Blog

Standing Team Deployments to Bangladesh and Bolivia

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:30:58 +0000

Both the Bolivia and the Bangladesh consortia have requested deployments from the Accountability and Impact Measurement (AIM) Standing Team in late April 2012.

Using funds from The Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), each consortia will receive two to three Standing Team members to support them in the area of accountability and impact measurement.

Bolivia’s deployment, scheduled for April 16-28, will be an AIM training for ECB agency staff and UNOCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) staff. In Bangladesh, the deployment request for April 22-May 13 is to assess and document current agency practice in AIM by reviewing the Consortium Self-Assessment Survey (CSAS) data. In addition, the team may be deployed on an accountability-focused mission in West Africa with the global food security cluster.

Read more on the AIM Standing Team blog.

Book now! New deadline & reduced fees for staff capacity programs in Indonesia & Bangladesh

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:37:54 +0000

Expanding National Humanitarian Ability (ENHAnce) is an initiative to build the capacity of national staff in multiple agencies, implemented by the ECB Project. ENHAnce replicates the learning programmes which were successfully piloted by the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA) in 2011.

The application deadline has been extended for:

ENHAnce Bangladesh to Sunday 19th February 2012 ENHAnce Indonesia to Tuesday 28th February 2012

The participant charge has also been reduced to only 299 US Dollars per participant. A reduction of 199 USD for Core Skills and 499 USD for M&L Skills, thanks to a very generous financial contribution from Catholic Relief Services and Save the Children.

The Participant Charge is the only financial contribution which participants’ organisations are required to pay. Accommodation and meals during workshops are covered at no extra cost to the participants’ organisations.

There are two separate learning programmes:

Core Skills Development Programme: a 6-month on-the-job programme introducing the key concepts and skills of humanitarian programming Management & Leadership Skills Development Programme: a 9-month on-the-job programme for staff currently manage people, exploring key aspects of management and leadership in emergency situation

ENHAnce supports participants to learn through various methods including two 3 to 4 day workshops; 1-to-1 coaching sessions; self-directed learning; buddy groups and an emergency simulation.

How to apply

BANGLADESH: Click here to download an application pack for Bangladesh.
Please submit applications by email to Jacklin Rebeiro.
Applications close at: 17:00 (Bangladesh Time), Sunday 19th February 2012.

INDONESIA: Click here to download an application pack for Indonesia.
Please submit applications by email to Mariana Saragih.
Applications close at: 17:00 (Jakarta Time), Tuesday 28th February 2012.

ECB Bangladesh Accountability Workshop March 2012

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:33:51 +0000

The ECB Project Bangladesh consortium will hold an accountability workshop in Dhaka on 20 March 2012, supported by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

The Bangladesh consortium will use this as an opportunity to deploy the inter-agency accountability and impact measurement (AIM) Standing Team.

Formed in Phase I of the ECB Project, the AIM Standing Team supports improved accountability practices across ECB agencies, through field deployments to build capacity, collaboration and learning.

Members of the Standing Team will be deployed to help facilitate the workshop and provide support in the planning and design of the event.

Meanwhile accountability is on the agenda at the final ECBinter-active humanitarian learning event in Dhaka 28-29 February 2012.

Niger Consortium data collection for Joint Needs Assessment

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:16:22 +0000

ECB agencies in the Niger Consortium have completed the data collection component of the Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) which is currently ongoing in food insecure areas of the country.

Data inputting is being undertaken this week and a final JNA report is expected shortly afterwards.

The JNA is benefitting from technical collaboration with an Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) representative who is currently in country and supporting the process. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Food Programme (WFP) and Government officials are also supportive.

Indonesia Consortium holds simulation with 13 humanitarian agencies

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:30:40 +0000

The Indonesia consortium held a flood and earthquake simulation with the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA) on 31 January and 1 February 2012.

Mercy Corps lead the simulation, which was attended by 45 CBHA participants from 13 different agencies. These included Oxfam GB, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Save the Children, World Vision, CARE International, Action Against Hunger, Plan International, Islamic Relief Worldwide, International Medical Corps, Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB), Masyarakat Penanggulangan Bencana Indonesia (MPBI) and Médecins du Monde.

The ECB multi-agency simulation tool was used in an emergency response covering the first three weeks of the disasters.

The objectives of the simulation included:

To assess emergency preparedness and emergency response coordination processes. To test the use of skills and knowledge acquired by participants of CBHA and ENHAnce (Expanding National Humanitarian Ability) trainings. To test ECB tools such as Joint Need Assessments (JNA) and the Indonesia Disaster Response Engagement Protocols (DREP). To identify key gaps in emergency sectors, activities or tasks and produce a gap identification sheet.

Richard Jacquot of Mercy Corps who ran the Indonesia simulation, recently presented a simulations paper (in French) at ECBinter-active Niger. The paper outlines the reasoning behind the use of emergency simulations in the work of the ECB Project, and offers a helpful overview of the structuring of simulations and the advantages/problems associated with the use of simulations and the way in which they are run.

Good Enough Guide to Accountability now in Myanmar / Burmese

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:13:37 +0000

The Good Enough Guide to Impact Measurement and Accountability in Emergencies is now available in Myanmar / Burmese.

The ECB Project's flagship guide provides practical wisdom for the busy field worker on how to be accountable to disaster affected communities and measure program impact in an emergency.

The guide is available to browse online in English, French and Spanish, and is free to download as a PDF in 13 languages.

There are a range of Training and Communication Materials in six languages, as well as technical guidelines for downloading and adapting these materials, available in English, French and Spanish.

You can access Good Enough Guide downloads in our resources section.

Follow the live participant blog from ECBinter-active Horn of Africa

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:32:53 +0000

Follow our live participant blog from ECBinter-active Horn of Africa. The conference runs today and tomorrow with a lively and full agenda.

Here are some of the thought-provoking comments:

... Capacity and resources remain one of our greatest challenges with disaster. We need household items, education, clothes, but also we need support with accountability and feedback mechanisms.

Collaboration has developed around many common themes for example: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Emergencies, community-based preparedness and better communications with affected populations.

I do hope that we should continue to collaborate, it has been great work.

Raymond Kirungi, DRR Preparedness Officer, Ugandan Government

... Local and central governments face challenges with quanitfying the resource requirments for DRR. We are working with the office of the Prime Minister to achieve shared goals to prepare communities.

There is an opportunity to combine the expertise of NGOs and the government to find 'good enough' approaches that deal with the current crisis uncertainty in Uganda. We also need to work together to empower communities. They need approaches that are practical, implementable and simple enough to understand rather than intimidating.

Marten Myliu, Emergency Response Coordinator Oxfam (and DRR / PCVA advocate), lead for ECB Consortium, Uganda (Oxfam)

How do we ensure quality when their is such a rush to hire staff for an emegency and respond to the massive program delivery demands?

In terms of funding, we are in a situation where development funding is not flexible enough. Emergency Funding is too short term - only 3-4 months. This results in very high transaction costs. We need to face the paradox of a recurrent crisis in a rapidly evolving environment...

Astrid de Valon

ECBinter-active Horn of Africa begins tomorrow as latest Secondary Data Review published

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:03:59 +0000

The latest secondary data review for the Horn of Africa is now available, prepared by the ECB Project and The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS).

Based on secondary data review, available assessment reports and consultation with key field staff, it provides an update (23 September – December 15, 2011) of the current situation in Eastern Africa.

This latest report will form part of the discussions at the ECBinter-active conference in Uganda which runs tomorrow and Thursday, 1-2 February 2012.

Most affected areas

Somalia:

Drought and conflict affected areas of Somalia, especially the three areas where famine conditions persist in Middle Shabelle and among internally displaced person (IDP) settlements in Mogadishu and Afgoye. Areas in southern Somalia where short term and local displacement is anticipated (Bakool, Hiraan, Gedo, Lower Juba, Bossaso, Gallkacyo). Flood affected areas of Kenya (western Kenya, areas around Lake Victoria, Nairobi, Isiolo and parts of the Coast), Somalia (areas around the Juba River Basin – Gedo and Lower Juba) and Ethiopia (Ethiopian Highlands)

Kenya and Ethiopia:

Dadaab refugee camps with surrounding areas. Dollo Ado refugee camps and surrounding areas.

For further details of ECBinter-active Horn of Africa please see the agenda.

Updated agenda for ECBinter-active Uganda online now

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:04:19 +0000

The updated agenda for next Wednesday's ECBinter-active humanitarian conference in Uganda is now online, with some great things in store for participants.

The theme of the two day event, 1 and 2 February 2012, is Strengthening the links between people and processes in emergency response: the ECB experience.

The lively interactive program includes multiple insights into humanitarian partnership working in the Horn of Africa region including:

An official welcome from Stuart Katkwirize, World Vision East Africa’s Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Director Focus on Uganda Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Collaboration with Government: The Ugandan experience

Other subjects to be explored include:

People-centred accountability and the Good Enough Guide Staff capacity and Staff Retention Study System failure Flexibility with donors Work with The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) The Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA) Training The work of World Vision, Oxfam, Save the Children, CRS and CARE in the region.

There is still time to register for a free place and please read about the other conferences in the ECBinter-active series. Our final conference is in Bangladesh 28 and 29 February.

Bangladesh Joint Needs Assessment Reports Published

Elizabeth — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:58:23 +0000

The ECB Project in collaboration with The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) has published a range of new Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) reports on the emergency situation in Bangladesh.

These include:

Secondary Data Review July-August 2011 which focuses specifically on the impact of the water logging in Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore Districts. Coordinated Assessment Report on Flooding & Prolonged Water-logging in South West Bangladesh. Lessons Learned from the multi-agency, multi-sector assessment of water-logging in South-west Bangladesh. Scoping Study on Coordinated Approaches to Needs Assessments in Bangladesh.

The reports present a thorough picture of the situation in Bangladesh, making important observations. For example, that relief distributions at the time of data collection were under-coordinated, inconsistent and had generally targeted easier-to-reach areas.

Follow the link to access all our resources on Bangladesh.

ECB Project agency self-assessment January & February 2012

Elizabeth — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:39:01 +0000

Systematic self-assessment using structured on-line questionnaires is a key part of the ECB Project’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.

It provides an important opportunity for ECB to evaluate progress so that its six agencies can adjust and focus capacity building activities towards the achievement of their goals.

The ECB Project has already had two successful self assessment completions in 2010 and 2011. The 2012 self-assessment is now being implemented January 16 through to February 29, led by the ECB Project's M&E Specialist Dr Kwame Boate.

Follow the live Niger ECB inter-active blog

Andrea Stewart — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:28:11 +0000

LIVE: If you'd like to know more about our ECB inter-active conference in Niamey, Niger - please visit the bog space to read comments from the conference delegates and participants - in French only.

EN DIRECT : So vous voulez savoir plus sur notre événement ECB interactive à Niamey, Niger, merci de visiter le page 'blog' avec les commentaires des participants / délègue de l'événement.

Simulations paper presented today at ECBinter-active Niger

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:59:51 +0000

Simulations: A Tool for Learning and Preparedness Emergency Response

A paper presented by Moctar Hamidou and Richard Jacquot of Mercy Corps at ECBinter-active Niger today, 19 January 2012.

This paper presents some of the reasoning behind the use of emergency simulations in the work of the ECB Project, and offers a helpful overview of the structuring of simulations and the advantages/problems associated with the use of simulations and the way in which they are run. It looks at:

The advantages that simulations can offer with regards to the training of humanitarian professionals Four different models for simulations The challenges facing the adoption of simulations as a preparatory tool The importance of reflection and the final report

This paper is only available in French, however a new ECB Project Simulations Case Study in English, will be launched later in 2012.

La Simulation: Outil d’Apprentissage et de Préparation aux Réponses d’Urgence

“La Simulation: Outil d’Apprentissage et de Préparation aux Réponses d’Urgence” est un document présenté par Moctar Hamidou et Richard Jacquot à la conférence ECBinter-active au Niger, aujourd'hui, 19 Janvier 2012.

Ce document présente certains de motifs qui sous-tendent l’utilisation des simulations d’urgence dans le travail du projet ECB et offre un aperçu utile de la structuration des simulations d'urgence et des bénéfices/problèmes associés avec l'utilisation de simulations et la façon dans laquelles elles sont gérées. Il examine:

Les avantages que les simulations peuvent offrir à l'égard de la formation des professionnels humanitaires Quatre modèles de simulations Les défis rencontrés pour l’adoption des simulations comme outil de préparation L’importance de la réflexion et du compte-rendu

Pour l'instant, ce document n'est disponible qu'en français ; cependant une nouvelle étude de cas au sujet de simulations d'urgence sera publiée cette année.

Call for applications for ENHAnce staff capacity programme, Bangladesh and Indonesia

Elizabeth — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:44:23 +0000

There are two separate learning programmes:

ENHAnce supports participants to learn through various methods including two 3 to 4 day workshops; 1-to-1 coaching sessions; self-directed learning; buddy groups and an emergency simulation.

How to apply

INDONESIA: Click here to download an application pack for Indonesia.
Please submit applications by email to Mariana Saragih.
Applications close at: 17:00 (Jakarta Time), Tuesday 31st January 2012.

Washington DC: ECB Project event for Humanitarian Community, 18th January 2012

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:20:10 +0000

ECB Project Update
2-4pm, Wednesday 18th January 2012
CARE, Washington DC

Members of the humanitarian community are invited to attend an update about the work of the ECB Project in Washington DC tomorrow 2-4pm local time, Wednesday 18th January 2012.

The meeting will be hosted by ECB Project Director Linda Poteat, in the CARE office.

All are welcome. If you are interested in attending please contact Dan Barnhardt.

French resources online ready for ECBinter-active Niger

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:27:46 +0000

Si vous voulez lire cette information en français, veuillez cliquer ici.

We're getting ready for our next ECB-inter-active conference in Niamey, Niger on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th January 2012.

You can access the summary agenda in English and French and or comment on our event blog. The full agenda will be posted very soon.

The Niger conference will include a series of interactive sessions arranged around themes such as:

Community based participatory risk analysis and planning Community Early Warning and Emergency Response System Accountability using the Good Enough Guide approaches and joint training Simulations - multi-agency learning through emergency simulations The participation of children in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) ECBProject.org French Resources

You can download our free French humanitarian resources now on the ECB Project Resources and Learning pages. These include:

Le Guide Suffisamment Bon / The Good Enough Guide to Accountability Bâtir la confiance au sein d’équipes diverses / Building Trust in Diverse Teams Étude de cas sur le Project ECB / ECB Project Case Study on Joint Fundraising The World Vision Adventures in Partnering series with 8 Discussions and 6 Case Studies all available in English and French, as well as Spanish.

The full range of French resources can be found here. Click around our English Resources & Learning section to find out more about our work and the tools that might inspire your work.

ALNAP launch survey for State of the Humanitarian System Report

Andrea Stewart — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:38:20 +0000

ALNAP is gathering data for the forthcoming State of the Humanitarian System Report. ALNAP's aim is to canvass the views and experiences of a broad range of humanitarian practitioners and recipients of aid. One of ALNAP's data gathering methods is the use of questionnaires targeting four different groups:

International aid agencies National and regional aid organisations Host government representatives Aid recipients

If you would like to contribute your own views and experiences to help inform the analysis - please can you look at the survey questionnaires on ALNAP's website homepage and choose the relevant questionnaire for you. It would also be extremely helpful if you could forward the surveys to colleagues in your organisation and/or in the wider sector.

It will take about 7-10 minutes to fill in a survey. ALNAP is very keen to make the report as inclusive as possible so your help is greatly appreciated.

Accountability Standing Team busy in Casablanca & Bolivia

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:10:57 +0000

The ECB Project's Accountability and Impact Measurement (AIM) Standing Team has been busy working on several projects:

A Casablanca Joint Evaluation Workshop Report. Read more about Casablanca on the AIM Standing Team blog. Developing two sets of AIM materials that will eventually be translated into French and Spanish. The first is the Good Enough Guide Training of Trainers Modules and the second is an Accountability Toolkit for deploying team members. Both of these are currently being revised by the AIM Advisers. CRS’s AIM Adviser will be leading a team-wide book club to review latest accountability learning in the sector. Finally, the Standing Team Coordinator met with Bolivian team members and the Oxfam Agency Manager in La Paz to plan accountability training with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for April 2012.

Keep up to date with the AIM Standing Team blog.

Niger Joint Needs Assessment in planning stage

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:19:26 +0000

The ECB Project Niger consortium is planning a Joint Needs Assessment in early January 2012 to assess the scope, scale and severity of the food insecurity that is affecting large parts of Niger, including an estimated 228 areas that are deemed vulernable to food insecurity (source: FEWSNET / SAP Niger).

CARE is leading the ECB inter-agency activity in collaboration with the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), the Government of Niger, the World Food Program (WFP) and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

This assessment will capture in more detail some of the issues outlined in the ACAPS / ECB Secondary Data Review completed in November 2011. The results should be available for dissemination by the end of January 2012.

For the latest UNOCHA report on the Niger situation (French only), please review this UNOCHA report published 20-27 December 2011.

For the latest USAID / FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning Systems Network) report July -December 2011 - please read this report (French only).

ECB Project Bangladesh, IFRC and FDF to produce Sphere manual in Bangla

Elizabeth Willmott Harrop — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:45:39 +0000

The heads of ECB Project humanitarian agencies in Bangladesh have signed a terms of reference with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Foundation for Disaster Forum (FDF) to collaborate on the official translation of the revised Sphere Handbook into Bangla.

The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response is one of the most widely known and internationally recognized sets of common principles and universal minimum standards for the delivery of quality humanitarian response.

The terms of reference sets out a process including plans for field testing of the guide and a final workshop to validate the publication.

1000 copies of the new handbook will be printed and Information, Education and Communication materials (IEC) will be produced to support the handbook.

The launch of the new translated handbook will coincide with (Bangla) Mother Language Day on 21 February 2012.