Building Resilience – Linking Relief to Resilience

There are many definitions for Resilience, with many commonalities to these definitions, that can be summarized as follows:
• Capacity/ ability – all of the definitions refer to a ‘system’s’ (being a household, community or even state’s) abilities or capacities. It is worth also noting that traditional humanitarian response has not placed a strong emphasis on developing capacities and abilities and this may be an area that organisations could place increasing emphasis in future.
• Positively manage change/ absorb stress or disturbance/ adapt/ recover/ bounce back/ re-organise – these objectives would fall within the remit of DRR and would be the responsibility of both humanitarian and development agencies. These also relate strongly to the first point on capacities/ abilities.
• Without compromising long-term prospects/ protect livelihoods/ quickly recover in ways that reduce chronic vulnerability and facilitate inclusive growth.

These final points relate to recovery of the system and its ability to have coped with shocks and stresses and come out the other side without long term prospects being damaged. This is where ‘humanitarian’ response could be said to have traditionally failed. It is also an area that is seen as largely the responsibility of ‘development’ interventions that need to work in contexts with an understanding of the inevitability of drought and so drought proof their development investments.
There is an interconnected nature of different aspects of development and humanitarian programming. This means that a humanitarian resilience theory of change needs to complement the overall development theory of change for the country and the context. As a result humanitarian interventions are designed to provide life-saving interventions at a time and in a way that contributes, and does not undermine, the achievement of the wider theory of change defined by the capacity that an organisation wishes to create. Examples of this are humanitarian interventions in Ethiopia and Kenya which have been designed to contribute to longer term resilience building whilst maintaining the lifesaving/ preserving nature of humanitarian response.

By designing humanitarian relief responses (resources) that directly support the short-term (immediate & intermediate) results of the longer term development programmes, the coping capacity of communities, as a key indicator of building resilience, can be improved – contributing to the development goals for the community(s). The recovery capacity of communities should increase in line with the longer term development goal(s) and the need for external humanitarian relief should fall as coping capacity increases as exemplified in the diagram below. This is not the dominant scenario at present where despite significant amounts of humanitarian assistance when crises occur the general trajectory in poverty and vulnerability is downwards because of late or inappropriate response
Where needs are identified in the situation or needs analysis that are not directly addressed in the programme/intervention results we must acknowledge either how we will incorporate these needs (e.g. referral to another party, advocacy on key "consequences", etc.) or provide an explicit reason (consistent with our programme/intervention) why we cannot.

This integrated approach has various strengths, including:
+ it allows for a consistent approach to programming across distinct regions or zones, based on outcome & impact;
+ it allows for the pace on programme implementation – of core programme plus broader outcome & impact priorities, to reflect the progress and challenges in each region/, depending on the political, security and development/ humanitarian context for that zone/region; and
+ it allows for Implementing Agencies to actively share success, opportunity and continuous improvement throughout programme implementation

Within this approach, both Donors and Implementing agencies have the scope to target specific cross-cutting or sectoral challenges that are relevant/prevalent in their specific areas of operations – addressing gender-specific issues (FGM, SGBV), treatment of HIV, TB and the associated stigma for beneficiaries of prolonged, communicable diseases; strengthening local/traditional community engagement in public policy processes (from cross-community working as the local environment becomes more stable, etc. )

The Theory of Change – applying the concept to programme strategy & design

The following is an overview diagram explaining the process for preparing for a humanitarian response (although the same process applies to development programming) – incorporating the Theory of Change outlined:

Context analysis; The operating environment within which the beneficiaries are living and we are working. Assuming we have not conducted a formal "Contextual Analysis" (as defined by our key institutional donors) then we draw on 3rd party sources of information to put into context our rationale for engaging in this environment. The context should link to potential donor's broad strategy/priorities for that country (e.g. The priority for Trocaire's East Africa Appeal was "saving lives by providing emergency food, clean water and medical care"). 3rd Party soures can include PEA, HEA, recent baselines (inc. from other organisations), published literature (ICRC, ICG, Enough, etc.) and UN assessment papers (inc. FSNAU, FEWS NET, etc.). Evaluations of past programmes/projects provide a "lessons learnt" for operating in this environment

Situation analysis: This is our stated understanding of the current situation. It is at this stage that we will identify the cross-cutting themes that underpin our approach including our (Trocaire & partners) capacity to engage actively & pro-actively in responding to beneficiary needs. We draw on monitoring reports, partner feedback, recent baseline surveys, etc. to link the "context to the current” situation. The situation analysis is an indication of the escalation of specific issues within the operating context that cause us concern and support the need for our engagement at this time. This is the first point when we start to define potential cross-cutting considerations (e.g. observed coping strategies) we must address, either through direct intervention, M&E processes, accountability procedures, referral systems; engagement with coordination (inc. bilateral arrangements); approach to advocacy or simply documenting issues

Needs analysis: The specific needs of the beneficiary group, supporting our targeting methodology, beneficairy eligibility & selection criteria. Included here are cross-cutting themes as they apply to beneficiaries - including coping strategies and consequences of humanitarian crisis. Community-based needs assessments, partner feedback, monitoring reports, current updates thru' UN system/cluster; internal early warning monitoring.
• Context is the operating environment in which we are operating (National, State & Diocese);
• Situation is the present-day environment in which the intervention is justified/based (security, political, coordination, capacity; season; etc.);
• Needs brings the analysis down to the community, family & beneficiary (vulnerability) level. The needs analysis is the point where we decide what we can directly intervene on and what we can do to assist beneficiaries in their other requirements to get through this period (situation)

Note: Coping Strategies: Not all coping strategies emerge in a needs assessment, particularly when it is conducted at a geo (diocese)-level. The following is a table outlining the escalation of coping strategies that would be expected to be observed – including their severity & reversibility:

What we identify as a Coping Strategy should link back to the Context, Situation and Needs assessments (i.e. why have people adopted these coping strategies?) These coping strategies link into either the direct programme interventions or cross-cutting considerations.

Protection & Cross-cutting considerations:
In the case of Ethiopia and the protection component of the Theory of Change and design principles that underpin the ERRP are based on sound protection practices. The humanitarian interventions across each of the three objectives look to embed into the individual projects – as described both in the mainstreaming approaches outlined below to key cross-cutting themes, but also in the core concepts of the modalities of assistance that will support the LRRD approach. That is to say:
• By strengthening existing traditional community structures as part of an integrated approach to CMDRR we create an entry point for women, youth and marginalised groups to become involved in these structures – increasing their participation (their voice) in community decision-making on risk prevention and preparedness, periods when vulnerability can change to exploitation;
• By identify the needs of both the community and the individual as part of the mobilisation of crisis response (both chronic and acute) we can design modalities of assistance that address the causes of vulnerability at both community and household level – linking not only relief to recovery and development but also linking assistance to durable solutions to vulnerability within communities
• By providing more durable solutions in cash and food/dietary assistance we will be proactively protecting the beneficiary households against future vulnerability to crisis – making them less vulnerable to exploitation of future assistance.
• By adhering to good humanitarian standards during project interventions - as embodied in the approaches outlined below, we can mitigate the instances for exploitation during times of crisis

Prioritisation & targeting:
This is particularly relevant where the geographical area is too wide for any one programme/intervention to cover all communities/needs. We must justify the decision-making process for prioritising certain communities over others (e.g. number of returnees; other NGOs (avoid duplication); seasonal access; etc.). Partner knowledge of population movements (at local level); observation of seasonal changes & impact on communities/roads/livelihoods; geo-specific needs assessment (e.g. the paragraphs of FEWSNet, UN, SRA/LRA reports etc. specific to diocese); etc. Geo or Community targeting is the first key decision-point on defining vulnerability, eligibility and capacity (to assist) and requires a methodology & evidence to support the decision to target specific communities (note: it does not have to justify "why not" but must demonstrate the rationale & reasoning behind the "why")

When we are not targeting 100% of the vulnerable population we must understand how the actual targeting & selection will occur so that we can demonstrate either:
• the prioritisation of vulnerability (i.e. the comparison between communities and families to demonstrate how we chose one of another) that was the basis of beneficiary eligibility & selection; or
• the reasoning behind why we did not use a vulnerability & prioritisation approach to beneficiary eligibility & selection – there can be justifiable reasons why one locality, community &/or family is chosen but we need to document this and link it back to “cross-cutting considerations” as, although not directly involved in the programme, all communities & families within our target AoOs will be affected by the intervention.

Risks, Assumptions & Dependencies (RAD) are an output of the Context, Situation & Needs Analysis; they are our assessment of the factors that influence the design of our intervention and as such we must continuously monitor these factors so that we can make promt decisions should our assessment have been incorrect or should the context, situation or needs change during the course of implementation.
• Risk: Those things that we can describe, define but cannot predict with certainty but that we presume WILL happen (e.g. There is a risk of rain). As a result we must put contingencies in place that will draw on our resources & become part of our work plans & reporting (wear gum-boots & carry an umbrella)
• Assumption: Those things that we can describe, define but cannot predict with certainty but that we presume WILL NOT happen (e.g. we assume it will not rain so no need to buy an umbrella). We monitor our assumptions to ensure that they remain sound during the course of the programme
• Dependency: Those things that we can describe, define and predict but are under the control of a 3rd party (we are dependent on the UN/state-led coordination mechanisms; on WFP supplies arriving; etc.). We monitor dependencies in the same way as we monitor assumptions as we must make decisions during the course of the intervention, that will draw on our resources, become part of our work-plans and that we must report on if we cannot depend on these 3rd parties.

There is a fourth (4th) component of RAD - Issues (RAID). Issues are emerging challenges or opportunities that we could not describe or define at the outset but which impact on our intervention. Issue management draws on Accountability requirements (e.g. complaints handling) & links directly to cross-cutting themes (e.g. documenting human rights issues for referral &/or reporting). In addition to general management, the management & monitoring issues is the continuous "needs analysis" to support advocacy, referral systems, coordination, etc. (the cross-cutting considerations not directly addressed within the direct intervention)

Programme & Partner Monitoring:
The "rule of thumb" is that if it is not reported (or at least documented in a structured way) then it did not happen. Any decision made (note: every decision will have a resource implication) requires supporting evidence which should draw upon a structured monitoring system (so that every decision is not seen as an exception).
Monitoring is Performance Management and should provide sufficient information support decision-making that allows you to continue as planned or make changes, on an on-going basis, to activities that contribute to the achievement of the objectives/outcomes.
• The progress made on agreed activities
• The impact of risks that have materialised on Progress (activities) and Purpose (objectives/outcomes)
• The impact of assumptions that were incorrect on Progress (activities) and Purpose (objectives/outcomes)

We monitor in order to gather sufficient information to make good decisions during the course of the intervention (see diagram above):
• Progress monitoring (process & control procedures; and team & work plans)
• Partner Monitoring (against agreed objectives/intervention)
• Financial Monitoring (budget; expenditure; financial controls)
• Risk (& Issue) Management (see RAD above)
• Emergency Monitoring (Early Warning)
• Context & Situation Monitoring (Assumptions & Dependencies)
• Needs & Community (changes in the original justification &/or the current conditions)
• Performance Monitoring (Results & decision-making)

The opportunity of successful monitoring is continuous improvement where we capture practical lessons that can be applied to Performance Management (decision-making & resource optimisation) during the programme.

Remember, good decision-making impacts on resources as all activities use resources, so performance management is resource optimisation. There are only three resources that are affected by decision-making:
•Time: the number of people that you have, their skills, experience and ability to complete the activities
•Things: the tangible things that are available to you to help you complete the activities
•Money: the flexibility to buy either more time (1) or more things (2) that will help you complete the activities

Evaluation is Impact Assessment & Lesson Learning - that is to say, did we achieve what we set out to achieve and how did we do it. This is measured in two phases:
1.Did we do what we said we would do (meet the objectives/outcomes)
2.Did we meet the expectations of the various stakeholders (the Goal)

Evaluation is “a systematic and impartial examination of [humanitarian] action intended to draw lessons to improve policy and practice and enhance accountability" (ECHO) - "To know that you do not know is already to know something" (Confucius))

Audit on the other hand is the determination of whether and to what extent activities and procedures conform to norms and criteria set out in advance. The “Four E”s in audit:
1.Effectiveness: doing the right things
2.Efficiency: doing things the right way
3.Economy: doing things cheap
4.Equity: doing right (being socially responsible in a social audit perspective)

The Theory of Change – Linking Relief to Recovery... to Rehabilitation to Resilience... and to Development (LRR-RRD)

The approach to Resilience is based on the Theory of Change for humanitarian interventions that links relief to recovery and development (LRRD). The following is an overview of the theory of change that Trócaire has adopted in East Africa:

The changes that our programme is designed to facilitate - where sustainable is focused on "sustaining human life during this period of extreme risk; or interventions that link relief to recovery. What interventions will we directly engage in to meet the needs of the targeted communities? And how will we define eligibility, prioritise vulnerability and, where we are not providing 100% coverage of eligible families/people, select beneficiaries?

The results (presented in a Logic Model & Results Framework) are our explanation of the needs of the community and how we can best support/address these needs. The results must be linked (internal design logic & continuity of narrative) to the context, situation, needs & community analysis. Trocaire has defined humanitarian as "where a single or series of disasters overwhelms the ability of the most vulnerable in society to cope” which, using the LRRD theory has two key stages:

Crisis Stage (LR): Any intervention must prioritise the needs of the targeted beneficiary group which is determined by the affect/impact of the humanitarian situation (sudden or slow-onset; safety of the operating environment [after-shock, bombings]; anticipated duration of the intervention/dependency of the beneficiary on external assistance; etc.).

Linking Relief...
Live-saving: where an immediate intervention is required to simply save a life (e.g. immediate food & nutrition aid); and
Life-preserving: where we are looking to reduce the risk to a person’s life once it has been “saved” (e.g. health & hygiene interventions directly designed to reduce disease & contagion)

...to Recovery & Rehabilitation:
Life-sustaining: when the immediate risks to life have been mitigated and we can focus on recovery & rehabilitation (e.g. family livelihoods; looking to build resilience of the family beyond a single season)

... to Development:
Life-enhancing: Once a family has some degree of certainty (resilience) over food & income then the focus can move to quality of life (the D in LRRD)

Resilience Stage (RD): Many, if not all of Trocaire’s humanitarian responses to the drought (& other seasonal emergencies) in East Africa has been founded on an LRRD rationale; building resilience. We can interpret resilience in many ways but in Humanitarian programmes the focus is on the resilience of the person – initially the individual (e.g. OTP nutrition assistance) then the family (e.g. protection rations, family-based NFIs), then the community (multiple-families) and finally the locality (the environment around the family/community). Activities may occur concurrently (e.g. designing environmentally-friendly interventions to provide immediate assistance to families, such as cash-for-work; working with community & locality simultaneously, etc.) but the focus is still person-centric.

1.Resilience of the person and the family: there is no food production without people and so individuals need to have the capacity to
a.produce their food (the land, the physical energy, the husbandry skills),
b.store their food (post-harvest management),
c.preserve their longer-term sources of nutrition (e.g. food preservation to support families through the “hunger gap” between seasons), and
d.to commercialise their assets (food surpluses, alternative livelihoods) so as to generate a flexible, financial buffer to support them during lean times (whether poor harvests of full-on drought).

2.Resilience of the family and the community: The challenge of focusing on resilience is to change the attitudes of people towards the traditional, culturally influenced approach to livelihoods and food production.
a.Sustenance farming which leaves families susceptible to the “hunger gap” between season is as negative as resilient seeds being planted in areas that cannot provide sufficient water and spoil nutrients for this type of planting
b.Similarly the attitude of many pastoralists, seeing their livestock as “wealth” in itself does not build resilience of those pastoralists. From a resilience perspective livestock is nutrition (milk and meat) and income (sale of livestock to create that flexible, financial buffer)

In order to successfully link crisis interventions with the longer-term potential of resilience-building an additional Theory of Change must be adapted, that of Innovation Adaptation theory (Rogers, 1962) to support the link between the relief phase and the resilience stage.

This theory states that ‘early adopters’ and individuals with peer influence are the first to be targeted to take up modified behaviours and others are encouraged to follow once personal risks have been better evaluated and additional rewards demonstrated. Where needs are identified in the situation or needs analysis that are not directly addressed in the programme/intervention results we must acknowledge either how we will incorporate these needs (e.g. referral to another party, advocacy on key "consequences", etc.) or provide an explicit reason (consistent with our programme/intervention) why we cannot.

The Theory of Change – Linking Theory to Results Frameworks

•Inputs: The resources introduced through the intervention. These resources are primarily "Time" (people & skills) and "Things" (physical, logistical or technical resources) introduced by the appropriate use of "Money" (the intervention) to improve the quality oif "Time" and "Things" available to either the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries

• Capacity: The optimisation of "Time" and "Things" so as to create a new context (capacity) for the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries to view their current situation. The intervention introduces:
-"Time" inputs that in turn create "competencies" within the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries
-"Thing" inputs that create/improve "capabilities" within these groups

It is the combination of "competency" and "capability" that builds capacity (see below). Note: "Cost" is the "money" element of the intervention and it is the balance between "costs" and "capacity" that will determine how sustainable the intervention can be.

• Community: The scale-up and diffusion of new capacities across the wider group (The Innovation Adoption Lifecycle) through community-led sharing of new capacity via social-cultural channels and through the facilitated programme mechanisms.

• Attitudes: Peoples willingness to change, based on the new capacity that exists and their ability to (re)interpret their context and situation based on this new capacity. A willingness to change is not change in itself, but without it there cannot be sustainable change

• Behaviour: Sustainable change in peoples day-to-day behaviour as they incorporate this new capacity into their daily lives & routines. Behavioural change is sustainable change as, while attitudes can change (revert to old behaviours), accepted behaviours tend not to.

There are a variety of explanations (depending on the source) for what capacity building is. However, there is a simple formula to follow for any (all) organisations in order to measurably increase your capacity. Time, things and money are the only three resources that any (all) organisations have available to them. It is the optimisation of these resources that builds capacity.
•Time: the people available and their knowledge, skills and attributes
•Things: the physical, logistical, technological resources that are available to us
•Money: the financial resources that give us flexibility to buy additional time (e.g. recruitment, over-time, training) or things (additional tangible resources) should we need them

Optimising these three resources is measured against the stated objectives of the organisation, programme &/or partner. Normally these are the strategic objectives for a period – for example the Results Framework; towards which it intends to concentrate its resources/capacity. And the points of intervention that an organisation can make in order to optimise the combination of resources (time, things & money) in order to achieve these strategic objectives are:
•Competency focuses on “Time” – increasing the abilities of the human resources (staff, consultants, donors, supporters, volunteers, partners, beneficiaries etc.).
•Capability focuses on “Things” – what tangible resources are available to the organisation to allow it to exploit its competencies (i.e. what these human resources, where, when, how, etc. ).
•Cost is the enabling resource “Money” that allows us to invest in the organisations competency (buying better Time) and in the organisation’s capability (buying more appropriate things).

The Theory of Change – influencing attitudes, sustaining behaviours

The approach to developing a Theory of Change is by translating our understanding of the beneficiary needs, the operating environment, the cross-cutting themes, etc. into a programme design that defines the changes (results) that we want to achieve. The over-arching approach to understanding the drivers of change and looking to incorporate these into programme design and development draws on the following methodology:

Resources/Inputs: The resources introduced through the intervention. These resources are primarily "Time" (people & skills) and "Things" (physical, logistical or technical resources) introduced by the appropriate use of "Money" (the intervention) to improve the quality of "Time" and "Things" available to either the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries.

Capacity: The optimization of "Time" and "Things" so as to create a new context (capacity) for the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries to view their current situation. There are a variety of explanations (depending on the source) for what capacity building is. However, there is a simple formula to follow for any (all) organizations in order to measurably increase your capacity. Time, things and money are the only three resources that any (all) organizations have available to them. It is the optimization of these resources that builds capacity.
+ Time (Human Resources): the people available and their knowledge, skills and attributes
+ Things (Logistics & Infrastructure): the physical, logistical, technological resources that are available to us
+ Money (Financial Resources): the financial resources that give us flexibility to buy additional time (e.g. recruitment, over-time, training) or things (additional tangible resources) should we need them (see "What is Capacity Building")

The intervention introduces "Time" inputs that in turn create "competencies" within the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries; and "Thing" inputs that create/improve "capabilities" within these groups. It is the combination of "competency" and "capability" that builds capacity. Optimising these three resources is measured against the stated objectives of the organisation, programme &/or partner. Normally these are the strategic objectives for a period – for example the Results Framework; towards which it intends to concentrate its resources/capacity. And the points of intervention that an organisation can make in order to optimise the combination of resources (time, things & money) in order to achieve these strategic objectives are:
+ Competency focuses on “Time” – increasing the abilities of the human resources (staff, consultants, donors, supporters, volunteers, partners, beneficiaries etc.).
+ Capability focuses on “Things” – what tangible resources are available to the organisation to allow it to exploit its competencies (i.e. what these human resources, where, when, how, etc. ).
+ Cost is the enabling resource “Money” that allows us to invest in the organisations competency (buying better Time) and in the organisation’s capability (buying more appropriate things). Note: "Cost" is the "money" element of the intervention and it is the balance between "costs" and "capacity" that will determine how sustainable the intervention can be.

Community: The scale-up and diffusion of new capacities across the wider group (The Innovation Adoption Lifecycle) through community-led sharing of new capacity via social-cultural channels and through the facilitated programme mechanisms.

Attitudes: Peoples willingness to change based on the new capacity that exists and their ability to (re)interpret their context and situation based on this new capacity. A willingness to change is not change in itself, but without it there cannot be a sustainable change.

Behaviour: Sustainable change in people’s day-to-day behaviour as they incorporate this new capacity into their daily lives & routines. Behavioural change is sustainable change as, while attitudes can change (revert to old behaviours), accepted behaviours tend not to.

And some supporting Science on theories that support this approach:

“A number of theories have been developed to describe how changes in factors at the individual and interpersonal levels of the social ecological model work (Partners in Action – Washington; Models, Factors and Theories of Change).

- Cognitive behavioural theories: Health Belief Model, (HBM) addresses the individual’s perceptions of the threat posed by a health problem (susceptibility, severity), the benefits of avoiding the threat, and factors influencing the decision to act (barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy; The Stages of Change (Transtheoretical) Model describes individuals’ motivation and readiness to change a behaviour; The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) examines the relations between an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, intentions, behaviour, and perceived control over that behaviour; The Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) names seven stages in an individual’s journey from awareness to action. It begins with lack of awareness and advances through subsequent stages of becoming aware, deciding whether or not to act, acting, and maintaining.
- Theories Governing Social Change: Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) describes a dynamic, ongoing process in which personal factors, environmental factors, and human behaviour exert influence upon each other; Community Organization and Other Participatory Models emphasize community-driven approaches to assessing and solving health and social problems; Diffusion of Innovations Theory addresses how new ideas, products, and social practices spread within an organization, community, or society, or from one society to another; Communication Theory describes how different types of communication affect health behaviour.

Update from the field

I realise that I have not posted in a while but rest assured I have been working away here in East Africa and there will be more to follow, not least: quality programme design, resilience in relief, protective programming, effective M&E and some insights on the Theory of Change...

Happy 2013

Happy new year... I realise that this has been a quite year for posts but I promise - I have been busy working on a range of things - primarily in East Africa.

In addition to Water, Snakes and Quinoa for 2013 I will be working (& posting) on topics ranging from Humanitarian programme design (drawing on many of the skills that I have already shared through this blog); Humanitarian access in complex &/or conflict situations - both operational and legal; the Theory of Change for humanitarian interventions - which will inlcude linkages to DRR; and the hot-topic of 2012 and beyond Resilience (I will be taking a more practical approach on this). So have a great 2013.