McRAM PakistanA Lesson in Assessment

Preparedness

McRAM Pakistan Floods August 2010

Provinces 4

Interviewers 107(m) 95(f)

Districts 27

Settlements/Villages 383

Households 2,442

Total days 24 (4 collecting data in the field)

McRAM timelineDate (August) Event Date Event

13 First AWG 26 Field

14 27 Field

15 Sandie Arrives 28 Field/ Herbert arrives/ Richard arrives

16 Cluster inputs 29 Data entry, cleaning, IM product design with clusters17 AWG 30

18 Bilateral meetings with clusters

Alice arrives

31

19 1 (September) Preliminary findings

20 2

21 3 Full HH data shared

22 4

23 Training 5 Full Com data shared

24 Training 6

25 Field 7 Report uploaded

The Multi-cluster Rapid Assessment Mechanism (McRAM) project commenced in Pakistan in March 2008 with the aim of designing a post-emergency assessment that:

• was collaborative (i.e. a multi-cluster assessment)• utilized Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) technology

Assessment Preparedness

McRAM Project Objective:

…..to have a well designed, multi-cluster assessment mechanism in place and a system prepared to implement this mechanism at very short notice in order to improve the quality and timeliness of joint assessments.

Pre-crisis VulnerabilityRapid Onset Emergency

VulnerabilityBaseline

EarlyWarning

ScenarioMapping

Preparedness Arrangements for Multi-Cluster Assessments

Impact ………..…Recovery

ContingencyPlanning

PREPAREDNESS RESPONSE

Phase 1Information

gatheringPhase 2

Multi-clusterAssessment

Phase 3Sector

AssessmentsPhase 4

Multi-clusterAssessment

AssessResponse

McRAM Preparedness Within Contingency Planning

NB, phase 4 multi-cluster assessments could be deployed to assess the effectiveness of humanitarian response.

Key Features of the McRAM

• Preparedness• Community needs assessment • Joint Ownership and Commitment• Collaboration• Technology• Out-sourcing of data collection

Challenges in McRAM Preparedness

1. Galvanizing commitment 2. Establishing coordination and management

structures 3. Identifying roles and responsibilities for carrying

out an emergency assessment 4. Defining key initial information needs5. Ensuring gender was mainstreamed6. A multi-cluster assessment is complex7. All emergencies are not the same8. Funding preparedness and actual assessments.

1. Galvanizing commitment • For the agencies and organizations involved: a

common needs assessment should represent more efficient deployment of resources

• For the population affected: a common needs assessment to get the information required by multiple clusters reduces assessment fatigue.

• Without genuine commitment to a joint assessment, agencies will continue with their own agency or sector specific assessments

Key features in Pakistan that contributed to galvanising joint commitment to the

McRAM: • The Government of Pakistan accepted the need

for a community based needs assessment.• The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF)

committed that they would ask members to hold off on initial assessments and use McRAM data.

• A functioning cluster system already existed in Pakistan.

• The Pakistan HCT was already engaged in inter-agency contingency planning.

2. Identifying coordination and management structures

• Formation of a McRAM Steering Committee consisting of the cluster coordinators, the PHF representative, the ICRC, the IFRC, and the NDMA, chaired by OCHA.

• During ongoing contingency planning, this groups became the IASC Operations Group.

3. Identifying roles and responsibilities for carrying out an emergency assessment

• A core McRAM team comprising of a Project Coordinator, programmers and a Social Scientist.

• In Pakistan linguistic and cultural differences, difficult terrain and vast distances make information gathering difficult with implications for timeliness, logistics and cost.

• The solution to this in the Pakistan context was to have stand-by arrangements with local partners.

4. Identifying key initial information needs

• A country sector specialist may not necessarily be able to design a good set of questions!

• Improved access to global guidance such as IASC tools would be an advantage for this part of the process, but these need to be embedded in country level ownership.

5. Ensuring gender was mainstreamed

• Gender poses particular challenges in the Pakistan context.

• Ensuring female field researchers was a challenge in Pakistan but, through good local partners, not impossible.

• A separate report on Mainstreaming Gender in the McRAM was compiled.

6. A multi-cluster assessment is complex

• Having field teams pre-trained as part of assessment preparedness.

• Dedicate sufficient time to this.• Ensure cluster input.

7. All emergencies are not the same

• Be ready with a set of different options; e.g. Household, community, camp management, health facility.

8. Ensuring information is timely

• Use available technology• Prioritise information management from the

outset in the assessment design.

9. Funding

• Preparedness requires commitment and resources.

• The level of commitment and resources in preparedness impacts the quality, timeliness and usefulness of an actual assessment.

RC/HCHumanitarian Country Team

IASC Operations Group

Assessment Team• Coordinator•Technical / MIS / GIS

Partner Organization

ResponsibilityOver-arching support Ensure Gov’t support

OversightDirection for Assessment

Ensure Cluster InvolvementApprove design and SOPs

Management + ExecutionLiaison with clusters & partnersFinalization of questionnaires

Document SOPs for AssessmentTraining of Survey Teams

Programming of questions / database / reporting formats

Execution SupportDeploy teams & logistics

Involvement in McRAM Preparedness

Funding??UNICEF

Revisiting McRAM Preparedness...

• A “neutral home” for the McRAM• After 2 years, what was left:

Ownership Tool Consensus on the concept Some data expertise Equipment

• “Assessment Maintenance”