Group 3 A: Capacity Building - Operational (Technical) Support

1. Group 3 A:Capacity Building - Operational (Technical) Support What capacity is needed to ensure an effective operational response to a humanitarian emergency?

2. TECHNICAL GUIDANCE: • Assessments • Immediate assessments (first 72 hours) • Rapid and sectoral assessment • Continuous data collection (ad hoc) • Listing of assessment methodologies • How to incorporate all of the data collected • Identification of indicators that fit into a multi-sectoral assessment • Assessment framework • Determine whether there are critical problems that impede access to food • Determine what kind of distribution is most effective – cash, income, food ... • FSC should have an inventory of all of the ongoing assessments

3. Technical Guidance (continued): • Working with ACAP • Establishment of IPC after Rapid Assessments • Cluster person on the UNDAC teams • Common analysis as opposed to common assessment • Joint Strategic Planning rather than Joint Assessments

4. Technical Guidance (continued): • Promote organizations that have the capacity to take on assessments • Creation of capacity within the team to monitor the quality of assessments • Program decision tool - Guidance on cash • Decision making and guidance on cash intervention

5. Technical Guidance (continued): • Guidance on preparedness • Clear Guidance to be provided regarding sectoral responsibilities as opposed to Global Cluster responsibilities. • Contingency Planning – creation of a rapid scale-up/scale-down process • What is food security; links to other clusters and technical focal points • Cluster handbook • Redefinition/Ammendment of TORs – more about practice than theory

6. Technical Guidance (final points): • Project cycle: • Baseline information • Assessments • Market analysis • Programme analysis • Response analysis (which addresses a specific priority setting) • Monitoring – a contextual rather than technical adaptation of monitoring tool

7. TOOLS: • Food Security Cluster Handbook – more practical rather than theoretical – which includes some best practices/lessons learned from previous field experiences during emergency situations. • Three very practical tools/targets for improvement include: • Assessments • Response Analysis Decision Tree

8. TOOLS (continued): • Creation of a more decentralized framework for analysis of assessments (CAP/EHAP/ Flash Appeal Proposals) • Information management • Registration process to enter the cluster • Accountability of Partners • Accreditation of all implementers • Networking process with: • Government • Locals • Other Cluster Members

9. Tools (Continued): • Monitoring • Good project design • Need to verify the quality of the tool before implementing it into the training process – so that the credibility of the cluster is not at stake.

10. TRAINING: • 1. Embedded in the project cycle • 2. Training should establish: • Technical skills (in assessments, monitoring, protection etc.) • Food Security expertise • 3. Coordinator should be trained in both managerial and technical skills • 4. Coordinators should be used during specific cycles of the cluster and then graciously make an exit when the cycle terminates.

11. Training (final points): • 5. Training should assist in developing liaison skills with various agents so as to understand their cultural perspectives and be able to develop a common analysis methodology to be applied during assessments. • 6. Process Monitoring • 7. Impact Assessments • 8. Good Project Design • 9. Development of standard indicators that fit into common parameters/objectives