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The People’s Process In Post-disaster and Post-conflict Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction

3 Objectives of the People’s Process Improve accountability - put affected populations at the center by: o Mobilizing affected communities to take decisions, actions and shared responsibility for their relief and recovery o Unleashing communities’ own resilience mechanisms to accelerate rebuilding of their lives and physical assets IASC Reference Group Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas, 30 Apr 2012

4 Facilitating Communities to Act – What can humanitarians and authorities do? Organization of the populations builds their confidence to act Empowerment through mobilization and inclusion Financial Assistance to get them started Technical advice to improve services with DRR Build partnerships for strategic planning, project design and assistance delivery as early as possible

Key Steps in the People’s Process Community Mobilization and Organization Community Settlement Mapping Community Action Planning Community Banking Community Contracting Community Monitoring

Accountability for Expeditious, Sustainable Solutions Enhanced through Shared Roles Community Mobilization and Empowerment- Forming Groups and Community Development Councils Community Mapping- identify affected areas, vulnerability, tenure status, safe and secure land for relocation, family/community profiles

Accountability Enhanced when Affected Populations Identify Needs and Solutions Community participates in needs/damage assessments and prioritizes needs Proposes solutions drawing on existing resilience methods Costs them including community self-help, labor contributions

Accountability Enhanced when Communities Empowered with Resources Expedite access to financial resources and put money into pockets asap! Community Banking through savings and credit schemes early-on Meeting people’s immediate needs and livelihood recovery including vouchers Buy locally to fuel local economy Establishing housing and infrastructure rebuilding funds early-on to accelerate reconstruction

Accountability Enhanced through Community Contracting and Labor Key Elements: Planning and physical work performed in the community Design by community with technical assistance Contracts signed with Development Councils Labor intensive solutions for job creation Key Advantages: Experience retained in the community Instilled feeling of ownership Enhanced transparency and accountability for humanitarian assistance

Accountability Enhanced through Community- based Performance Monitoring Community members share in: -controlling implementation; -monitoring performance; -reporting on progress and problems to authorities and humanitarian partners

Approach to Humanitarian Assistance Required for Enhanced Accountability Authorities and humanitarians need to: Intrinsically trust the affected people Recognize communities’ capacities and will to recover Professionals need to be supportive not prescriptive Cultivate a spirit of solidarity, partnership and community cohesivness

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