A ripple in development? - Channel Research

ilitation and development (Linking Relief Rehabilitation and Development
or LRRD). We shed light on this issue by asking how have the
populations been impacted by the recovery efforts? And how much of
that can be traced back to the manner in which the various initiatives
came together in a well coordinated and cohesive manner?
The strength of the LRRD concept lies in the breadth and range
of what it can cover: all those agencies and organisations which have
had an influence on the lives of the affected populations are considered
to be part of this evaluation. At the same time it is abstract, as the aim
is not to evaluate any single action or initiative (for example a dedicated
trust fund or an NGO project) but to evaluate the combined impact of
the different interventions which formed the overall recovery effort. The
notion of LRRD in fact forms an intrinsic part of current efforts within
the international humanitarian community to improve the quality of
risk reduction, emergency assistance, and development cooperation.
From October 2005 to May 2006, four independent teams worked
within the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) to evaluate the LRRD
dimensions of the international response to the tsunami in Indonesia
and Sri Lanka. The reports were made public and contributed to the
overall TEC synthesis findings, which have been widely published.
Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency),
jointly with resources from the Governments of Sri Lanka, Indonesia,
Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark, and with the participation of a
broader group of academics and organisations that make up the Joint
Steering Committee, commissioned Channel Research and three partners:
Dara, AIDMI, and TeamC Voter, to carry out this follow-up evaluation
of the previous Tsunami Evaluation on the Linkages between
Relief, Rehabilitation and Development activities. As a period of four
years has elapsed, the link to development activities, and the quality of
linkages, is much more apparent than it was in 2005, hence justifying
this second phase.
The first evaluation contributed to the overall TEC conclusions
about international efforts. It was designed to look at the effect of a
single sudden onset disaster, a tidal wave of exceptional proportions, on
the very different living conditions and recovery processes in Sri Lanka
and Indonesia. The present evaluation takes place exactly three years
after the first, and concerns the same two countries over the intervening
period, and also the Maldives.
Our findings are intended to contribute to the development of
good practices for all actors, including national authorities and local
associations. Our assessment is based on previous documented analyses,
as well as on our own data collection in the affected countries, throwing
light on planning and operations by a multitude of agencies (government,
international and non-governmental, and the commercial sector).
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