Checklists of Swiss Solidarity

1. Checklists of Swiss Solidarity Shelter Meeting Geneva 15-16 May 2008 Presented by Tom Schacher, Swiss Solidarity (Technical checklists developed by Heiner Gloor)

2. Role of Checklists • Improve the quality of assistance projects of NGO partners of SwS • A compilation of lessons learned over the last 20 years which has lead to: • Definition of minimal standards / minimal requirements • Asking of questions to stimulate reflection

3. Example

4. Checklists for Reconstruction • Reconstruction after earthquakes • Reconstruction in general • Construction of Latrines • Water Supply • Town Planning and Spatial Development • Prevention and Preparedness

5. Other Checklists • Agronomy: Securing Food Supplies • Agronomy: Production • Agronomy: Livestock Farming • Social: Taining • Social: Familiy Reintegration • Finance: Savings and Loans • Health • Conflict Sensitivity and Prevention

6. Structure Reconstruction Checklists • Technical aspects • Social and cultural aspects • Legal aspects • Partner organisation(s) • Power balance + • Documentation requested from NGO submitting a project proposal

7. Base Line Houses/shelters are not isolated items! • No houses without addressing the water and sanitation issues! • No houses in resettlement operations without addressing livelihood issues (access, income, education, health) • No houses without clarifying just ownership issues (e.g. gender).

8. 1. Technical aspects Site selection: • Safety: land slides, flooding, etc. • Water, access, livelyhood • Social services: schools, health centres, markets • Public infrastructure: water, sewage, electricity, transport

9. 1. Technical aspects Construction: • Solidity: materials, details (higher demands in natural disaster areas like EQ, hurricanes or flooding) • Execution: quality of workmanship, supervision • Ecology and sustainability: climate, use of local materials (maintenance), protection of environment

10. 2. Social and cultural aspects • Cultural integration and acceptance of project • Creation of new dependencies • Involvement of beneficiaries (physical and economic dimensions) • Maintenance: how can it be ensured? • Special latrines: cultural aspects

11. 3. Legal aspects • Current ownership of land • Future ownership of land and building • Question of men/women ownership • Transfer mechanism and Guarantees (official agreements, etc.) • What permits are needed, where and when to get them.

12. 4. Partner organisations • Capacity: technical, manpower, financial, experience • Network: integration in local context, contacts to decision makers • Reputation: track record, political colour

13. 5. Power balance • Who has the power to decide, at which level? • What’s the strategy to deal with the decision makers? • What are your own trump cards?

14. 6. Requested documentation • Detailed project description • With specific answers to all questions of the checklists • Detailed budget • Detailed drawings • With detailed Bill of Quantities

15. Open issues • Core business of NGOs • Should an NGO inexperienced in construction get into reconstruction projects? • How can it ensure technical quality without having technical staff in their HQ? • How does communication work with SwS experts (who is able to answer questions)? • Is it enough to rely on local technicians / engineers in the field?

16. Open issues • Qualification of local technicians/experts • Though politically correct and cheaper, they often don’t have a broad development perspective and experience. Their technical knowhow might also be lower, particularly with regard to prevention of natural disaster. • Which construction standards should be applied: local but insufficient ones, or international but ‘exaggerated’ ones?