of the risks they face, thus establishing a common ground for building a culture of prevention. The third theme is scaling up community-based DRR. In order to scale up these initiatives, projects must be designed appropriately from the beginning. This means careful program development through piloting, which may include linking community-based DRR to other everyday community concerns such as livelihoods and education. The final section discusses governance, and the significant gaps that exist between national policy and implementation at the local level as a result of inadequate training and lack of capacity. These themes and issues were identified as significant through interagency group discussion meetings, interviews with staff focused on DRR in each NGO, review of over 100 resources from the various projects such as evaluation reports, case studies, training manuals, research papers, etc. The conclusion offers a number of suggestions to improve community-based DRR. Primarily, the authors argue that analysis of community power relations must be a central component of this process. NGOs must identify the vulnerable and empower them through their incorporation in the design and implementation of DRR initiatives. This means shifting from a centralized process of project management towards a people-centric process. The authors believe that simpler tools for DRR need to be developed that can more readily be incorporated into community development led by local communities. Where there are factors that NGOs cannot directly address, they may have to direct their efforts towards advocacy and lobbying. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Twigg, J., Bottomley, H. (2011). Disaster risk reduction NGO inter-agency group learning review. ActionAid, Christian Aid, Plan International, Practical Action, Tearfund.
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