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MODULE 4
STAKE HOLDER PARTICIPATION
Stakeholder ‘participation’, stakeholder ‘engagement’ and stakeholder ‘involvement’ are often used
interchangeably in relation to the interactions between two or more stakeholders in policy making,
development projects, organisational management and decision making in disaster risk reduction (DRR)
education.

In brief, ‘stakeholder participation’ is the involvement of interest groups (i.e., representatives of locally
affected communities, national or local government authorities, politicians, civil society-based organisations
and businesses) in a planning or decision-making process

Participatory development is defined as a process in which people are proactively and

significantly involved in all decision-making processes that affect their lives

Meaning and Forms of Stakeholder Participation

Stakeholders are people/communities who may be directly or indirectly, positively or negatively affected by
the outcome of projects, programmes or new initiatives such as DRR education. The three basic forms of
stakeholders are:

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Primary stakeholders: They are the beneficiaries of a development intervention or those directly affected
(positively or negatively) by it. They include local populations individuals and community-based
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organisations) in the project/programme area as well as poor and marginalised groups who have traditionally
been excluded from participating in development efforts. In disaster risk reduction, these stakeholders
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include: homeowners, renters, homeless persons and community-based small-scale businesses.

Secondary stakeholders: These refer to those who influence a development intervention or are indirectly
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affected by it. They include the government, line ministry and project staff, implementing agencies, local
governments, civil society based organisations, private sector firms, and other development agencies.
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Key stakeholders: This group can significantly influence or are important to the success of the project
through financial resources or power. In the context of DRR in the local, regional or national scale, key
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stakeholders could include National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Ministry of Local
Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies
(MMDAs), etc. and they could be financiers of DRR efforts. A key element in stakeholder participation is
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the ability to identify stakeholders, their needs, interests, relative power and potential impact on the intended
endeavour in a people-centred fashion

Effective Ways of Promoting Stakeholder Participation in DRR

• In stakeholder participation initiatives some groups - such as the very poor, women, nomadic groups or
ethnic minorities – may lack the organisational, social or financial means to make their voices heard and
participate effectively.
• These are often the exact stakeholders whose needs and interests are critical to the success and
sustainability of development interventions.
• Special efforts are needed to address the disequilibrium of power, knowledge and influence among
stakeholder groups and to allow weaker, less organised groups to interact effectively with stronger, more
established stakeholders.

These include:
➢ Capacity building – Providing training, coaching, funds or other resources to marginalised groups to
assist them in organising, mobilising support, identifying and articulating their interests;

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➢ Mandated representation – Where there is a danger of exclusion, it may be useful to establish targets of
representation, for example, agreeing that all village committees will include an established number of
women or that all ethnic groups in a given community will be represented on a decision-making body;

➢ Separate events – In some cases, it may be valuable to meet with specific population groups separately,
for example, to hold a separate women’s meeting to discuss their particular concerns;

➢ Levelling techniques – Power differentials between stakeholders can be reduced through the use of
participatory methods. A skilled facilitator can use a number of techniques to ensure that all participants
have equal opportunity to make their voices heard. Negotiating systems may need to be developed for
handling conflicting interests between different groups of local stakeholders;

➢ Use of intermediaries – In circumstances where the direct participation of marginalised individuals

themselves is not feasible, intermediaries or surrogates may be identified to represent their views and
defend their interests. For example, if it is not possible for women farmers from isolated areas to
participate directly in a national forum on agricultural development, female extension workers might be
selected to represent their interests

Benefits and Cost of Stakeholder Participation in DRR

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Benefits TO DRR
The potential benefits of increased stakeholder participation include the following:
➢ Improved programme/project design by drawing on local knowledge and expertise to ensure that
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designs accurately reflect stakeholder priorities and needs;
➢ Improved means of verifying the relevance and appropriateness of proposed interventions;
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➢ Strengthened stakeholder commitment to, and ownership of, policies and projects, leading to increased
uptake of project services and greater willingness to share costs;
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➢ Enhanced sustainability as a result of increased stakeholder ownership;

➢ Opportunity to foresee and/or resolve potential obstacles, constraints and conflicts;
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➢ Emphasised means to identify and address potential negative social and environmental impacts;
➢ Opportunity to generate social learning and innovations based on field experience;
➢ Capacity-building of stakeholders and local institutions (including their capacity to analyse problems and
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initiate other development activities);

➢ Improved means of ensuring that project benefits are distributed equitably; and
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➢ Strengthened working relations between stakeholders, government and civil society organisations and
development partners.

Costs and Risks to DRR

Each progressive level of stakeholder participation brings with it different costs and risks. The principal cost
is the absence of stakeholder participation in programmes and projects. Lack of stakeholder participation can
lead to:
➢ Higher up-front costs in terms of time and resources;
➢ Danger of undertaking poorly planned or merely token participatory activities due to limited time,
capacity, commitment or resources;
➢ Lack of political will on the part of governments to allow wide stakeholder participation because they
fear loss of power or influence;
➢ Difficulty in reaching out to marginalised groups and ensuring that the true priorities and needs of poor
and vulnerable groups are represented;
➢ Difficulty in identifying genuine representative non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil
society organisations (CSOs);
➢ Co-optation of the stakeholder participation process by more powerful or articulate stakeholders, and the
exclusion of the poor and disadvantaged;
➢ Creation of unrealistic expectations;

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➢ Aggravating conflicts between stakeholder groups with different priorities/interests;
➢ Weak capacity of beneficiary and intermediary organisations; and
➢ Challenge of coordinating efforts with other on-going consultation/participation processes to avoid
‘consultation fatigue’.

Basic Steps in Participatory Stake hold Engagement

Participatory stakeholder engagement: Stakeholder engagement is the identification of a project's key

stakeholders, an assessment of their interests, and the ways in which these interests affect project riskiness
and viability.

• Stakeholder analysis is a methodology for identifying and analysing the key stakeholders in a project and
planning for their participation. It is, therefore, the starting point of most participatory processes and
provides the foundation for the design of subsequent stakeholder activities throughout the project cycle.
• A thorough stakeholder analysis should be carried out in the early planning stages of all endeavours such
as DRR, and reviewed and refined from time to time as the details of programme or project design
become more detailed and definite.

• Generally, the most fundamental steps in stakeholder analysis can be enumerated as follows:
Step 1: Identify key stakeholders;

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Step 2: Assess stakeholder interest and the potential impact of the new initiative or subject
of interests;
Step 3: Assess stakeholder influences and importance; and
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Step 4: Outline a stakeholder participation strategy.
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Step 1: Key Stakeholders Identification: The first step of stakeholder analysis is to identify relevant
stakeholder groups. Key questions to ask in addressing this issue are:
• Who are the programme or project targeted beneficiaries?
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• Who might be adversely impacted?

• Will the project impact (positively or negatively) on any vulnerable groups?
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• Who are the projects main supporters and opponents?

• Who is responsible for carrying out planned activities?
• Who can contribute financial and technical resources?
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• Whose behaviour has to change for the intervention to succeed?

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An initial list of stakeholders can be drawn up on the basis of a desk review of secondary data (publications
and documents) and existing staff knowledge of the project, sector and country. This preliminary list must
then be verified, modified and enhanced through the use of the questions discussed above.

Step 2: Analysis of Stakeholder Interests and Programme/Project Impacts

Once relevant stakeholder groups have been identified, the next step is to analyse their interests (overt and
hidden) and to assess the potential impact of the proposed project on their interests.
Key questions for participants to answer include:
• How does each group of stakeholders perceive the problem at hand and proposed solutions?
• What are their key concerns and interests with respect to the project?
• What are stakeholders’ expectations of the project?
• What does each group of stakeholders stand to gain/lose as a result of the project?
• What conflicts might a group of stakeholders have with a particular project strategy?
• How do different groups of stakeholders relate to each other?
• Is there convergence/divergence between their interests and expectations?

These questions are best answered by stakeholders themselves in the context of a stakeholder workshop.
Such a workshop requires careful preparation and could require a full day (depending on the complexity of
the subject or project and stakeholder interests).

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Step 3: Stakeholder Prioritisation
The analysis of stakeholder interests and project impacts should allow the project team to categorise
different groups of stakeholders and to determine the relative priority that the project should give to each
stakeholder group’s interest.

Key questions to engage the attention of participants are:

• Who are the project’s targeted primary beneficiaries?
• What is the importance of each stakeholder group to the success of the project?
• What is the degree of influence of each stakeholder group over the project?
• Are special measures needed to protect the interests of primary stakeholder groups that are weak or
vulnerable?

The results of the first three steps of stakeholder analysis can be represented in table form to provide a clear
and comprehensive picture of stakeholder interests, importance and influence.

Stakeholder Analysis Matrices

The following three tables represent a framework for recording and organising the
information generated by a stakeholder analysis in the context of DRR.
To review, the three variables used to construct the matrices are listed below:

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• Interests: the priority concerns of the stakeholder group (or what is ‘at stake’ for them);
• Influence: the degree to which the stakeholder group has power and control over the endeavour and can
thus facilitate or hinder its implementation; and
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• Importance: the degree to which the achievement of programme or project objectives depends on the
active involvement of a given stakeholder group.
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Step 4: Stakeholder Action Planning

The ultimate goal of stakeholder analysis is the definition and development of a stakeholder action plan that
outlines the specific activities to be carried out by each stakeholder group (including agreed timelines, inputs
and resources, progress indicators, etc.). Some stakeholder groups will have active and continuous roles to
play while others may only need to be kept informed of progress or be involved at certain key moments of
planning or implementation.

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A stakeholder action plan is best drawn up in direct collaboration with those concerned and a participatory
workshop (or series of workshops) is often the best way to proceed.

Methods and tools for participatory Stakeholder engagement

1. Participatory Meetings and Workshops:

Panel Discussions
Panellists build off each other’s answers to elicit different opinions and deepen the discussion. The
discussion can start with an overview presentation and brief comments from each panellist to frame the
discussion and provide the audience with an understanding of the experience and viewpoint each panellist
brings. The majority of the session time can then be spent in a question and answer (Question and Answers)
format with questions from both the moderator and participants.

Pyramid Schemes
Participants are given a question or problem to think through on their own for a few
minutes. They are then asked to join with a neighbour to discuss the topic in twos, then in a subsequent
round in groups of four or six, then in groups of eight or twelve. Not only is this effective in requiring
engagement and participation by everyone, it also creates a safe zone early on in the smallest groups for
tentative and exploratory answers that could serve as the seed for creative but credible responses. Growing

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the groups larger provides the opportunity for friendly challenging of ideas and cross-fertilising the best of
answers across groups.

Debates .c
Speakers present opposing sides of an issue. This format can liven up a discussion topic that lends itself to
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debating pros and cons, multiple views, or conflicting opinions around an issue. As a variation, groups of
participants can be assigned opposing sides of an issue and asked to formulate the key debate points as a
group.
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Round Table
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Participants form groups around a specific topic area in order to share experiences and discuss ideas. This
format provides an informal setting for starting dialogue, sharing and discussion. Depending on the purpose,
formal questions could be posed to the group to guide their discussion or the topic could remain open for the
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group to determine the direction of their conversation. Roundtables are similar to working sessions but
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generally are not as formal and may be used to simply start the discussion without the time allotted to work
toward completing a joint project.
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2. Participatory Research/Data Collection

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is one participatory research approach that offers
a ‘basket of techniques’ from which those most appropriate for the project context can
be selected. The basic principles of PRA tools are:
• Participation: local people serve as partners in data collection and analysis;
• Flexibility: not a standardised methodology, depends on purpose, resources, skills, and time;
• Teamwork: outsiders and insiders, men and women, mix of disciplines, etc..
• Optimisation: optimal cost and time efficient, but ample opportunity for ignorance, analysis and
planning, etc.; and
• Systematic: for validity and reliability, partly stratified sampling, crosschecking.

The central part of any PRA tools includes:

• Semi-Structured Interviewing: These interviews are, therefore, more like conversations guided
informally by the interviewers.
• Mapping: Creating or drawing community maps, personal maps, institutional maps, etc.
• Ranking: Problem ranking, preference ranking, wealth ranking etc.
• Trend and Time Analysis: Historical diagramming, seasonal calendars, daily activity charts, etc.

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COMMUNICATION IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Basic Steps in Communication:

• Forming of communicative intent

• Message composition
• Message encoding
• Transmission of signals
• Reception of signals
• Message decoding
• Interpretation

Importance of communication in disaster risk reduction

1. Communication promote preparedness for disasters:

• Being prepared can reduce fear, anxiety, and losses that accompany disasters.
• Communities, families, and individuals should know what to do in the event of a fire and where to seek
shelter during a powerful storm.
• They should be ready to evacuate their homes and take refuge in public shelters and know how to care

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for their basic medical needs.
• People also can reduce the impact of disasters and sometimes avoid the danger completely.
• Have a list of emergency contacts (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) in your cell phone and near your home
phone. .c
• Be sure every family member has emergency phone numbers and a cell phone.
• Teach children how and when to call 911 for help.
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• Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send a text message.
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2. Communications provide early warnings signals of disasters

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• Communication and dissemination systems ensuring people and communities receive warnings in
advance of impending hazard events, and facilitating national and regional coordination and information
exchange.
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• Warnings must reach those at risk. Clear messages containing simple, useful and usable information are
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critical to enable proper preparedness and response by organizations and communities that will help
safeguard lives and livelihoods.
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• Trust is a big part of effective risk communication. If the information source cannot be trusted, those at
risk may not respond proactively to the warnings – and it takes a long time to establish trust.
• Regional, national and local communication systems must be pre-identified and appropriate authoritative
voices established.
• The use of multiple communication channels is necessary to ensure as many people as possible are
warned, to avoid failure of any one channel, and to reinforce the warning message.
• There are numerous standards and protocols used by alerting authorities to transmit warnings.
• The Common Alerting Protocol is an international standard format for emergency alerting and public
warning, developed by the International Telecommunication Union and promoted by a number of
agencies.
• It is designed for “all-hazards”, that is, hazards related to weather events, earthquakes, tsunamis,
volcanoes, public health, power outages, and many other emergencies.

3. Communication facilitates proper response to disasters:

• It is impossible to plan communication without considering strategies, material design, and media
activities which, in the case of the health sector, will provide the population with messages to protect
themselves and improve their quality of life.

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• When dealing with emergencies and disasters, communication planning becomes a complex and
challenging undertaking.
• It involves the collection, organization, production, and dissemination of the information that makes it
possible to make informed decisions and mobilize necessary resources.
• Sources and key shareholders must be identified and different audiences must be given priority.
• It is vital to create messages that will make health agencies visible and relevant to the population, the
international community, donors, communications media, and organizations involved in international
disaster response.

Steps to Effective Communication

• Use standard terminologies when communicating-risks, disaster, coping, resilience, vulnerable, etc.
• Request and provide clarifications when needed- allow/encourage the beneficiaries to respond to issues
they are not sure of.
• The communicator should also be well informed about the situation of things within the community
where the information is to be disseminated.
• Ensure statements are direct and unambiguous.
• Inform appropriate individuals when the mission or the plan changes.
• Communicate all information needed by those individual or teams external to the team.

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• Use non-verbal communication appropriately
• Use proper order when communication information.

Barriers to Effective communication .c

• In emergency situations, communication breakdowns between potential victims and first responders can
have dire consequences including unnecessary pain, misdiagnoses, drug treatment errors, unnecessarily
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long hospital stays and even death.
• Language barriers often exist when first responders and receivers have difficulty talking to people who
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speak a different language.

• Many areas have people who speak many different languages. Also, first receiver may come from other
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countries to help.
• In addition, communication may be difficult when people are under intense stress, which is inevitable
during an emergency
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• Non-Focus on the issue at hand, not being attentive

• Avoid interruption, show interest in what is being said
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• Avoid being judgemental but make provision for feedbacks

• Pay attention to non-verbal communication
• Be conscious of individual differences
• Keep stress in check but be assertive

Disaster Risk Communication

Disaster risk communication helps to provide the public with information about the effects of disaster, and
how actions may affect the outcome of the disaster. In other words it helps to inform the public about a
potential disaster situation to enable people make informed choices. Disaster risk communication may take
place through many different channels, including face-to face conversations, telephone calls, group
meetings, mass media such as television, radio, Internet and interactive social media such as Twitter and
Facebook.

Effective Disaster Communication

• Effective risk communication requires the alignment of complex factors, including trust between the
communicator and the audience(s), audience involvement, and emotional responses to risk.
• Trust in institutions and organisations should be considered in developing disaster risk communication
messages and the need to reach out effectively to special needs of the target groups is necessary to

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provide insight on crafting messages for and understanding the behaviour of children, the elderly and
disabled, those with literacy difficulties, activists, and minority racial and ethnic groups.

• Some specific principles related to effective risk communication include:

➢ An understanding of the characteristics of an audience is essential to developing effective risk
communication efforts;
➢ The how, when, and by whom a message is delivered impacts its effectiveness
➢ Communicators must continually adapt to changing situations;
➢ Using the preparedness approach like games, interactive discussion groups or teaching make a
proposal of how you can effectively increase knowledge or preparedness behaviour of the target
group on disaster management; and
➢ Promotion of discussion group approach to general disaster preparedness is more effective than the
simple provision of written information.

Disaster communication methods:

1. Social Media: This feature allows users who are located within a certain distance of a natural
disaster’s occurrence, to log in and tell friends if they’re safe and check to see if their loved ones
have verified their safety as well.
2. Two-Way radio: A two-way radio (also known as walkie-talkies) is a pair of handheld devices that

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can connect with each other provided both are on the same frequency, within a certain distance. One
user can talk while the other listens and vice-versa.
3. Citizens Band Radio: A CB radio is capable of short-distance communications on various
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frequencies. It is similar although more complex than a regular two-way radio as it contains more
functionality.
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4. Mobile Applications (Apps): Cell phone apps are not only fun for playing games and keeping the
kids occupied on a long car ride, they can also help in a disaster setting.
i. Life360: Life360 is a free app that allows access to a specific user’s location and also contains a
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messaging service feature. Automatic alerts can notify the user when a loved one arrives or
checks-in at specified destinations as well.
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ii. FEMA app: This application gives users access to preparedness tips such as survival advice,
emergency checklists, and meeting locations that can be saved to a mobile device. It gives the
user access to weather alerts from the National Weather Service tailored to a specific area.
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5. Police Scanner: This device allows the user to hear all emergency communication between officials
in the police, rescue, fire, respondent, military, and aircraft industries. Although the user cannot
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broadcast on it, it does allow access to important information during an emergency situation.

6. Word-of-Mouth: When all else fails, power is out, internet access is scarce, and devices are ruined or
have not been purchased prior, it comes down to survival instincts.

7. Landline telephone: Perhaps not the most popular option anymore, but having a landline telephone
can be a life saver when access to a cellphone or other electronic device is limited or non- existence.
Depending on the type of technology supplied by your provider, it is possible that a landline
telephone will work, even when internet access is down.

8. Satellite phone (Satphones): Satellite phones are on the pricier side of the emergency devices
spectrum, but are beneficial especially in remote territories where internet access is scarce at best.
Some satellite phones have coverage in all parts of the world due to Satphone’s reliance on orbiting
satellites for their functioning versus standard cell phone towers.
9. Amateur Radio (HAM Radio): This product is similar to a CB radio besides that it requires the user
to be a licensed American Amateur Radio operator; thus giving it a bit more authenticity to the
information that is being regulated across the air waves.

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CRISIS COUNSELLING
Definition of Crisis

• We can refer to crisis as any situation in which the individual perceives a sudden loss in his/her ability to
solve a particular problem, and to cope with the situation.

• Crisis is how an individual reacts to a stressful life experience that affects his/her stability and ability to
cope or function.

• It is a period of transition in the life of an individual, family or group, which serves as a turning point in
their lives, and which may be seen as a challenge or a threat, a "make or break" new possibility or risk, a
gain or a loss, or both simultaneously.

Instances of Crises

Most crises are part of the normal range of life experiences that most people can expect, and most people
will recover from crisis without professional intervention. However, there are crises outside the bounds of a
person’s everyday experience or coping resources which may require experts’ help to achieve recovery.

• Instances of crisis may include natural disasters, sexual assault, criminal victimisation, mental illness,

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suicidal thoughts, homicide, a drastic change in relationships and so on.
• Most severe outcomes of a crisis are suicide, homicide, running away, physical harm, psychosis or a
family breaking apart. .c
Four stages of a crisis reaction:
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(a) initial rise of tension from the emotionally hazardous crisis precipitating event,
(b) increased disruption of daily living because the individual is restricted and cannot resolve the crisis
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quickly,
(c) tension rapidly increases as the individual fails to resolve the crisis through emergency problem-solving
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methods, and
(d) the person goes into depression or mental collapse or may partially resolve the crisis by using new
coping methods.
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Defining Features of a Crisis

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• A triggering event or long term stress

• The individual experiences distress
• There is loss, danger, and/or humiliation
• There is a sense of uncontrollability
• The events feel unexpected
• There is disruption of routine
• The distress continues over time (from about 2 – 6 weeks)

Counselling

Counselling is a personal, face to face, relationship between two people in which the counsellor, by means
of the relationship and his special competencies, provides a learning situation in which the counselee, a
normal sort of person, is helped to know himself and his present and possible future situations so that he can
make use of characteristics and potentialities in a way that is both satisfying to himself and beneficial to
society, and further, can learn how to solve future problems and meet future needs

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Crisis Counselling

Crisis counselling occurs when a client who is destabilised engages the services of a counsellor. The person
is unable to cope with events in his/her life and, consequently, may be wracked by destructive feelings of
self-doubt, anxiety, or guilt and may be engaging in hurtful behaviours. This crisis needs immediate
attention otherwise there is the risk of further personality or behavioural deterioration.

The goals of crisis counselling can be summarised as, to:

• help the person return to his usual level of functioning;
• decrease anxiety; help people who are in crisis recognise and correct behaviours and cognitive
distortions.
• teach crisis-solving techniques; and,
• give more assistance after immediate help is received.
• safety: ensures the individual is safe, any risk has been reduced and resources, if available, have been
provided.
• stability: ensures the individual is stable and has a short-term plan which includes mastery of self and the
emergency or disaster situation.
• connection: helps connect the individual to formal and informal resources and support. If resources are
supports are not readily available, crisis counselling helps the individual pursue potential natural

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supports/resources.

Characteristics of Effective Counseller

Effective crisis counsellors should possess characteristics such as:
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• Self-Awareness: knows him/her self and empathise with clients without becoming personally involved
or emotional when people who have gone personal experiences come to them.
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• Non-judgemental: willing to listen all through to the client without casting judgement on those in crisis.
• Non-Reactive: does not react to client’s outbursts or threats but be completely supportive when client
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shows strong emotions.

• High Tolerance: remain calm when placed in tense and stressful situations
• Specific Training: receive specific skills and techniques in crisis counselling that are quite different from
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normal counselling.
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General Steps in Crisis Counselling

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First Contact
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In the first contact, it is useful to get personal information of the client and not be subjected to a lengthy
intake evaluation. The counsellor should try to set the person at ease, clarify the task and invite him/her to
talk. A good crisis counsellor is a good listener and more active. The crisis counsellor clarifies, reassures,
educates, and offers advice on anxiety, depression, agitation or sleeplessness since they are at levels that
severely impair functioning or make the crisis intervention impossible.

Long- and Short-Term Goals

In the midst of a crisis, people lose perspective. They are flooded with thoughts and feelings. Such persons
have difficulty setting priorities and as a result they tend to get very concerned about things they cannot deal
with and tend to avoid or ignore the more immediate concerns of the moment that they can deal with. For
this reason, it is often useful to help them to organise their thoughts into two sets of goals - a set of short-
term goals and a set of long-term goals.

Short Term Goals include calming down, trying to come to terms with their intense fear, talking about what
has just happened to them, getting shelter for the night, having something to eat, etc.

Long Term Goals include getting into a long-term and normal counselling, looking for a job, finding
permanent housing, etc. The crisis counsellor needs to be very active and directive in helping the person sort
out these two types of goals and then in attending, in a very practical way, to achieving the short term goals
and making a plan to attend to the long-term goals.
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Making a plan

People in crisis have trouble concentrating, thinking straight, using good judgment, and setting priorities. It
is often helpful for the counsellor to take notes while talking to the client to keep track of all the information
and to have a list of topics to remind him/her (counsellor) to cover during the interview.
At the end of the session, it is often very useful to actually write up a plan for the person to follow and send
him/her away with the plan in their hand. It is best to prepare the plan with the person’s collaboration to
number each of the points and to format it so that it is easy to read.

Termination
Crisis counselling is, by its nature, very brief. Many interventions take place entirely in one session. It is
important to conduct the session as a single session treatment. The crisis intervention should end with a
concrete plan for the person to follow. The plan should be written and given to the person. The counsellor
should make any and all referrals that might be necessary.

CAPACITY BUILDING or CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

• The capacity development includes training programs, curriculum development, large- scale awareness
creation efforts, and carrying out regular mock drills and disaster response exercises.
• The capability to implement, enforce, and monitor various disaster mitigation measures has to be

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improved at all levels from the local to the higher levels of governance.
• It is also strengthening the DRR governance at all levels to better manage risk and to make the
governance systems more responsive.
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Capacity building is an ongoing process that equips officials, stakeholders and the community to
perform their functions in a better manner during a crisis/disaster.
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• In the process of capacity building, we must include elements of human resource development, i.e.,
individual training, organizational development such as improving the functioning of groups and
organizations and institutional development.
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• Some examples of capacity are: permanent houses, ownership of land, adequate food and income
sources, family and community support in times of crisis, local knowledge, good leadership etc
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Structural Measures:
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• Any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards or application of engineering
techniques to achieve hazard-resistance and resilience in structures or systems.
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Undertaking necessary structural measures is one of the major thematic areas for action for disaster risk
reduction and enhancing resilience.
• These consist of various physical infrastructure and facilities required to help communities cope with
disasters.
• The implementation of these measures is essential to enhance disaster preparedness, a component of
Priority-4 of the Sendai Framework.
• It is also an important component of investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience, which is Priority-
3 of Sendai Framework

Non-Structural Measures:

• Any measure not involving physical construction that uses knowledge, practise or agreement to reduce
risks and impacts, in particular through policies and laws, public awareness raising, training and
education.
• Sets of appropriate laws, mechanisms, and techno-legal regimes are crucial components in strengthening
the disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, which is Priority-2 of the Sendai Framework.
• These non-structural measures comprising of laws, norms, rules, guidelines, and techno-legal regime
(e.g., building codes) framework and empowers the authorities to mainstream disaster risk reduction and
disaster resilience into development activities.

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• The central and state governments will have to set up necessary institutional support for enforcement,
monitoring, and compliance.

CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

• A Capacity Assessment is an analysis of desired capacities against existing capacities; this generates an
understanding of capacity assets and needs, which informs the formulation of a capacity development
response
• Assessing institutions and capacity is a central element of preparing and implementing any kind of
support. It is also prerequisite for deciding if and how donor support to CD is feasible.

• The traditional instruments used by development partners (equipment, technical assistance, training and
knowledge transfer) have had a very mixed record of success.
• Sometimes the instruments are the problem (they may simply be the wrong answer, based on a poor
diagnosis of needs and options).
• Sometimes the problem is the way in which the instruments are used (supply driven by development
partners rather than driven by sufficient domestic demand.
• Finally, it is sometimes the broader circumstances that are not conducive for CD) the instruments at
donors’ disposal are simply not relevant to the situation at hand.

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• It is both complex and delicate to assist others in developing capacity.

Why assessing capacity is important?

Assessing capacity serves as input in different processes and may support interlinked decisions on:
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• Strategic and operational choices about overall levels focus areas, operational modalities and timing of
aid. Weak capacity may imply that fewer funds can be effectively used, and that more focus on capacity
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development is required.
• Selection of key capacity issues to be included in the ongoing policy dialogue, in monitoring, or as
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indicators.
• Decision about if and how development partners can support capacity development (CD) processes of
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partners.

How to assess capacity?

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There are many different ways to assess organizational or system capacity, and there are numerous tools and
instruments that can be used to diagnose different aspects of organizational or system capacity. There is,
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however, no single approach which can claim superiority or much less objectivity.
Nevertheless, there is a set of issues that should be kept in mind when considering capacity assessments:

• Self-assessments are the best point of departure. Partner-lead assessments engaging staff can foster
buy-in to subsequent CD processes, while external assessments often are perceived to be judgmental,
disenfranchising those being assessed.
• Avoid approaches which focus only on identifying “capacity gaps” according to a predefined
normative model for “good capacity” or “best practice”. Such models tend to overlook the existing
capacity assets which are likely to be a good starting point for future capacity development. Gap
assessments tend to have a one-sided focus on weaknesses, and they tend to lead to predictable solutions:
sending in TA to “fix” capacity problems and “close” or “bridge” capacity gaps. Such approaches rarely
work.
• Look beyond single organizations. Particularly in sector wide approaches, it is important not to stay
inside the “tower” of e.g. a central ministry, and see capacity issues from that view only. Front-line
service providers, central level cross cutting ministries, oversight institutions and non-state actors are
likely to shape and condition the dynamics of CD.

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STRENGTHINING CAPACITY FOR RISK REDUCTION

• Strengthening Capacities for Disaster Risk Reduction has been developed against the backdrop of the
United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP's) longstanding commitment to supporting
developing and high-risk countries through its programmes and services for capacity development and
disaster risk reduction.
• The objective of this component is to enhance the capabilities of the implementing entities in managing
disaster risks, enhancing preparedness, and achieving resilient recovery.

1. Capacity building for disaster management: To finance strengthening of the disaster management
systems in the region by augmenting the capacity of stakeholders and institutions.

The activities will include:

a) Capacity building of the state disaster management authority by strengthening its institutional and
organizational structure, staffing, and resources and funding of training programs and regular drills for
the emergency operations centre staff and Disaster Management Officers at various levels
b) Strengthening the Disaster Response Force
c) Setting up a Decision Support System (DSS) and Emergency Operation Centers to integrate and analyze

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information from multiple sources in an integrated geo-spatial system.

2.Technical support for risk reduction and response preparedness:

To finance activities such as:
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a) Preparation of a Hydro-meteorological Resilience Action Plan focusing on extreme weather events to
develop resilience solutions/recommendations and a robust, fail-safe EWS in the region including
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optimum use of strengthened networks and facilities
b) River Morphology Study for some key rivers impacted by the disaster and to analyze and identify critical
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protective infrastructure works needed for river bank strengthening

c) Urban vulnerability assessment study with specific focus on seismic risk mitigation to undertake detailed
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urban vulnerability analysis and model various risks for effective mitigation planning and disaster
response preparedness
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d) Upgrading design guidelines and material specification for construction in seismic zones in order to
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carry out an update of current construction design standards and material specifications to align them
with national and international best practices
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e) Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (DRFI) to work out options to increase the resilience of the PIE’s
financial response capacity to secure cost-effective access to adequate funding for emergency response,
reconstruction, and recover

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