1. LEARNING REPORT 2016 Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme
PRESENTED BY
ELIZABETH SMITH & DARJA MARKEK
THE LEARNING PROJECT
ACTION AGAINST HUNGER UK

2. INTRODUCTION
The DEPP Learning Report 2016 documents the key successes, challenges and learnings that have emerged from the programme so far
It is structured according to the five programme result areas
Methodology: desk review of internal and external documents; semi-structured interviews with project staff; UK-level consultation and group discussions
The full report can be found here:

3. KEY FINDINGS AND LEARNINGS

4. RESULT 1 FINDINGS: IMPROVED KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF INDIVIDUALS BY SHARING BEST PRACTICE OF HUMANITARIAN PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
3500 individuals have been trained against a target of 4200, including national staff who are first responders, and international humanitarian staff
Quality of capacity development activities is high with face-to-face engagement as most highly ranked training method
Improvements in participants' knowledge and skills have been reported across all projects, although this has not been comprehensively assessed

5. RESULT 1 LEARNING: WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T TO IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF INDIVIDUALS
Contextualisation and use of local languages can increase training relevance and participant engagement
Using targeted strategies to recruit female training participants may help to mitigate gender imbalances among trainees
Training national trainers can help to scale the sharing of best practice at national level and shift INGO - L/NNGO power dynamics

6. RESULT 2 FINDINGS: IMPROVED PREPAREDNESS SYSTEMS FOR EARLY ACTION WITH COMMUNITIES AT RISK OF DISASTERS
Half of projects are strengthening early-warning, communication and preparedness planning mechanisms of national and local governments, humanitarian agencies, and communities
Community capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters is beginning to be strengthened by programme activities as communities have more ownership of preparedness planning
Systems are in their early stages, however, some have already been used to predict and respond to emergencies

7. RESULT 2 LEARNING: WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T TO IMPROVE PREPAREDNESS SYSTEMS FOR EARLY ACTION
Government departments as partners can increase ownership of preparedness systems and lead to their sustainability beyond the programme
Building on existing systems reduces the risk of duplication and wastage of resources
Flexibility in programme design can result in more relevant programmes for beneficiaries

8. RESULT 3 FINDINGS: INCREASED NUMBER OF COALITIONS, PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS WHICH WORKING TOGETHER ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN A WIDE RANGE OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
DEPP’s collaborative network is growing; the programme is harnessing the capacity of existing coalitions and creating new partnerships to strengthen preparedness
Collaborative working enables the programme to envision new approaches to longstanding challenges and draw on technical expertise to increase programming quality and relevance
Collaboration is contributing to the localisation agenda by raising the profile of local partners, providing platforms for greater visibility and access to additional resources

9. RESULT 3 LEARNING: WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T IN DEVELOPING HUMANITARIAN COALITIONS, PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS
Shared goals, pre-existing relationships and programme level collaboration and learning events can act as collaboration enablers
Differences in organisational policies and processes and high staff turnover can hinder collaborative working
Balancing collaborative decision-making and efficiency is a challenge in the absence of clear decision-making structures

10. RESULT 4 FINDINGS: IMPROVED INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND POLICY ENVIRONMENTS SO THAT NATIONAL SYSTEMS FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE ARE BETTER SUPPORTED AND MORE SUITABLE
Initial successes of targeted capacity development activities for local actors include improving funding systems and leveraging local voices
Governments and organisations have adopted best practice tools, standards and guidelines developed by the programme to improve institutional policies and procedures
Projects are reporting that capacity development for communities, organisations and governments is beginning to show indications of greater preparedness
Advocacy and engagement at government and international levels requires a coherent strategy to achieve change at scale

11. RESULT 4 LEARNING: WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T TO IMPROVE HUMANITARIAN INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND POLICY ENVIRONMENTS
Flexible funding for L/NNGOs may increase aid relevance and reduce bureaucracy, but appropriate mechanisms for this need to be established
Institutional barriers and limited knowledge on how to engage local actors may lead to exclusion of key stakeholders
Using capacity strengthening frameworks and embedding capacity developers within organisations can be catalysts for organisational change, but are not magic solutions

12. RESULT 5 FINDINGS: STRENGTHENED EVIDENCE BASE FOR WHAT WORKS TO HELP BUILD HUMANITARIAN CAPACITY AT SCALE
DEPP is producing evidence based on empirical research covering themes such as capacity development, collaborative response and localisation of aid that are potentially applicable to the wider sector
The need to produce quality evidence is recognised across the programme, although what constitutes “good evidence” is still a topic of debate
A centrally managed repository, the Digital Learning Platform, can provide a space for curating knowledge and evidence using a consistent approach to ensure quality control

13. RESULT 5 LEARNING: WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T IN DEVELOPING A STRENGTHENED EVIDENCE BASE
Best practices for producing quality evidence include partnering with academics, conducting baselines and endlines, and ensuring rigorous research methodologies
As projects are beginning to conduct evaluations, varying MEL capacity and budget across the portfolio may create challenges in aggregating results at the programme level
RLAs and in-country events are crucial to developing a culture of sharing and learning, however engaging decision makers in these forums could help ensure key discussions reach a wider audience

14. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU!
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?