The ECB initiatives

Staff Capacity

The IWG agencies have recognized that their most valuable resources in responding to and preparing for emergencies are their local and international staff. Through the ECB Staff Capacity Initiative, they are working to improve the speed and quality of emergency response through better trained and more rapidly deployed staff. Field- and headquarter-level exchange visits with human resources and program staff at the seven agencies yielded a study of promising practices and common challenges, and studies have been published into key staffing issues such as staff satisfaction and retention, and the causes and consequences of high levels of staff turnover. Pilot Projects have explored the use of HR Metrics and benchmarking, National Staff Development, Building Trust in Diverse Teams and the use of Simulations to improve emergency staffing.

Accountability and Impact Measurement

Many principles and standards now exist for humanitarian accountability now exist, and through the ECB Accountability and Impact Measurement Initiative, the IWG agencies are working to ensure that their commitments in this area translate into changed practice in the field. This focus is inspired by the “good enough” approach: doing what is safe, essential, quick and simple in complex emergency situations, to ensure that staff take some initial, practical steps towards accountability to disaster-affected people, summarized in ‘Impact Measurement and Accountability in Emergencies: The Good Enough Guide’, a handbook for practitioners available through Oxfam Publishing. To promote and strengthen good practice on accountability and impact measurement within the IWG agencies, a standing team has been formed. This team has supported joint evaluations of emergency responses by these agencies, and findings about the process and benefits of doing multi-agency evaluations have been published.

Disaster Risk Reduction

Recognizing that risk reduction activities have a more profound effect than short-term relief efforts, the ECB Risk Reduction Initiative has supported the exploration of risk reduction models in three pilot countries - Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Indonesia - with the objective of helping communities reduce their vulnerability to disasters. The Initiative is also supporting inter- and intra-agency cohesion and collaboration on risk reduction, and building links beyond the IWG agencies, such as with the new Global NGO Platform under development by the UNISDR. Findings from the three pilots, along with a useful Overview Report, have been published.

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