The Sphere Project is supporting, in close collaboration with HAP International, the Nargis cyclone emergency response in Myanmar since early July 2008. Kelly Wooster, Annie Lloyd (two Sphere international consultants) and Shabana Bhatti from CWS in Pakistan will be sharing the role of the Sphere support for a period of two months in Myanmar.
Hosting for all three Sphere resource people, as well as two HAP people, is being provided by Save the Children in Myanmar, which is providing management oversight and taking responsibility for insurance and security. CWS (Asia/Pacific, working as part of the ACT Alliance) has generously agreed to cover all staff costs until the end of August 2008.
The Sphere and HAP representatives are working closely with three groups to plan activities for the two-month intervention:
- the Accountability and Learning Working Group (ALWG), an initiative tasked with promoting organisational and institutional ‘good practice’ on Accountability and Learning across the Nargis response. The ALWG will primarily focuses on strengthening systems of downward accountability (i.e. to the target group) and supporting rapid and accessible learning opportunities from field realities to allow evidence-based programming.
- the Local Resource Centre (LRC), a joint initiative of the Capacity Building Initiative, Burnet Institute, The Alliance, World Concern, Oxfam and Save the Children. The Local Resource Centre works to assist MNGO’s and CSO’s with capacity building through training and technical advice. Three meetings took place with the LRC.
- Paung Ku, a coalition of MNGO’s and INGO’s was also consulted to determine learning needs and explore contextually appropriate approaches in the Myanmar context.
Based on initial discussions, the Sphere and HAP team created a Plan of Engagement and list of potential support activities
Proposed Action Points
1. Quality and Accountability Team
ALWG members and other appropriate agencies have been asked to nominate up to two representatives to participate in the Q&A Team. The Sphere and HAP representatives will build the capacity of a local support team to enable them to act as a resource and advisory group for the wider humanitarian community in Myanmar. They will advise on how to implement good quality programs and improve accountability to disaster-affected communities. A sub-set of the Q&A team will be selected to participate in a Sphere Training of Trainers workshop and provide short Sphere introductory sessions upon request.
2. Provide immediate Sphere and HAP Support
Providing immediate support to interested organisations on identified priority needs, including support to ongoing local efforts such as the community feedback pilots.
- ALWG Meeting Facilitation: Sphere and HAP will jointly facilitate the Accountability and Learning Working Group until mid-August. The group can be used for capturing lessons learned in the implementation of quality and accountability tools and mechanisms.
- Sphere Training: as requested by the humanitarian community
- Capturing Lessons Learned: Documenting and sharing experiences from the humanitarian community to crystallise learning.
3. Awareness Raising
Activities for wider awareness-raising on humanitarian standards; this will target for INGOs, MNGOs, CSO’s, the UN and other groups of stakeholders such as the local media and the donor community.
A HAP and Sphere joint briefing for ACT’s partners is tentatively scheduled for 25 July 2008. ACT is operating through partner agencies who were mainly involved in development work prior to Cyclone Nargis. Government and Media Sphere and HAP Briefing: A proposal for a public seminar on the topic has been put forward by the Local Resource Centre and the Capacity Building Initiative. Exploration of a Cross-Cluster Role for Sphere: Sphere has certainly a role to play through the implementation of the common standards within all clusters. This approach is filling a current gap which is a transversal ‘quality and accountability’ approach. This role could be explored more formally in the future with Cluster Leads Meeting Facilitator. Cluster Leads will also be contacted individually to identify Sphere support needs. Q & A Tool Translation Coordination: Sphere and HAP will initiate a core group of agencies who have expressed interested or have already begun translating quality and accountability tools. These tools will be used for awareness-raising activities. Sphere and other translations; core team involving LRC, CBI, WC, Merlin and Oxfam with support from Sphere to ensure consistency and quality. This group will be responsible for tracking translations, being a source of final materials. Pyoepin has completed the translation of the WASH Chapter and Merlin has expressed interest in translating the Health Chapter. The Local Resource Centre has expressed interest in assisting with the coordination and quality control of Burmese translations.
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