cracks in the machine: is the humanitarian system fit for purpose? (peter walker, tufts)

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Humanitarian System

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Six deadly glitches in the system

1. Starting models2. Does evidence matter3. Compliance4. State avoiding5. Emergency6. Market seduction

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1: Poor starting models

Darfur is Islamic Arab raiders V Non Islamic Settled villagersAfghanistan is post Taliban non-conflict

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2: Does evidence matter?

Data

Analysis

Response

Impartiality

“Without data and analysis there is no impartiality”

Evidence

Evidence Driven

Proven model

Fit to Context

FeedbackMonitoring

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Sex and Age1. Collecting & using data is good! But ….2. Virtually no collection in Phase I & II 3. Education & Shelter do better4. When collected , little used5. Where used, demonstrable difference

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Why?

• Evidence doesn’t matter• Donors and cluster

leaders not interested• Don’t believe it is

possible • Collecting evidence

makes us accountable

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Does Needs Assessment matter?

Disaster Programming

Needs Assessment

Political calculus

Cash flow needs

We have always done it this way

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What you Measure is What you Get

Input

Process

Output

Outcom

e

Impact

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Why don’t you collect?

• “We report against deliverables. Our HQ and donors only want to hear success.”

• “Donors and cluster leaders are not interested”

• “Collecting evidence makes us accountable and open to risk.”

3: Quality & Compliance

• Standards & Systems • Flexibility, Context

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Counter-Bureaucracy

Risk & Quality

Compliance

“The demands of [compliance] are now so intrusive that they have distorted, misdirected, and disfigured USAID‘s development practice to such a degree that it is compromising U.S. national security objectives and challenging established principles of good development practice.”

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ReliefDev’

4:Not all states are bad

Host State Avoiding

Host State Enhancing

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Managing risk and response is normal

• National Disaster Response Law

• New partnerships• Citizen expectations• Quality assurance

expectations

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5: Emergency?

70%

20%

10%

Column1

>8 years4-8 years<4 years

Source: Development Initiatives 2011

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Chronic crisis 1990, 2010

Sudan Ethiopia Somalia Angola Mozambique

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6 Show me the money

• Gov Pakistan. 1.5 million people via Visa

• Horn of Africa 600,000 via cash through Hawala

Interventionist

Anecdote

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Abnormal

Risk transfer

Evidence

Normal

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