TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Initial findings from the TEC

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 A word of caution! –Very much initial findings. –Not all the TEC’s 30+ different reports and surveys are yet available, even in draft form. –The main report for the work of the TEC will be the Synthesis Report, due in April 2006 –More information on the Tsunami response is being published every day as we near the anniversary –More detailed study of the individual TEC and other reports, may lead to a different interpretation and emphasis in the Synthesis Report

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Flows: Management Coordination Evaluation Reports Core Management Group for the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition and the five joint thematic evaluations Synthesis Report Written by the Synthesis Primary Author with contributions from the EAC and the RDC. TEC Online Forum (includes the Evaluation Map) Longer term Studies (from ’06) ALNAP Secretariat Hosts the TEC and manages the writing of the Synthesis Report. TEC staff include: Evaluation Advisor & Coordinator (EAC), Researcher & Deputy Coordinator (RDC), and TEC Administrator Theme: Coordination led by OCHA Theme: Needs Assessment Led by WHO, SDC & FAO Theme: Impact on Local & National Capacities Led by UNDP by DMI Theme: LRRD Led by Sida Impact Assessment led by IFRC with the Global Consortium Individual Agency Evaluations (TEC Members) Theme: International Community’s Funding Response led by Danida Initial Findings Report written by the EAC

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Relief was effective Overall the relief phase went well, through a mixture of: –local assistance in the immediate aftermath –international assistance in the first weeks after the disaster There seems to have been little or no significant examples of avoidable deaths or suffering.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Response scale unprecedented The disaster was not the biggest but the scale of the generous public response was unprecedented: –in the amount of money raised (over $13 internationally) –in the speed with which money was donated –in which it was channelled (NGOs and RC). The scale of funding not only exceeded the capacity of the humanitarian system but it has acted as a giant lens, highlighting many of the existing problems in the humanitarian systems.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Local capacity is a key capacity Although local capacity is key to saving lives, this capacity is: –overlooked by the international media. –underestimated and undervalued by the international aid community. International agencies did not engage sufficiently with local actors, particularly in the vital initial phase.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Funding system is deeply flawed Funding for any one crisis is not related to needs.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Funding system limits system capacity Systems develop for their normal level of demand.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Corporatism versus accountability Corporatism puts the interests of the agency first, accountability puts donors or recipients first –Agencies focus too much on their own institutional needs and not enough on the needs of the affected populations. –Agencies are still not transparent enough or accountable enough to the people they are trying to assist. –In come cases agencies are also not sufficiently accountable to those providing the funding.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 Recovery is harder than relief While the relief phase went well, the recovery phase is encountering many problems due to: –the greater complexity of recovery –the demands that such complexity places on the aid agencies. There are broadly agreed standards for relief, but no such standards for recovery. Aid recipients happier with relief phase than with recovery.

TEC Initial Findings v040 8-Aug-15 The response changed over time The nature of the tsunami response changed quite significantly during What was true of the initial phase of the tsunami response, for example, competition between agencies for “turf”, was not true of the later phases.