Consultancy: Case studies on effective early recovery for off radar communities in selected countries in Asia and the Pacific

The organisation

Oxfam is a vibrant and global movement of passionate, dedicated people fighting poverty together. People-power drives everything we do. From saving lives and developing projects that put poor people in charge of their lives and livelihoods, to campaigning for change that lasts. That’s Oxfam in action. If you share this vision and commitment, then you are exactly who we are looking for.

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Background of the research

Oxfam has been working on issues of disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation (CCA), and resilience for several years and across the world. Oxfam America received a three-year grant from the Margaret A. Cargill (MAC) Philanthropies for the AP-Lift project to support the enhancement of capacities of local communities affected by recurrent natural hazards to be better equipped to protect their assets and co-lead on relief and recovery efforts in collaboration with authorities.

The programme runs from October 2017 to September 2020 and is implemented by Oxfam and partners in the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. This project contributes to testing Oxfam’s theory that a locally-led or managed response and preparedness is more effective, more accountable, and saves more lives.

For the purpose of this research, off-the-radar communities are defined as communities that are far from the centre of political power and geographically isolated or difficult to access. They are also exposed to recurrent natural hazards and have little or no media attention, which in turn leads to less international agency funding and government support in instances of disaster. 

Over the last five years, the emergence of local humanitarian leadership has changed the way humanitarian responses are being carried out. Through commitments in the Grand Bargain in the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, more and more international groups are directing resources - sometimes voluntarily and sometimes spurred by government regulations - to local organisations on the ground, either through long-standing partnerships or new agreements. For this research, it is important to be on the lookout for this emerging trend on localisation as a backdrop for the case studies.

Research audience

There are several audiences for the research:

• Community stakeholders where the case studies will be harvested
• The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
• The implementing partners in the AP-LIFT project, into which the research findings should feed
• Oxfam staff designing resilience, DRR, and preparedness projects
• The broader humanitarian response community, especially those within the Asia-Pacific, including donors and practitioners.

Deliverables

• Literature review
• Research report with indicative outline to be agreed with Oxfam
• A simple, easy to understand 10 page research report accompanied by a PowerPoint that will be presented to communities who participated in the case studies as part of the “report back.” Similarly, a PowerPoint will also be used for webinars with Oxfam staff for wider research dissemination, uptake of research results, and recommendations

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work, including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity, and financial misconduct. Oxfam is also committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and may be subject to appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks.