Development of tools for the implementation of the DG ECHO Disaster Preparedness guidance note

Background

DG ECHO’s approach to disaster preparedness

As explained in its Guidance note for Disaster Preparedness (2021), DG ECHO views preparedness as being critically important for the quality and timeliness of response operations, as well as complementing humanitarian assistance in terms of its ability to saving lives, reducing suffering, and pre-empting or decreasing humanitarian needs.

DG ECHO promotes the mainstreaming of a preparedness and risk-informed approach in all its response operations. This approach helps to systematically strengthen the capacity of its partners, including first responders, to be prepared for future shocks, events and both new and deteriorating crises. It also helps to risk-proof response interventions by designing them in a way that reduces immediate and imminent risks.

To complement its mainstreaming efforts, DG ECHO also supports targeted preparedness actions as a specific way of strengthening preparedness for the early response to relevant hazards and/or threats (taking a multi-hazard approach), through establishment of early warning systems, development of contingency plans and Standard Operating Procedures, emergency prepositioning of stock, etc.).

As illustrated by the Guidance Note, DG ECHO supports a broad range of single sector and multi- sector interventions which are tailored to the contexts in which they are being implemented.

Objective of the mission

DG ECHO has identified a need for a toolkit to guide its Disaster Preparedness funding and programmatic efforts and support monitoring and evaluation of the impact of its actions. The toolkit will provide practical guidance for DG ECHO staff, implementing partners and their local partners, based on the principles and elements of DG ECHO’s approach described in the Disaster Preparedness Guidance Note. DG ECHO also sees the toolkit as an opportunity to showcase DG ECHO’s and its partners good practices in disaster preparedness, to encourage collective learning and uptake by other EU DGs.

To this end, DG ECHO commissioned Groupe URD to research and develop the following outputs, to be presented in the form of a toolkit:

• Update Disaster Preparedness mapping (for DG ECHO internal and then beyond).
• Establish parameters for programmatic design for Disaster Preparedness Guidance Note Priorities.
• Collect best practices for DG ECHO Disaster Preparedness Guidance Note Priorities.
• Gather lessons learned to draw conclusions and disseminate them.

1. (until end 2024)