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21. Lessons of lessons: A window into the evolution of the humanitarian sector

Author:
Jessica Alexander and Emmeline Kerkvliet
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Monitoring and evaluation is critical for assessing performance and maintaining accountability in the humanitarian sector. For 25 years, ALNAP Lessons Papers have brought together findings and recommendations from a range of different contexts and disaster types, laying out lessons from previous responses in concise and readable ways. This paper looks at a selection of ALNAP Lessons papers across 20 years, aiming to identify where and how the humanitarian system has evolved over time, as well as the areas where progress has been weaker and stronger attention is still needed. It identifies four interesting trends: Structural, system-wide themes appear more frequently in the Lessons Papers. Lessons related to technical learning showed the most change from ‘observational’ to ‘instructional’ over time. Lessons related to structural and system-wide issues don’t change has much over time, staying more ‘observational’. Lessons related to localisation and community engagement and accountability (CEA) show least progress over time.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Community Engagement, Planning, Monitoring, and and Evaluation (PME)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. Action Learning for Frontline Humanitarians: a resource pack

Author:
Jennifer Doherty, Amelie Sundberg, and Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Course Pack
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
The knowledge of frontline staff – those directly involved in programme implementation and monitoring – is fundamental to good humanitarian action. These individuals make decisions and solve problems every day in their work with crisis-affected populations. The interactions they have with communities produce important information on how to implement projects most effectively to meet local needs. Decisions stemming from this experiential knowledge can be as valuable as decisions reached through more formal, explicit evidence. The pack is for programme staff who are implementing projects, staff in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) roles who are collecting data and evaluating projects, and for team leaders or managers who work with them. Individuals, project teams or cross-organisational and inter-agency groups can all use this approach.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Decision-Making, and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Learning to change: The case for systemic learning strategies in the humanitarian sector

Author:
John Mitchell and Ben Ramalingam
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This paper presents the case for systemic organisational change in the humanitarian system. The paper firstly shows that that organisational learning has tended to reinforce existing ways of working and has not been able to shift a culture that values action over reflection. As a result, the rest of the paper asks about the most significant changes in the humanitarian sector and the contribution of learning. The paper explores four case studies on learning using a systems lens, which enables a more dynamic and holistic view of how learning actually works in the sector. The findings show that learning has indeed played a critical role in many key change efforts but has often not been part of wider organisational learning efforts. The paper’s conclusion suggests that the humanitarian sector needs to rethink its rationale and approach to learning; and that the research and explorations in the paper can underpin this approach. A number of steps are then proposed for how this may be taken forward.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Annex | ALNAP Lessons Paper: Adapting humanitarian action to climate change

Author:
Véronique de Geoffroy, Paul Knox Clarke, François Grunewald, and Mihir Bhatt
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Humanitarian agencies need to reflect on the past, learn from the present and actively imagine the near and increasingly threatening future. From excessive consumption to the over-exploitation of natural resources, polluting activities to large-scale deforestation, humans have already dramatically changed the Earth’s climate and environment. As a result, we are experiencing more frequent and more intense weather events, the humanitarian consequences of which are major. Droughts, flooding and tropical storms cause death, disease, destruction and large-scale population displacement. Public health emergencies are already increasing because of these changes. Conflicts and conflict situations may increase, as may the resulting human migration and displacement. Humanitarian actors working on the ground with climate-related disasters are well placed to observe the intensification of climate-related effects and the increasing complexity of extreme weather events in all regions of the world, including regions where such events were previously rare or unknown. This annex accompanies the ALNAP Lessons Paper: Adapting humanitarian action to climate change, which aims to inform the work of humanitarian practitioners in the face of future climate-related disasters.
Topic:
Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Crisis Management, and Humanitarian Organizations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

25. Cashing in: Turning challenges into opportunities when evaluating humanitarian cash assistance

Author:
Neil Dillon, Ruth McCormack, Amelie Sundberg, Samir Hafiz, Paul Harvey, and Gabrielle Smith
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
The use of cash transfers in humanitarian action has implications for evaluative activity. On the one hand, the utility of some evaluations has been strengthened by the increased attention that has been paid to evaluating cash transfers, the agreement of common outcome indicators and the creation of value-for-money methodologies. On the other hand, the programming approaches that are increasingly common to cash assistance – such as multipurpose and unconditional transfers, linkages with social protection systems and the digitalisation of transfers in partnership with financial service providers – present particular challenges for understanding humanitarian outcomes, delineating response scope, analysing different operational models and analysing new data sources. This discussion paper explores the challenges faced when evaluating cash assistance based on research activities by ALNAP along with substantive inputs from CaLP drawing on their wider research, such as the State of the World's Cash 2020 Report.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Markets, Partnerships, Public-Private Partnership, and Cash Transfers
Political Geography:
Global Focus

26. Adapting humanitarian action to the effects of climate change

Author:
ALNAP, Véronique de Geoffroy, Paul Knox Clarke, Mihir Bhatt, François Grunewald, and Jennifer Doherty
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Humanitarian agencies need to reflect on the past, learn from the present and actively imagine the near and increasingly threatening future. From excessive consumption to the over-exploitation of natural resources, polluting activities to large-scale deforestation, humans have already dramatically changed the Earth’s climate and environment. As a result, we are experiencing more frequent and more intense weather events, the humanitarian consequences of which are major. Droughts, flooding and tropical storms cause death, disease, destruction and large-scale population displacement. Public health emergencies are already increasing because of these changes. Conflicts and conflict situations may increase, as may the resulting human migration and displacement. Humanitarian actors working on the ground with climate-related disasters are well placed to observe the intensification of climate-related effects and the increasing complexity of extreme weather events in all regions of the world, including regions where such events were previously rare or unknown.
Topic:
Climate Change, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, Conflict, and Public Health
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. Responding to Ebola epidemics

Author:
Gentiane Lamoure and Helene Juillard
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Epidemics of infectious diseases are occurring more often, and spreading faster and further across the world than ever before. The emergence of large-scale epidemics (such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, SARS and, even more recently, COVID-19), the re-emergence of old diseases (such as tuberculosis and haemorrhagic dengue) and the persistence of epidemics of controllable diseases (such as measles, cholera or malaria) have led national governments and global institutions to consider epidemics as some of the most serious major public health emergency threats for the 21st century. Since 2010, both medical and non medical humanitarian actors have been increasingly involved in the response to major outbreaks. This lessons paper aims to inform future humanitarian responses to Ebola, acting as a guide for humanitarian practitioners. Some of its findings – such as the lessons on coordination, funding and economic recovery – may also be transferable to responses to other epidemics. The paper seeks to answer the research question: ‘What lessons for humanitarian practitioners can be drawn from the responses to the Ebola epidemic outbreaks since 2014?’
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Ebola, Crisis Management, Public Health, and Epidemic
Political Geography:
Africa

28. One Neighbourhood: CARE’s humanitarian response in Tripoli

Author:
Leah Campbell
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
'One Neighbourhood: CARE’s humanitarian response in Tripoli' is the second in a series of case studies showcasing examples of humanitarian projects operating effectively in complex urban environments. The case study examines CARE's 'One Neighbourhood' project in Tripoli, Lebanon. The project aimed to build the resilience of affected communities and people in vulnerable neighbourhoods Tripoli neighbourhoods between 2015 and 2019 through individual shelter rehabilitation projects, communal projects, awareness-raising sessions, household outreach, committees and more. By delving into the project, this case study specifically seeks to answer how the project managed to navigate urban complexity in Tripoli, how it overcame challenges and obstacles in the implementation of ways of working and what enabled the project to be successful.
Topic:
Urban, Cities, Community Engagement, Humanitarian Response, Outreach, and Assessment
Political Geography:
Middle East and Lebanon

29. Responding to COVID-19: Guidance for humanitarian agencies

Author:
Ben Ramalingam, Neha S. Singh, Audrey Mahieu, and Karl Blanchet
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
How should humanitarian organisations prepare and respond to COVID-19 in humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries? This Rapid Learning Review outlines 14 actions, insights and ideas for humanitarian actors to consider in their COVID-19 responses. It summarises and synthesises the best available knowledge and guidance for developing a health response to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income settings as at April 2020 The paper, supported by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, will be updated throughout 2020 to reflect emerging knowledge and evidence on the most effective approaches to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Topic:
Crisis Management, Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus

30. Learning from What We Know: How to improve evaluation synthesis for humanitarian organisations

Author:
Neil Dillon
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Although the volume of evaluations published by humanitarian actors has increased tenfold between 2007 and 2017 in this resource library, the evaluation system still struggles to provide evidence about collective performance of the humanitarian sector. Evaluation synthesis provides one option for building information about response-wide performance. They aggregate findings from a defined range of evaluations using a specific analytical framework and typically seek to provide digestible lessons for senior management by drawing on findings from multiple projects and interventions. In short, they help us to learn from what we know. This paper provides guidance on when to do an evaluation synthesis and how to do it well.
Topic:
International Organization, Management, Performance Evaluation, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus