Tsunami one year after, NGO aid intervention and future ... - VOICE

NGO management challenges
Given the sheer scale of the disaster, the Tsunami clearly affected NGOs internally as
well. Quick responses and flexibility were needed, including the timely release of funds and high
adaptability on the part of staff. The absorption and the management of a much greater volume
of funding presented a big challenge: in response, as described in the previous chapter, NGOs
coordinated through pre-existing or new collective fundraising consortia. Recruitment of more
qualified personnel and training was necessary; the additional immense workload required
quick and creative solutions and the setting up of new programmes and country offices. In
addition, while responding to such a big scale disaster, the work of NGOs in other areas of the
world continued and could not be overlooked or interrupted. The result was strain on human
resources and communication departments, but also the reinforcement of internal coordination
mechanisms, within organisations and between headquarters and field offices. Several NGOs
in Europe, as a consequence, have also carried out joint fundraising and media activities and
joint evaluation of lessons learned. Despite the stressful conditions, NGOs remain committed
to the delivery of high quality and professional emergency and reconstruction assistance.
Challenges and recommendations to NGOs
European NGOs need to take the initiative to coordinate more effectively, when
a broad spectrum of NGOs are rapidly arriving in an intervention zone. Clear linkages
should be made between coordination structures at national, provincial, local and
sectoral level, in order to avoid duplication of efforts. Competencies should be recognised
in advance and division of labour planned for. There is a need for better coordination
among NGOs both in respect of geographical coverage and fields of expertise.
Roles and responsibilities of other actors involved, such as the military and civil
protection, should be clarified and dialogue should be preserved.
The critical role of local authorities should be recognised and dialogue should be
established as early as possible.
European NGOs should strengthen local initiatives ensuring that women are
represented in any consultative or decision making process about current and future
reconstruction and rehabilitation. Community based organisations and others should always
be engaged in broad consultation on reconstruction and rehabilitation, as well as in building
up disaster preparedness systems.
European NGOs should continue their efforts in strengthening transparency and
accountability of income and expenditure of all budgets.
Internal staff training should be reinforced and measures to increase
the available pool of staff should be established, in order for NGOs to be able to
respond as efficiently as possible to other sudden or parallel crises around the world.
European NGOs should build on lessons learned from the Tsunami response and
integrate them in their work.
NGOs are well placed to strengthen local initiatives, structures and capacities, through
participatory assessments of the needs and capacities of communities. NGOs have a clear
role to play in strengthening people-centred early warning systems, including consultation
mechanisms, activities to build consensus on priorities among communities, awareness
raising, risk assessment and preparedness measures, in order to allow locals to know how to
act and what to do in case of warnings.
NGO Aid Intervention And Future Challenges
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