1. REGIONAL DURABLE SOLUTIONS SECRETARIAT (ReDSS)
2017 achievements and
2018/2020 priorities and focus
This work is funded by Danida and DFID.

2. REGIONAL DURABLE SOLUTIONS SECRETARIAT (ReDSS)
Goal: to improve programming and policy in support of durable solutions for displacement affected communities in East and Horn of Africa
Consortium of 12 organizations
Coordination and information hub not an implementing agency that acts as a catalyst and agent provocateur to stimulate forward thinking and policy development on durable solutions in East Africa.
Advocacy/ policy dialogue
Research & Knowledge Management
Capacity development
Coordination

3. 2017 in figures 268 PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED 5 LEARNING EVENTS
140 PRACTIONERS AND 93 POLICY MAKERS TRAINED
268 PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED 5 LEARNING EVENTS
450 followers on twitter
Twitter: 450 followers on Twitter by the end of 2016, a 70% increase from the previous year.
Growth of external mailing list: ReDSS external mailing list has grown from 300 contacts at the end of 2016 to over 880 contacts by the end of The mailing list includes a variety of actors from countries within East Africa region as well as global contacts including for donors, governments, UN agencies, NGOs, local actors, private sector, academia, global networks such as ICVA…etc.
Bi-monthly updates: With 6 updates published in 2017, ReDSS updates continued to draw more diverse audiences to our research and analysis. ReDSS also provided a platform for key stakeholders to explore new and emerging issues on displacement and durable solutions at the global, regional and national levels.
ReDSS website: The website had 36,739 views by the end of 2017
Learning events: convened in partnership with RVI, IGAD, World Bank, UN, donors
Data resources for planning and coordination on displacement| February 2017
Drought and displacement in Somalia | April 2017
Early solutions planning in Uganda I June 2017
Self reliance and resilience | October 2017
Durable solutions, resilience and locally-led processes | December 2017
880 subscribers
OVER 36,000 VIEWS ON ReDSS WEBSITE

4. Policy and programming impacts
ReDSS engagement with governments and IGAD - creating a space for open dialogue around local integration and transitional solutions, moving away from a focus solely on return processes
ReDSS has significantly influenced donor policies and strategies resulting in increased long term funding for solutions programming
Engagement with development actors and inclusion of displacement indicators in national poverty assessments
ReDSS analyses referenced and used by key stakeholders including World Bank, UNHCR, IGAD, DFID, EU, IGAD, Governments…
Members and non members are designing solutions programming based on the ReDSS Solutions framework (EU REINTEG, IOM, World Bank…) – standardization and alignment/ collective outcomes
Technical support to members in development of solutions strategies
ReDSS is perceived as a trusted space for collective analysis/ learning f
Examples of members and partners use of ReDSS solutions framework and analyses
EU-REINTEG in Somalia. All four NGO led consortium have incorporated indicators from the ReDSS Solutions Framework.
IOM incorporated ReDSS Solutions framework indicators into their UN Joint programme MIDNIMO
World Vision Somalia has embedded the solutions framework to improve the quality of their displacement programming.
Development of area based assessments action plan for Kismayo, area based analysis for Jijiga and Gambella

5. Core elements to inform Solutions planning and programing
Creating durable solutions requires a multi- stakeholder and sectoral, rights and needs based programming approach
The process must be viewed as a collective action rather than mandate driven based on an inclusive, participatory and consensus building approach
National, regional and local authorities have the primary responsibility and need to be supported to to play their leadership and coordinating role
Developing area based Solutions analysis is paramount due to limited absorption capacity, protection concerns, persistent security & access issues
Community engagement is critical to inform (re)integration analysis and programing to make solutions lasting, locally relevant and supportive of social cohesion and to adopt a ‘displacement affected communities’ approach- inclusive of returnees, IDPs and host communities
Gender/age-sensitive: Interventions should take into account the gender and age dynamics at play&give special attention to the concerns of women&youth
Involve development actors from the start to inform medium to long term sectorial priorities complementing humanitarian interventions
These are the core solutions programming principles that ReDSS partners agreed upon to inform their work.

6. Session 1: 2017 Key Achievements & Challenges

7. Research and Knowledge management

8. ReDSS Learning strategy Measure contribution not attribution towards collective outcomes
ReDSS in partnership with its members has developed a learning strategy which adapts an open, flexible approach where value is added through mutually-beneficial and trustful relationships. The strategy is guided by four key elements:
Collaborative: Ensure ReDSS work is generated and grounded in a collaborative and collective process involving all relevant members and external actors;
Adaptive: Embed adaptive working approaches where ReDSS strategies and activities are designed assuming change is inevitable;
Iterative: Promote the use of iterative decision-making to adapt durable solutions approaches continuously;
Locally-led: Enable a context-specific and problem-oriented approach to strategies and activities for improved programming and policies for durable solutions.

9. Different tools for different audiences
Solutions analyses to inform (re)integration planning and programming in Somalia, Tanzania and Ethiopia in partnership with key actors
Urban study to address solutions in urban context
Solution programing tools
Online solutions dashboard
Website and bi monthly update
Solutions tutorial
5 Learning events
8 One pagers with key figures and recommendations
Constant monitoring of learning uptake and impacts (how people learned, which tools they used per category: practitioners, donors, governments, etc)
Learning events: convened in partnership with RVI, IGAD, World Bank, UN, donors
Data resources for planning and coordination on displacement| February 2017
Drought and displacement in Somalia | April 2017
Early solutions planning in Uganda I June 2017
Self reliance and resilience | October 2017
Durable solutions, resilience and locally-led processes | December 2017

10. The solutions framework A collaborative process through a consensus building approach for common analysis
Initiate the process and identify its aims and scope
Gather all relevant actors
Create a steering committe reflecting the diversity of DS actors
Collect secondary data based on the ReDSS indicators
Validate data and rate the level of achievement of DS for each indicator
final validation and common analysis/ way forward

11. Making data useful- the right balance?
It is critical to improve the generation and availability of relevant data and analysis to better understand and operationalize complementary humanitarian and developmental approaches in the search for durable solutions and to mitigate against secondary displacements.
Data alone is not useful. It needs to be used to inform collective analysis and a common vision. Data without common/ collective analysis is not useful. We also need to be clear why we are collecting this information so as to avoid collecting data that wont be used or duplicating what already exist.
There are quite a lot of available data and needs’ assessments in the region but most of them don’t have a displacement component. So different type of data and analysis are required, building on what exists, to have better ‘profiling’/ understanding of displaced and host communities (skills assessments, DRR/ environmental/ urban assessments, economic and market/ private sector analysis, absorption capacity of different sectors, area based assessments...).
Accuracy
Consensus
Use data to inform joint analysis

12. The quality of the process leading to durable solution is a key element necessary for its sustainability
Achieving durable solution is a process that is first and foremost determined by receiving governments and societies
The creation of conditions conducive to durable solutions requires the collective action of multiple political, humanitarian, development, governance, peace-building and private sector actors
The objective is to move away from care and maintenance towards self reliance and resilience of displacement affected communities
Building the self-reliance and resilience of the displaced equips and prepares them towards (re)integration
Preparedness before displacement occurs is crucial/ early solutions
Building the self-reliance and resilience of the displaced equips and prepares them towards (re)integration. Self-reliance can lead to resilience, while resilience is necessary to ensure that progress towards self-reliance is not eroded or reversed in the face of sudden-onset shocks and longer-term trends, such as climate change.
Self-reliance refers to the ability of individuals, households or communities to meet their essential needs and enjoy their human rights in a sustainable manner and to live with dignity. Self-reliant persons lead independent and productive lives and are better able to enjoy their rights, while also contributing to their host societies.
Resilience interventions focus on enabling people and institutions to mitigate risks and respond to shocks, including those related to conflict, violence, natural disasters, health epidemics, and major shifts in labour markets.
Both self-reliance and resilience build upon the resources and capacities of individuals, communities and States, with the objective of ensuring safe and productive futures for all those impacted by a crisis.
For returnees, efforts to enhance self-reliance and resilience in the country of origin can ensure that their return is sustainable. The New York declaration reiterated that the primary providers of protection and solutions are States, with host communities playing a crucial role. The international community’s responsibility is to reinforce the response of national actors, when the scale of the needs surpasses local capacities and resources.
Preparedness before displacement occurs is crucial as well as early solutions. From the beginning, the goal of response efforts in crisis-prone areas should be to support national systems, host communities and people of concern to anticipate, respond and adjust to shocks. When all actors are prepared to contribute to this goal before the onset of a displacement crisis, responses are more likely to be well-designed, coordinated and effective.
Strengthens resilience through interventions aimed at supporting local conflict resolution and community-based policing capacity, in response to changes in the security environment following a mass influx, and aimed at ensuring safety and security for both host and displaced communities.

13. REDSS FRAMEWORK : HOW DOES IT WORK?
Criteria
Sub criteria (IASC)
Indicators
1. SAFETY & SECURITY/ PROTECTION/ SOCIAL COHESION
6 Indicators
2. ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES
7 indicators
3. ACCESS TO JOB CREATION/ ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
4 indicators
4. RESTORATION OF HOUSING, LAND & PROPERTY
3 Indicators
5. ACCESS TO DOCUMENTATION
6. FAMILY REUNIFICATION
7. PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
2 Indicators
8. ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE REMEDIES AND JUSTICE
REDSS FRAMEWORK : HOW DOES IT WORK?
The three types of safety and the corresponding 8 IASC criteria / The indicators (between 2 to 7indicators) for each sub criteria. It was developed for the first time in The objective for DS is to move away from care and maintenance response to displacement towards self reliance and resilience of displacement affected communities.
The blue arrows highlight the sectors that resilience programing also addresses and so it is easier to visualize that the sectors that are not addressed are the ones related to safety/ protection and rights. The next slide will highlight this.

14. durable solutions processes sustainable (re)integration
resilience + protection
(safety/ dignity/ voluntariness/ rights)
durable solutions processes
sustainable (re)integration
As explained in the previous slide with blue arrows
Support for self-reliance and resilience can take several forms, including: (1) strengthening the preparedness of national systems for emergency response, including contingency planning; (2) supporting national systems and local communities once displacement occurs, in order to increase absorption capacity, ensure the inclusion of displaced persons in national services, such as healthcare and education; and (3) supporting host communities to respond to the impact of forced displacement and helping displaced equip themselves for future solutions.
Host communities can be supported to become more resilient through predictable and sustained support to local education and healthcare systems. Efforts to improve access to justice and other institutions essential to the rule of law, through collaboration with development actors, are also vital. In turn, increased self-reliance and resilience among the displaced and their host communities can contribute to the development of markets, lead to better services in remote areas, and support social cohesion.

15. Durable Solutions Training for practitioners and policy makers
Impact
Ethiopia and Kenya: training for World Bank funded DRDIP officials resulted in agreement to align programme’s priorities with refugee response planning, through the CRRF
Key success factors: bring governments, humanitarian and development actors together/ mix of UN, NGOs, donors and from all sectors and responsibilities
Pre and post learning test and evaluation to adapt content and tools after each training
Training tailored per country and audience
Constant partners engagement (NRC on HLP, UNHCR and UNDP on coordination…)
5 Technical trainings for practioners held in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Somalia (140 participants)
4 policy makers’ trainings held in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania (93 government officials trained)
In partnership with governments, UN, WB, donors, IGAD, NGOs

16. Policy influencing

17. Influencing policy and donor strategy
ReDSS has actively engaged in policy dialogue, using the evidence from its studies and analyses to improve solutions oriented policies and donor investment strategies
Development of one pagers and policy briefs on displacement and solutions - ReDSS brief on London Conference in May had more than 18,000 views
Use of evidence, dissemination and uptake (E.g use of early solutions recommendations by World Bank IDA 18, UNHCR RRRP, EUTF and IGAD) and bring humanitarian/ development
Provided technical support to key donors in developing their solutions strategies – DfID, EU, Swedish, Swiss
Significant increase in multi-year, flexible funding for solutions with inception phases and iterative learning components
Quiet diplomacy – invest in collective policy work – not on communication/ public advocacy

18. Engagement with government and local authorities to create trust and space for critical discussion and open dialogue
ReDSS work with IGAD in preparing for the Summit and in the development of the Nairobi Declaration
Contribution to the Somalia National Development Plan and to the development of collective outcomes – facilitate members engagement
Engagement with local authorities and request for support
An outcome of the ReDSS and Sparks consortium policy makers training in Turkana was a recommendation to include displacement affected communities within the County Integrated Development Plan
Support ReDSS members to better understand political context
Engaging in the CRRF
ReDSS CRRF working group (54 members & non members)and member of UNHCR-IFRC NGO Reference group
ReDSS, DRC and NRC coordinated participatory consultations with 456 displacement affected community members and 60 agencies (including Govt, UN, Private sector & NGOs).
In Uganda, CRRF structure will now include a Refugee Advisory council which will incorporate the recommendations around community participation and voices from ReDSS’s consultations
Objective to create trust and space for engagement with government for critical discussion
Creating a space for open dialogue around local integration and transitional solutions, moving away from a focus solely on return processes

19. Internal and External Coordination and Representation
Research and knowledge management
Solutions analyses: Increased analyses on the extent durable solutions conditions for displaced has been achieved. ReDSS has expanded its solutions analyses (previously conducted in Somalia and Uganda) to Tanzania and Ethiopia in close collaboration with key humanitarian and development actors to support joint accountability and analysis to better inform programming and enhance the impact of interventions
Learning events – have been able to bring a wide range of stakeholders together to support real-time learning, grounded in realities of displacement-affected communities
Data resources for planning and coordination on displacement (February 2017)–data and information management in Somalia and gaps and opportunities to better inform collective planning and programming.
Drought and displacement in Somalia (April 2017) –better use of displacement related data and analysis to inform drought management and response in the search for durable solutions.
Self reliance and resilience (October 2017) – how to link and adapt self-reliance and resilience approaches.
Durable solutions, resilience and Somali-led processes (December 2017) - collective approaches for durable solutions in Somalia and steps to increasing coherence between resilience, durable solutions and Somali-led processes.

20. ReDSS external coordination and representation
Internal coordination: Annual meetings, quarterly core groups, thematic and ad hoc, Joint Funding Opportunities
EU REINTEG Approach
DFID Somalia learning support
ReDSS external coordination and representation
ReDSS -recognized as umbrella organization with strong expertise- invited to key WGs, events, donors briefings and strategies development, UN missions, etc
Bring humanitarian and development actors/ contribute to collective outcomes discussion and organisation of workshops and learning events in partnership with key stakeholders

21. 2017 Key Achievement & Challenges
Capacity increase: 5 staff by end of 2017 – including dedicated Country support for Somalia (from 2 in 2016)
Renewed Focus: Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia including South Sudan situation and Somali situation
Increased demand for ReDSS Support: members and non-members (government, donors, academia…) as ReDSS is recognized as the “go-to” organization on durable solutions in the region
Increased Resources: Significant success in securing long term funding through members
Challenges: Managing country growth while maintaining regional impact, putting in place systems & processes to deliver at scale and quality, focus and prioritise
Ethiopia financial support- 4 years

22. Session 2: Strategic Planning 2018

23. Strategy Development Strategic Direction Maintain impact & quality
To articulate the strategic direction of ReDSS for the next 3 years and provide a framework for future growth
Maintain impact & quality
To ensure the core values and attributes of the ReDSS collective approach are retained and strengthened during the growth to country level, including regional impact
Adaptive management and learning at the centre
To be flexible and responsive to changing contexts and needs doing more of ‘what works’ and less of what doesn’t

24. 2018 Priorities Research, analysis and knowledge management
To increase the availability, accessibility and utilisation of relevant and timely analysis and information on durable solutions
Programme support and learning
To provide high quality support on programme development and design; collective monitoring; and learning that adds value to collective programming on durable solutions
Policy influence
To facilitate and undertake constructive and influential policy dialogue with key national and regional policy actors and processes in the East and Horn of Africa
Internal and external coordination
To strengthen ReDSS as an inclusive, collaborative, coordinated hub for quality information, analysis and learning on durable solutions

25. 2018- 2020 Thematic and Geographic Priorities
5 themes
Early solutions
Urban Solutions
Self reliance and resilience
HLP
Social cohesion and conflict management
Geographic focus
Kenya
Uganda
Ethiopia
Somalia
Regional: South Sudan and Somali situations
Gender/age-sensitive: Interventions should take into account the gender and age dynamics at play and give special attention to the concerns of women and youth
Cross cutting
IDP/ Protection lens to solutions programing and policies/Accountability to DAC/ Political economy/ CRRF/ Gender, women, youth and children

26. Measure contribution not attribution towards collective outcomes
Key Principles
Collaborative: Ensure ReDSS work is generated and grounded in a collaborative and collective process involving all relevant members and external actors;
Adaptive: Embed adaptive working approaches where ReDSS strategies and activities are designed assuming change is inevitable;
Iterative: Promote the use of iterative decision-making to adapt durable solutions approaches continuously;
Locally-led: Enable a context-specific and problem-oriented approach to strategies and activities for improved programming and policies for durable solutions.
Adaptive learning at the centre –to be flexible and responsive to changing contexts and needs doing more of ‘what works’ and less of what doesn’t
Measure contribution not attribution towards collective outcomes