Preface
This Synthesis Report of the NGO Impact Initiative is the outcome of an international, collaborative process. In April 2006, nine U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accepted the challenge of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, in his capacity as UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, to examine their own performance in five key areas. The initiative soon became broadened to include partners from around the globe, and the U.S.-based NGOs reached out to European, Australian, and Asian counterparts. In addition to major consultations in three of the tsunami-affected countries, as well as discussions in London and Geneva, there were countless discussions with individuals and organizations from around the world to ensure a broad degree of dialogue and buy-in.
While the initiative complements an array of excellent tsunami response evaluation and NGO reform efforts and reinforces many of their findings, it has provided a unique opportunity for candid and critical self-reflection. Importantly, it has been characterized by an open and frank process through which partners from around the world could openly address critical challenges they all face. In deciding to embark on this initiative, the convening NGOs were motivated not only by an interest in strengthening their own organizations but also in improving overall NGO practice, including those of less experienced NGOs that played an unusually large role in the tsunami response. In this regard, given that the subject areas are of much broader application than tsunami recovery, the reviews contain both recommendations for enhancements in current tsunami operations and also comprehensive suggestions for advancing the entire sector’s reform efforts.
Two NGOs managed each thematic area – accountability to affected populations; coordination; enhancing local capacity; human rights and recovery; and NGO professionalism – and most organized themselves into working groups, reaching out to a broader interested constituency. This Steering Committee was chaired by Sam Worthington. The Steering Committee included representatives from American Red Cross, Care-U.S., International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Plan-USA, Refugees International, Save the Children-U.S., and World Vision-U.S. The UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery (OSE) played an instrumental role in steering the process to its conclusion. Each thematic area involved in-depth analysis of work that is already being done on each of these issues in a wide variety of forums as well as extensive field consultations with local civil society and government officials in Banda Aceh, Sri Lanka and Chennai – all with the goal of translating reform proposals into meaningful action on implementation.
The process and the reports were richly informed and invaluably improved by the close participation of a Consultative Committee. From the outset, President Clinton and the project’s Steering Committee believed that the initiative had to be international in scope, with recommendations that apply broadly to international NGOs operating worldwide. The five thematic areas reflected the participation of expert and relevant partners. The Steering Committee actively solicited input and feedback in development of the five thematic reports from several NGO consortia (InterAction, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies [ICVA], the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response [SCHR], VOICE, the Disasters Emergency Committee [DEC], the Australian Council for International Development [ACFID]), associated initiatives on quality and accountability (the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership- International [HAP], the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action [ALNAP], SPHERE) and others (the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition [TEC], All India Disaster Mitigation Institute [AIDMI], and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative).
The project findings and recommendations represent the collective view of members of the Steering Group, who managed the editorial process, as well as perspectives provided by all of the ther the participating NGOs, consortia, and networks. And while every effort was made to ensure that the recommendations reflect a broad consensus among those involved in this project, it should not be assumed that any particular participating organization subscribes to all the specific recommendations and commitments.
The five thematic reports, together with this Synthesis Report, are being published as a set. The Synthesis Report presents a summary of the analysis and recommendations contained in the five thematic reports. It also outlines three broad and critical objectives that have emerged from the five areas: building better partnerships for recovery; quality assurance; and engaging with donors and the public in a call for informed and responsible giving. Under each objective, there are specific recommendations for ongoing and future work and a stated commitment to pursue implementation of these recommendations. We urge all those involved in this initiative, and the broader humanitarian and INGO community, to seriously consider the recommendations contained in this report and commit to move them forward.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge and thank all those who gave generously of their time and contributed invaluable input and direction to the initiative. In particular, we are deeply grateful to the Consultative Committee members for their time, availability, and readiness to contribute, to the government officials and UN teams in Aceh, Sri Lanka and India who supported our efforts, and to the many who participated in the field consultations. We also congratulate the NGOs that accepted President Clinton’s challenge to undertake a meaningful review of their own work, and exceeded expectations in terms of a commitment to serious reform.
Eric Schwartz
Deputy UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery
Samuel Worthington
Chair, Steering Committee, NGO Impact
Initiative and President and CEO, InterAction
Full report (pdf* format - 2.2 MB)
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