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ALNAP REVIEW of HUMANITARIAN ACTION: Evaluation Utilisation Ging Powers Such Ganisations Ignore at Their ALNAP REVIEW OF HUMANIT There will be a time when the ALNAP annual review will be able to reflect deep and enduring progress made by organisations in the humanitarian sector. This is not yet the case. Humanitarian organisations, according to this sixth ALNAP review, still ignore lessons that should be learned from a mounting number of post-operation evaluations. They remain self-referential, striving for standards and norms that do not necessarily reflect the interests and expectations of beneficiaries; and they continue to focus on needs rather than vulnerability. These persistent failings appear to be ARIAN ACTIO ever more encumbered by the politicisation of humanitarian aid: aid used as “peace dividends” that in turn has become part and parcel of the global security agenda. The ALNAP annual review explores these continuing weaknesses, with clarity, originality and insight. Even more importantly, the contributors to this year’s edition proffer perspectives and recommendations that humanitarian organisations ignore at their peril. At the same time, this most recent ALNAP edition ventures into N new perspectives about the humanitarian sector. Going beyond the : formal system that has become quite familiar to those in the more Evaluation utilisation developed world, the review rightly points to a much wider structure of humanitarianism that is the consequence of emerging powers such as India and China, and a greater understanding about the vitally important role of that vast and largely invisible system which includes host families, villagers, friends and employers who help people in cash, kind or labour at critical moments of survival. This year’s ALNAP review is required reading for those who want to come to grips with some of the central weaknesses and spectrum of solutions for the humanitarian sector as we now know it. Even more, ALNAP REVIEW OF it takes a brave step towards providing insights into a future humanitarian community that all concerned with preventing, preparing for and responding to crises of the future will have to HUMANITARIAN ACTION understand. Evaluation utilisation Randolph Kent, PhD Director, Humanitarian Futures Programme Kings College, London ALNAP is hosted by the Overseas ISBN-13: 978 0 85003 829 3 Development Institute in London ISBN-10: 0 85003 829 4 Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action ALNAP is an international inter-agency forum that works to improve learning, accountability and performance across the humanitarian sector. It does this by sharing lessons, identifying common problems and where, appropriate, building consensus on approaches. Established in 1997, ALNAP has 57 Full Members and about 750 Observers encompassing Bilateral and Multilateral donors; UN Agencies and Departments; NGOs and NGO umbrella organisations; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement; independent consultants, academics and research institutes. To encourage self-criticism and learning, ALNAP ensures that no one type of organisation is able to dominate discussions or set the agenda. ALNAP is governed by a Steering Committee of 8 Full Member representatives selected to maintain a balance of representation between organisational types, and is serviced by a small Secretariat hosted by the Overseas Development Institute in London. ALNAP’s rolling workplan of activities is developed by the Steering Committee in collaboration with the Full Members. Workplan activities are funded by subscriptions from Full Members. www.alnap.org ALNAP Full Members Africa Humanitarian Action • All India Disaster Mitigation Institute • AusAID • John Borton • British Red Cross • CARE International • Caritas Internationalis/CAFOD • Christian Aid • Ian Christoplos • CIDA • CRS • DANIDA • DARA • DFID • DGDC Belgium • DRC • ECHO • ETC UK • FAO • GICHD • Groupe URD • HAP International • ICRC • ICVA • IFRC • IRC • Irish Aid • JICA • MFA France • MFA Germany • MFA Netherlands • MSF Holland • Norad • NRC • OCHA • ODI • OHCHR • OXFAM GB • People in Aid • ProVention Consortium • RedR • SC UK • SC US • SCHR • SDC • Sida • Sphere • John Telford • Tufts University • UNDP • UNHCR • UNICEF • USAID/OFDA • VOICE • WFP • WHO • World Vision Global welfare: A realistic expectation for the international humanitarian system? Hugo Slim Proportion and distortion in humanitarian assistance Tony Vaux The utilisation of evaluations Peta Sandison ALNAP REVIEW OF HUMANITARIAN ACTION Evaluation utilisation ALNAP Review of Humanitarian Action Editor John Mitchell Photocopies of all or part of this publication may be made providing the source is Authors acknowledged. ALNAP would appreciate Chapter 1 Hugo Slim receiving details of any use made of this Chapter 2 Tony Vaux material in training, research or programme Chapter 3 Peta Sandison design, implementation or evaluation. Requests for commercial reproduction of The opinions expressed in this ALNAP material should be directed to publication are those of the authors and ALNAP. do not necessarily represent the views or policies of ALNAP or any of its members. Printed by Claremont Press, Horsham Thanks are also due to those who Printed on Greencoat Plus Velvet 130gsm provided support during the production which contains 80% recycled fibre, 10% of this work, those who acted as totally chlorine free pulp and 10% elemental members of peer review groups for the chlorine free pulp. Greencoat has the Forest respective chapters of this publication, Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification and those who provided case-study material for the utilisation chapter. Designed by The Design Unit www.thedesignunit.com They are, for Chapter 1 Maurice Herson, John Mitchell, Peta Sandison and Tony The sections of this publication can be Vaux; for Chapter 2 Maurice Herson, downloaded from the ALNAP website John Lakeman, John Mitchell and Peta www.alnap.org Sandison; and for Chapter 3 Peter Giesen, Charles-Antoine Hofmann, Tania Kelly, For further copies of this publication, please Ted Kliest, John Lakeman, John Mitchell, contact: ALNAP, c/o Overseas Development Monica Labelle Oliver, Ben Ramalingam Institute, 111 Wesminster Bridge Road, and Peter Wiles. London SE1 7JD, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300 Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399 ISBN-13 978 0 85003 829 3 Email: [email protected] ISBN-10 0 85003 829 4 Website: www.alnap.org © Overseas Development Institute, Price per copy £15 (excluding postage and London 2006 packing) 2 ALNAP Review of Humanitarian Action Contents List of acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................ 6 Preface ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 1 Global welfare: A realistic expectation for the international humanitarian system?......................................................................................... 9 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Possible expectations of the humanitarian system ........................................ 12 1.2.1 Humanitarian progress................................................................................................ 12 1.2.2 Political expectations .................................................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Agency and recipient expectations ............................................................................ 17 1.3 Global humanitarian systems ................................................................................ 18 1.3.1 The formal international humanitarian system ...................................................... 19 1.3.2 Informal international humanitarian systems ........................................................ 22 1.3.3 Expectations of humanitarian practice ..................................................................... 24 1.3.4 Reasonable expectations of the humanitarian system .......................................... 28 1.4 A five-year view ........................................................................................................... 28 1.4.1 A culture of improvement ........................................................................................... 30 1.4.2 Balancing consolidation and innovation .................................................................. 30 1.4.3 Encouraging positive thinking ................................................................................... 31 1.4.4 Changing international society ................................................................................... 32 References ...................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 2 Proportion and distortion in humanitarian assistance........................................... 35 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 36 2.2 International political and media influences .................................................... 39 2.2.1 Political influences ........................................................................................................ 39 2.2.2 The security bias ........................................................................................................... 41 2.2.3 Media influences ..........................................................................................................
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