Field support in emergencies
Accountability in Action
HAP has established a team which is singly dedicated to provide hands on and immediate support to organisations during a humanitarian crisis. The Roving Team is deployed to humanitarian crises across the globe under the New Emergencies Policy which is a commitment by organisations to make special collective efforts to apply the HAP Principles of Accountability in new or escalated emergencies emergencies. The Protocol for the Implementation of the New Emergencies Policy sets out a simple mechanism for putting this commitment into practice and exploring the case for collective action. The emphasis of the Roving Team is joint action. From awareness raising to joint implementation, it works with organisations to enhance linkages, facilitate sharing of good practise and initiate peer support mechanisms.
The terms of reference for a deployment are developed through a consultative process involving numerous stakeholders and where possible, based on the findings from a preliminary scoping or assessment mission. To ensure wide ownership, appropriateness of activities and participation from a range of actors, the terms of reference are finalised with the input and consent of in-country staff. An after-action review is conducted for each HAP deployment to review its activities and impact and improve future deployments. Terms of reference and after-action review reports for each deployment are publicly accessible on the HAP website.
See Frequently Asked Questions about HAP work in emergencies and note on HAP Roving Team Deployments for more.
Where has HAP deployed its Roving Team?
The Roving Team is deployed to humanitarian crises across the globe during which it works with a multitude of actors to strengthen the accountability and quality of the ongoing response. Over the years, interest in HAP deployments has increased with the Roving Team working closely with HAP Members and organisations beyond the membership to create a wider change and impact. This has included forming new partnerships and collaborations with agencies such as:
UNHCR (which hosted the Roving Team in Daaab)
IOM (a camp assessment tool was jointly developed in Haiti)
IOM Mass Communications Project in Pakistan (a joint handbook is being developed on information sharing in emergencies)
WFP (support to WFP-Care joint complaints handling system in Dadaab)
FilmAid (a documentary Our Say was made in Dadaab)
HAP has deployed its Roving Team in various major emergencies across the globe:
1. Floods in Pakistan (2010 -2011)
2. Refugee Crisis in Dadaab- Northern Kenya (2010- 2011)
3. Earthquake in Haiti (2010)
4. Civil Conflict in Kyrgyzstan (2010)
5. Civil Conflict in Sri Lanka (2009)
6. Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (2008)
7. Cyclone Bangladesh (2007)
8. Conflict in Somalia (2007)
9. Earthquake in Baluchistan, Pakistan (2007)
10. Earthquake in Pakistan (2005)
11. Conflict in Darfur, Sudan (2006)
12. Tsunami in Indonesia, (2005-2006)
Use the google map below to find out where the Roving Team has worked:
What does HAP’s Roving Team do in deployments?
The Roving Team is dedicated singly to provide support to agencies during an emergency. The support and all activities during a deployment are developed and designed through a consultative process taking into consideration prevailing contextual constraints the dynamics of the humanitarian response and are especially tailored to the needs on the ground of the organisations, staff and affected communities. (In deployments, the Roving Team does not conduct baselines or certification activities.)
During a deployment the team works at two levels, at agency-specific and inter-agency level.
a) With individual organisations the aim is to: identify and deliver need-based and context specific support to staff working in the emergency so that accountability and quality in the ongoing humanitarian response can be improved. This involves working alongside staff and affected communities in the disaster hit area (context permitting).
b) With a group of like-minded agencies, to support of inter-agency efforts with the aim to: inform, increase and improve the overall accountability of the humanitarian response through the identifying areas for improvement, sharing of good practice, lessons learnt, peer support and joint action.
How can the Roving Team support your organisation?
The support and services provided by the Roving Team are context appropriate, solution oriented, immediate, confidential and involve working closely with staff to bring about change in the ongoing response. Some of these activities include:
- Rapid Accountability Assessment which allows an organisation to identify strengths and areas that could benefit from improvement, as the basis for developing a realistic action plan to improve accountability and programme management. The process focuses on reviewing practice against the HAP Standard, or particular benchmarks at a project site through examining existing systems and practice, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with staff, beneficiaries and other affected communities.
- Agency specific orientation and training on accountability and the HAP 2010 Standard.
- Staff Capacity building through joint visits to programme sites to increase the application of the HAP Standard.
- Technical support and solution-oriented recommendations regarding the ongoing response.
- Support to and when working with national and local partners.
- Co-facilitation of consultations with affected communities
What does the Roving Team do to support collective efforts to improve accountability?
The team undertakes a number of activities and various forms of engagements with HAP members, their partners, other interested agencies and relevant stakeholders such as quality and accountability initiatives, networks, forums, donors, UN agencies and host authorities to:
- facilitate collective learning
- identify challenges and opportunities to strengthening accountability
- promote the sharing of existing good practice
- highlight learning relevant to the current response
- establish peer support mechanisms
- undertake collective action
To achieve greater accountability through individual and collection action, the Roving Team supports and facilitates activities such as:
(Standard activities in all deployments)
- Orientations and trainings on accountability and the HAP Standard
- Pilot joint information dissemination and complaints handling systems
- Development and dissemination of user-friendly practical lessons and examples, guidelines, tools, and notes on good practice
- Joint learning and peer support activities
- Raise awareness among donors on their role in strengthening accountability and quality
- Translation of the HAP Standard and other practical tools into national languages
The Roving Team also continues to develop and test new methodologies for great collaboration and collective action, some of which have included:
(The activities listed above are not exhaustive and are tailored to issues highlighted for the prevailing context and adapted to interest and requests from interested agencies and stakeholders.)
If you think your organisation or a humanitarian crisis can benefit from the support and services of the Roving Team, or have any questions or recommendations regarding our work please do not hesitate to contact us:
Maria Kiani- Senior Quality and Accountability Advisor
email: mkiani@hapinternational.org
Gregory Gleed- Accountability Advisor email: ggleed@hapinternational.org
