Challenging disparities in capacity development for disaster risk reduction

Although capacity development has been identified as the means to substantially reduce global disaster losses, it is a challenge for external partners to facilitate the development of sustainable capacities for disaster risk reduction in disaster-prone countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate potential gaps between how leading professionals approach such capacity development and guidelines found in available theory. The analysis of data from thirty-five qualitative semi-structured interviews reveals that there are gaps between theory and practise, as well as between the practitioners, in all seven elements identified in available theory. There is ambiguity regarding terminology, different views about the meaning of local context, ownership and capacity assessment, as well as contradicting opinions of the role and responsibilities of external partners. Focus is on training individuals, while other requisites are often ignored, and there is a general lack of understanding of what results to assess and how to monitor and evaluate projects.

[1]  M. B. Anderson,et al.  Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies in Times of Disaster , 1989 .

[2]  J. Tendler.  Why Social Policy is Condemned to a Residual Category of Safety Nets and What to Do about It , 2002 .

[3]  John Twigg,et al.  Disaster risk reduction: mitigation and preparedness in development and emergency programming. , 2004 .

[4]  D. Eade.  Capacity-Building: An Approach to People-Centred Development , 1997 .

[5]  W. Neuman,et al.  Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , 2002 .

[6]  E. Waclawski.  Disaster Response and Recovery: Strategies and Tactics for Resilience , 2015 .

[7]  Katharina Thywissen,et al.  Components of risk: a comparative glossary , 2006 .

[8]  D. Goleman,et al.  What makes a leader? , 1999, Clinical laboratory management review : official publication of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association.

[9]  S. Michaels,et al.  Holistic Disaster Recovery: Ideas for Building Local Sustainability After a Natural Disasters , 2001 .

[10]  D. Wenger,et al.  Sustainable Disaster Recovery: Operationalizing An Existing Agenda , 2007 .

[11]  J. Kotter,et al.  The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations , 2002 .

[12]  O. Eriksson,et al.  Disaster Management Capacity from a National Perspective , 2007 .

[13]  B. Wisner,et al.  At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters , 1996 .

[14]  Thomas Theisohn,et al.  Ownership, Leadership and Transformation: Can We Do Better for Capacity Development? , 2004 .

[15]  Bathylle Missika.  The challenge of capacity development: working towards good practice , 2005 .

[16]  Mary B. Anderson.  Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace - Or War , 1999 .

[17]  C. Lusthaus,et al.  Capacity Development: Definitions, Issues and Implications for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation , 1999 .

[18]  P. Engberg-Pedersen,et al.  Aid: Understanding International Development Cooperation , 2003 .

[19]  Damon P. Coppola.  Introduction to International Disaster Management , 2006 .

[20]  Sakiko Fukuda-Parr,et al.  Capacity for development : new solutions to old problems : executive summary , 2002 .

[21]  Henrik Tehler,et al.  An emergent means to assurgent ends: Community resilience for safety and sustainability , 2011 .

[22]  Philip Buckle,et al.  Re-defining Community and Vulnerability in the Context of Emergency Management , 1999 .

[23]  Norman W. H. Blaikie,et al.  Designing Social Research: The Logic of Anticipation , 2000 .

[24]  H. Bernard.  Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , 1988 .

[25]  R. Krznaric.  How Change Happens: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for Human Development , 2007 .

[26]  C. Coetzee,et al.  Grasping the hydra : the need for a holistic and systematic approach to disaster risk reduction , 2009 .