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Four parts to presentation

People In Aid International HR Conference 8 th February 2008, Geneva Changes in the humanitarian environment: how well are we coping? John Mitchell, ALNAP. Four parts to presentation. Forces that shape today’s humanitarian environment and the steps taken to keep pace.

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Four parts to presentation

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  1. People In Aid International HR Conference 8th February 2008, GenevaChanges in the humanitarian environment: how well are we coping?John Mitchell, ALNAP

  2. Four parts to presentation • Forces that shape today’s humanitarian environment and the steps taken to keep pace. • Has performance improved as a result? • Factors that make it difficult for agencies to improve. • The key ingredients for success.

  3. Part 1 Key Trends • Increased number and scale of emergencies, coupled with increased funding • Increased number and variety of international responders • Shrinking ‘humanitarian space’ • System response: regulation of humanitarian space • Organisational response: changes in structures and operating procedures • The new humanitarian professional – enabled or burdened?

  4. Increasing numbers of disasters Source: Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Guide (2007)

  5. Changes in bilateral humanitarian assistance, compared with overall overseas development assistance, 1975 onwards Source: Development Initiatives at http://globalhumanitarianassistance.org/gha2006.htm

  6. Increasing numbers and variety of international responders

  7. ‘…more crises, with more interlocutors combined with more agencies with more capabilities’ (Weiss and Hofmann).

  8. Shrinking of ‘humanitarian space’ • The three D’s: Defence, Development and Diplomacy • Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda (1996)

  9. System Response • Good humanitarian donorship • Guiding principles for public/private collaboration in humanitarian action (2008) • Framework convention on civil defence (2000) and Oslo guidelines (2006) • Operational protocols on security and safety (2005) • International Disaster Response Law (ongoing)

  10. Organisational Response

  11. Organisational Response – cont’d Structural changes

  12. Continuing Metamorphosis of the new Humanitarian Practitioner: Some New Colours for an Endangered Chameleon • ‘These include: informed political analysis; negotiation skills; conflict analysis management and resolution; propaganda monitoring and humanitarian broadcasting; a broader understanding of vulnerability to include notions of political, ethnic, gender and class based vulnerability; human rights monitoring and reporting; military liaison; and personal security and staff welfare’ (Hugo Slim, Disasters Vol 19 Issue 2 1995).

  13. Enabled or burdened?

  14. Part 2 Pessimistic view 1 • ‘the international system needs a fundamental reorientation from supplying aid to supporting and facilitating communities own relief and recovery practices’

  15. Pessimistic view 2 • Tony Vaux: Proportion and distortion in humanitarian assistance • ‘aid is still not being directed where it is needed’ • ‘the Red Cross Code is the industry standard but is being breached on a massive scale’ (pp76)

  16. Pessimistic view 3 • Failure to protect • ‘looking at Darfur, seeing Rwanda’ General Romeo Dalliare • ‘ ..this chapter reaches the judgement that the humanitarian system acquitted itself poorly during the crisis…’ (Larry Minear, Lessons learned: the Darfur experience, pp 74)

  17. Relatively optimistic view • positive signs from the 3 Cs - CAP, CERF and Clusters? • no sign of funding fatigue • good progress on use of cash based responses

  18. Glass half empty? • .. a largely negative conclusion remains unavoidable: that the institutional weight of past practice is giving way all too slowly to the insights of creative practitioners’ (Larry Minear, ALNAP RHA in 2004)

  19. Part 3. Organisational change - challenges for the humanitarian agency • vision and strategy • business processes • structure and differentiation • staffing • culture

  20. Vision and Strategy • ‘There is a disjuncture between those who believe that humanitarian action is about traditional humanitarian response – that is feeding hungry people, providing them with basic healthcare, water and shelter, whilst respecting the norms of impartiality and neutrality – and those who believe that …humanitarian action must also be about protection, human rights, and gender equality’ (David Reiff). ‘the change agenda is not a noble one… and it is the duty of staff to resist such change’

  21. Business Processes • Weak incentive to deliver

  22. Structure and Differentiation • Hard to be inclusive

  23. Staffing • Unplanned turnover • Hard to manage performance

  24. Culture • Locked into programme cycle • Tendency to overlook people

  25. Part 4. Key ingredients for success • Examples of successful change • DFID: financial commitment improved • Action Aid: rights based/decentralised approach • WFP: shift in culture/attitude towards needs assessment • IFRC: decentralisation of regional directors

  26. Four key ingredients for success • a) Creating clarity – why change? • b) Providing incentives for change • c) Strong leadership • d) Collective change • ‘overcoming peoples uncertainties and fears’ • ‘creating incentives for change’

  27. ‘everybody thinks to change the world; • nobody thinks to change himself’

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