ToR for capitalization of lessons learned and best practices of the disaster risk reduction coastal area program

Introduction

The Myanmar Red Cross Society Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity Building & Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction Coastal Area Program (DRR Program) was commenced in January 2009 with the overall objective of contributing to increase the resilience of population at risk facing natural disasters in coastal area of Myanmar. The specific objective of the program is to increase the capacity of the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), communities, schools, key government agencies and other stakeholders in order to improve community based disaster risk reduction activities within selected townships located in high risk areas of the coastal regions of the country. MRCS is responsible to implement the program while the French Red Cross (FRC) and the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRC) provide with the financial and technical support for the implementation.

MRCS capacity building, community resilience and school disaster risk reduction are three key components of this program. The fundamental strategy of this program is to build DRR capacities of the MRCS HQ and township branches in order to mobilize them to enhance community resilience and school disaster risk reduction. In line with this, the program has set four expected results of this intervention:

1. Capacities and knowhow of MRCS DRR staff and volunteers (Headquarters, Regions and Townships branches) are improved in order to improve the assistance for vulnerable communities.
2. The capacity (knowledge, awareness and organization) of targeted at-risk communities to better cope with natural hazards is improved.
3. Preparedness of targeted schools in at-risk areas (in 6 coastal Regions is strengthened through planning, knowledge and awareness mechanisms.
4. Widespread information and communication related to DRR activities are realized at national level to increase the advocacy of DRR mechanisms to Myanmar stakeholders.

The program has been implemented in 9 Townships and 141 villages of 4 coastal regions/state (formally called divisions) of Myanmar. As the program is going to be phased out in early 2014 and all the field activities will be completed before December 2013, the implementing partners- Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), French Red Cross (FRC) and the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRC) intend to carry out a detailed documentation and research on the lessons learned and best practices in some key activities of the program related to the development of the Red Cross branches (township level) as a contributing factor of effective DRR in communities and schools.

Objective and scope of the capitalization

The overall objective of the capitalization is to document the success stories, best practices and lessons learned gained during the implementation of the MRCS capacity and community-based disaster risk reduction program, especially focusing on the Township Branch Capacity Building Component (under expected result 1 of the program).

Three specific areas of capacity-building will be thoroughly reviewed and analyzed as follows:

1. Income-Generating / Fund-Raising activities (IGA/FRA)
2. Township Reinforcement Activities (TRA)
3. Volunteer Capacity-Building
4. RC/Community capacity in reducing the disaster risks.

For each of those areas, the study will explore the processes followed, the effects and impacts on local dynamics and the sustainability aspects of the interventions. Following this study, concrete recommendations will be proposed in order to improve the operational guidelines of the MRCS.

Key research questions

The following are key questions that should be covered by the research. They are given as a guideline for the consultant to propose a methodology. New questions will arrive throughout the research and will be discussed with the team in the field as required.

Income-Generating / Fund-Raising activities (IGA/FRA)

These activities are implemented at branch level with a view to support the sustainability of the project outputs through ensuring branches get some financial income to continue implementing DRR activities. The project supports (among others) seed funds, development of business plan, finance management training, etc.

• How branches mobilize funds (either through IGA or FRA), describing the business model and the profitability?
• How these funds are managed and accounted for?
• On which planning process the funds allocation is based?
• Is there any mechanism developed between local and national level to enable effective spending and reporting? Who actually takes the key decisions?
• Is such a system replicable? Do branches have sustainable capacities to ensure sound management of such resource mobilization activities?
• What is the current status of IGA-both the positive and negative aspects?

Township Reinforcement Activities (TRA)

A set of activities implemented at branch level after the main community-based and school-based activities are completed to ensure knowledge and skills are retained and branches have the managerial and technical capacities to replicate.

• Was it relevant to come back to previous townships with such a package of capacity-building activities?
• Was the Township Branch Assessment Tool (TBAT) appropriate for identifying the key needs for capacity-building? To which extent was it connected to the broader OD/branch development tools and initiatives of the MRCS?
• To which extent did TRA contribute effectively to an improvement of the township ownership and leadership in the implementation of activities?
• Which components of the TRA are replicable within the MRCS context?
• What would be the reasonable time period for reinforcing core interventions?
• Is TRA a right approach to fulfill the gaps of township branch?

Volunteer Capacity-Building

The core of capacity-building at local level: a blend of trainings and “learning by doing” activities with the support of a field team during the first year of implementation and then ad hoc visits from HQ level to the branch.

• Which processes are used to mobilize volunteers (criteria for selection, mobilization activities, etc.)?
• How trainings are managed (selection of volunteers to be trained, evaluation of their skills, etc.) and delivered?
• What volunteer management systems are in place (meetings, guidelines, ID cards, insurance, uniforms, etc.)?
• What are the relationships between township and target village volunteers?
• Did non-target villages receive support from trained volunteers?
• Is there any mechanism in place to ensure optimal retention of the volunteers?
• Are there core activities of the township branches carried out after the program is phased out?

RC/Community Disaster Response Capacity

Through an after-action review following an actual disaster (if applicable, i.e. where any intervention community has been affected by a local disaster in the past 6 months), review the response based on community disaster/emergency plan developed prior to the disaster to exam:

• Compare what was planned to what actually happened (facts not judgments)
• Assess what in the plan was useful and what not?
• What can be improved and how?
• Can DRR reduce the effects or losses of a disaster? Has there any evidence in this regard?

Capitalization methodology

The research team / researcher will liaise with technical DRR personnel of the FRC, CRC, MRCS, and FRC SE Asia Regional office to ensure quality and technical soundness of methodology and recommendations.

The research team/researcher will work in collaboration with the following actors:

1. The MRCS DM Division, who will facilitate linkages with the program team and the different division of MRCS (including Organizational Development, Resource Mobilization, First Aid and Safety, Communications, etc.)
2. The FRC Program Coordinator who will provide all needed documents, data and information linked to the program.
3. The IFRC DM Delegate, who will highlight the DM and DRR part of the MRCS 2011-2015 strategy and ongoing mechanisms.
4. The FRC Regional DRR Delegate, who will provide highlights on the technical aspects of the DRR Program in line with South East Asia context.
5. The Regional RCEC of the Myanmar Red Cross particularly G1 and G2
6. The Townships’ RCECs of the Myanmar Red Cross Society and RCV s

Deliverables

The research team / researcher will deliver the following documents:

• Inception report with detailed methodology, in particular on the selection of target study areas (after discussion with MRCS)
• Finalized data collection tools and instruments
• Report presenting all findings (no particular template)
• Three (3) or four (4) case studies (one per topic: Income Generating/ Fund-Raising activities, Township Reinforcement Activities, Volunteer Capacity Building and retention, and – if applicable - Effectiveness of DRR program in reducing disaster impacts) based on the template used in the MRCS CBDRR framework.