September 2008
Strengthening the humanity and dignity of people in crisis through knowledge and practice
Three Year Plan: January 2009 to December 2011
Vision We have a vision of a future in which famine, widespread violations of human rights, extreme suffering, and crimes against humanity are held to be self-evidently unacceptable by states and their peoples. A vision in which nation states, and the international community, in all its manifestations, feel duty-bound to act – and do act – to prevent and alleviate such abuses.
©2008 Feinstein International Center. All Rights Reserved. Fair use of this copyrighted material includes its use for non-commercial educational purposes, such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. Unless otherwise noted, those who wish to reproduce text and image files from this publication for such uses may do so without the Feinstein International Center’s express permission. However, all commercial use of this material and/or reproduction that alters its meaning or intent, without the express permission of the Feinstein International Center, is prohibited.
Feinstein International Center Tufts University 200 Boston Ave., Suite 4800 Medford, MA 02155 USA tel: +1 617.627.3423 fax: +1 617.627.3428 fic.tufts.edu
Contents
Introduction
3
PART I Research and Institutional Change Programs Introduction Livelihoods and Nutrition of Marginalized People (Program Overview) Darfur: Livelihoods,Vulnerability, and Choice (Program Overview) Understanding the future of pastoralism in Africa (Program Overview) Uganda: Upholding Rights in the Face of Violence (Program Overview) The Evolving Global Environment of Crisis and Crisis Response (Program Overview)
4 4 5 8 12 16 18
Education, outreach, and collaboration Teaching at Tufts The Masters in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA) Food Policy and Nutrition Masters (FPAN) Humanitarian Field of Study Humanitarian Studies and Field Practice Initiative Support for Student Research
20 20 20 20 20 21 21
International Outreach The Summer School Visiting Fellows and Practitioner Expert Programs Books in progress
21 21 21 22
Collaboration and networking Collaboration with Southern Researchers and Institutions Collaboration with the International Humanitarian Community Effecting Change at Tufts
23 23 23 24
Center staffing and infrastructure Staffing and infrastructure Budget
25 25 25
(continued)
Contents (continued)
PART II Livelihoods and Nutrition of Marginalized People Advancing Financial Resilience (Karen Jacobsen, Kim Wilson) Linking Microfinance to Mobile Payphones: The Impact on Livelihoods (Karen Jacobsen, Daryl Collins and Kim Wilson) Livelihoods Change over Time: Responses of Communities and Agencies to Chronic Crisis (Dan Maxwell, Jennie Coates) Longitudinal Study of Market- and Credit-Based Livelihood Interventions in Ethiopia (John Burns) Profiling Internally Displaced Persons in Urban Areas, Phase II (Karen Jacobsen) Building Capacity among Refugee Mutual Aid Associations in Maine (Lacey Gale) Community-based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Bangladesh: Reducing Vulnerability to Malnutrition in Poor Cyclone-prone Communities (Kate Sadler) Promoting Evidence-based Livelihood Programming in Karamoja, Uganda (Elizabeth Stites) Livelihoods-based Programming and Impact Assessment in Pastoral Areas of the Horn of Africa (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu and Yacob Aklilu) Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards: Raising Awareness, Ensuring Uptake (Andy Catley) Darfur: Livelihoods, Vulnerability, and Choice Markets, Trade, and Livelihoods: Darfur, Sudan (Helen Young, Margie Buchanan-Smith) Pastoral Perspectives:Vulnerability, Power, and Choice (Helen Young) Conflict, Livelihoods, and Household Food Security in Darfur (Helen Young) Livelihoods, Migration, and the Environment (Helen Young) Remittances to Conflict Zones: Phase 2: Transition Countries: the Sudanese Diaspora in Cairo (Karen Jacobsen, Helen Young) Markets, Information, and Mobile Phones: Darfur, Sudan (Jenny Aker, Helen Young)
26 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 35 36
38 38 39 40 41 43 44
Understanding the future of pastoralism in Africa Regional Policy Support on Food Security in Pastoral Areas with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Andy Catley, Dawit Abebe, and Yacob Aklilu) Towards Pro-Pastoralist Policies in Ethiopia (Berhanu Admassu,Yacob Aklilu, and Andy Catley) Cross-sectoral Learning for Service Provision in the Somali Region of Ethiopia (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu) Pastoral Livelihoods and Destitution in Northern Kenya (Andy Catley) Alternative Approaches to International Trade in Livestock Products: Commodity-based Trade (Andy Catley,Yacob Aklilu) Camel Marketing and Pastoral Livelihoods in Ethiopia (Yacob Aklilu) Cattle and Meat Value Chain Assessment in Ethiopia (Yacob Aklilu) Livelihoods, Trade, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Ethiopia (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu) Milk Matters: Improving the Health and Nutritional Status of Children in Pastoral Communities (Andy Catley, Kate Sadler) Seers as War Makers, Peace Makers, and Leaders within the Karamoja Cluster (Darlington Akabwai, Khristopher Carlson) Livelihoods and Insecurity in Northeastern Uganda (Elizabeth Stites)
46 46
Uganda: Upholding Rights in the Face of Violence Formal Justice and Accountability for People in Northern Uganda (Dyan Mazurana, Teddy Atim) Traditional Justice and Accountability in Northern Uganda (Khristopher Carlson, Teddy Atim)
62 62
The Evolving Global Environment of Crisis and Crisis Response Preparing for Humanitarian Crises of the Future (Peter Walker) The Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power, and Perceptions (Antonio Donini) “Winning Hearts and Minds?” Understanding the Relationship between Aid and Security (Andrew Wilder) Humanitarianism and Corporate Social Responsibility (Lynellyn D. Long) Crisis and Social Transformation in Nepal (Antonio Donini)
66 66 67 68
ACRONYMS
76
47 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 59
64
70 73
INTRODUCTION We crafted our vision statement, which appears on the inside cover, three years ago. It still inspires us. It is why we do what we do. We believe that evidence-driven, field-based research must play a central role in addressing the suffering found in humanitarian crises, human right failures, and war. Research which asks why and how, but then goes on to also ask “so what” is the hallmark of the Center. We have proven over the past years that good research can be directly linked to programs which effect change in the systems, organizations, and policies that constrain the futures of communities on the margins. Over the next three years we will be driving five major research and institutional change programs, encompassing a total of 34 projects, to better understand the world of crises, and to effect positive change in the lives of those caught up in these crises. In keeping with our grounded approach, we actively build partnerships with local researchers and civil groups, seeking to empower them through the knowledge we jointly generate. Using our university base, we are also privileged to invest in the next generation of researchers and aid workers through the educational programs we run and the courses we teach. Research and education should make a difference. They are tools for social change, not just personal advancement. This is why we believe our work will make a difference. This is why we do what we do. We have reshaped Tufts/FIC in the past three years, evolving it from a collection of individual researchers studying famine and complex emergencies to a coherent body focused on marginalized communities. We have built an integrated program of research, institutional change, and education. We have also greatly increased our standing with the international community we seek to influence. We now occupy a key position at the intersection of research and institutional change. We are increasingly looked to by aid agencies, UN bodies, donor institutions, and national agencies to provide evidence-based, impartial knowledge and advice on livelihoods,
rights, and organizational issues. We have greatly expanded our networking with local researchers, community-based organizations, national government teams, and universities in the marginal environments where we work. Over the next three years we will: 1. Deepen the quality of our research 2. Strengthen the linkages between research and institutional change 3. Continue to improve our educational mission within The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy 4. Use partnerships with Southern-based researchers, local associations, and aid agencies to both improve the quality of our work and promote the evidence-based changes we believe are needed and possible. With the recent addition of one senior faculty, who focuses on the interface of the corporate world and humanitarian crises, and the pending appointment of another, who studies climate change and political violence, we will have achieved our full complement of senior staff. Over the next three years we will be adding more junior-level researchers to existing teams rather than adding new teams, seeking to deepen the work of our research teams, and at the same time providing opportunities for young researchers to move from graduate studies to internships to junior research positions and on into the mainstream of action-oriented research. We will also be focusing on increasing our links with other like-minded institutions and individuals to increase the influence of our work through local and global coalitions. Part one of this document outlines our five planned research programs and linked institutional change. It also describes our educational mission and partnership-building along with a review of our staffing and institutional needs, and our expected budget. Part two contains detailed descriptions of each of the planned 34 projects which make up the five key research and institutional change programs.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
3
Part I RESEARCH AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE PROGRAMS This section, the bulk of the plan and our work, is organized into five programs. Each program contains a number of discrete projects. For those readers who want an overview of the planned work, focus on the program descriptions, presented here. For those who want to go into the detail of specific projects, each project is presented in detail in Part II, covering its background, proposed work, and expected outcomes. Introduction The Feinstein International Center at Tufts is fundamentally a research-based organization. We seek to understand what really goes on in marginalized communities and complex crises, focusing on the communities’ own understanding of these crises and the linkages into regional, national, and global processes. We seek to effect institutional change, through the participatory way we do our research, through the alliances we build with other institutions, and through our publications, seminars, and briefings. Effecting change involves three key elements: first, we must gain a rigorously researched, evidence-based and tested body of knowledge which better explains the complexity of processes which shape the lives of those caught up in crisis. This knowledge must then be put into the hands of those who should be effecting change, which includes the crisis-affected community, those agencies closely associated with interventions in these crises, the funders of such actions, and state authorities who shape the crisis environment. This process is achieved through participatory research, seminars, publications, one-on-one briefings, field visits, and a myriad of other techniques. Finally, from the research, we identify the promising leverage points in the crisis dynamic where the application of this knowledge through these actors can effect change. Change can happen when the right knowledge is applied by the right people in the right way at the right place and time. Projects can be either research-led or institutional change-led. Research-led projects start with a desire to better understand a process or environment and identify potential change agents and leverage points as they emerge. Much of our
4
Feinstein International Center
research in Darfur falls into this category. In this style of project, the research objectives are clear from the start but the institutional change objectives may emerge later as we gain a greater understanding of the field. Alternatively, projects may be institutional change-led, as is much of our work in Ethiopia. Here, a collective of operational agencies and funders has identified a set of problems and change processes. We then use research as one tool to help these partners identify and adopt effective institutional change strategies. Individual projects develop against three criteria. First, they must be of considerable interest to the researcher leading the project. We are neither an advocacy organization nor a consultancy, but rather an academic institution, premised on the notion of individual inquiry. Second, we have collectively agreed on some overarching principles for projects within Tufts/FIC, expressed in our mission statement. All new projects need to be in line with these common goals. Finally, pragmatically, we need to be able to interest an external source in funding the research. The useful tension between individual inquiry and common goals has shaped our portfolio of projects around a number of foci, some geographical, some methodological, some issue-based. These foci allow us to group projects into programs. Some programs, like the work in Darfur, have a high degree of internal cohesiveness, with each project supporting the others. Other programs, like the work on the global crisis environment, are collections of individual projects which complement each other. We believe that while cohesiveness and synergy between projects is desirable, it cannot be forced. It happens only when it makes sense for the researchers involved and the subjects being researched. We describe below the five research and institutional change programs which will dominate our work over the next three years. We need to highlight one caveat. Most of our field research takes place in conflict-dominated environments. As we constantly preach to our partners, understanding and working to context is everything. The plans we present here are correct, given our present assessment of risk and opportunity, but all this can change in an instant as conflicts flare up, or peace agreements are signed.
LIVELIHOODS AND NUTRITION OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE (PROGRAM OVERVIEW) The cumulative research and field experience of the Tufts/FIC team points strongly to the importance of focusing not only on the basic needs of marginalized communities, but also on the livelihood systems of these people and the ways in which livelihoods shift, adapt, and evolve under stress. This approach prioritizes affected communities through ‘bottom-up’ analysis, but includes close attention to the policies and institutions at the national, regional, and international levels that determine the economic, social, and political context in which people pursue their livelihood strategies. By understanding the complexity and nuance of livelihood strategies we are better able to support, protect, or promote the livelihoods that have been pursued with success by local communities and to take steps to ensure that policies and programs do not undermine or threaten these strategies. While not all Tufts/FIC projects focus specifically on livelihoods or employ a livelihoods approach, the unifying aspect of our work is to strengthen the lives and liveli-
hoods of the communities we study or work within. The projects under this program take into account the broad range of inputs, processes, and institutions that inform and influence livelihood strategies. Together, the projects aim to better understand how these strategies evolve in situations of stress and change. In the coming three years we will be working to better understand pastoral and community-based nutrition, to examine the impacts of financial resilience on marginalized and poor communities, to improve market and financial interventions, to understand the economic and social strategies of urban displaced populations, to gather longitudinal information on how communities and agencies adapt over time in situations of chronic crisis, and to improve programming, policy making, and standards for interventions in pastoral areas. A brief overview of each of these projects is provided here. Full details can be found in Part II of this document. September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
5
Part I Advancing Financial Resilience The Financial Resilience (FiRe) project aims to improve understanding of the properties of financial resilience in marginalized populations in high-risk or high-stress environments. How do households and communities prevent, sustain, or recover from financial shocks? How does financial resilience relate to household vulnerability in the face of crisis? We seek to provide field-based evidence on the impact of technological innovations among these populations, particularly communications technology and microfinance interventions, and to explore how these advances influence household resilience. Linking Microfinance To Mobile Payphones: The Impact On Livelihoods In collaboration with UNDP, the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS), and several INGOs, Tufts/FIC will investigate the impact of an ambitious new mobile payphone pilot program, linked to microfinance, which will be rolled out by the mobile phone corporation, Zain, in several areas of Sudan. Tufts/FIC has designed a rigorous impact study employing random assignment of payphones and a control group, that will allow us to determine the financial and livelihood impact of the pilot program on poor and displaced clients. Livelihoods Change Over Time: Responses Of Communities And Agencies To Chronic Crisis The ‘Livelihoods Change over Time’ project is designed to fill the gap in institutional and agency knowledge as to how livelihoods change in response to crisis over an extended period. By capturing information on change through repeated and regular site visits, the project seeks to improve our knowledge of how crisis affects the livelihoods of communities, to enable humanitarian agencies to better protect livelihoods, and to inform policy makers on the institutional drivers of livelihood change. A combined team of researchers from Tufts/FIC and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy will work in collaboration with humanitarian agencies and research institutes in the host countries, anticipated to include Sudan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Haiti.
6
Feinstein International Center
Longitudinal Study Of Market- And CreditBased Livelihood Interventions In Ethiopia This research will generate evidence on the effectiveness of market-oriented microfinance interventions in reducing chronic food insecurity in Ethiopia. Through a comparison of intervention and non-intervention households, the project seeks to provide concrete information on the impact of microfinance interventions on poverty reduction. This improved understanding will inform the government’s national poverty reduction strategy, the policies of international donors, and the programs of humanitarian agencies. Profiling Internally Displaced Persons In Urban Areas, Phase II This project responds to the lack of knowledge on the experiences of displaced populations living in urban areas and expands upon work conducted in three cities (Khartoum, Sudan; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Santa Marta, Colombia). Under Phase II we will expand into a fourth city and, in close collaboration with aid agencies and donors, develop practical program and policy initiatives based on the data from the four cases. One of the main objectives of the study is to assist governments and humanitarian organizations to better understand the challenges facing them and to protect the rights of urban displaced populations. Building Capacity Among Refugee Mutual Aid Associations In Maine This project seeks to establish a baseline of information concerning the current activities and capacity of refugee mutual aid associations (MAAs) in Maine as well as best practices among MAAs nationwide. This baseline information will be used by Tufts/FIC and project partners the Maine Association for Nonprofits (MANP) and the State of Maine Office of Multicultural Affairs (MOMA) to create and deliver a series of comprehensive training programs for refugees designed to build peer networks, connect refugee participants to statewide funding, mentoring, and advocacy resources, and to build leadership and organizational capacity within the refugee communities.
Community-Based Management Of Severe Acute Malnutrition In Bangladesh: Reducing Vulnerabilty To Malnutrition In Poor Cyclone-Prone Communities This study aims to test the effectiveness of new models for the diagnosis and treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) by community health volunteers. Malnutrition is an underlying factor in over 50% of deaths of the 10-11 million children who die each year of preventable causes. In many areas, however, there are inadequate strategies to identify severe acute malnutrition in children and to deliver appropriate treatments. Working in poor and disaster-prone areas of Bangladesh, this project will explore the ways in which community volunteers can provide critically needed services in areas far from formal health care facilities. The findings from this research will be used to inform policy and practice for the diagnosis and treatment of SAM in Bangladesh and across the developing world. Promoting Evidence-Based Livelihood Programming In Karamoja, Uganda Insecurity in northeastern Uganda over the past thirty years has hampered the collection of quality data on key livelihood and human security issues. Donors, programmers, and policy makers have relatively little information for program design, multi-year plans, and advocacy strategies. This project works in conjunction with Save the Children in Uganda to gather qualitative data on livelihood trends and patterns, shifts in coping strategies among different population groups, and the impact of specific livelihood interventions. In particular, the research aims to better understand the role of women and children within households and communities and how the position of the strategies, risks, and threats faced by these groups has evolved over time. Findings will influence the programming and policy making of Save the Children in Uganda but will also be shared with local and national authorities and other agencies working in the region. This research is particularly important in this three-year period as a growing number of international agencies seek to expand into Karamoja.
Livelihoods-Based Programming And Impact Assessment In Pastoral Areas Of The Horn Of Africa This institutional change project builds on Tufts/FIC’s long tradition of providing coordination, technical, and impact assessment support to large-scale pastoral programs in the Horn of Africa. From 2009 to 2011 it focuses on Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia and assists donors and NGOs by providing overall technical coordination to pastoralists’ livelihoods programs, and by ensuring that best-practice livelihoods approaches are applied, evaluated, and continuously refined. At the national level, we work with governments to produce official best-practice guidelines and strengthen government capacity to coordinate development and relief programs. With international and local NGOs we provide hands-on field-level technical support and assist them in conducting impact assessments of their work as a means to improve future programming. The work involves collaboration with a wide range of central and local government partners, NGOs, and local research institutes. Livestock Emergency Guidelines And Standards: Raising Awareness, Ensuring Uptake The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) are being developed as standards and guidelines for the assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of livestock interventions in humanitarian crises around the world. The LEGS process grew out of the recognition that although livestock are a crucial livelihoods asset and livestock interventions are often a feature of relief responses, there are no international guidelines for the implementation of livestock interventions in disasters. Tufts/FIC initiated the LEGS process in early 2006. The process mirrors the development of the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response—the Sphere Project—and intends to become one of the first Sphere ‘Companion Modules.’ The process is based on multiagency contributions, broad reviews and collation of practitioner experience. Recognizing the value of livelihoods approaches, LEGS is an institutional change project that aims to promote more long-term thinking and response in emergencies. This approach is particularly important as climatic trends are causing more frequent and varied humanitarian crises with pronounced effects for communities who rely heavily on livestock. September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
7
Part I
DARFUR: LIVELIHOODS, VULNERABILITY, AND CHOICE (PROGRAM OVERVIEW) Darfur is an extreme example of how conflict destroys livelihoods and how pressures on livelihoods combined with a governance gap can generate conflict. Decisions and choices at international, national, and local levels perpetuate this vicious livelihoods-conflict cycle. In Darfur different livelihood groups find themselves increasingly polarized, socially, economically, and
8
Feinstein International Center
politically, which puts them and their leaders at odds with one another. In a context of limited options and increasing vulnerability, livelihood choices can be maladaptive, especially when they tip over into violence and asset-stripping, thereby exacerbating vulnerability for both victims and perpetrators. The Tufts/FIC three-year Darfur program
aims to reduce the vulnerability of livelihoods in conflict settings by widening livelihood options and enabling more informed choice. A large part of widening options is concerned with re-establishing relationships, supporting networks, and strengthening local capacities and local governance. The program has three components: research projects; technical support/capacity development; and Darfur university development. Tufts/FIC will work closely with core partners in implementing this program, including civil society groups, national and Darfur-based universities, government, UN agencies (UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme), and IOM (International Organization for Migration)), and INGOs. A wide range of stakeholders will be engaged from the beginning to maximize knowledge transfer and shared understanding and to develop a shared strategic direction for policies and programs in Darfur. While directed at the Darfur context, the lessons learned will be widely applicable to the increasing number of contexts where a governance gap and livelihood maladaptations are generating conflict and destroying livelihoods. The Tufts/FIC study ‘Livelihoods under Siege’ in 2004 confirmed the centrality and importance of livelihoods in relation to the Darfur conflict. Livelihoods are integral to the causes of conflict in Darfur and the devastating impact it has had on loss of livelihoods, and therefore the need to address livelihood issues is central to any lasting solutions to the conflict. Recently Tufts/FIC conducted three major research studies on: pastoral perspectives; conflict, markets, and trade; and the livelihoods of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). These three research pillars build on the earlier foundations of ‘Livelihoods under Siege,’ and provide excellent foundations for informing policy and programs, expanding and deepening research, and developing local research capacities. In 2007, a series of four workshops designed and implemented by Tufts/FIC and UNRCO/ OCHA set the strategic direction of livelihoods programming in Darfur and incorporated livelihoods approaches within the UN work plan. As part of this UNOCHA/RCO is about to take forward a capacity development and coordination initiative which calls for technical support from Tufts/FIC. Increasingly, livelihoods approaches
have gained recognition among local and international stakeholders, and have been adopted and promoted by the UNRCO/OCHA, UNEP, and IOM and by a wide range of local, national, and international stakeholders, including Darfur and Khartoum universities. Agencies are paying more attention to livelihoods because Darfur is now a protracted crisis with no immediate peace deal in sight. Agencies are concerned about moving from immediate life-saving interventions focusing on the IDPs to a range of interventions that support recovery more broadly throughout Darfur. Resources are now finally being made available for this kind of work as evidenced by the multidonor Peace and Development Stability Fund and the recent livelihoods programming initiative of UNDP. Furthermore, the state-level government ministries in Darfur have requested UNRCO/ OCHA to provide capacity development in livelihoods assessment and coordination. Similarly, the Vice Chancellors of two Darfur universities are supporting the Darfur university capacity development proposed by Tufts/FIC and Ahfad University for Women (based in Khartoum). Tufts/FIC has a strong and long-standing track record of field-based research, of building long-term relationships with local and national institutions, and of influencing programs and policies on Darfur through dissemination in English and Arabic, using a variety of means. As a result Tufts/FIC is able to provide long-term knowledge and support on Darfur. Tufts/FIC’s commitment to explore and investigate priority areas that have simply been ignored (our work on markets and trade) or are potentially controversial or among groups that are hard to reach (our work with Arab pastoralists) ensures greater objectivity, breadth, and depth of analysis. With these solid foundations Tufts/FIC and partners are well placed to move forward with a more strategic livelihoods initiative in Darfur which will generate needed research and policy change, contribute to international debates and discourses, and develop local capacities. The program is designed to promote joint or co-learning about livelihoods, vulnerability, and conflict among the partners, stakeholders, and even local livelihood groups in Darfur. It is only with understanding and engagement that shifts in thinking and opportunities for change are possible. This is expected to generate a strategic and
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
9
Part I innovative approach to programming and policy change linked to humanitarian action, local peacebuilding, recovery activities, and wider peace processes. This shift in thinking will be accompanied by enhanced capacities based on engagement with the project and its activities. The Darfur program’s three areas are designed to be complementary and mutually supporting. Each is necessary yet on its own insufficient to achieve the desired project outcomes. The program will develop and foster professional and academic networks, and a Darfur Resource Network (a consortium of local NGOs) whose enhanced capacities will contribute to the various activities. Enhanced academic and research capacities will contribute to the technical assistance and also to the research and institutional development. Technical Assistance To Support Coordination And Capacity Development In Relation To Livelihoods The UN Resident Coordinators Office (RCO) has committed to enhancing livelihood and protection support activities through improved coordination, livelihood assessments, and information management by UNOCHA. Government ministries at the state level have expressed an increased desire to be more engaged technically in such assessments, which will require capacity building and orientation. UNOCHA has invited Tufts/FIC to provide technical support in three areas: developing capacity in livelihoods assessment and coordination; information management and development of a virtual, real-time database; and inter-sectoral coordination for humanitarian and early recovery activities. The first area, capacity development in livelihoods assessment, will require coordination with the Darfur Resource Network and local government through workshops and inter-agency livelihoods assessments through UNOCHA. Training and materials will be generated to support assessments, programming, monitoring, and evaluation. For the second area of information management and development of a virtual real-time database, Tufts/FIC will provide professional support to design and establish the system, to be lodged with UNDP and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) in coordination with local technical assistance and universities. The system will respond to agencies’ need for more
10
Feinstein International Center
systematic organization of and access to information and local resources essential for Darfur early recovery planning and programming purposes. To promote inter-sectoral coordination for humanitarian and early recovery activities, the third area of technical support, UNOCHA (with technical support from Tufts/FIC) will engage directly with GoS (government of Sudan) Ministries across the various sectors as part of an initiative and request from the GoS for greater involvement and capacity development. This is supported by FAO and agencies in Darfur. This technical assistance to UNRCO/OCHA will be undertaken in collaboration with the Darfur Resource Network and local universities. Darfur University Development Tufts/FIC has a long record of supporting and working in partnership with Sudanese academics from Khartoum and Darfur. The Universities of Nyala in South Darfur, Zalingei in West Darfur, and Ahfad University for Women are now seeking stronger institutional relationships and support to enable them to strengthen their academic, research, and networking capacities. In addition to developing academic capacities, this program aims to build bridges and strengthen relationships between the Sudan universities, agencies, and government with wider international networks. Three program areas have been identified: academic support, including curricula review and development, a program of scholarships, and targeted training of academic staff; development of research, including support of PhD supervision, development of research capacities, initiating of national and regional workshops to disseminate research and bring together academic, professional, and international networks; and strengthening academic resources, including development of a digital library, academic networks, and research guides in core thematic areas. Research Projects The six priority research areas have been identified with partners (including UNEP, IOM, UNOCHA, and local actors) and build on the growing body of earlier research by Tufts/FIC and others working in Darfur. All the research projects aim to deepen understanding and knowledge in order to inform policies, program strategies, and
implementation. Several of the projects are core to the purpose of specific UN agencies and government departments, and will also include support to initiatives such as: Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund, ENTEC (Environmental Technology Task Force), the UNDP livelihoods program, and the UNEP/UNICEF IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management) program. A brief overview of the research projects is provided here, followed by a more in-depth description in Part II.
Livelihoods, Migration, And The Environment This research builds on earlier work by Tufts/ FIC, UNEP, and Tear Fund and will investigate previous and current adaptations to climate variability and conflict, particularly focusing on local systems of natural resource management and how to strengthen their inclusiveness. It will also look at processes of labor migration and remittance flows as an adaptation to environmental degradation, climate variability, and natural resource conflict.
Markets, Trade, And Livelihoods: Darfur, Sudan Building on the earlier Tufts/FIC study ‘Adaptation and Devastation: Impact of Conflict on Trade and Markets in Darfur’, this second stage will deepen the analysis by gaining more understanding of market transactions outside the main urban markets, and will review how ongoing monitoring systems (by UNDP and others) can integrate data collection and analysis of these important and insightful market trends. This second phase will include a capacity development component by working collaboratively with the Darfur Resource Network to run training workshops and offer mentoring support.
Remittances To Conflict Zones: Phase 2: Transition Countries: The Sudanese Diaspora In Cairo The proposed study is the second phase of a larger study of remittances to Darfur, Sudan conducted by Tufts/FIC. For the proposed Cairo study, the research will be extended to explore remittance patterns of different Sudanese groups. Refugees and migrants in transit countries like Egypt are linked into wider diaspora networks that help support them, and in turn enable the migrants to support their families and communities back home. We will explore the significance of remittances for Sudanese in Cairo, to understand whether and how remittances impact their urban livelihoods and influence migrants’ political involvement in their home regions.
Pastoral Perspectives: Vulnerability, Power, And Choice This research will build on the earlier 2008 scoping study by Tufts/FIC that analyzed the causes of vulnerability, both pre-conflict and currently, among specific pastoral groups of the Darfur region. This study will focus on a gender analysis of current adaptations to conflict, climate variability (and by implication climate change), and processes of marginalization, with the aim of re-building social capital and re-establishing local governance. Conflict, Livelihoods, And Household Food Security In Darfur This research will examine the nature of the conflict in Darfur and undertake a comparative analysis of its effect on the livelihoods and food security situation of different groups living in North Darfur state, including IDPs, farmers living under coercion of other groups, pro-government rural farmers, and pastoral groups. The research will inform policies that seek to establish livelihoods security, reliable entitlements, and access to sufficient food as part of the peace processes.
Markets, Information, And Mobile Phones: Darfur, Sudan The goal of this research is to investigate the impact of mobile phones on market performance for key agro-food products (cereals, cash crops, and livestock), as well on different livelihood groups’ trading behavior and welfare. This project will work closely with UN price monitoring systems, the local Darfur Resource Network and mobile phone companies (such as Zain) to determine how mobile phones might be used to collect and share market information among different livelihood groups.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
11
Part I
UNDERSTANDING THE FUTURE OF PASTORALISM IN AFRICA (PROGRAM OVERVIEW) Pastoralists in Africa are among the most marginalized and vulnerable communities. Countries with large pastoral populations are usually found towards the bottom of international development indices such as the UN Human Development Index. Within these countries, pastoralists often have far worse health, education, and other indicators of development relative to urban or sedentary areas. In some regions, particularly the Horn of Africa, pastoralists continue to be directly affected by large-scale, long-term conflict which in terms of aid interventions are labeled ‘complex emergencies.’ Superimposed on 12
Feinstein International Center
conflict are both climatic trends which may be leading to increasing variability in rainfall and more frequent and severe droughts, and human population growth. Given these concerns, what is the future of pastoralism in Africa? At the policy and institutional level, African pastoralists are often misunderstood and regarded by policy makers as problematic, irrational, and backward.Yet during the last 25 years or more, research conducted by anthropologists, rangeland scientists, ecologists, and economists has contested the deeply entrenched views on the viability and efficiency of pastoralism in fragile, arid environ-
ments. Despite the rigor and scale of this academic output, supportive policies for pastoralists are virtually nonexistent. Instead, a series of starkly contrasting policy narratives and perceptions continue to paralyze the policy debate, and pastoral communities continue to receive inappropriate development support from government, often under policies which promote sedentary livelihoods. The Feinstein International Center at Tufts’ work on pastoralism falls into two categories. First, we have a broad multi-faceted program on ‘Pastoralism, Controversies, and Policy Process in Africa,’ described further below. Second, we have a range of initiatives that seek to identify and explore key and emerging areas in pastoral research. These initiatives include: ‘Milk Matters,’ a project to better understand and improve the health and nutrition of children in pastoral areas; ‘Livelihoods and Insecurity in Northeastern Uganda,’ a study of the social and economic factors leading to engagement in violent livelihood strategies in northeastern Uganda and the cyclical relationship between these livelihoods and insecurity; and ‘Seers as War Makers, Peace Makers, and Leaders within the Karamoja Cluster,’ an analysis of ‘seers,’ an important traditional authority system in the Karamoja Cluster, in order to better understand how these systems contribute to or mitigate violence. The program ‘Pastoralism, Controversies and Policy Process in Africa’ began in 2005 and works with national and regional policy actors in Africa to develop more supportive policies and institutional arrangements for pastoralism. The program builds on the Tufts/FIC’s experience in pastoral areas of Africa since 1996, and links communitylevel research and experience to policy reform and development. The overall strategy is to work directly with African institutions and facilitate evidence-based analysis, and promote inputs from multiple and diverse stakeholders. The program draws on existing research while also conducting new strategic research to fill information gaps. Examples of this process between 2005 and 2008 exist at continental, national, and regional levels. At the continental level is the support given to the African Union (AU) to begin development of the AU Policy Framework for Pastoralism. At the national level in Ethiopia, capacity-building support to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Federal Affairs
is provided to review scientific evidence related to pastoralism in Ethiopia and policy options. At the regional level, capacity-building support to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) led to the inclusion of pastoralism issues into the Framework for African Food Security under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Within this program we will also assess the impact of growing international livestock trade markets on marginalized and conflict-prone pastoral communities in trans-boundary areas of the Horn of Africa, and examine the constraints to market access for these communities. While international trade is often promoted by donors and African governments as a means to reduce poverty and vulnerability, the poor and socially excluded are often isolated from such markets. Initial evidence from Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia indicates that the benefits of new trade are easily captured by a powerful political elite. Trends such as the private enclosure of communal land and environmental degradation increase the risk of resource-based conflict. As commodities acquire a high market value, pastoral women lose ownership and control of assets, and become more vulnerable and exploited. A new component of our work on pastoralism and trade focuses on the impact of livestock diseases on market access, and alternative science-based international standards which would improve market access. This work includes a specific research project on foot-andmouth disease, and the impact of the disease on pastoralists’ livelihoods. From 2009 to 2011 the overall goal of the program is to strengthen pastoralists’ livelihoods in Africa through policy and institutional reform with African institutions. Livelihoods analysis in pastoral areas since the late 1990s has shown that the key development constraints relate to an inappropriate policy and institutional environment, and the limited representation of pastoralists in policy debate. The range of policy challenges is broad and at the national level covers basic service delivery in health, education, and veterinary services, plus infrastructure development and communication, marketing and trade, and natural resource management. At the regional level, cross-border and regional approaches to aspects of pastoralism such as livestock marketing are crucial, as are regional and international efforts to reduce and prevent conflict. In terms of linkages between September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
13
Part I food security, humanitarian assistance, and development strategies, the institutional focus remains locked into emergency responses and the business of food aid. Few actors are taking a long-term perspective which views events such as drought as inevitable and therefore, to be anticipated and planned for. Through policy reform at different levels—government, donors, and aid agencies— the program aims to strengthen pastoralists’ livelihoods, and foster more long-term development planning and implementing capacity. A brief description of each project follows. Full details can be found in part II of this document. Regional Policy Support On Food Security In Pastoral Areas With The Common Market For Eastern And Southern Africa The livelihoods of many pastoral communities in Africa are cross-border in nature. Pastoralists are often geographically located at the margins of countries and their livelihood depends on the movement of livestock to and from seasonal grazing areas, which in turn may require movement across national boundaries. The cross-border nature of pastoralism indicates that regional approaches to both development policy and humanitarian assistance are needed. The goal of this project is to improve the food security of pastoral communities in the COMESA region through facilitating the development of pro-pastoralist regional food security policy. Towards Pro-Pastoralist Policies In Ethiopia This project builds on Tufts/FIC’s work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Federal Affairs (MoFA) in Ethiopia under the Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative, in which strong relationships were developed with these ministries at the federal level, and with relevant pastoral and livestock development bureaus at the regional level. Although the MoFA role covers the promotion of good governance and pastoral development policies, its policies reflect limited understanding of pastoralism. The goal of this project is to raise understanding of the benefits of pastoralism among senior federal-level policy makers and incorporate pro-pastoralist policies into national development policies.
14
Feinstein International Center
Cross-Sectoral Learning For Service Provision In The Somali Region Of Ethiopia This project aims to conduct comprehensive participatory impact assessments of veterinary and human health and education services in the Somali region, and identify cross-cutting lessons to be shared and applied between sectors. In the mid 1990s Save the Children UK and the Somali regional government embarked on an alternative approach to delivering primary veterinary services. Rather than relying on fixed-point government clinics and a very limited government budget for medicines and equipment, a privatized and community-based approach was designed. Rapid and superficial assessments by Tufts/FIC indicate that the approach has been successful, but a comprehensive impact assessment has not been conducted. Pastoral Livelihoods And Destitution In Northern Kenya This research was initially developed with FAO Kenya and aims to clarify the extent and characteristics of destitution in the settlements of northern Kenya, and potential ways to help communities out of extreme poverty. The goal of the research is to generate quantitative information of the extent and causes of pastoral destitution in northern Kenya, describe the aspirations of pastoralists who opt to leave the pastoral system, and review the success of alternative livelihoods strategies adopted by former pastoralists. The research findings are intended to inform policies and programming in Kenya related to pastoral development and alternative pastoral livelihoods. Alternative Approaches To International Trade In Livestock Products: CommodityBased Trade The current international standards governing trade in livestock commodities insist that animal products be derived from areas which are free from certain animal diseases. In partnership with the African Union, Tufts/FIC conducted a review of international standards in 2003 which concluded that safe trade in livestock products need not depend on the disease situation in the area of product origin. The goal of this project on commodity-based trade is to contribute to a growing international, but largely Africa-driven effort, to revise the international standards on livestock trade, and to clarify the standards related to trade in livestock commodities.
Camel Marketing And Pastoral Livelihoods In Ethiopia There is an ongoing vibrant camel trade in Ethiopia involving some twenty or more chain markets with a trade volume of about 3,000 camels per week in the peak seasons. Regrettably, this important camel market chain is virtually unknown to outsiders like scholars, policy makers, NGOs, donors, and academic or research institutions. The goal of this project is to promote understanding of the camel market chain that impacts the livelihoods of tens of thousands of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, farmers, and traders living in diverse agro-ecological regions of Ethiopia. Cattle And Meat Value Chain Assessment In Ethiopia As one of its economic objectives, the government of Ethiopia is pursuing a policy of maximizing revenues through meat and live animal exports. In the past few years, Ethiopia’s volume of meat exports has been rising steadily, though its live animal exports have varied due to external factors that include trade bans by importing countries. This initiative is challenged, however, by rising domestic beef prices, well above the world beef market price. The goal of this project is to analyze incremental values along the cattle and meat supply chains at each level of transaction to promote understanding of why beef prices have risen to such a high level despite the huge resource potential in the country. Livelihoods, Trade, And Foot-And-Mouth Disease In Ethiopia In pastoral areas of Africa foot-and-mouth disease is usually by ranked by pastoralists themselves as among the top five diseases affecting their livestock and livelihoods. The sudden loss of milk in affected animals has a direct impact on the nutrition of pastoralist households, particularly children. FMD also contributes to isolation of pastoral areas from international markets, because more developed regions fear the introduction of the disease. The community-based strategy to be used in the project draws on Tufts/FIC’s experience of rinderpest eradication in South Sudan, in which participatory approaches were highly effective. The goal of the project is to identify FMD control strategies to reduce the impact of the disease on pastoralists’ livelihoods.
Milk Matters: Improving The Health And Nutritional Status Of Children In Pastoral Communities In pastoral communities milk is well known as the staple food of children’s diets and therefore is directly linked with the nutritional status of young children. In order to improve nutritional status in children who live in pastoral communities, this project aims to take a critical look at the factors that affect the quality, quantity, and access to human and animal milk across all seasons, particularly during drought, and among various wealth groups. Seers As War Makers, Peace Makers, And Leaders Within The Karamoja Cluster Pastoral populations living within the Karamoja Cluster (namely Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia) believe that particular people known as ‘seers’ possess special capacities that enable them to foresee and manipulate the future. With this ability, seers perform an important role within communities, but are regarded with suspicion by the government and NGOs. This project will help lay the groundwork for future strategies that seek to help better network seers with local leaders, government agencies, and NGO activities whose aim is peaceful resolution to conflict and peaceful co-existence among pastoral groups in the Karamoja Cluster. Livelihoods And Insecurity In Northeastern Uganda The Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda is the poorest and least developed region of the country and is host to the worst human development indicators in key areas, including primary school enrollment, maternal and infant mortality, and life expectancy. This research aims to improve the understanding of livelihoods and security in Karamoja, and how livelihoods have shifted over time. We are particularly interested in the dynamic links between conflict and livelihood strategies, and how these two aspects may perpetuate or mitigate each other.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
15
Part I
UGANDA: UPHOLDING RIGHTS IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE (PROGRAM OVERVIEW) Accountability and redress for grave rights violations and crimes committed against waraffected populations remains a key priority for Tufts/FIC. For nearly a decade, our teams have been working in northern Uganda, and more recently in South Sudan, to document and report on grave violations against civilians during the decades-long wars. Building on our in-depth work in this area, we plan to engage with local populations on the ground to better understand 16
Feinstein International Center
their needs and priorities for accountability and redress stemming from these violations. We then plan to take these findings to key national and international agencies and donors to help inform policy and institutional development to best ensure that those who have suffered these grave violations have access to systems of accountability and redress, and are treated with dignity as they participate within those systems.
The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has waged a brutal guerrilla war for two decades against the government of Uganda and the citizenry of northern Uganda. The government of Uganda responded by forcibly displacing most of the citizenry into camps which were soon overrun with disease and despair. Between 1987 and 2008, nearly two million people were displaced and impoverished, over 60,000 youth kidnapped and forced to serve in the LRA, and untold thousands killed. Still thousands more experienced torture, rape, sexual slavery, inhuman and degrading treatment, and abuse, or saw their family members, friends, and neighbors killed, raped, or beaten. Nearly everyone felt the effects as health, education, and social welfare systems collapsed and were left to crumble by a government that turned its priorities elsewhere. Several forces are pushing the war to a close. A weakened LRA drastically reduced its abductions and attacks in 2005-2008. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against the top LRA leadership. A formal ceasefire was reached in mid-2006, and negotiations between the government of Uganda and the LRA began, brokered by the government of Southern Sudan. At the writing of this report, the peace talks have failed to produce a final peace agreement. With the failure of the talks to bring closure, many are hesitant to return to their rural homes, fearing renewed conflict.Yet many are determined to see accountability and justice for the grave rights violations and crimes they suffered at the hands of both the LRA and the government of Uganda. To date, almost none have seen justice or received compensation or reparation in any form. Despite the final peace agreement not being signed, which contained ground breaking mechanisms and guidelines for accountability and reconciliation, there is increased movement within Uganda for the government and traditional leadership to move forward on providing accountability, redress, and reparation. Our larger research program intends to document these processes both at formal and traditional levels of justice. This larger research program has two main projects summarized below. Full details can be found in part II of this document.
Formal Justice And Accountability For People In Northern Uganda This research seeks to document and analyze the formal justice mechanisms that will be established by the government of Uganda in response to the widespread grave crimes and human rights violations that occurred during the 22-year war in northern Uganda. Our project seeks to provide timely, precise, and insightful documentary evidence and analysis, drawing on our investigation into how victims and survivors view and experience these justice mechanisms. We aim to inform the processes as well as the policies and responses that emerge as the processes unfold. Additionally, the final report and publications will serve as an important historical document for the people of Uganda and those in the international community concerned with formal systems of accountability and justice in post-war societies. Traditional Justice And Accountability In Northern Uganda This research will document and analyze how traditional justice and accountability systems in northern Uganda address war-related crimes and harms committed during the region’s conflict. Special attention will be given to how these informal systems take up rebel and government perpetrated crimes against women and girls. As traditional systems in the north have not evolved to deal with widespread and systematic violence like that experienced and perpetrated in this conflict, it is our intention to provide timely information on the formation of these mechanisms and examine their application of local customary law. Our prior research supports claims that among the different ethnic groups in the north there are dissimilar notions regarding the ‘road map’ to attain justice and accountability for war-related crimes and, ultimately, for the formation of sustainable peace. How traditional systems handle war-related crimes will have social, economic, and political implications nationally and regionally.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
17
Part I
THE EVOLVING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OF CRISIS AND CRISIS RESPONSE (PROGRAM OVERVIEW) In most of the contexts where we work, crises are visible at the local level. Livelihoods are eroding or being lost, human rights are under fire and protection is not being provided. Increasingly, however, we see that these local manifestations of crisis are linked to and driven, at least in part, by global processes. Many of the opportunities for intervention in these crises are therefore at the global or regional level. Over the next three years we seek to continue and expand upon our practice of thinking globally but analyzing locally. This dual lens allows us to better understand the 18
Feinstein International Center
impact of global processes on marginalized communities and to inform global institutions such as international aid agencies, military forces, and corporate bodies on how they might better promote sustainable livelihoods and protect human rights. This program emerged from our previous work on ‘Humanitarian Agenda 2015,’ the ‘Ambiguity and Change’ project, and the earlier work of the ‘Humanitarianism and War’ project. These projects sought to understand local perceptions of international processes, global drivers of crisis, and
the relationship between international institutions (such as armed forces and humanitarian actors) and crisis-affected populations. The five projects included in our plan for 2009-2011 continue with these basic themes, but further develop our depth of knowledge in these areas. We will then use this knowledge to inform the debate around the future of humanitarian aid in crisis and also to better inform the actions of aid agencies, military forces, and the corporate sector. The five projects in this program are summarized below. Full details can be found in part II of this document. Preparing For Humanitarian Crises Of The Future The shape of humanitarian crises are evolving, with climate change and globalization set to have a profound impact upon community vulnerability. Humanitarian agencies will also need to evolve and change if they are to meet the challenges of the next several decades. This research seeks to understand the impact climate change and globalization will have on future humanitarian crises, focusing initially on Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The project will also examine the present capacity of key humanitarian agencies to meet these expected challenges and will develop strategies to assist agencies in institutional change to better respond to these emerging issues. The Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power, And Perceptions The evolution of the humanitarian enterprise, the power relationships that it entails, and the perceptions of communities affected by crisis and conflict remain priority concerns of Tufts/FIC. Building on the evidence-based findings on the views from below from our prior research, we intend to continue to engage in policy and institutional development actions with donors, UN agencies, and NGOs, with a view to improving the effectiveness of assistance and protection activities for the most vulnerable. “Winning Hearts And Minds?” Understanding The Relationship Between Aid And Security There is a widely held assumption in military and foreign policy circles that reconstruction and development assistance is an important soft power tool to promote stabilization and security. This
assumption has a major policy impact on how development assistance is apportioned and spent and provides an important rationale for the growing securitization of development assistance. However, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence that supports the assumption of a causal relationship between increased aid and improved stabilization and security in counterinsurgency contexts. This research project aims to address this evidence gap through a comparative study in the three counterinsurgency contexts, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa, to examine the assumption that aid projects contribute to improved stabilization and security. Humanitarianism And Corporate Social Responsibility Major international private corporations are increasingly aware that their investments and performance may have positive and sustained humanitarian outcomes. Investors also recognize that a lack of due diligence often has negative consequences. Thus, corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote humanitarian objectives is considered good business practice. This research analyzes CSR investments to identify cost-effective and sustainable humanitarian investments in mining, manufacturing, and financial services. The purpose of this project is to generate policy guidelines and recommendations for improving corporate responsibility and due diligence to achieve sustained humanitarian and institutional change. Crisis And Social Transformation In Nepal How does the work of aid agencies during and after conflict affect people’s perceptions of change? What can we learn from recent experience? Our work in Nepal has uncovered a number of interesting issues around the humanitarian-development relationship and the challenges of social transformation in a (hopefully) post-conflict environment. These issues are largely unexplored but have potentially important policy implications. Two themes in particular will be pursued in this research: the relationship between aid policies and violence in Nepal; and conflict, gender, and social transformation in Nepal. Knowledge generated by this research will be fed back into the aid community working in Nepal.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
19
Part I
EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND COLLABORATION Teaching At Tufts The Masters In Humanitarian Assistance (Maha) We will continue to offer the nine-month Masters in Humanitarian Assistance degree, enrolling five to seven students a year. Our goal is to become more rigorous and diverse in our selection of students, to ensure that they are able to cope with the strenuous academic environment of the University. As in the past year, we will require that one of Tufts/FIC’s faculty act as academic advisor and mentor to the MAHA students. We have also secured the voluntary support of a writing coach. A key obstacle to MAHA success is insufficient funds to allow students to focus on their studies and not have to work to support themselves. MAHA costs about $40,000 for tuition and living. Scholarship funding for the degree remains a challenge. Funds from Tufts/FIC and the Fletcher School have allowed us to subsidize on average 70% of the tuition fee, thus reducing the students’ financial burden to around $20,000. None of our students in the past three years have found independent funding. There is an urgent need for MAHA scholarships. We are continually looking to improve this degree offering. Over the next two years we will be actively exploring the possibility of offering it as a distance learning degree, targeted at students who for logistical or financial reasons find it hard to join a residential degree program in the USA. Part of what the MAHA offers is its alumni network. We intend to strengthen our follow-up and communication with alumni, and hold regular reunions that could be focused around particular issues in the humanitarian field.
20
Feinstein International Center
Food Policy And Nutrition Masters (Fpan) The 2008 world food crisis reminded us of the central role of food in people’s lives and that food is not just a tradable commodity but a human right. Thus nutritionists, and particularly emergency nutritionists, play a significant role in responding to complex emergencies. The Humanitarian Concentration, consisting of courses offered by Tufts/FIC faculty, within the Friedman School’s Food Policy and Nutrition Masters degree allows students to specialize in emergency nutrition, equipping them to work with aid agencies on food and nutrition program design and implementation. At present 30% of all FPAN graduates take this concentration. We hope to maintain that level of interest. Students graduating have been employed by UNICEF, WFP (World Food Programme), and many NGOs and are presently working in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan to name but a few locations. Humanitarian Field Of Study Within the Fletcher School’s Masters in Law & Diplomacy (MALD) we have now established a full Humanitarian Field of Study alongside the already established Human Security Concentration. All MALD students are required to take two study fields, each consisting of three specific courses. We now have a package of six courses offered by Tufts/FIC faculty, enabling students to develop a focused specialization within the humanitarian area. Our aim over the next three years is to increase the number of students taking the concentration from the present 6% of Fletcher graduates to 15%. We also see this field as a starting point for students wishing to do their PhDs in the humanitarian area.
Humanitarian Studies And Field Practice Initiative We will continue to partner with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to run the Humanitarian Studies and Field Practice Initiative. This training initiative, which involves both formal classroom education and a field simulation exercise, draws students from Masters programs at the three universities and, as of 2008, includes resident physicians from Harvard’s School of Medicine. In 2009 we hope to add resident physicians from Tufts School of Medicine. In 2008 a total of 63 students participated in the training. We expect this number to increase to about 90 over the next two years. In addition, we are in discussion with a number of leading aid agencies about including their expertise in building and running the simulation exercise. There is potential to develop the exercise as a product which can be supplied to aid agencies for their own training initiatives. Support For Student Research Helping students move from Masters to PhD to full-time researcher is part of our mission, and a key tool for effecting institutional change. We provide a small number of grants for Tufts students (both graduate students and occasionally strong undergraduates) to carry out field research, normally as part of their summer internship. Typically, we have sponsored between five and ten students a year, at around $3,000 per student. We would like to increase this to allow us to offer up to 20 students a year the opportunity to undertake research in the humanitarian and human security area. Our hope is that many of these students will then go on to seek PhDs at Tufts and elsewhere. Tufts/FIC faculty is on the advisory committees of a number of PhD students in both the Fletcher School and the Friedman School. Many good students, particularity from the South, find themselves blocked from doing PhDs because of the cost, typically $100,000 over three years. Over the next three years we hope to build space for PhD students into our research programs and budgeting so that we are able to offer both funding and a research area for them to work. We have supported one post-doctoral position in the past two years, and this person also supported the MAHA program while she conducted her own research and writing. We would like Tufts/FIC to support two Post-Doctoral
students, one from the global North, and another from the global South. International Outreach The Summer School Tufts/FIC held its first Summer Institute on Livelihoods Under Stress (SILUS) for twelve days in June, 2008. Thirty-seven participants from international NGOs, UN agencies, and local universities joined nine Tufts/FIC faculty members on the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa. The agenda joined solid experience to new thinking and practical breakthroughs relevant to populations in marginal and high stress environments. The faculty was extremely pleased with the overall course evaluation rating of 4.6 of a possible 5, especially for a first-year effort. Tufts/FIC plans to continue SILUS with course options for both new and prior participants. Future sessions will include cutting-edge practices in disaster preparedness and risk management. Since many of this year’s participants asked for more cases on Asia and Latin America, Tufts/ FIC is researching course material to include in the next institute. The objective of SILUS will continue to be to bring the most relevant research and experience to academics and practitioners in humanitarian assistance, particularly those interested in understanding and supporting highly marginalized groups. Building on the success of the 2008 Summer School, we are actively exploring the possibility of converting it into a true Tufts-accredited certificate. This would both allow those graduating from the summer school to have a formal qualification and would earn them credits towards a future degree. Visiting Fellows And Practitioner Expert Programs In 2007 we initiated a program of Visiting Fellows. This program allows researchers from outside Tufts/FIC and Tufts University, who collaborate regularly with us, to have something more than a contractual relationship. The Visiting Fellows program is a tangible way of building a networked research community beyond Tufts/ FIC.Visiting fellows acquire access to the Tufts University on-campus and on-line library systems, an invaluable asset for researchers based in lessdeveloped nations. They are listed on Tufts/FIC’s website and have the right to use the title in association with their work.Visiting Fellows are September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
21
Part I invited to participate in Tufts/FIC events and encouraged to comment freely on and look for collaboration on research programs across Tufts/ FIC. A full list of Visiting Fellows can be found on our website. Recognizing the dynamic nature of relief work, the high turnover of staff, and the need for reflection and learning, we will continue the Practitioner Expert Program, whereby returning field workers can be in residence at the Center for four to twelve weeks.Visiting practitioners are supported in reflecting, learning, writing, and discussing their experiences, thus building agency institutional memory through papers written by the practitioners. The program is open to practitioners and experts who work for an organization, agency, or institution and who fully expect to return to their agency upon completion of this program. Books In Progress As leading experts in their fields, Tufts/FIC researchers regularly publish in the academic press and contribute chapters to edited volumes. In addition, we are planning and working on a number of key book publications. Pastoral Futures: Seers Within the Karamoja Cluster (Darlington Akabwai, Khristopher Carlson) Within pastoral communities throughout the Karamoja Cluster are men and women believed to have the ability to see into and influence the future. These people are known as ‘seers.’ Within their communities, areas of South Sudan, northeast Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, seers hold positions of great influence and power. To people outside of the Karamoja Cluster region, little is known of how seers work or what their lives entail. Through carefully crafted photography and text, this book provides an intimate look into the lives of seers and their relationship to the lands they inhabit and the people they live among. It explores the possibilities that exist for seers within these distinctly different communities to realize together a more stable, peaceful future. The forthcoming book (to be published in 2010) combines text written by Tufts/FIC field researchers who have decades of experience working in the Karamoja Cluster with illuminating photography of seers’ communities and radiant cultural landscapes. 22
Feinstein International Center
Humanitarianism and Unending War (Antonio Donini) Capitalizing on the evidence gathered in the HA2015 research, work on a book on humanitarian action and the changing nature of vulnerability in the age of terror and globalization will start in 2009. The book will investigate the pressures on those who attempt to provide succor in the world’s disparate crises, whether man-made or exacerbated by human action. Using the HA2015 case studies as its raw material, the book will conduct a more ambitious exploration of what we have learned through our research in terms of global humanitarian issues, the evolution of the humanitarian enterprise, and the manipulations to which it is subjected in the context of the global war on terror. Refugee Camps: A Problem of Our Time (Karen Jacobsen) Refugee camps begin in conditions of crisis and emergency but persist for many years after the emergency is contained. The camp experience has affected millions of people in every region of the world.Yet despite their ubiquity and persistence, and despite the popular media images, the general public knows relatively little about camps: why they exist, how they function, what life is like inside them, how they differ from each other, and what role they play in the conflicts that generate them. This book, scheduled for publication in 2009, addresses these gaps, and seeks also to document this unique human experience. Emergency Food Security Interventions (Daniel Maxwell, Kate Sadler, Amanda Sim, Mercy Mutonyi, Rebecca Egan, and Mackinnon Webster) This book is a state-of-the-art review of food security concepts, analytical methods, and programming interventions for use in humanitarian emergencies. Interventions covered include food aid, nutritional programming, cash programs, agricultural and livestock interventions, and other approaches to supporting livelihood strategies or assets in emergencies. This will be published in 2009 as part of the Good Practice Review series from the Humanitarian Practice Network in London.
A View from Below: Research in Conflict Zones (Dyan Mazurana, Karen Jacobsen) There are increased calls by governments, the UN and non-governmental organizations for high quality field-based research to inform policy and programming in fragile states and states experiencing high levels of conflict and protracted crises. Yet conducting rigorous field-based research in such locations presents challenges that traditional methodological approaches have not considered and largely do not take into account. Likewise, little is written on how to use such research to best inform policy and practice. This international anthology presents writings on conducting rigorous, field-based research in conflict zones, as well as with populations created by conflict, such as IDPs and refugees. The book’s contributors privilege “a view from below,” which strives to present analyses of the situation grounded in the lives and experiences of marginalized people living the conflict. Importantly, the collection includes how the researchers sought to use the knowledge generated to improve policy and practice from the local to international levels. The book’s contributors are among the leading researchers in their respective fields working in conflict areas and the collection grounds itself in crises affected countries around the world including Afghanistan, Burundi, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda, among others. Borderlands: Marginalization,Violence, and Response in Uganda and Sudan (Elizabeth Stites, Dyan Mazurana) The nations of Uganda and Sudan both have a long history of internal conflict, upheaval, and insecurity. Faced with protracted crisis, communities and individuals develop strategies to try to manage their livelihoods and security, in an often tenuous present and future. This edited volume (planned for release in 2010) focuses on waraffected communities in northern Uganda, ethnic minorities in areas of continuing insecurity in South Sudan, displaced and marginalized populations in Darfur, and pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the volatile Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda. Highlighting the voices and experiences of the people themselves, and richly illustrated with photographs, this book provides a grassroots analysis of what local people do in the face of marginalization and violence, and why.
Public Nutrition in Emergencies: Policies, Practice, and Decision-making: A New Textbook for the Academic and Practitioner Community (Helen Young, Annalies Borrel, and Kate Sadler) This text book will examine the central role and importance of food and nutrition in humanitarian emergencies, and more broadly among marginalized and crisis-affected populations. It will introduce the concept of public nutrition and will describe the implications of this approach for nutrition assessment and interventions, policy development, and program design and implementation. While academic institutions, including Tufts University, are increasingly including courses on humanitarian action in their curricula, there is currently no single up-to-date textbook that describes the breadth and scope of public nutrition in emergencies. We have identified more than 20 Masters-level programs at American and European universities that would benefit from such a text. There are at least 40 courses that specialize in nutrition, or public health nutrition, and there are others that incorporate nutrition and food security within wider programs of study (public health, epidemiology, agriculture, anthropology, humanitarian studies, forced migration, etc). Tufts University also has partnerships and working relationships with local universities in crisis-affected regions, particularly in east and southern Africa. The lack of an appropriate textbook is particularly felt among this audience as they do not have the resources to assemble diverse reading packets covering the topic. The book is expected to be published by the end of 2010. Collaboration And Networking Collaboration With Southern Researchers And Institutions A key part of our research strategy is to partner with African universities, particularly those outside of capital cities. Tufts/FIC researchers are currently cooperating with universities in Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Egypt, and are exploring opportunities with a university in Libya. We see these partnerships as a two-way process whereby we learn from our partners about doing academic research in a specific African context, and we contribute to capacity building for our partners, through training and collaboration. Our field research always engages directly
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
23
Part I with community-based organizations, working with them to build research capacity and benefiting from their local knowledge. These relationships often become long-term partnerships, with research project building on earlier ones. We seek to provide education opportunities, through the MAHA, to the individuals we work with. In addition, Tufts/FIC works closely with a number of African intergovernmental institutions to effect policy change. We are collaborating directly with COMESA, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, which promotes regional economic integration through trade and investment, and with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In Afghanistan we also partner directly with the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit, both for research and outreach agendas. Collaboration With The International Humanitarian Community Because our research agenda is aimed at institutional change, including improving the effectiveness of the humanitarian enterprise, interaction with donors, UN agencies, and NGOs is a key feature of our work. In the field, we often rely on aid agency staff and networks to feel the pulse of local situations, including advice on dos and don’ts. We also bring back the results of our work to those who have helped us through presentations and workshops, whether in the capital or at the community level. We present our findings regularly at high-level briefings for donors in their capitals and in New York and Geneva, as well as at the UN and with NGO or independent think tanks. Our influence is demonstrated by the fact that we are increasingly called upon to advise donors and agencies on policy issues. For example, two years in a row senior center staff were asked to provide the keynote speech at the Global Humanitarian Platform, an annual meeting of the CEOs of UN, Red Cross, and NGO humanitarian agencies. Some of our projects like ‘Preparing for Humanitarian Crises of the Future’ directly engage with agencies (in this case a coalition of seven NGOs) on issues of institutional change and adaptation. Effecting Change At Tufts With the maturing of the Center we are now in a position to increase our involvement in the life of Tufts University. We will do this in three ways. 24
Feinstein International Center
Cross-registered Courses We will continue to offer our courses, cross-registered to both the Fletcher and Friedman Schools, thus maximizing student access to them. We will also continue to draw upon students from the two schools to act as research assistants within Tufts/FIC and to offer internships and scholarships for summer student-led field research. Tufts/FIC University-wide Promotion We will start a program of promoting our work, publications, and events more broadly across the university. This will allow the undergraduate community to access some of our seminars and will increase recognition of our work beyond the Fletcher and Friedman Schools. Promoting Research for Social Change Under the leadership of the Tufts/FIC Director and in collaboration with the Dr. Robert Hollister, Dean of Tisch College, we want to explore creating a Tufts-based network of researchers concerned with effecting social change. Within the research community at Tufts, many individuals and centers seek social engagement or change with their work and seek to do it in a way that does not compromise the principles of objective and independent inquiry but that indeed is guided by and takes advantage of standards of objective and independent inquiry. As a university we have developed standard procedures and institutions for linking our research to wealth generation, through the protection of patent rights, copyrights and the like, but to date we have not systematically explored how to promote and support knowledge generation for social change. Tufts/FIC is uniquely positioned to promote such a development, because it fits with our overall university mission. The university has a sufficiently diverse yet relatively small body of researchers such that we could make real progress on developing this issue. Under the leadership of Provost Jamshed Bharucha we intend to initiate an initial one-year project to answer three questions related to this social change issue: How do researchers at Tufts presently link their work to social change? What can we learn from this diversity of research about how to make such linkages without compromising either the quality of research or the effective-
ness of social change, and in a way that in fact will enhance research quality and impacts?
can gain experience and their researchers can acquire data, which are both essentially extractive and are often short-lived processes tied to the Exploring Tufts Involvement in South vagaries of funding interest. We do not want to Sudan fall into that trap. Over the past two years a growing body of At the bequest of the University Provost and students has urged the university to become more in collaboration with the Institute for Global involved in Sudan county-wide, not just in Darfur. Leadership at the university, we will be convening Our faculty and researchers who work in and a small working group of university faculty to around Sudan have consistently advocated for a think through the process of how Tufts might start country- and region-wide approach to underto engage in South Sudan, in a responsible, standing the problems, needs, and potentials in sustained process led by the needs and aspirations Southern Sudan. of that country, while also informing and educatWe are only too well aware that in the past ing our student population. This process is purely US universities have often unwittingly used exploratory at this stage. African states as a destination where their students
CENTER STAFFING AND INFRASTRUCTURE Staffing And Infrastructure Tufts/FIC has two basic categories of staff, those who are part of its long-term planning, and those who are hired to work on specific projects within Tufts/FIC. Within each of these categories there is both research faculty and support staff. We do not envisage major changes in our core staffing over the next three years, but do envisage an increase in project staff, including project managers and research assistants. We presently have ten core researchers and eight core support staff, with one vacant research and one vacant support post waiting to be filled as of late 2008. In addition we have eight project researchers as of late 2008. In 2009 we plan to fill the vacant core research (on climate change and political violence) and support posts and hire an additional support person to build our communications and outreach area. If the research outlined above goes according to plan, we would hire up to five additional researchers and three support staff, the
latter as program managers, based both in Medford and in the research field areas. Tufts/FIC will continue with its present infrastructure of a prime office on the Tufts University Medford campus and a secondary office in Addis Ababa. We will also continue our practice of having researchers based both in these offices and dispersed around the world as fits the individual research agendas. Budget Tufts/FIC uses two budgets: an operating budget which includes all the expenses associated with the core staffing mentioned above and expenses relating to our educational agenda; and research budgets, which cover the additional expenses needed to run the projected research projects. The three-year projections for the operating and research budgets and indirect costs are shown below.
Feinstein International Center projected Operating and Research Budget 2009-2011 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Operating Projected Budget $2,364,977 $2,412,277 $2,460,522 Research Projected Budget $6,422,000 $6,550,440 $6,681,449 Total Direct Costs $8,786,977 $8,962,717 $9,141,971 Facilities and Administration @26% $2,284,614 $2,330,306 $2,376,912 Total Projected Budget $11,071,591 $11,293,023 $11,518,883 September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
25
Part II Project Details
LIVELIHOODS AND NUTRITION OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE Advancing Financial Resilience (Karen Jacobsen, Kim Wilson) Goal and Rationale The Financial Resilience program seeks to promote understanding of financial resilience— the ability of a household or community to prevent, sustain, or recover from financial shocks—in marginalized populations in high-risk/ high-stress environments. In particular, we seek to explore how communications technology and externally driven microfinance interventions influence household resilience. The field of microfinance is bursting with pioneering products, services, and breakthrough technologies, yet the industry still lacks hard evidence about the impact of these innovations. The FiRe program is a direct response to this need. We seek to conduct a series of rigorous impact assessments and identify specific measures of service effectiveness. We believe that better understanding of interventions and the market will enable providers to better serve unbanked and underbanked populations. Background In 2007-8, Tufts/FIC conducted a literature review of financial resilience and preliminary field studies in Haiti, Sudan, and Ethiopia. We found that suppliers of financial services and technologies operate on several assumptions: increased access to credit, savings services, and insurance
26
Feinstein International Center
improves a household’s ability to increase assets; increased assets alone lead to financial resilience; improved technologies help bring quality financial services to previously underserved populations. However, there is almost no empirical research that tests these assumptions. We lack evidence that increased access to financial services increases the assets of marginalized households. A microcredit loan can increase assets but also increase household debt; increased savings could simply substitute for other important, perhaps more secure, household assets. Nor do we know if increased assets lead to increased net worth (assets minus liabilities), our indicator of financial resilience. In order to understand the true impact of financial interventions on household resilience, we need a firmer base of evidence. Overview FiRe’s central objective is to enlarge the base of knowledge about what increases the financial resilience of poor households. We have identified three areas for research. Mapping the inputs (causes) and outputs (effects) of financial resilience as a way to understand household vulnerability is one area. We will also look at how various microfinance products and services impact household resilience. We are specifically interested in whether and how savings groups (both spontaneously or intentionally organized) can increase resilience by acting as: a medium of financial education for poor households; a stepping stone to more secure or diverse savings services; a safety net for households in times of emergency (i.e. a form of insurance); and a means to mediate and build local financial capital. We will also study technology and connectivity and their roles in increasing financial resilience. Specifically, we will look at communications technology as an efficient distributor of financial surpluses or economic wages (remittances), as a means to create new, profitable livelihoods, and as a tool to protect financial assets through good information. Our initial plan is to conduct a series of exploratory studies, using mixed research methods which will include financial diaries, communitybased focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key informants. Once these studies have refined researchable hypotheses, we will take the research to a wider level, and will conduct surveys, including some with large randomized samples, in selected areas.
Outputs The products of FiRe will include case studies that elucidate specific practices and impacts of suppliers, and ones on financial resilience and local practices leading to or damaging resilience. Other products will be reports on survey results, guidelines on new study methodologies (in the form of modified group-based financial journals and financial diaries), and practical exercises for training purposes on financial resilience. Impact Our primary area of focus is South/Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, yet because we will be exploring and disseminating work on new data-gathering and analytical methods, we plan to reach a geographically wider audience. Our audiences include: humanitarian, development, and microfinance practitioners; donors and investors; policy-makers; and academics and graduate students. We will support briefings and workshops with open-source cases on the Tufts/ FIC website and in journal articles. Collaboration To implement FiRe, we will take advantage of Tufts/FIC’s existing relationships with microfinance institutions, research institutions and universities, international NGOs and agencies, and government ministries. Linking Microfinance To Mobile Payphones: The Impact On Livelihoods (Karen Jacobsen, Daryl Collins And Kim Wilson) Goal and Rationale The rapid arrival of mobile phones in Sudan is having a profound effect of people’s ability to communicate, to share information, and to facilitate financial transfers, essential to the household economies of the region. In collaboration with UNDP, the Central Bank of Sudan and several INGOs, Tufts/FIC will investigate the impact of an ambitious new mobile payphone pilot program linked to microfinance, which will be rolled out by the mobile phone corporation, Zain, in several areas of Sudan. Tufts/FIC has designed a rigorous impact study employing random assignment of payphones and a control group that will allow us to determine the financial and livelihood impact of on poor and displaced clients.
Background Tufts/FIC’s ‘Advancing Financial Resilience’ project, to which this research is closely linked, seeks to understand the impact of communications technology and microfinance innovations on the livelihood and household finances of marginalized and conflict-affected communities. The introduction of microfinance initiatives linked to mobile phone technology is one of the most exciting and promising ways to enhance connectivity and expand livelihoods in the developing world. The Zain mobile payphone initiative, which will begin in the fall of 2008, promises to enhance efficiency and lower costs in financial transactions, and to generate a new income stream for clients. However, operational challenges confront the initiative, and it is not clear whether it will have a real impact on poverty alleviation. Given the fast-moving pace of technology and rapid increase in competition for mobile telephony, the payphones might not create a viable new source of income before becoming obsolete. The initiative also raises questions about how poor and displaced microentrepreneurs will manage this new stream of income, and whether it might create new risks for them. Will they diversify their income streams, markets, and financial management strategies to give them increased security in the future, or will they invest everything in the new business, leaving them vulnerable to less security should the business fail? These questions make it important to carefully evaluate the impact of the payphone-microfinance initiative on the poor clients it targets. Overview Tufts/FIC has designed a rigorous impact study that aims to shed light on these questions. The study employs an initial baseline survey, followed by a first-round random assignment of the pay phones to poor clients and beneficiaries of several NGOs and banking institutions. A full evaluation in early 2009 will assess changes upon the initial baseline data occurring after the payphone initiative. This approach will allow us to measure the impact of the payphone initiative on those clients who got the payphones in the first round compared with those who had to wait for the second round. A simultaneous systems evaluation will be conducted through monthly monitoring of the operations of both Zain and the microfinance providers. In addition, random in-depth September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
27
Part II Project Details qualitative interviews will be done during the follow-up survey, in order to explore the views of the entrepreneurs that cannot be uncovered by the survey questionnaire, such as their plans for the future, views about successes or failures in the individual’s management of this new business, and what the most important impacts were to the individual. Outputs Outputs will include a full report, with summaries translated into Arabic, to be shared with mobile phone companies and other UN agencies. This work will contribute to the ongoing market monitoring by UNDP and others in the Darfur region and elsewhere in Sudan. We anticipate debriefings to be held in Khartoum and Darfur and New York (UNDP), and training workshops for the agencies and banks working with us on the evaluation. Impact The study will allow us to evaluate the impact of the mobile payphone initiative on both the operational feasibility for the microfinance providers and on poverty alleviation and increased livelihood security of the pay phone operators, in terms of income generation and risk reduction. Collaboration This action research project links closely to the Tufts/FIC work on livelihoods in Darfur and to the project ‘Advancing Financial Resilience.’ The work will be supported locally by UNDP, the Central Bank of Sudan, and several INGOs, and we will be collaborating with Zain. Livelihoods Change Over Time: Responses Of Communities And Agencies To Chronic Crisis (Dan Maxwell, Jennie Coates) Goal and Rationale Disasters and the ensuing humanitarian response significantly change the livelihoods, institutions, and power relations of affected communities.Yet there are many gaps in the understanding of the impact of crisis on people’s livelihoods and on the humanitarian programs designed to address the impacts of crisis. The study is designed to improve our knowledge of livelihoods in crisis, to
28
Feinstein International Center
enable humanitarian agencies to better address the protection of livelihoods, and to enable policy makers to have a better understanding of the institutional drivers of livelihoods change. Background There have been numerous studies of the impact of recurrent crisis on livelihoods and the institutions that shape livelihoods, but a major constraint to improved understanding is that most of these studies are one-off assessments, usually conducted well after the crisis. Few studies have actually captured the process of change as it occurs in a crisis. To address the gaps in current knowledge about the how livelihoods change in crisis, this research will include a number of community studies capturing change over time in response to crisis and the response to humanitarian programming in crisis and programming aimed at preventing or mitigating crisis. The research will be conducted collaboratively with humanitarian agencies and research institutes in the host country. A total of four country studies are anticipated, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Haiti. In each country, a geographic-area prospective longitudinal study will be conducted initially over a three-year time period, with the possibility to extend it to five years. One of the important elements of the study will be to ramp up the measurement of change in the event of a shock or acute crisis, so that change processes as directly influenced by such crises can be better understood and mitigated. Overview The overarching objective of the proposed research is to enhance the understanding of how livelihoods change in response to stress and crisis, and to improve humanitarian practice in responding to disaster and improving livelihoods. The study has four specific objectives: to understand livelihood changes at both the household and institutional level, and the factors driving these changes over the long term; to develop improved methodologies for measuring livelihood change over time in crisis situations to facilitate crosscontextual analysis and permit broader analysis of livelihoods change; to work with agencies to improve livelihoods programming in humanitarian emergencies and facilitate institutional change
processes; and to improve the exchange of research results between academia, humanitarian organizations, and communities. Each study is preceded by a scoping mission to estimate costs, to establish field-based partnerships, and to refine methods and tools. Outputs The first output for each case study will be a baseline assessment report, and change will be monitored on an annual basis thereafter by household surveys and qualitative study of the institutional drivers of change. These will result in annual reports to the host agency and the relevant authorities in the host country government. Beyond these paper outputs, the intent of the research program is to improve humanitarian programming and the policy response to preventing, mitigating, and responding to crises. To this end, annual or biennial consultations will be held with all the collaborating agencies, research institutes, government partners, and others interested in the question. Other outputs will include improved methodologies of livelihoods measurement in crisis and documentation of good practice in livelihoods programming. Impact The intended impact of the project is to improve both the programmatic means of preventing, mitigating, and responding to crises, and the policy response of governments and international organizations. This will be achieved through careful documentation of the research itself, and through outreach mechanisms like the consultations with partners described above. Collaboration This study is a collaborative effort between members of Tufts/FIC and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Each country study under this project will collaborate with an international humanitarian agency and its local partners at the level of field projects, and each will develop partnerships with in-country universities or research institutes as well as the relevant in-country disaster management or disaster response authority.
Longitudinal Study Of Market- And CreditBased Livelihood Interventions In Ethiopia (John Burns) Goal and Rationale The objective of this research is to generate evidence on the impact of market-oriented microfinance projects in reducing chronic food insecurity in Ethiopia. Consistent with this objective, the overall goal of the research will be to generate evidence on the effectiveness of market-oriented microfinance interventions as part of a national food security and poverty reduction strategy. The research therefore seeks to influence and assist humanitarian policy by informing food security programming at the national level. Background In 2005 the government of Ethiopia (GOE) launched its Productive Safety Net Programme, one component of a broader food security strategy that includes the Voluntary Resettlement Programme and Other Food Security Programmes (OFSP). The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) was designed to assist chronically or predictably food-insecure households, not households affected by transitory food deficits resulting from a specific event. The program provides either cash or food in exchange for labor on rural infrastructure projects, or direct cash and food transfers for households unable to participate in physical labor. The overall goal of the program is to address food insecurity through household asset protection and community asset creation. Participating households are expected to graduate from the program within five years. Thresholds for graduation are based on household asset levels. It was originally anticipated that graduation from the PSNP would be facilitated by participants benefiting from the OFSP which provides credit and loans for agriculture as well as nonfarm income-generating activities. However, recent evaluations of the program suggest that this combination does not guarantee household graduation from the PSNP. In response to the findings of these evaluations, and in continuing their support of the GOE food security strategy, a number of NGOs have proposed to support market-oriented microfinance interventions in Ethiopia. These projects aim to link PSNP participants to credit and markets through a September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
29
Part II Project Details variety of interventions. The research aims to measure the effectiveness of these projects in addressing food security, asset accumulation, and PSNP graduation through an independent livelihoods study. Overview The research will test a causal model which assumes that NGO interventions that link people to microfinance and markets do indeed result in asset accumulation and improved food security at the household level. The research will involve an investigation of at least three similar market-oriented microfinance projects being implemented in different geographical locations and livelihoods zones. Changes in livelihoods assets which can be attributed to the project interventions will be assessed as part of a longitudinal livelihoods study. This will incorporate a wide range of research and impact assessment designs and methodologies. The most compelling evidence on the impact and effectiveness of the projects will arise from a randomized case control study in which changes in intervention households are compared with changes in non-intervention households, with the latter acting as a control group. The longitudinal study will be designed during the early stages of the projects once the project participants and specific project activities have been identified. The study team will work independently of NGO implementers as a means to improve objectivity. Outputs Key outputs will include a number of comprehensive reports, including at least one impact assessment report for each project case study, and one combined report on lessons learned drawing from all the case studies. Where relevant and appropriate, the results of the research will also be synthesized into policy briefing papers. These reports will be disseminated among key government, donor, and NGO stakeholders in Ethiopia. Impact We are seeking primarily to inform the government of Ethiopia, key donors, and NGOs involved in food security and PSNP programming in Ethiopia. This will be done through workshops, discussion with relevant stakeholders, and through the dissemination of reports and briefing notes. It is anticipated that the findings of the research will 30
Feinstein International Center
influence the formulation of future food security policies and program design, in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Collaboration This program will involve collaboration with GOE food security actors at both the federal and national level. Although the actual research activities will be carried out independently from NGO partners, it will require a learning partnership with the NGOs implementing the projects. The nature of the research and the objectives will also imply collaboration and a learning partnership with donors involved in food security programming in Ethiopia. In carrying out the research Tufts/FIC will seek to work in direct partnership with regional Ethiopian universities. Profiling Internally Displaced Persons In Urban Areas, Phase Ii (Karen Jacobsen) Goal and Rationale The first phase of our urban internally displaced persons (IDP) profiling study conducted surveys in three cities to develop data-gathering tools and sets of data that allowed us to make population estimates of urban IDPs and compare their experiences with their non-IDP neighbors. In Phase II, we want to work closely with aid agencies and donors to conduct a fourth study in a new city, and to develop practical program and policy initiatives based on all the data from our four surveys. Background Based on the recognition by the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee of the need for better empirical data about urban internally displaced people, the Internal Development Monitoring Center commissioned Tufts/FIC in 2005 to develop data gathering tools and to conduct studies of urban IDP populations in conflictaffected countries. From 2006-08, we conducted surveys in three urban locations: Khartoum, Sudan; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; and Santa Marta, Colombia. The surveys generated population estimates of IDPs, and compared the situations of IDPs and non-IDPs in each city. In addition to developing tools and generating data, one of the study’s main objectives is to use the data from the three case studies to assist governments and humanitarian organizations in the development of
programs and advocacy strategies that protect the rights of IDPs. While our research findings were useful for operational agencies to understand the situation of IDPs in relation to non-IDPs, our findings did not include specific or explicit practical recommendations for the future. This new research aims to make those recommendations. Overview Our overall goal is to improve the tools we have to generate information about urban IDPs, and to develop practical program options based on the data we generate with these tools. Specific objectives are to work with UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and NRC (Norwegian Refugee Council) and donors to conduct a fourth survey in a new city, in which we will add a qualitative component to our profiling tools that will allow us to explore specific issues related to the vulnerability and protection of urban IDPs. We will refine the profiling tools to make them more useable by aid agencies, governments, and other organizations that want to conduct surveys of IDPs. Development of explicit programming and practical recommendations for operational agencies, based on the data findings, is another goal. Outputs Outputs will include a tested profiling methodology that is useable by aid agencies in the field; policy briefs on the problems (including sources of insecurity, vulnerability, and livelihoods) facing urban IDPs and how these compare to non-IDPs; training materials (a manual) and a workshop; and specific policy recommendations and initiatives aimed at operational agencies and donors. Impact This research will align with Tufts/FIC project ‘Preparing for Humanitarian Crises of the Future’ in that it will offer NGOs, operational agencies, UNHCR headquarters, and other UN agencies increasingly involved with IDPs (such as IOM and UNOCHR), both a methodology for assessing the needs and situation of urban IDPs and the research to work closely with operational partners and donors to develop new urban programs. Both at the beginning of the study and throughout, we will be working closely with our
partner organizations to develop our approach. At the end, we will conduct workshops, and issue briefing notes in order to disseminate our findings. Collaboration This research aligns with Tufts/FIC projects ‘Preparing for Humanitarian Crises of the Future’ and ‘Livelihoods Change over Time.’ As with our Phase I study, we will work with a university in the chosen city, as well as NRC/IDMC (Norwegian Refugee Council/International Displacement Monitoring Centre), who has been our research partner throughout Phase I. Building Capacity Among Refugee Mutual Aid Associations In Maine (Lacey Gale) Goal and Rationale This project seeks to establish a baseline of information concerning the current activities and capacity of refugee mutual aid associations (MAAs) in Maine as well as best practices among MAAs nationwide. This baseline information will be used by Tufts/FIC and project partners the Maine Association for Nonprofits (MANP) and the State of Maine Office of Multicultural Affairs (MOMA) to create and deliver a series of comprehensive training programs for refugees designed to build peer networks, connect refugee participants to statewide funding, mentoring, and advocacy resources, and to build leadership and organizational capacity within the refugee communities. Background Tufts/FIC has been conducting research with Somali and Sudanese refugee groups in Maine since 1998 in order to better understand the relationship between this diaspora and their home country communities. Overview While MAAs are well equipped to recognize the needs of their communities, they lack the organizational knowledge and skills necessary to work effectively within the structure of their new environment. As a result, many MAAs struggle to build their organizational capacity, develop sustainable programs, and launch communitybased initiatives that will enhance the livelihoods of their constituents. This is due to the fluctuating September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
31
Part II Project Details nature of refugee communities (people are on the move, leadership changes, and organizations collapse) as well as their limited extra-community networks. This project is designed to gather information about the refugee communities, livelihood strategies, and MAA structure in Maine and to use this information to create capacity-building trainings or Learning Institutes. The project will generate organizational profiles from the interviews that will provide the basis for MANP’s Learning Institute curriculum as well as provide feedback to the CBOs. The project will also evaluate the Learning Institutes and debrief participants so that lessons learned are incorporated into the curriculum on an ongoing basis. The Learning Institutes are based on a weekend residential, cohort model, designed to build peer networks, connect participants to statewide funding, mentoring, advocacy resources, and to build leadership and organizational capacity through an experiential program that involves community leaders in identifying and overcoming organizational and professional challenges. The sponsor for this three-year project is the Department of State’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) as part of their ethnic community selfhelp priority area. This project began in October 2008 and will continue through September 2010. Outputs Key stakeholders and interested groups will be consulted throughout the study. These groups include Maine-based MAAs and key community members, the funding community in Maine, and other MAAs across the United States. There has been positive feedback on the need for such research and the application it would have to informing community development. A final report on the project’s findings will be prepared for distribution, as well as an article for a peerreviewed scholarly publication. Impact This project will provide comprehensive training and direct support to refugee MAAs in Maine in order to develop and sustain their capacity. In addition, it is clear that mainstream service providers, funders, and state and federal government agencies are eager to learn more about these MAAs and how to support them. Therefore, the information that emerges from interviews, 32
Feinstein International Center
organizational profiles, and training evaluations is valuable for a range of practical purposes as well as for advancing our understanding of how refugee MAAs struggle to serve their communities and create bridges to the mainstream population. Collaboration Tufts/FIC is working in partnership with the Maine Association for Nonprofits and the State of Maine Office of Multicultural Affairs. Community-Based Management Of Severe Acute Malnutrition In Bangladesh: Reducing Vulnerability To Malnutrition In Poor Cyclone-Prone Communities (Kate Sadler) Goal and Rationale Malnutrition is a major public health problem throughout the developing world and is an underlying factor in over 50% of the 10–11 million children under five years of age who die each year of preventable causes. In many areas where chronically high levels of acute malnutrition have been identified, there is a dearth of feasible strategies for identifying the condition and for delivering treatment within ongoing child survival programming. Improvements in care at health facilities are necessary, but in the poorest areas of the world primary health care facilities are often a long way from people’s homes and the opportunity and financial costs of seeking care for these families are high. This means that children from the poorest families are significantly less likely to be brought to health facilities, and may receive lower quality care once they arrive. This study aims to test the effectiveness of adding the diagnosis and treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) to the integrated management of childhood illness package, delivered by community health volunteers (CHVs) outside health facilities, against the standard of care for SAM in Bangladesh, which is referral from primary health care facilities for treatment in inpatient centers. The findings will be used to inform policy and practice for the diagnosis and treatment of SAM both in Bangladesh and across the developing world. Background The principal investigator on this project has, over the last six years, been involved with the development of a new approach for the treatment of
acute malnutrition in emergencies: communitybased management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). This model of care is now used widely across Africa, with identification and treatment of children suffering from SAM delivered from primary health care facilities by primary health care practitioners. CMAM was recently endorsed by the WHO, UNICEF, and UNHCR. However, with the problems that many poor families experience in accessing center-based health services, there have been calls to implement a household and community component of the management of childhood illness. This would serve the sick children who never reach facilitybased services. Although such a component has been tested and is now being rolled out for conditions such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), the community-based management of SAM remains facility-based with outpatient treatment delivered by, for the most part, trained health workers working out of these facilities. Overview This is a prospective cohort study that aims to examine the operational effectiveness of community case management (CCM) of SAM delivered by CHVs. Community case management of SAM will be rolled out across 26 of the 61 unions in Bhola District, Barisal Division by the end of 2009. These unions (the intervention unions) have been selected by SCUS because they are deemed to have poorest health care coverage in the District. This is deemed to be a feasible roll-out strategy within the resources and capacities on the ground. Outcomes from the intervention unions will be compared with those unions in Bhola District that are not yet exposed to CCM of SAM (nonintervention unions) and therefore treat SAM using the standard of care. Four hypotheses will be tested during this 17-month study: community case management of SAM will achieve acceptable clinical outcomes (recovery and mortality) when compared with international standards, and better outcomes than those reported by the standard of care for SAM; the cost-effectiveness of treating SAM by CCM is better than that of the standard of care; enabling community health workers to diagnose and treat SAM will increase utilization of SAM treatment services among children under two years com-
pared to the provision of treatment through standard facility-based inpatient services; and community health volunteers can treat children suffering from uncomplicated SAM as effectively as facility-based health personnel. Outputs Final study results will be disseminated in different formats including short policy briefs, peer reviewed for publication by March 2010. Final results will be presented to the government of Bangladesh for review and consideration for national policy and/or guidelines by March 2010. Impact We seek primarily to inform a number of key stakeholders in Bangladesh about the feasibility and effectiveness of an approach that could reduce child morbidity and mortality in the country. These stakeholders include Save the Children US, their local partners, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), who is responsible for all health and nutrition outreach activities in Bangladesh. Through workshops, briefing notes, and discussion we hope to offer the stakeholders tools that will allow them to develop more appropriate responses for addressing acute malnutrition in the future. We also envisage that this work will have wider impact on the design of basic child survival interventions supported by the international community, particularly UNICEF and WHO. Collaboration Over the next two years this project will work in collaboration with a large Save the Children US development assistance program in Southern Bangladesh. It aims to provide the research setting for one PhD student from the Freidman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who will provide ongoing support for design, data collection, and analysis. Promoting Evidence-Based Livelihood Programming In Karamoja, Uganda (Elizabeth Stites) Goal and Rationale Insecurity in Karamoja since the 1970s has limited the collection of data on key livelihood and human security issues. In particular, there is a dearth of quality data regarding the mobile cattle September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
33
Part II Project Details camps, populations living in contested and insecure areas, and gender and generational differences. Not surprisingly, major gaps exist in knowledge regarding livelihood systems, food security, mobility strategies, decision making, and gender roles at the household and community level. Save the Children in Uganda (SCIU) has been working in the Karamoja region since 1996, making it one of the international organizations with the greatest extent of institutional knowledge on the region. SCIU is currently seeking to expand and diversify their programs in Karamoja. The Tufts/FIC team will work in collaboration with SCIU on a research project designed to inform programming, policy making, and advocacy through the collection and dissemination of qualitative data on key livelihood issues. We will also seek to understand how SCIU livelihood and food security interventions influence local coping mechanisms in response to the drought cycle in Karamoja. The findings from this work will feed into SCIU programming but will also be shared with local and national authorities and other agencies working in the region. This research is particularly timely, as a growing number of international agencies are turning their attention towards Karamoja, but few have in-depth experience or understanding of the local conflict dynamics or livelihood constraints. We aim to help to inform and improve the programming of these organizations as they expand into the complex region of Karamoja. Background This project builds on the continuing work of Tufts/FIC in Karamoja and will draw from the lessons learned by our teams working in other pastoral areas in the Horn of Africa. We will also be building on the experience and expertise of SCIU staff in the Karamoja region and learning from their past programming and from their extended network of partners and key informants. Overview Our research in collaboration with SCIU will have two components. First, we will collect and analyze data on specific aspects of Karamojong livelihood strategies and how these aspects affect food security, drought preparedness, crisis mitigation, and protection threats and responses. We will seek to understand how these livelihood strategies 34
Feinstein International Center
have changed over time and how households and communities prepare and respond to the regular cycles of drought. We will pay particular attention to the roles of women and children and the parallel protection threats. Research will be conducted in both settled villages and mobile cattle camps. Second, we will seek to document the impact and effectiveness of SCIU interventions on livelihoods and food security in select communities. This will entail collecting qualitative data on coping mechanisms, drought mitigation and preparedness, and drought recovery at the household and community level. We will explore communities’ perspectives of the positive, negative, or zero impact of SCIU’s interventions, and will seek to document any gender-specific outcomes. The partnership between SCIU and Tufts/ FIC will be flexible in nature to allow for timely response to issues that emerge in the regularly evolving environment of Karamoja. This will give SCIU and the Tufts/FIC team the ability to gather information on emerging issues thought to be indicative of a wider trend to have a broad and far-reaching impact. Outputs Each research trip (estimated at two per year) will be followed by a concise briefing paper for Save the Children in Uganda on the specific topic or area studied. These papers will be shared with national authorities, other national and international agencies working on Karamoja, and interested donors. Regular formal and informal briefings will be provided to Save the Children throughout the partnership. The research will culminate in a final report of the overall findings and recommendations where relevant. Impact This research collaboration is designed to have an important impact on the programs of one of the most experienced international NGOs working in Karamoja. SCIU is well aware of the importance of evidence to improve and inform their program design, policy planning, and advocacy efforts, and Tufts/FIC is in a unique position to provide this information. The outcomes of this work are designed to have a broader influence as well through sharing of information with national and international stakeholders currently working in or expanding their work into Karamoja. Lastly, we
hope to influence the national debate on the future of Karamoja and to advocate for pro-pastoral policies that aim to protect and enhance sustainable livelihood strategies while upholding the rights and needs of the Karamojong population. Collaboration This project will be conducted in partnership with Save the Children in Uganda. All information will also be publicly available. Livelihoods-Based Programming And Impact Assessment In Pastoral Areas Of The Horn Of Africa (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu And Yacob Aklilu) Goal and Rationale Although the language of livelihoods is increasingly present in the strategies and proposals of aid agencies, the actual application of these approaches varies considerably at the community level. Through coordination and technical support to multi-actor programs in pastoral regions, our goal is to improve the quality of aid programming in pastoral areas, and institutionalize impact assessment as a norm within donors and NGOs. Background Tufts/FIC has a long history of coordinating large-scale programs in pastoral areas of the Horn of Africa, dating back to 1996. We lead coordination efforts, provide direct technical support to implementing agencies, and work with agencies to assess impact and refine future programming. Lessons learned are applied locally, but are also fed into the policy processes at national and regional levels, which are described under our program ‘Pastoralism, Controversies, and Policy Processes in Africa,’ and into LEGS. Overview Our coordination, technical support, and impact assessment work between 2009 and 2011 is provided under two programs covering parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Both programs involve international and local NGOs working with various local government and private sector partners. The positioning of these programs in drought-prone areas means that the programs cover both development and relief interventions, and therefore, central to our support is the
promotion of livelihoods-based approaches in context where drought is expected. We work with NGOs to enhance their capacity to link relief and development programs and plans under livelihoods frameworks. The longer-term development interventions include activities related to livestock marketing, veterinary services, natural resource and water management, human health care, human nutrition, organizational development, and savings and credit schemes. The relief interventions include commercial destocking, slaughter destocking, livestock feed supplementation, and emergency veterinary care and restocking. In Ethiopia and Kenya, we also work with government and NGO actors to integrate these activities into emerging government safety net programs in pastoral areas. Outputs Expected outputs include strong coordination of government and NGOs in pastoral areas, with implementation of harmonized best-practice programs. Between 2009 and 2011, a key activity is to roll out the best-practice guidelines for livelihoods-based interventions developed under the Livestock Policy Forum in Ethiopia and published by the government of Ethiopia in 2008. Another output goal is improved capacity of NGOs and government to conduct and apply livelihoods analysis. Although the language of livelihoods is increasingly used by NGOs and presented in project proposals, understanding of livelihoods analysis remains limited. This capacitybuilding activity initially targets senior NGO managers and provides training in livelihoods analysis, followed by actual analyses in the field. We aim for improved capacity of NGOs to conduct and institutionalize participatory impact assessment, and channel assessment findings into policy dialogue at the level of local and central government. This work includes training and mentoring of NGO and local government partners in participatory impact assessments, followed by actual assessments with communities. The assessments are usually written up in three main forms: first, as reports for immediate use by local actors; second, as more formal scientific papers for peer review and publication; third, as a policy briefing paper targeted at decision makers in government, donors, and NGOs.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
35
Part II Project Details Impact These activities aim to improve the quality of livelihoods-based programming and thereby improve the livelihoods of crisis-affected pastoral communities. The capacity-building element of the work helps to strengthen government and NGO implementing agencies, and therefore, organizational development is a secondary impact. The participatory impact assessment approach focuses on the measurement of livelihoods changes at the community level and the relative attribution of NGO interventions on such changes. The approach is integral to the organizational development aspects of the work, and in particular, organizational learning leading to improved programming. Collaboration The work involves collaboration with government partners such as the Afar Region Pastoralist, Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau, Oromiya Pastoral Areas Development Commission, the Somali Region Livestock, Crop and Natural Resources Development Bureau, and NGO partners such as Save the Children US, Save the Children UK, CARE International, Islamic Relief, International Rescue Committee, Ogaden Welfare Development Association, FARM Africa, Afar Pastoral Development Association, SOS Sahel, Pastoralist Forum of Ethiopia,Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse, and Lay Volunteers International Association. Livestock Emergency Guidelines And Standards: Raising Awareness, Ensuring Uptake (Andy Catley) Goal and Rationale The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) are being developed as a set of international standards and guidelines for the assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of livestock interventions to assist people affected by humanitarian crises. The overall goal of LEGS is to improve the quality of livestock-related programming in humanitarian crises and to have an impact on the livelihoods of people affected by such crises.
36
Feinstein International Center
The LEGS process responds to the recognition that livestock are a crucial livelihoods asset for people throughout the world, and livestock interventions are often a feature of relief responses. Yet to date, there are no widely-available guidelines to assist donors, programme managers, or technical experts in the design or implementation of livestock interventions in disasters. LEGS is on track for publication as hard copy and free-access online copy in early 2009. The activities described below are for LEGS post-publication and awareness-raising activities between 2009 and 2011. These activities focus in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and are designed to ensure wide uptake of LEGS and correct use. Background The LEGS process was initiated by Tufts/FIC in early 2006 and mirrors the process for developing the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response—the Sphere Project. The process is based on multi-agency contributions and broad reviews and collation of practitioner experience. LEGS liaises closely with the Sphere Project and intends to become one of the first Sphere ‘Companion Modules.’ LEGS also recognizes the value of livelihoods thinking and the need to harmonize relief and development approaches. This means promoting more longterm thinking and response in emergencies. This approach is particularly important as climatic trends are causing more frequent and varied humanitarian crises, particularly affecting communities such as pastoral ones that rely heavily on livestock. Overview As a global initiative involving multiple actors, the LEGS process requires strong coordination and clear modes of communication. This project prioritizes continued support to the LEGS coordination and core functions: the LEGS website; organization and facilitation of LEGS Steering Group meetings; awareness-raising; technical and administrative support to the LEGS training program; management of LEGS service partners; fund-raising and donor liaison; technical backstopping; and monitoring and impact assessments. It also focuses on promoting correct and wide application of LEGS through translation and online publication of LEGS in other languages, and through the LEGS training program.
Outputs Between 2009 and 2011 the expected outputs of the LEGS process are to maintain the core functions of the LEGS process, including management and coordination, technical oversight, general awareness-raising and information dissemination, and fund-raising, and to monitor the use of LEGS to assist updating the standards in four years. The correct and wide use of LEGS by humanitarian actors globally will be promoted by: translation and publication in three languages and enabling free on-line access to these versions; conducting of post-publication training in 12 developing regions or country groupings; and providing of real-time technical support to humanitarian agencies in the areas of emergency livestock project design and impact assessment. Impact LEGS aims to improve the quality and impact of livestock-related interventions in humanitarian crisis globally, but with an emphasis on developing regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It uses a livelihoods-based approach to identifying and designing livestock programs, with a focus on protecting key livestock assets and encouraging post-disaster recovery. The two main audiences for LEGS are humanitarian generalists who may not know much about livestock, and livestock specialists who are not familiar with emergency contexts or programming. Both audiences are present in a range of organizations, from international donors and UN agencies to local NGOs. A secondary level of impact is the use of LEGS to assist evaluation of livestock interventions, by providing standards and guidelines against which programs can be assessed.
Collaboration A Steering Group has been established to oversee the production of LEGS. The role of the Steering Group is to coordinate the production process, provide quality control, facilitate consultation processes with a wide range of stakeholders, and foster the establishment of a network. The Steering Group is made up of representatives from VSF (Vétérinaires Sans Frontières) Belgium (a member of VSF Europa), Tufts/FIC, the African Union/ Department for Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Committee for the Red Cross, and the LEGS coordinator. In keeping with the Sphere process, LEGS seeks inputs from a wide range of actors involved in humanitarian response generally, or specifically related to livestock programming. LEGS maintains an email network of approximately 1600 individuals and organizations globally.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
37
Part II Project Details capacity development component through collaboration with the local Darfur Resource Network in running training workshops and offering mentoring support.
DARFUR: LIVELIHOODS, VULNERABILITY, AND CHOICE Markets, Trade, And Livelihoods: Darfur, Sudan (Helen Young, Margie BuchananSmith) Goal and Rationale Trade is the lifeblood of the economy of the Darfur region and one of the main ways in which different livelihood groups interact. Normal trading patterns have been severely disrupted by five years of devastating conflict. A growing body of knowledge on how livelihoods have been affected by the conflict has fed into livelihoods programming. Missing from much of the analysis is a clear understanding of how trade and markets have been impacted. The goal of this research is to investigate the shifting patterns of trade and markets in the Darfur region for the key commodities (cereals, livestock, and cash crops) including trading networks and routes, and implications of these shifts for different livelihood groups. This work will build on the earlier Tufts/FIC study ‘Adaptation and Devastation: Impact of Conflict on Trade and Markets in Darfur’ by Margie Buchanan-Smith and Abdaljabbar Fuddle. This second stage will deepen the analysis by gaining more understanding of market transactions outside the main urban markets, and will review how ongoing monitoring systems (by UNDP and others) can integrate data collection and analysis of these important and insightful market trends. This second phase will include a
38
Feinstein International Center
Background Trade is one of the main ways in which different livelihood groups interact in Darfur. Farmers and pastoralists in particular traditionally have been dependent on one another through market transactions. In many areas, markets (especially rural ones) and trade have simply collapsed. In other areas, markets have adapted and are still functioning. For example, the private sector has responded to meet some of the needs of pastoralists. But how trade patterns have shifted, who now controls them, and the implications for livelihoods and for understanding conflict dynamics more generally are still poorly understood. Tufts/FIC has previously identified various market adaptations in response to (and to some extent influencing) security and shifting conflict dynamics. While trade in some key export commodities has declined (livestock, gum arabic, tombac, and groundnuts), other conflict-related sectors have increased. This emergence of aspects of a war economy is of concern: trade in timber has massively increased as a result of the construction boom in Darfur’s main towns and in the absence of other economic opportunities, but the felling of trees in Darfur is mostly unregulated and often illegal. The evidence indicates this situation is destroying some of Darfur’s fragile natural resource base. Overview Much of the ongoing market monitoring in Darfur is focused on quantitative data such as prices, rather than on qualitative analysis of trends, stakeholders, and implications for livelihoods, peace, and recovery. A more nuanced understanding of market trends is critical for understanding the dynamics of war economies, and the role of markets and trade in promoting recovery or in fuelling conflict. The research will be based on a more qualitative analysis of changing trade routes, shifts in the importance of different commodities, the changing profile of traders, and the implications for different livelihood groups.
Outputs The research outputs will be presented in a full report, with summaries translated into Arabic, for wider distribution in Sudan and internationally. This work will support and feed into the ongoing market monitoring by UNDP and others in the Darfur region. Debriefings will be organized in Khartoum, Darfur, and internationally. Training workshops for agencies and government staff engaged in market monitoring will ensure these approaches and lessons are integrated into newly developing systems. Mentoring support and coaching will be offered to key technical staff. Impact The research team will work closely with local stakeholders to review the implications of the research for livelihoods programming and market monitoring in the region. In particular, researchers will pay attention to how essential market infrastructure can be supported and maintained rather than allowed to disintegrate, in order to be ready for Darfur’s eventual recovery. The team will also explore how negotiated access to markets between warring groups could provide a platform for the rebuilding of relationships and even local-level reconciliation. Through local partners within the Darfur Resource Network, workshops will be organized to disseminate and discuss findings and to review and further develop recommendations and follow-up actions. Collaboration This action research project forms a major part of the wider Tufts/FIC Darfur Livelihoods Program. The work will be supported locally by UNDP, UNOCHA, and the Resident Coordinators Office. The research team will work closely with a network of local NGOs and resource people and with the Darfur Resource Network, who will facilitate access to trader networks. In the preliminary work the Tufts/FIC Darfur team has collaborated with two related initiatives: work by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to support private sector development in Darfur, and economic profiling led by UN-HABITAT to identify areas of existing and potential economic opportunity.
Pastoral Perspectives: Vulnerability, Power, And Choice (Helen Young) Goal and Rationale This field research will analyze the causes of vulnerability, pre-conflict and currently, among specific pastoral groups of the Darfur region. These causes are often deeply rooted in history and embedded in complex interactions between human beings, the environment, and institutional and policy processes. For future strategic responses to extreme crises like Darfur, it is critical that we understand the historical and current adaptations to climate variability (and by implication climate change), conflict, and processes of marginalization. Background Despite international attention on the Darfur conflict during the past five years, little is known about the lives and livelihoods of the pastoral groups, including the Northern Rizayqat, the group that in the minds of many represents one of the main protagonists in the conflict, the notorious Janjaweed. The impetus for this research is recognition by a number of local, national, and international stakeholders that knowledge and understanding of these pastoral groups is extremely limited and could be crucial to future peace and recovery. This particular research will build on the earlier scoping study of pastoral perspectives by Tufts/FIC, which was completed in collaboration with local academics and the civil society group Partners in Development. In the Darfur region, local conflicts between pastoralists and farmers have shifted from previous local-level conflict often settled by tribal mechanisms to the current mistrust and enmity between tribal groups, often linked to human rights abuses and insecurity. In general, polarization of tribal groups has increased over the years, presenting greater challenges to the international community in ensuring an impartial humanitarian response and in promoting the representation of all groups in wider peace processes. Pastoralists have been relatively excluded, yet their participation and engagement in the peace process and humanitarian and recovery efforts is absolutely essential for longer-term peace, stability, and recovery. This work will link with regional and international pastoralist initiatives, including the Tufts/ FIC initiative on ‘Understanding the Future of September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
39
Part II Project Details Pastoralism in Africa,’ the African Union Pastoral Policy Framework for Africa (currently being developed), and the Oxfam GB Regional Pastoralist Initiative for the horn of Africa. It will also engage with UNEP and others in relation to the climate variability and climate change component. Overview The research will adopt qualitative methods, building on the earlier Tufts/FIC livelihoods methodological approach, and will be undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team drawn from Tufts/ FIC, local academic partners, and the Darfur Resource Network. Field visits and contacts with these potentially hard-to-reach groups will be facilitated by our local contacts and networks in Khartoum and the Darfur region. Outputs A full report and a number of summary briefing notes in English and Arabic will be produced for dissemination in Sudan and internationally. Increasing attention is being given to capturing raw data, in the form of transcripts, photographs, etc., which can be carefully coded and analyzed using qualitative software. Impact The camel-herding nomads known as abbala have been relatively excluded from various forms of international action on Darfur, including humanitarian programming, international peace processes, and international advocacy campaigns (except as antagonists). This research will provide evidence of their real situation, the impact of conflict on their livelihoods, and their current issues and future goals, which will directly inform the international processes. Tufts/FIC will work to support international and local organizations in developing and implementing their advocacy strategy and livelihoods programming in relation to these pastoral groups. Collaboration This action research forms a major part of the wider Tufts/FIC Darfur Livelihoods Program and relates directly to the Tufts/FIC program on ‘Understanding the Future of Pastoralism in Africa.’ The work will be supported locally by UNOCHA, the Resident Coordinators Office, UNEP, and a number of local NGOs. By presidential decree, the government of Sudan has 40
Feinstein International Center
recently appointed a Council for the Development of Nomads, with whom the research team already collaborates closely. The research team will also work closely with the Darfur Resource Network. Conflict, Livelihoods, And Household Food Security In Darfur (Helen Young) Goal and Rationale The Darfur conflict and crisis stands as an extreme example of a complex, protracted political emergency caused by a governance gap, combined with natural resource conflict between competing livelihood groups. This presents particular challenges to humanitarian actors to ensure their actions are not only humanitarian but also impartial, neutral, and independent. Unwittingly, these actors can be drawn in and inadvertently fuel local tensions and conflict unless they have some understanding of local power dynamics, conflict between groups, and the links with higher-level political processes. This research will examine the nature of the conflict in Darfur and undertake a comparative analysis of its effect on the livelihoods and food security situation of different groups living in North Darfur state, including IDPs, farmers living under coercion of other groups, pro-government rural farmers, and pastoral groups. This work will build on the earlier Tufts/FIC livelihoods initiatives in the Darfur region. Background There has been an increasing interest in using a livelihoods approach as an analytical tool to assess the nature of violence and its impact on different social groups and households. The World Food Program Executive Board recently committed the agency to combining food security programming with conflict analysis. International NGOs such as Oxfam GB are now exploring new ways of working which incorporate the political economy of the conflict in their analysis of the situation in order to create effective strategies for improving food security. Overview This study will investigate the differential impact of the conflict on the entitlement and access to food among competing livelihood groups. Although the analysis of livelihoods and food
security in a situation of protracted political conflicts is becoming a matter of increasing interest, the focus of the analysis tends to be limited to macro issues, with limited empirical evidence. This research provides a unique opportunity to conduct an empirical study that comprehensively investigates a combination of macroand micro-level factors influencing the overall food security situation of households in Darfur. This type of comparative analysis is lacking but potentially crucial in the context of worsening conflict between local livelihood groups, which is in large part a result of manipulation by higher level political interests. Consequently, incorporating a political economy analysis of protracted political emergencies is critical in order to design interventions with awareness of the potential impact on the complex and shifting structures of power, conflict, and inequality in these contexts. Such analysis is critical to understanding ways to mitigate the impact of power differentials in the distribution of food aid and alleviation of food insecurity and famines. Importantly, it allows humanitarian assistance to be provided and guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Outputs The expected outputs from this work will include a full report, with summaries in Arabic and English, for dissemination in Sudan and internationally. Debriefings and longer meetings will be organized with the support of the Darfur Resource Network and the UNOCHA/RCO to more fully review the strategic recommendations and follow-up actions with agencies and government departments working in the area. Impact In addition to enhancing the scientific knowledge specific to protracted political emergencies and vulnerability of households in these settings, the results of this research have policy and practical programming implications. Two obvious critical areas are the targeting of international aid and the provision of principled humanitarian assistance, both of which need to be rooted in the dynamics of vulnerability and power of the crisis settings. The research also informs policies that seek to establish livelihoods security, reliable entitlements, and access to sufficient food as part of the peace
processes. The results of this study speak directly to the efforts of reconciliation at local levels, which is usually overshadowed by the focus of international interventions on the high-level political peace processes. The research team will work closely with the Darfur Resource Network to organize meetings of local and international stakeholders to review the study findings and also with the UNOCHA/ RCO team working on livelihoods. Collaboration This action research project forms a major part of the wider Tufts/FIC Darfur Livelihoods Program. The work will be supported locally in Darfur by a local NGO, the Kebkabiya Charitable Society, by UNOCHA, and by the Resident Coordinators Office. Livelihoods, Migration, And The Environment (Helen Young) Goal and Rationale Environmental concerns are increasingly recognized as central not only to people’s livelihoods but also to future peace and stability in the Darfur region and in Sudan as a whole. As stated by UNEP, “Long-term peace in the region will not be possible unless these underlying and closely linked environmental and livelihood issues are resolved.” Because it is situated on the edge of the Sahara with a belt of extreme climate variability running east to west through the region, Darfur is particularly vulnerable. The purpose of this project is to continue and to deepen the environmental and livelihood analysis within Darfur, and to integrate this analysis into practical programming that is core to the mission of both UNEP and IOM. The aim is to mitigate displacement and permanent outmigration by supporting the development of community environmental action plans and by enhancing the developmental impact of labor, migration, and remittance flows. The research will enable a more informed approach to ongoing and future return and (re-) integration programming and to urban planning and rural community stabilization. This planning and community stabilization needs to incorporate both the needs of pastoral communities, whose livelihoods and migratory routes are adversely affected by conflict, and the means to address the environmental September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
41
Part II Project Details repercussions of the displacement, confinement, and sedentarization of these population groups. Background This research builds on earlier work by Tufts/FIC, UNEP, and Tear Fund investigating the environmental impacts of the conflict and implications for natural resource management. The main environmental issue caused by the conflict is the unprecedented demand for environmental resources such as water, forest products, and grazing and other environmental resources, which has resulted from conflict-induced displacement and the ensuing humanitarian response. Particularly in areas of high population concentration, this has caused significant localized depletion of these resources. A related issue that has not been considered is the potential for environmental regeneration in depopulated rural areas. So far the focus has been on displacement and forced migration, with little consideration of other types of migration, including labor migration within Darfur or outside, seasonal migration of pastoralists or agricultural workers, and patterns of resettlement and voluntary returns. Migration patterns and environmental issues are key determinants of the livelihood systems of the future, and therefore must be understood in order to effectively plan recovery, a program of supporting returns, and longer-term development initiatives. Overview Tufts/FIC and partners will investigate previous and current adaptations to climate variability and conflict, particularly focusing on local systems of natural resource management and how to strengthen their inclusiveness and on processes of labor migration and remittance flows as an adaptation to environmental degradation, climate variability, and natural resource conflict. Examples where NRM (Natural Resource Management) has successfully brought together the interests of different livelihood groups (for example, IDP returnees, returned migrants, residents, and pastoralists) will be explored in depth in order to learn lessons for successful adaptations and future community environmental action plans. The research will undertake a comparative review of relevant pilot programs, including Micro-Grant Support for Remittance Recipients in Environmentally Vulnerable Areas
42
Feinstein International Center
(CBO/NGO (Community Based Organization/ Non-Governmental Organization) training and supervision). The target group for the field research includes returning IDPs, urban IDPs, labor migrants, (semi-) nomadic pastoralists, and civil society encompassing rural, peri-urban, and urban groups. Outputs Ongoing advocacy and networking will be generated by the integration of a strong research program with close links to ongoing programming through the technical support program, and also by the strong links with Darfurian professionals and representation based in El Fasher, Khartoum, London, Geneva, Brussels, Boston, and Addis Ababa. These networks will provide a natural route for personal debriefing and wide dissemination. The research studies will have outputs in the form of the design of pilot projects and also the introduction of new approaches or technologies. In response to these outputs, UNEP will provide seed funding for projects providing innovation or significant technology transfer that address environmental concerns and governance issues. Impact This collaborative initiative will generate enhanced knowledge among the core partners, shared understanding, and a greater coherence in aid programming relating to livelihoods, migration, and the environment. Working directly with at least two UN agencies and government ministries in the Darfur region and linking with federal departments, will maximize programmatic and policy impact. The engagement of the Darfur Resource Network, local academics, and NGO partners will build capacity and strengthen networks. Collaboration This research is part of a joint program with UNEP-Sudan and IOM-Sudan and will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Physical Resources and the Department of Migration. It will also support specific national and local initiatives including the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), the Darfur Community Peace and
Stability Fund (DCPSF), ENTEC, the UNDP livelihoods program, and the UNEP/UNICEF IWRM program. The actual research will be implemented with our academic partners in Darfur and Khartoum, and members of the Darfur Resource Network. Within Tufts/FIC, this research links directly with the research on livelihoods, migration, and remittance flows currently underway in Cairo among the Sudanese diaspora, and the work on cell phones and microfinance in Khartoum, under the FiRe initiative. Remittances To Conflict Zones: Phase 2: Transition Countries: The Sudanese Diaspora In Cairo (Karen Jacobsen, Helen Young) Goal and Rationale Refugees and migrants in transit countries like Egypt are linked into wider diaspora networks that help support them, and in turn enable the migrants to support their families and communities back home. In this study we will explore the significance of these transnational linkages, particularly remittances, for Sudanese refugees and migrants in Cairo, to understand whether and how remittances impact their urban livelihoods and influence migrants’ political involvement in their home regions. We selected Cairo as a case study of a transition, ‘near’ diaspora country and a good example of a transit country representing South-South remittance and migration flows. Cairo is a primary destination of Sudanese migrants and a key refugee host country. Background The proposed study is the second phase of a larger study of remittances to Darfur conducted by Tufts/FIC. For the proposed Cairo study, the research will be extended to explore remittance patterns of different Sudanese groups. Tufts/FIC will team up with the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). We will build on our respective earlier research studies and jointly design, implement, and disseminate the proposed project.
Overview Our three objectives are: to map the extent of remittance receiving and sending in Cairo’s urban migrant population; to understand the importance of remittances in migrants’ urban livelihoods and whether and how remittances influence migrants’ involvement in their home regions; and to understand the obstacles to remittance sending and receiving and how these obstacles could be addressed by policy or programmatic interventions. Outputs On completion of the full study, we will produce a tested field-based methodology and research tools (including a survey instrument and qualitative research protocol) for exploring questions related to remittances and livelihoods that can be adapted by different researchers and NGOs for their own purposes. We will also generate a report of all findings, which will include analysis of how remittances affect livelihoods in conflict zones, hypotheses as to whether and how migration and remittance flows fuel war economies and recovery from conflict, identification of practical mechanisms and strategies to promote and support remittance flows (with endorsements from international stakeholders). The report will reflect the experience derived from the collaborative research of the two universities involved. Subsequent output will include co-authored academic articles to appear in European, US, and African peer-reviewed journals, as well as shorter articles for practitioner publications and webbased networks. We will convene two workshops to present our findings, one in Cairo, and one in North America. Our target audience for both workshops will be donors, NGOs, government officials, banking/remittance organizations, academics, and the Sudanese diaspora. These workshops will cover the findings of our Cairo study and will discuss the learning experience derived from the collaborative research of the two universities. It is expected that this collaboration will yield important networking opportunities as well as build research knowledge and capacity at both Tufts/ FIC and AUC.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
43
Part II Project Details All research outputs, including case-studies, workshop reports with policy recommendations, endnotes, and a bibliographic database will be made available through a CD-ROM and websites including those of Tufts/FIC, partner universities, and local humanitarian networks. Impact Part of our study will explore the wider processes (donor and government policies, political and economic trends, actions of civil society) that hinder or help the diaspora in transit countries like Egypt send remittances to their home countries and receive remittances from the far diaspora. The goal is to explore ways in which the humanitarian system or wider international responses (humanitarian, development, and recovery) can enable remittance flows so as to support the livelihoods of the diaspora in transit countries, and also support reconstruction and peace processes in countries of origin (in this case, Sudan). Evidence from Egypt will allow comparison with other country case studies, to better understand how to harness and build on the positive developmental aspects of remittances and avoid their negative impact of fostering war. Collaboration This research builds on earlier remittance research conducted in Darfur, and among Sudanese in Portland, Maine. It also builds on earlier research on urban refugees (Jacobsen’s ‘African Cities’ project, in collaboration with Univ. of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg). Markets, Information, And Mobile Phones: Darfur, Sudan (Jenny Aker, Helen Young) Goal and Rationale Trade in agricultural and non-agricultural products is crucial for economic growth and welfare in the Darfur region. In order for goods to be traded efficiently from areas of relative abundance to relative scarcity, farmers, traders, and pastoralists require accurate and timely access to market information. Over the past few years, the conflict in Darfur has severely disrupted trade between markets and market infrastructure. While an improved understanding of the linkages between livelihoods, markets, and conflict has emerged, much of this analysis does not address how limited
44
Feinstein International Center
access to information has affected market performance and hence livelihoods. The arrival of the mobile phone in Darfur provides a unique opportunity for farmers, traders, and pastoralists to obtain and share market information in the face of insecurity. The goal of this research is to investigate the impact of mobile phones on market performance for key agro-food products (cereals, cash crops, and livestock), as well on different livelihood group’s trading behavior and hence welfare. This work will build upon the earlier Tufts/ FIC study ‘Adaptation and Devastation: Impact of Conflict on Trade and Markets in Darfur’ by Margie Buchanan-Smith and Abdaljabbar Fuddle, and on ‘The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Niger’ by Jenny C. Aker. In collaboration with the Tufts/FIC research project on ‘Markets, Trade, and Livelihoods,’ this research project will gather information on mobile phone coverage within and outside the main urban markets in Darfur and the use of these phones by different livelihood groups. The project will analyze how prices and trade flows for key products change in relation to mobile phone coverage. This project will work closely with UN price monitoring systems, the local Darfur Resource Network and mobile phone companies (such as Zain) to determine how mobile phones might be used to collect and share market information among different livelihood groups. Background Trade in agricultural and non-agricultural products is crucial for economic growth and welfare in the Darfur region, as it allows goods to travel from areas of relative abundance to relative scarcity. An important aspect of trade is access to market information, which allows farmers, traders, and pastoralists to decide where, when, and at what price to buy and sell their agricultural products. Over the past few years, trade in Darfur has been severely disrupted by the conflict, and increased insecurity has affected market actors’ ability to travel to distant markets. While an improved understanding of the linkages between livelihoods, markets, and conflict has emerged in recent years, much of this work does not address how limited access to information has affected market actors’ trading patterns, market performance, and livelihoods.
The arrival of the mobile phone in Darfur provides a new opportunity for farmers, traders, and pastoralists to obtain and share market information in the face of insecurity. In a separate study, a Tufts/FIC researcher has assessed the impact of mobile phones on grain markets in Niger, finding that mobile phones reduce price differences between markets. This was primarily due to a change in traders’ and farmers’ marketing behavior. In a context with high insecurity, such as Darfur, mobile phones could be an important resource for different livelihood groups to obtain market information.
the ongoing market monitoring by UNDP and others in the Darfur region. Debriefings will be organized in Khartoum, Darfur, and internationally. Training workshops for agencies and government staff engaged in market monitoring will ensure these approaches and lessons are integrated into newly developing systems, such as the use of mobile phones to disseminate price information to different markets and livelihood groups. Mentoring support and coaching will be offered to key technical staff.
Impact The research team will work closely with local Overview stakeholders to review the implications of the Much of the ongoing market work on Darfur research for livelihoods programming and market focuses on trading patterns and the impact of monitoring in the region. In particular, they will conflict on market performance. In the ‘Markets, pay attention to how essential market infrastrucTrade, and Livelihoods’ research project, Tufts/FIC ture can be supported and maintained, and the will focus on a qualitative analysis of trends, way in which mobile phones can be used to stakeholders, and implications for livelihoods, disseminate market information and agricultural peace, and recovery. These research projects are and health messages throughout Darfur. The team crucial for understanding markets in Darfur. How- will also explore how mobile phone technology ever, they do not focus on the linkages between could be used as a platform for literacy training conflict and access to information, and how the and for early warning systems in Darfur, in the arrival of a new technology, the mobile phone, hopes of rebuilding relationships between differcould affect market dynamics. An understanding ent groups. The project will work through local of the impact of this new technology is critical for partners within the Darfur Resource Network to understanding the dynamics of markets in conflict, organize workshops and discuss findings, review and the role of information technology in proand further develop recommendations and followmoting recovery, or in fuelling conflict. up actions. The research will be based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of mobile phone coverage, Collaboration price dynamics, and the way in which different This action research project forms a major part of livelihood groups use this technology for their the wider Tufts/FIC Darfur Livelihoods Program. marketing decisions. The work will be supported locally by UNDP, UNOCHA, and the Resident Coordinators Outputs Office. The research team will work closely with The research outputs will be presented in a full the Darfur Resource Network, who will facilitate report, with summaries translated into Arabic, for access to trader networks. wider distribution in Sudan, and internationally. This work will also be shared with mobile phone companies. This work will support and feed into
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
45
Part II Project Details pastoral communities in the COMESA region through facilitating the development of pro-pastoralist regional food security policy.
UNDERSTANDING THE FUTURE OF PASTORALISM IN AFRICA Regional Policy Support On Food Security In Pastoral Areas With The Common Market For Eastern And Southern Africa (Andy Catley, Dawit Abebe, And Yacob Aklilu) Goal and Rationale The livelihoods of many pastoral communities in Africa are cross-border in nature. Pastoralists are often geographically located at the margins of countries and their livelihood depends on the movement of livestock to and from seasonal grazing areas, which in turn may require movement across national boundaries. In times of drought or conflict, pastoralists may also move in search of grazing or to avoid violence. Scientific research shows that the mobility of pastoralists and their opportunistic use of fragile dryland environments partly determine the efficiency of their livestock production systems, yet this movement is often regarded by government as irrational or illegal. Similarly, these cross-border pastoral systems are currently hindered by livestock marketing policies and regulations which view cross-border livestock trade as illegal. Such trade is crucial if pastoralists are to convert livestock into cash. In some areas, income from seasonal labor is based on travel to neighboring countries. The cross-border nature of pastoralism indicates that regional approaches to both development policy and humanitarian assistance are needed. The goal of this project is to improve the food security of
46
Feinstein International Center
Background COMESA is one of Africa’s regional economic communities with 19 member states covering parts of north, east, central, and southern Africa. The COMESA mandate focuses on promoting trade intra-regionally and internationally, and the organization has particular experience in developing free trade areas and working with member states to promote cross-border trade. Under the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) includes the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Under CAADP, COMESA is the lead partner for the development of food security policy frameworks. Within this process is a specific element dealing with vulnerable communities such as pastoralists. COMESA recognizes that it has limited in-house technical capacity to analyze and develop regional policy options to promote food security in pastoral areas. Under an existing Memorandum of Understanding with COMESA, this project builds on previous support to COMESA by Tufts/FIC. Overview This project will improve the capacity of COMESA to lead the coordination of pastoral areas initiatives in the Horn of Africa region, and to conduct critical analysis and prioritization of livestock and pastoralism issues with relevant inclusion in the emerging regional food security policy frameworks under CAADP Pillar 3. COMESA’s capacity will be built so that it can lead regional harmonization of national livestock trade policies and protocols, with emphasis on international standards related to animal health in pastoral areas. Outputs The capacity building discussed above is to be achieved through a variety of activities, which will lead to a number of outputs. We will work with COMESA to continue the facilitation of the Regional Livestock and Pastoralism Forum, as a multi-stakeholder forum comprising representatives from government, academia, private sector,
non-governmental and international organizations, and other actors in the COMESA region. We will assist COMESA to review and analyze emerging policy documents under CAADP and ensure relevant inclusion of pastoralism issues into these documents. Specific training and awarenessraising events for COMESA staff will be developed and implemented, including training courses and study tours. These events use livelihoods analysis as the basis for examining pastoralists’ livelihoods, the wide range of policy and institutional factors which influence these livelihoods, and the links between development and humanitarian assistance. The training courses use research findings from studies conducted by Tufts/FIC and other institutions. A set of COMESA policy briefing papers on pastoral food security issues will be disseminated to policy makers in relevant COMESA member states. Technical support will be given to COMESA to oversee the CAADP roundtable process in Kenya and Ethiopia, with relevant inclusion of pastoralism issues into country-level CAADP investment plans. The project will assist COMESA in reviewing livestock marketing policies in selected member states, with emphasis on the opportunities offered by improved cross-border trade and international trade. COMESA will explore new markets for livestock and livestock products in Africa, with a view to linking producers in the Horn of Africa to emerging markets within the COMESA region. Finally, all experiences with COMESA will be channeled to the African Union Commission (AUC) via an existing Memorandum of Understanding with the AUC. Impact This component of the program assumes that governments in Africa are generally receptive to initiatives and policy direction from higher-level African regional membership organizations, and that targeting regional organizations can be a very efficient way to impact numerous countries simultaneously. Within the CAADP process led by COMESA are national-level policy reviews and analyses, leading to national agricultural development investment plans within CAADP at regional level. Therefore, national policy processes are inherent in the regional CAADP process, and pro-
vide an opportunity to ensure that pastoralism is properly represented. Given the controversies surrounding pastoralism in Africa, clear pro-pastoralist policy statements by respected organizations such as COMESA and the AU are likely to raise awareness of the potential for countries to better integrate pastoral areas into their development policies and strategies. At an organizational level, the activity seeks continue to develop the long-term capacity of COMESA to lead regional policy analysis and reform in the areas of pastoralism and livestock development. The activity builds on Tuft/FIC’s support to COMESA from 2007, which has led to COMESA committing to the establishment of a new Livestock Unit to be staffed in the longterm with COMESA core staff. Collaboration The multi-stakeholder approach to policy dialogue promoted by Tufts/FIC automatically ensures that a wide range of individuals and organizations are involved. Some of the key actors at the regional level are: COMESA Secretariat, African Union Commission, Inter-governmental Agency for Development, East Africa Community, World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism (International Union for Conservation and Nature), FAO Livestock Policy Initiative, Oxfam GB Report on the Status of Pastoralism, regional trade organizations, UNDP, UNOCHA, USAID East Africa, SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and DFID (UK Department for International Development). At the national level key actors include: the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the government of the Republic of Kenya, Save the Children US (Ethiopia), and CARE International (Somalia). Towards Pro-Pastoralist Policies In Ethiopia (Berhanu Admassu, Yacob Aklilu, And Andy Catley) Goal and Rationale The policy environment for pastoralism in Ethiopia exemplifies the misunderstandings about pastoralism found in many other countries, and the incoherence of policies between line ministries. The mandate of the Ministry of Federal
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
47
Part II Project Details Affairs (MoFA) includes federal-level support to regional governments which are perceived to be weak, including the pastoral and agro-pastoral regions of Afar, Somali, Borana, South Omo, and Gambella. Although the MoFA role covers the promotion of good governance and pastoral development policies, its policies reflect limited understanding of pastoralism or dryland ecosystems. Objectives such as sedenterization of pastoral communities dominate MoFA policy documents, although there is no evidence which attributes improved livelihoods or reduced vulnerability to settlement. Regarding the sensitive issue of land tenure in pastoral areas, the 1997 proclamation of the Federal Rural Land Administration states an intention to demarcate land in accordance with the particular conditions of a locality and through communal participation. However, recent appropriation of communal pastoral grazing land for large-scale irrigation schemes seems to lack communal participation, and was at odds with the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) to promote livestock production and trade. Related to land tenure is land use, and here again government policies (where they exist) contradict efforts by pastoralists to protect their livelihoods and environment. The goal of this project is to raise understanding of the benefits of pastoralism among senior federal-level policy makers in Ethiopia and incorporate pro-pastoralist policies into national development policies. Background Since mid-2007, policy dialogue on pastoralism in Ethiopia has been further complicated by the worsening violence in the Somali region of the country. In April 2007 the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front acted on its warning that it would attack a Chinese-run oil exploration field, which led to large-scale military operations by the Ethiopian government and limited access to much of the Ogaden for humanitarian agencies. Overview The three-year activity planned for 2009 to 2011 builds on Tufts/FIC’s work with the MoARD and MoFA between 2005 and 2008 under the USAID-funded Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative, in which strong relationships were developed with
48
Feinstein International Center
these ministries at the federal level, and with relevant pastoral and livestock development bureaus at the regional level in Afar, Oromiya, and Somali regions. Outputs The project intends to implement the Pastoralism and Policy Course at federal and regional levels, with prioritization of participants from government partners and civil society groups. The Pastoralism and Policy Course was developed by Tufts/FIC in collaboration with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) under the PLI project. The course has two main aims: to address entrenched negative attitudes among government policy makers towards pastoralism; and to better equip civil society to advocate for pro-pastoral policies. These aims are both achieved by drawing on a mass of collated scientific evidence and studies on pastoralism in Ethiopia, and through the use of adult learning techniques which ensure that participants revisit their understanding and perceptions. The course was run for the first time in Ethiopia in March 2008, and will be offered as a short two-three day course for senior, federal-level government policy makers in the MoFA, MoFED (Ministry of Finance and Economic Development) and MoARD. A repetition of the full course will be held in the Afar, Oromiya, and Somali regions for regional government people and relevant local and international NGOs. The project will also begin institutionalizing the Pastoralism and Policy Course in Ethiopia to promote its wider and long-term use. The current strategy is to institutionalize the course in selected universities and civil society groups in Ethiopia which either have existing undergraduate or postgraduate courses related to pastoral development or more general development policy, or a specific aim of promoting pastoralism. Potential universities include Addis Ababa, Haramaya, and Mekele, and potential civil society groups include the Pastoralist Forum of Ethiopia. As a first step, the course will be run for senior academic staff and then reviewed with them to determine if and how the course can be incorporated into existing teaching programs. A MoARD livestock marketing strategy will be put in place for pastoral areas. This output will use the national Livestock Policy Forum which
was developed with the MoARD under the PLI program. The membership of the forum will be reshaped to involve relevant actors in livestock marketing and pastoralism, although the forum will still seek to include government, private sector, research and academics institutions, and local and international NGOs. Government involvement will most likely include the MoARD, MoFA, and Ministry of Trade. Within the forum and with MoARD support, we will facilitate reviews, analyses, and impact assessments of livestock marketing arrangements in pastoral areas, both past and present, and identify different policy options with descriptions of the pros and cons of each option. Given the cross-border nature of livestock marketing, and the importance of the Somali livestock export trade, this process will include analysis of emerging livestock export systems and capacities in northern Somalia and Djibouti. Impact The key constraints to revising current policies on pastoralism in Ethiopia relate to the attitudes and beliefs of senior central policy makers which in turn are heavily influenced by ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. The Pastoralism and Policy Course focuses on attitudinal change and aims to create a more constructive and informed policy dialogue which ultimately is based on evidence rather than beliefs. This process will be reinforced by two complementary activities: strengthening the capacity of civil society to advocate for pro-pastoralist policy; and incorporating the Pastoralism and Policy Course into Ethiopian universities with relevant capacity-building support. The MoARD livestock marketing strategy for pastoral areas is intended to enable livestock off-take and increase the transfer of livestock into cash, with consequent livelihoods benefits and diversification. Collaboration The activity is based on collaboration with government partners, notably the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Federal Affairs, Parliamentarian Pastoral Affairs Standing Committee, Ministry of Water Resources, and Ministry of Trade. The activity also works with the national Livestock Policy Forum in
Ethiopia. The current membership of the forum is as follows: CARE Ethiopia, Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, Action Contre La Faim, SOS Sahel Ethiopia, Save the Children UK, Ethiopian Wildlife Association, Arbaminch University, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, National Veterinary Institute, Ethiopian Sheep and Goat Productivity Improvement Program, Addis Ababa University, Haramaya University, Ethiopian Veterinary Association, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Save the Children US, International Rescue Committee, SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards) and Livestock Meat Marketing Project, USAID, Hararghe Catholic Secretariat, Global Livestock CRSP/PARIMA (Collaborative Research Support Program/Pastoral Risk Management), Oxfam Canada, Ethiopian Live Animals Exporters Association, The World Bank, Amhara Regional Agriculture Research Institute, Lay Volunteers International Association, Awassa University, Mercy Corps, FARM Africa, and the Africa Development Bank. The International Institute for Environment and Development will continue to partner us on the Pastoralism and Policy Course. Cross-Sectoral Learning For Service Provision In The Somali Region Of Ethiopia (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu) Goal and Rationale Livelihoods analysis in the Somali region of Ethiopia indicates that high levels of poverty and vulnerability are directly related to weak services, particularly in health and education. Like many other pastoral areas, the Somali region is characterized by its large geographical size, a relatively small and mobile human population, and limited modern infrastructure. In these situations the transaction costs of service provision are usually high and governments struggle to provide basic services. The general approach to service delivery is a fixed-point approach based on the deployment of government employees to stationary facilities such as schools or clinics. For pastoralists, the key determinant of service usage is probably accessibility, the physical distance to the service. Given the large areas to be covered and the mobility of communities, reasonable levels of accessibility are difficult to achieve unless a substantial number of fixed-point facilities are
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
49
Part II Project Details constructed, staffed, and equipped. Experience in the region indicates that although government is often able to construct facilities, such facilities often become derelict or not staffed or serviced. The goal of the project is to improve service provision in the Somali region of Ethiopia by promoting cross-sectoral learning and promoting testing of alternative communitybased approaches. Background In the mid 1990s Save the Children UK and the Somali regional government embarked on an alternative approach to delivering primary veterinary services. Rather than relying on fixed-point government clinics and a very limited government budget for medicines and equipment, a privatized and community-based approach was designed. This approach connected networks of mobile community-based animal health workers (CAHWs) to private veterinary pharmacies in urban centers. The overall aim was to improve the accessibility and quality of primary veterinary care for pastoralists, and strengthen the capacity of local government to monitor and regulate this kind of system. Rapid and superficial assessments by Tufts/ FIC indicate that the volume of veterinary medicines currently delivered to the Somali region by the private pharmacy-CAHW system is approximately ten times the volume delivered by government in the mid 1990s. However, a comprehensive impact assessment has not been conducted. Overview This project aims to conduct comprehensive participatory impact assessments of veterinary and human health and education services in the Somali region, and identify cross-cutting lessons to be shared and applied between sectors. The research recognizes that each type of service faces similar constraints in terms of accessibility, affordability, availability, acceptance, and quality, and that while primary veterinary care comprises a mix of private and public goods, health and education are essentially public goods. Outputs Outputs will include a comprehensive, comparative study of health, education, and veterinary services in the Somali region with emphasis on
50
Feinstein International Center
five key indicators: accessibility, availability, affordability, acceptance, and quality. There will also be a stakeholder review of research findings leading to identification of cross-cutting issues and opportunities for transferring lessons between sectors. Impact The impact of the research will depend on the research findings. Should lessons from the community-based approach to veterinary services be applicable to other sectors, the research will result in alternative or adapted approaches to human health and education to be tested by Save the Children US in the region. Collaboration The main collaborating partner is Save the Children US in Ethiopia, which is developing its national and regional strategies for pastoral areas, and which seeks to improve the livelihoods of pastoralists’ children. Other key actors include regional bureaus of agriculture, health and education, and universities in Jijiga and Haramaya. Pastoral Livelihoods And Destitution In Northern Kenya (Andy Catley) Goal and Rationale The phenomenon of pastoralists losing their livestock and settling is not new, but tends to accelerate during periods of acute livelihood crisis as has been experienced during the last few seasons of drought. The superficial cause is the obvious one of poorer pastoralists losing all or most of their livestock, forcing them to settle to access services, food assistance, and potential sources of income. However, there are underlying causes for destitution that contribute to the crisis of pastoralism in the Horn of Africa. These include historical marginalization and inequitable development investments; ecological constraints to livestock holdings; population growth; expansion of farming in some of the best dry season grazing areas; and civil insecurity that limits mobility. Given the chronic characteristics of these issues, and their arguably irreversible nature, it is clearly not enough to invest in rural production: work is also needed to be directed to address urban/ peri-urban destitution and the dynamics between impoverished pastoralists’ livelihoods and the mainstream pastoral economy.
This research was initially developed with FAO Kenya and aims to clarify the extent and characteristics of destitution in the settlements of northern Kenya, and potential ways to help communities out of extreme poverty. The goal of the research is to generate quantitative information on the extent and causes of pastoral destitution in northern Kenya, describe the aspirations of pastoralists who opt to leave the pastoral system, and review the success of alternative livelihoods strategies adopted by former pastoralists. The research findings are intended to inform policies and programming in Kenya related to pastoral development and alternative pastoralists’ livelihoods. Background One of the key recommendations from the Kenya Food Security Steering Group Short Rains Assessment Report of 2007 was to conduct action research on the extent of the problem of destitute pastoralists who have settled around towns and trading centers in northern Kenya, and to make recommendations for appropriate interventions to assist these communities to build their livelihoods. This project responds to that recommendation. Overview The project is based upon a number of research questions. One set concerns trends in destitution and the other, pathways out of destitution. The first set asks questions related to the proportion of destitute pastoralists who are migrating, where they are moving to, and how crises such as drought affect destitution rates. It also asks how these trends vary by gender. The other set focuses on survival, livelihoods strategies, and coping mechanisms. It also asks about escaping destitution, support for those who do, and whether gender affects pathways out of destitution. Finally, given the above pathways and issues, what are the programming implications in terms of both humanitarian and development programs? Outputs The outputs of the research will include: conducting a systematic analysis of destitution in three pastoral districts of Kenya (Turkana, Marsabit, and Wajir); using research findings to inform the design of future programs in Kenya targeted specifically at destitute herding households; and
testing a systematic participatory methodology for analyzing pastoral destitution which may be applied to other countries in the region. Impact The research will be the first quantitative study on pastoral destitution in northern Kenya, and therefore is expected to inform the programming and policies of a wide range of governmental and non-governmental actors and aid donors. Collaboration This research proposal was initially developed with FAO Kenya, and it is envisaged that Tufts/ FIC will continue to liaise with FAO to refine the proposal and source funding. Implementing partners are likely to be international NGOs with ongoing programs in northern Kenya, and the Government of Kenya’s Arid Lands Resource Management Project. Alternative Approaches To International Trade In Livestock Products: CommodityBased Trade (Andy Catley, Yacob Aklilu) Goal and Rationale The current international standards governing trade in livestock commodities insist that animal products be derived from areas which are free from certain animal diseases. The underlying principle of the standards is that if an area is free from disease, it cannot export disease to another area or country. For Africa and other developing regions, the implication of the standards is that these regions need to eradicate numerous animal diseases before they can engage in international trade. Unfortunately, such eradication is technically infeasible and hugely expensive, and therefore, millions of livestock producers remain isolated from lucrative international markets. The goal of our work on commodity-based trade is to contribute to a growing international, but largely Africa-driven, effort to revise the international standards on livestock trade, and to clarify the standards related to trade in livestock commodities. Background In partnership with the African Union, Tufts/FIC conducted a review of international standards in 2003 which concluded that safe trade in livestock
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
51
Part II Project Details products need not depend on the disease situation in the area of product origin. If livestock products were handled and processed using specific and simple techniques, the risk of transmitting disease could be reduced to an acceptable level. This thinking was supported by a mass of scientific evidence on topics such as the bacterial and viral content of meat after chilling, deboning, and maturation. The concept of this so-called commodity-based approach was published in scientific journals in 2004 and has led to heightened awareness of the need to revise international standards to provide better guidance on commodity-based trade, and present this approach as a scientifically-acceptable alternative to disease eradication. Overview Between 2005 and 2008, Tufts/FIC raised awareness of the commodity-based approach to livestock trade by working with partners such as the African Union, COMESA, the East Africa Community, DFID and the governments of Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. By mid-2008, the commodity-based approach was supported by all of these actors, and pressure was mounting on the standard-setting bodies to take action. However, there is a continued need to assist the AU and COMESA to improve understanding of commodity-based trade among African policy makers, and ensure that a range of private sector and civil society stakeholders are aware of the opportunities afforded by this approach. This process is largely a matter of presenting existing research rather than conducting new research, and strengthening the capacity of the AU and COMESA to respond to queries and concerns from government and private sector actors. Outputs The main output of the work is an improved understanding of the technical and economic basis of commodity-based trade among senior regional and national policy makers and civil society groups in eastern and southern Africa, with consequent improved capacity of these actors to advocate for changes to international standards. This output will be achieved by contributing to technical meetings, educational materials, and
52
Feinstein International Center
publications of other organizations, particularly African regional economic communities and the African Union. Impact In the event that the standards are revised, a major constraint to access to international markets for African producers would be reduced, with consequent livelihoods benefits. Collaboration This project will work with the African Union Department for Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, the East Africa Community, national governments in eastern and southern Africa, and the Department for International Development (UK). Camel Marketing And Pastoral Livelihoods In Ethiopia (Yacob Aklilu) Goal and Rationale The goal of this project is to promote understanding of the camel market chain that impacts the livelihoods of tens of thousands of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, farmers, and traders living in diverse agro-ecological regions of Ethiopia. The research is targeted at national policy makers in Ethiopia but also, due the cross border nature of the trade, regional trade organizations such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. Improved awareness of the trade will also assist policy makers to see how marginalized pastoral areas can be integrated into mainstream economies and therefore warrant investment. Background Numerous research studies have been undertaken in the last two decades on domestic, cross-border, and regional livestock trade within and between the Horn countries and the Gulf states. Such studies mainly focus on cattle and also on sheep and goats (shoats). Studies on camel trade remain minimal and in most cases limited to camel milk production. The oversight by researchers to incorporate camels in livestock trade studies could be attributed to a host of factors. Camels are traded in small numbers along numerous chain
markets, leaving the casual observer with the impression that camels in a specific market are destined only for local use. Additionally, unlike cattle or shoats that are transported on trucks, trade camels are usually trekked on hoof through inaccessible paths to vehicles, far away from the prying eyes of scholars. Camels bought from primary markets are not immediately sold in terminal markets. They may be used as working animals or reconditioned to gain body weight at various transaction points for a year or more before they are sold again. Because of larger capital requirements, small traders are not able to bulk more than 50 camels at most at a time, compared to cattle and shoats traders who usually bulk hundreds of cattle or thousands of shoats. Finally, researchers could be deterred by the low number of camels (estimated at less than seven million) compared to cattle and shoat populations in the Horn (over a hundred million in each case) on the assumption that the economic contribution of camel trade may not be that significant. Overview In reality, there is an ongoing vibrant camel trade in Ethiopia involving some twenty or more chain markets with a trade volume of about 3,000 camels per week in the peak seasons. The volume of this trade alone could challenge camel population estimates in Ethiopia. This trade engages various actors composed of mixed ethnic groups with overlapping roles: pastoralists, who are the primary producers but also double as trekkers; agro-pastoralists, who play various roles as primary producers, conditioners, and/or trekkers; and farmers, who, contrary to past traditions, are increasingly emerging as camel conditioners, trekkers, and traders. The trade route runs from the central eastern parts to northern Ethiopia and Sudan. Main destination markets are the salt mines in northeastern Ethiopia and the cross-border trade to Sudan, with numerous staging and conditioning points in between that lie across the twenty or so chain markets en-route. This market chain generates a transaction of some two to three million U.S. dollars per month for an average of nine months per year and involves a forty-day trekking route from the primary markets in the central east to the crossing point into Sudan. Regrettably, this important camel market chain is
virtually unknown to outsiders like scholars, policy makers, NGOs, donors, and academic or research institutions, perhaps signifying the fact that livestock markets can perform better when left to operate on their own without external interventions. Outputs Outputs will be: an economic impact assessment of the camel market trade in Ethiopia and Sudan; an approximation of annual trade volume; the mapping of trade routes; a value chain assessment, including transaction costs at various points; and the identification of market actors, their roles, and relationships. Impact The outputs of this research, while providing new information to various interested groups, will lead to an appreciation of the economic importance of camels which has been lacking so far in government circles. A renewed interest in the economic potential of camels will hopefully persuade the Government to pay special attention to responding to specific veterinary requirements of camels, developing camel husbandry curriculums in agricultural universities, and providing support to camel traders. The research findings could also challenge the official camel population figure in Ethiopia which may ultimately lead to a review of camel population estimates. This research will serve to highlight the attention that camel species deserve in Ethiopia and provide a case study on how a camel trade of this magnitude can remain vibrant with no external support. Collaboration This research will be conducted in collaboration with the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production and the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia. We will also take advantage of the existing Tuft/FIC Famine Center’s relationships with various institutions when conducting the research in Sudan. Cattle And Meat Value Chain Assessment In Ethiopia (Yacob Aklilu) Goal and Rationale The goal of this project is to analyze incremental values along the cattle and meat supply chains at
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
53
Part II Project Details each level of transaction to promote understanding of why beef prices have risen to such a high level despite the huge resource potential in the country. Background As one of its economic objectives, the government of Ethiopia is pursuing a policy of maximizing revenues through meat and live animal exports. In the past few years, Ethiopia’s volume of meat exports has been rising steadily, though its live animal exports have varied due to external factors that include trade bans by importing countries. Nearly all the meat exports from Ethiopia consist of sheep and goat chilled carcasses to the exclusion of beef. As a land-locked country with the largest livestock resources in Africa, Ethiopia would like to tap its huge cattle resources for increased chilled and frozen beef exports. This initiative is challenged, however, by rising domestic beef prices, well above the world beef market price. What is more baffling is that the domestic price of beef in Ethiopia is twice that of Kenya, which meets its domestic beef requirements through cross-border exports from Ethiopia and Tanzania. Overview There exist two supply channels for terminal domestic beef markets in Ethiopia. The first involves a direct channel where traders buy cattle from producers (pastoralists and farmers) and sell at profit to butchers. The second involves some value-adding where feedlot operators buy cattle from producers or cattle traders. In either case, such cattle are kept in feedlots for three to four months and sold to live animal exporters or local butchers after the cattle are reconditioned. Regardless, the price of beef coming through these two supply routes remains too high to allow beef exports. Although one expects a rise in the price of cattle as a result of rising feed costs, the relative increases in the price of cattle and meat are not justifiably proportional to that of feed. More importantly, how beef sourced from primary producers and feedlot operators fetch the same price at consumer selling points remains inexplicable. There are a number of actors in the meat market chain in Ethiopia, including primary cattle producers, small traders, middlemen, large-scale traders, feedlot operators, butchers, and supermar-
54
Feinstein International Center
ket outlets. The length of the market chain depends on proximity between primary producers and consumers: the longer the distance, the more actors. Although it is generally thought that those in the industry are currently making more profit than they used to, we are not certain which of the actors in the chain are making more profit, by what proportion, at which level of transaction, and above all if the rise in beef prices has translated into increased income for pastoralists and farmers. There is also speculation that the price rise is the result of a supply control system by large-scale traders, butchers, and final outlet points. This project will work to understand the supply chain and price and profit-making issues related to domestic beef markets in Ethiopia. Outputs Outputs from this project will be: improved understanding of the cattle and meat market value chain; establishment of the level of returns in proportion to expenditure at each level of transaction to determine the point at which most costs are incurred and/or profits are accrued; improved understanding of key factors contributing to the inefficiency of cattle and meat market chains. Impact The project will inform decision makers on measures to be taken to streamline cattle and beef market chains and support a policy review process to improve the efficiency of livestock marketing in Ethiopia. Collaborations The research will be conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Texas University SPS-LMM program in Ethiopia, which runs a program to promote meat exports from Ethiopia. Livelihoods, Trade, And Foot-And-Mouth Disease In Ethiopia (Andy Catley, Berhanu Admassu) Goal and Rationale In pastoral areas of Africa foot-and-mouth disease is usually ranked by pastoralists themselves as among the top five diseases affecting their livestock and livelihoods. The disease is endemic, meaning that outbreaks appear frequently, and no
effective control measures are supported by government or international agencies. Disease outbreaks result in sudden loss of milk in affected animals, which has a direct impact on the nutrition of pastoral households, particularly children. The presence of FMD in pastoral areas also contributes to the isolation of these areas from international markets, because the disease is regarded as a major threat to livestock in more developed regions and these regions fear the introduction of the disease. In an era of globalization and substantial international movement of livestock products, sometimes through complex trade routes, the attitude of Western governments is that FMD in endemic areas should be contained or eradicated as a means to prevent spread to other parts of the world. For these actors, the priority is essentially domestic and the impact of FMD on the livelihoods of people in endemic areas is of marginal interest. Through a collaborative project led by the University of Oxford, Tufts/FIC is taking a different perspective on FMD in pastoral areas by defining the impact of the disease on pastoralists’ livelihoods and by working with pastoralists to identify ways to reduce the livelihoods impacts of the disease. In this approach, our researchers aim first of all to address the direct nutritional and livelihoods effects of FMD. The community-based strategy to be used in the research draws on Tufts/ FIC’s experience of rinderpest eradication in South Sudan, in which participatory approaches were highly effective. The goal of the research is to identify FMD control strategies to reduce the impact of the disease on pastoralists’ livelihoods. Background The initial area of research is the Borana plateau of southern Ethiopia. During the last five years, the livestock export industry in Ethiopia has been growing and private export abattoirs around Addis Ababa have exported chilled beef to the Middle East and Egypt. This evolving trade has been extremely valuable for Borana pastoralists, as traders have moved into Borana areas to purchase cattle for fattening and export. However, although this trade has resulted in substantial livelihoods benefits to pastoralists, in mid-2006 Egypt imposed a trade ban due to outbreaks of FMD in Egypt associated with imports of Ethiopian cattle. Therefore, in the Borana plateau FMD is now
affecting livelihoods in terms of direct householdlevel nutrition, and is limiting the extent to which Borana cattle can be traded. Other research partners will conduct similar research in northern Vietnam, and here Tufts/ FIC’s role is to transfer participatory epidemiology research approaches and methods to Vietnamese partners, and to researchers at Murdoch University. Overview The research will describe the epidemiology and economics of FMD in Borana, including the direct livelihoods impact of the disease on pastoral communities. Alongside this field work, an institutional analysis will be conducted to assess the institutional arrangements and capacities required to support FMD control programs in the Borana plateau. Government policies, resources, and technical capacity will be assessed, as will the capacity of private sector actors to support FMD control. At the field level, focus group discussions with pastoralists and traditional Borana elders will be used to assess their views on the feasibility and sustainability of different FMD control options. This work will compare different vaccination and movement control options, and assess each option against indicators provided by pastoralists and technical staff. Outputs The research comprises two main stages, an initial cross-sectional study to be followed by a longitudinal study. The outputs from the cross-sectional study will include definition of the basic epidemiology of FMD in the Borana plateau, using well-tested, standardized participatory epidemiology methods. The study will identify FMD virus types and sub-types, since FMD viruses circulating in the Borana plateau at the time of the study will be identified. This component of the study will include the collection of samples for virus isolation and will require collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ethiopia, particularly for the export of samples to relevant laboratories outside the country. The team will determine the livelihoods impact of FMD on Borana pastoral communities, and conduct cost-benefit analysis of different FMD vaccination strategies. The final component of the cross-sectional study will assess the institu-
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
55
Part II Project Details tional arrangements and capacities required to support FMD control programs in the Borana plateau. Government policies, resources, and technical capacity will be assessed, as will the capacity of private sector actors to support FMD control. Longitudinal study outputs will include real-time investigation of FMD outbreaks over a 24-month period, using a surveillance system adapted from the successful system for rinderpest surveillance developed by Tufts/FIC in South Sudan, and institutional support for FMD control. This last component will aim to address key policy and institutional constraints affecting the testing and scaling-up of FMD control in the Borana plateau. In the event that epidemiological and economic analyses point to the need to field-test FMD control strategies, this component will ensure a supportive institutional environment for field-testing. The work will include stakeholder analysis of the results arising from the crosssectional study, regular stakeholder consultation during the longitudinal study, and raising awareness among policy makers of technical, economic, and social issues related to FMD control. Key targets for the work are senior federal-level policy makers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the regional-level Oromia Pastoral Development Office. Impact The research is intended to impact at different levels. At the community-level, the research will produce evidence to inform the design of FMD control strategies which are appropriate to the severe resource and logistical constraints in southern Ethiopia. The participatory research approach aims to strengthen relationships between Ethiopian researchers and government veterinary services, and pastoral communities. At national, regional, and international levels, the research aims to raise awareness among international agencies such as FAO of the need to integrate local perspectives and needs for FMD control into regional control efforts. This impact challenges conventional large-scale disease control programs in which control strategies are imposed on communities, often with limited impact. At a methodological level, the research aims to further institutionalize participatory epidemiology by
56
Feinstein International Center
working alongside highly respected epidemiologists, mathematicians, and disease modelers at the Universities of Glasgow and Warwick, with overall research management by the University of Oxford. Collaboration This research has been designed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, National Animal Health Research Center Ethiopia, the University of Glasgow, the University of Warwick, the University of California, Murdoch University, and the International Livestock Research Institute. Milk Matters: Improving The Health And Nutritional Status Of Children In Pastoral Communities (Andy Catley, Kate Sadler) Goal and Rationale Children in pastoral/semi-pastoral areas in the horn of Africa are particularly vulnerable to increasingly frequent drought and to chronically high rates of acute malnutrition. The dominant response to this from the international community continues to be the delivery of large quantities of food aid each time rains fail and rates of acute malnutrition peak. Despite acceptance of the urgent need for risk reduction and drought mitigation, there is still little understanding of the causes of malnutrition, and which interventions in the medium to long term should be prioritized to improve the health and nutritional status of children in these settings. In pastoral communities milk is well known as the staple food of children’s diets and therefore is directly linked with the nutritional status of young children. In some areas, young pastoral children obtain up to 66 percent of their daily energy intake from milk. In order to improve nutritional status in children who live in pastoral communities, this project aims to take a critical look at the factors that affect the quality, quantity, and access to human and animal milk across all seasons, particularly during drought, and among various wealth groups. Background The Africa Region Pastoral Initiative was created by the Save the Children Alliance in mid-2007 to develop the evidence base for programming in pastoral settings and to use this experience to
advocate for better practices, programs, and policies. One component of the Regional Initiative is the Pastoral Health and Nutrition Initiative (PHNI), created in April 2008 to help us understand and prioritize interventions that improve health and nutritional status of children in pastoral settings. Within the PHNI, Save the Children US and UK and Tufts/FIC have joined efforts to explore interventions related to the most important component of children’s diets, milk. Closely linked to this work is our technical coordination of USAID’s Pastoral Livelihoods Initiative (PLI) in Ethiopia, on which Save the Children was collaborators and for which we have already produced best-practice guidelines (in January 2006). Continuing our work with SC to examine the nutritional impact of livelihood interventions in pastoral communities is a key step in producing evidence to inform best-practice. Overview Over the next two years Tufts/FIC, in collaboration with Save the Children, will conduct exploratory research in Somali Region, Ethiopia, through primary data collection and a literature review. The results of the exploratory research will be used to evaluate programming such that current interventions may be refined, new interventions may be introduced, and/or current interventions may be better assessed. In subsequent phases, the study team will implement and monitor, through operations research, small-scale activities to promote promising interventions. Lessons learned will feed into the design and implementation of interventions at a large scale, and will be used to advocate for policies that promote healthy and well-nourished children in pastoral communities. Outputs The planned output for the exploratory research phase will be a final report detailing up to six household/community cost-effective interventions which are most likely to impact infant and child mortality and malnutrition in pastoral communities. Planned outputs for subsequent phases include identification of effective and appropriate strategies to ensure the widespread adoption in one pastoral community of each intervention and of key considerations for the scale-up of successful interventions in other
pastoral areas. Subsequent phases will also produce a child health and nutrition addendum to the drought cycle model which will help guide and improve the quality of emergency response in pastoral areas. Impact We seek primarily to clarify some of the underlying causes of the chronically high levels of acute malnutrition found in pastoral regions in Ethiopia and to help the Save the Children Fund Alliance and the Regional Health Bureau of Somali Region in Ethiopia to prioritize interventions that could improve the health and nutritional status of children in these settings. Through workshops, briefing notes, and discussion we hope to offer them tools to enable them to develop more appropriate responses for the future. We also envisage that this work will have wider impact on the design of interventions supported by the international community that aim to support human health, nutrition and livelihoods in these settings. Collaboration The Save the Children Alliance will be the main collaborating partner for this work which will link closely to ongoing collaboration under the Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative. Seers As War Makers, Peace Makers, And Leaders Within The Karamoja Cluster (Darlington Akabwai, Khristopher Carlson) Goal and Rationale Pastoral populations living within the Karamoja Cluster (namely Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia) believe that particular people known as ‘seers’ possess special capacities that enable them to foresee and manipulate the future. With this ability, seers perform an important role within communities as they are central players in decision-making concerning security, raiding and war making, peacemaking, and migratory patterns of people and livestock. Therefore, the Tufts/FIC research team believes seers are an important group to engage with in the effort to build greater regional peace and stability. However, many government officials and NGOs operating in the Karamoja Cluster continually marginalize these influential community leaders, limiting the
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
57
Part II Project Details amount of knowledge the seers can impart on regional peace and stability processes. Tufts/FIC field research throughout the Karamoja region will allow us to document and analyze how seers operate within their own communities and shed light on the complex nature of their relationships with other tribal groups, both friends and enemies. To complement the findings of this work, we have incorporated a photography component that will assist in illustrating the daily activities of seers and other members of their pastoral communities and draw attention to the environmental and economic challenges that many within the Karamoja Cluster face today. It is these environmental and economic challenges that spur some of the armed conflict in the region at present. With both the written and visual aspects of the work carried out simultaneously, this project will help lay the groundwork for future strategies that seek to help better network seers with local leaders, government agencies, and NGO activities whose aim is peaceful resolution to conflict and peaceful co-existence among pastoral groups in the Karamoja Cluster. Background Tufts/FIC has been conducting research with pastoral groups in east Africa for over a decade. Through its commitment to the region and its innovative research, it has established strong relationships with many pastoral communities that live within the Karamoja Cluster. As most groups within this region are dependent on healthy, large livestock herds, the work of Tufts/FIC has focused on helping these groups maintain strong foundations for sustainable livelihoods. Through their successful research work with pastoral communities in the eradication of rhinderpest, a devastating disease among female cows, Tufts/FIC researchers have achieved the trust and respect of the pastoral communities. These successes have been enabled by Tufts/FIC’s ability to move freely among and between the different pastoral groups in the region. Without the assistance of seers and their ability to negotiate between tribes, both friend and enemy, Tufts/FIC researchers would have encountered difficulties in gaining access to certain populations. Therefore, it was during these earlier research efforts that Tufts/FIC witnessed first-hand the role of seers as both effective war makers and, importantly, peacemakers. Seers
58
Feinstein International Center
quickly became important actors in Tuft/FIC efforts to work with pastoralists to manage conflict in non-lethal ways and provide safe passage to vaccinate cattle. Additionally, over the last four years Tufts/FIC researchers have worked intensively in the Karamoja region documenting and analyzing factors contributing to high levels of violence and conflict. As before, the role of seers in helping to prevent or perpetuate violence surfaced as a key factor. Overview The greater Karamoja Cluster encompasses regions within northeastern Uganda, South Sudan, northwestern Kenya, and southwest Ethiopia. These regions are inhabited by nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral peoples who practice transhumance in fragile and unpredictable ecological zones. These populations are minorities within their respective countries, and are often at odds with or under attack by the governments in the regions where they live and move with their animals. Human development indicators rank these groups among the least developed and most vulnerable groups within each of their respective countries. Local populations believe that seers have a unique relationship with the future as they ‘see’ into the future and are able to intervene in future events. As such, seers are involved at a fundamental level in determining their communities’ security and well-being, as well as their relations with other tribes or groups in the region. Seers are also influential in regards to their communities’ relationship with outsiders such as NGOs or government agencies. Regardless of their skills, or perhaps because of them, both colonial powers and the independent governments of the countries they reside in have systematically marginalized seers. Our research seeks to better understand the role of seers as forces for both war and peace, and to use this information to inform local and national governments in alternative ways to engage with pastoral populations to address some of their most pressing needs of security as many live in areas that are highly insecure and that lack any law and order functions. Year one and two of the research will focus on working with seers in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, followed by work with seers in northeastern Kenya.
Outputs The Tufts/FIC team working in the Karamoja Cluster on issues of security has enjoyed collaborating with UN agencies, including UNICEF and OCHA, in the past few years. The team has also worked with NGO actors and local government officials in the region to further its efforts to inform peace and security initiatives. It remains the goal of this team to maintain strong links with policy and programming actors to share findings and important field data throughout its research work in the Karamoja Cluster. A final international report will be published with findings from the field research and disseminated within the countries worked in (Uganda, Sudan, and Kenya) and internationally. Additionally, briefings will be conducted at policy and programming offices and agencies to influence developments in the region and in other areas where pastoral and indigenous populations face similar challenges. Photographs taken by the Tufts/FIC team will accompany both the final report and briefings to enhance and provide additional context to research findings. They will also stand alone from the written research as selected photographs will be shown in exhibits to raise the awareness of the public to the experience of being within the Karamoja region and to the humanity of the people living there. It is our objective to provide people both familiar and unfamiliar with the Karamoja region an opportunity to see the complex, beautiful, and volatile environment that is the Karamoja Cluster. It is our desire to produce a book of photography illustrating the economic, political, and social ‘face’ of the region through visual documentation of the diverse cultural dimensions that make up the Karamoja Cluster. Impact Research findings will demonstrate how seers can be brought into the fold of national and regional efforts to bring peace and stability to the Karamoja Cluster. There are no other research projects at present looking at the influence and power seers have within this insecure region. Through patient and diligent research, Tufts/FIC can build upon a decade of work in the region to inform its regional and international partners to develop practical steps to realize a more stable region in the near future. In order to confront the environ-
mental challenges due to climate change that are already underway and impacting the region’s pastoral groups, political solutions must be found to ease the social and economic tensions that persist. This research intends to help find those solutions. Collaboration This research builds on Tufts/FIC’s past three years of specific research on the causes and effects of armed conflict among several key pastoral groups in South Sudan and northeastern Uganda. It is also complemented by ongoing regional work region focusing on livelihoods, status, and conflict in the Karamoja districts of northeastern Uganda. Tufts/FIC’s research team will work with local human rights and NGOs in the Karamoja cluster committed to finding ways to lessen the areas high levels of violence and insecurity. Furthermore, and equally important, as Tufts/FIC has established strong linkages with local leadership within various Karamoja groups involved in the study, we will continue to rely on these relationships to learn from and share information with as the study progresses. Finally, as mentioned above, Tufts/FIC will continue to work closely with UN agencies with an established presence in the Karamoja Cluster including UNICEF and OCHA. Livelihoods And Insecurity In Northeastern Uganda (Elizabeth Stites) Goal and Rationale The Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda is the poorest and least developed region of the country and is host to the worst human development indicators in key areas, including primary school enrollment, maternal and infant mortality, and life expectancy. Periodic and extended droughts and extreme climate variability shape the pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihood strategies practiced in the region.Violent cattle raiding and asset stripping exacerbated by a steady flow of small arms into the region create extreme insecurity for local populations. Alliances between tribal and ethnic groups and across national and international borders once allowed for drought mitigation through transhumance, but violence and conflict over natural resources has led to the collapse of many of these important relationships.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
59
Part II Project Details Animal disease, growing inequity in animal ownership, climate change, and a national disarmament program have placed further pressures on the cattle-based livelihood systems. This research aims to improve the understanding of livelihoods and security in Karamoja, and how livelihoods have shifted over time. We are particularly interested in the dynamic links between conflict and livelihood strategies, and how these two aspects may perpetuate or mitigate each other. This nuanced and detailed understanding is critical at a time when a growing number of international and national stakeholders are expanding their programming into the region. We will work in consultation and maintain regular dialogue with key national and international NGOs and with the primary United Nations agencies working in the region, in particular UNICEF, WFP and OCHA. Background The three-year plan for research in Karamoja builds on work conducted by a Tufts/FIC team in the region from 2005-2008. Over the past three years our team has documented and analyzed a wide range of processes that shape livelihoods and contribute to insecurity in the region. In particular, we examined the cross-border and local trade of weapons, the effects of marginalization, shifts in livelihood strategies over time, and the gender and generational dimensions of human security. International organizations are currently using the outputs of this work to inform their policy and programming as they expand into the Karamoja region. Through our work in the region we have identified specific aspects that we believe are critical to understanding the causes and implications of the links between livelihoods and insecurity. For instance, we believe that a more thorough understanding of the factors influencing livelihoods strategies for male youth will illustrate both the underlying factors in the violence and possible avenues for intervention. In parallel, a focus on the implications of livelihood shifts and insecurity for women and children will enable more appropriate strategies for social service delivery and protection.
60
Feinstein International Center
Overview The research aims to better understand the underlying social and economic factors contributing to the increase in violence in Karamoja over the past thirty years and to make policy recommendations as to points of intervention. We will focus on the response of individuals, households, and communities to the deterioration of pastoral livelihoods, endemic poverty, environmental degradation, climate change, and constraints on mobility. These stresses have occurred in an environment defined by rising insecurity and the ready availability of small arms, and many young men have adopted violent livelihood strategies as a means of economic and physical survival and to acquire social status. We will examine these issues from the perspective of male youth (as both the main perpetrators and most frequent victims of armed violence) but will also seek to understand the effects upon and roles of the wider communities, including women, children, and the elders. In particular, we will be seeking to understand the implications of changing male livelihood strategies on the livelihood choices available to women and children and the shifts in protection threats for this population. Outputs The outputs from this phase of research in Karamoja will be both formal and informal in nature. Formal outputs will include an international report on the links between livelihood strategies and insecurity, a chapter in an edited volume on the region, and one to two peer-reviewed journal articles. Formal briefings will be held in Uganda and in international capitals for interested audiences. Informal outputs will be produced throughout the project in response to emerging issues and requests from partners and stakeholders. These will include briefing reports, public and private briefing sessions on specific issues for relevant stakeholders and actors, advice and collaboration on advocacy efforts, and review of program documents.
Impact The planned research in Karamoja over the next three years aims to bring institutional change at multiple levels. Within Uganda, we hope to inform the emerging strategies of national and international agencies expanding their reach into Karamoja. The movement of new agencies into Karamoja provides both opportunities and challenges, and we seek to inform this process and to highlight some of the important challenges. For instance, in dialogue with international organizations we stress the importance of conflict analysis in the design and implementation of interventions. We also aim to contribute to a more positive and pro-pastoral national dialogue regarding the Karamojong region and people in order to decrease negative stereotypes and discriminatory national policies. Regionally we are seeking to promote a better understanding of the cross-border dimensions of livelihoods and insecurity, including the
importance of cross-border cattle movement, implications of the spread of animal disease for human health and food security, and the impacts of weapons trafficking through the Horn of Africa. Without a regional perspective on these issues there is little hope of improved security and development over the long term. At the international level, we are working with donors to encourage a greater focus on the development and security challenges in Karamoja. Collaboration This research is complemented by the work of larger Tufts/FIC Uganda/Sudan team as we seek to understand regional dimensions and processes of insecurity. We are in regular and ongoing consultation with national and international NGOs, UN agencies (primarily UNICEF, WFP, and OCHA), and major international donors and will provide regular updates and briefings as requested.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
61
Part II Project Details
UGANDA: UPHOLDING RIGHTS IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE Formal Justice And Accountability For People In Northern Uganda (Dyan Mazurana, Teddy Atim) Goal and Rationale This research seeks to document and analyze the formal justice mechanisms that will be established by the government of Uganda in response to the widespread grave crimes and human rights violations that occurred during the 22-year war in northern Uganda. Our project seeks to provide timely, precise, and insightful documentary evidence and analysis, drawing on our investigation into how victims and survivors view and experience these justice mechanisms. We aim to inform the processes as well as policies and responses that emerge as the processes unfold. Additionally, the final report and publications will serve as an important historical document for the people of Uganda and those in the international community concerned with formal systems of accountability and justice in post-war societies. Background Over the past six years, our research teams have documented, analyzed, and reported on grave crimes and human rights violations committed by all sides of the conflict between the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the government of Uganda in northern Uganda (including both Acholiland and Lango sub-region). Our specific focus has been on crimes and rights violations
62
Feinstein International Center
against women and girls and, to a lesser extent, against men and boys. The parties to the protracted conflict in northern Uganda have been engaged in peace negotiations since 2006. The most contentious issues to come out of this process concern accountability and justice for the grave crimes and rights violations suffered by civilians, in particular young women and girls. Most of these crimes and violations were committed by the LRA, although the UPDF (Uganda People’s Defense Force), local Ugandan militias, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) are also culpable. Our team had input into Agenda Item 3 of the peace process, which was signed on February 28, 2008. This agenda item, on accountability and reconciliation, contains guidelines for setting up truth-telling, prosecution, reparation, and transitional justice bodies. Agenda Item 3 is a pathbreaking document and sets very high standards for how accountability mechanisms should move forward. The importance of this document makes a thorough analysis of the document and its outcomes even more important for Uganda and the world. Overview This new phase of research focuses on three broad justice and accountability mechanisms in post-war Uganda, with an emphasis on crimes of a sexual nature and gender-based crimes and violations (both sexual and non-sexual in nature): truthtelling or fact-finding bodies; court proceedings and prosecution for serious crimes and grave rights violations committed during the conflict; and reparations for victims of serious crimes and grave rights violations. The purpose of this work is to provide real-time documentation and analysis of justice and accountability mechanisms in Uganda, and to investigate the links between these mechanisms and people’s perceptions and experiences of accountability and reconciliation in northern Uganda. This research began in July 2008 and will continue through August 2010. Outputs The team will consult with key stakeholders and interested groups throughout the study, including during the finalization of the study design and the project implementation. These groups include survivors’ and victims’ groups, national legal groups such as the Uganda Women Lawyers’
Association, national women’s human rights groups including Isis-WICCE, Unicef Protection and Child Protection, and OHCHR (the point UN agency on the ground for justice). We have been in contact with these groups regarding the possibility of such a study since the beginning of the planning process, and met with representatives of these organizations in Uganda in March and April 2007. We received positive feedback on the need for such research and the application it would have to informing national processes. Throughout the study, we will maintain close contacts with relevant local leaders and officials both inside Uganda and internationally. This will help to ensure that our findings are communicated and have a better chance of influencing policy and programming. We will also prepare a series of timely briefing reports on current findings and make these available to the main parties involved in processes and mechanisms of accountability and justice. We will carefully tailor these briefings for the different audiences, ranging from the local populations that experienced the crimes and violations to the accountability and justice bodies themselves. We will prepare and publish a final report for distribution within Uganda and internationally. Additionally, we will prepare and submit two articles for peer-reviewed scholarly publications on the study’s findings. Finally, we will offer public and private briefings within Uganda and internationally to interested and relevant stakeholders. Impact We are seeking to impact institutional change at four levels: local, national, regional, and international. At the local and national levels, the series of timely briefing reports will present current findings to the key parties. Given the fluidity of the process, our work has the potential to positively influence these bodies and assist them to better carry out their intended functions. At both the local and national level, our work will provide a written record on truth-telling and accountability processes. Our project will make an important contribution in this regard by featuring the experiences and accounts of women and children. We believe that if done rigorously and from a gender and generational perspective, this research will contribute substantially to the ways in which Ugandans (now and in the future) understand the
conflict and the responses to it by the state and civil society. In addition, by working in partnership with a local grassroots organization, we hope to facilitate the expansion of the work and research capacity of this organization in the areas of justice, accountability, and reconciliation. This organization already has experience in these areas, but we hope that this work will become more sustainable through our shared collaboration on this project. We also hope that the research findings will make a significant contribution to the future policy and programming of this local organization. At the national and international levels, our research briefings will seek to inform the policy and programs of UNICEF and OHCHR, Uganda, as these are among the international bodies most concerned with and most active in working for justice for victims and survivors in northern Uganda. At the regional and international levels, our work will be informed by and formally link up with (and in doing so help to inform) regional and international efforts regarding accountability, reparation, redress, and remedy, specifically for women, children, and victims of sexual and gender-based violence. We will work most closely with UNICEF, OHCHR, and Women and Armed Conflict, an international network of lawyers and human rights defenders focusing on justice for women and girls in armed conflict. Collaboration This research is complemented by the larger Tufts/ FIC Uganda/Sudan team’s in-depth work among war-affected communities in northern Uganda and South Sudan. This work aims to gauge the perceptions and (more rarely) experiences of local populations regarding justice and accountability processes. Additionally, this project dovetails with the Tufts/FIC work on traditional justice systems in northern Uganda described below. This research is being carried out in collaboration with a local, grassroots human rights NGO based in northern Uganda. The Tufts/FIC team has worked closely with this organization for the past eight years. We also seek to cultivate stronger ties with survivors’ and victims’ groups, national legal groups such as the Uganda Women Lawyers’ Association, national women’s human rights groups including Isis-WICCE, and key members of the Ugandan parliament, and the Ugandan September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
63
Part II Project Details Human Rights Commission. We expect to maintain close links with the child protection teams of UNICEF, Uganda, as we have developed our relationship with these individuals over the past several years. The Tufts/ FIC team also is linked with UNICEF researchers working on transitional justice at UNICEF’s research center, the Innocenti Centre, in Florence, Italy. We will continue to develop strong ties and networks with OHCHR in Uganda and with OHCHR staff working on these issues in Geneva. Traditional Justice And Accountability In Northern Uganda (Khristopher Carlson, Teddy Atim) Goal and Rationale This field research will document and analyze how traditional justice and accountability systems in northern Uganda address war-related crimes and harms committed during the region’s conflict. Special attention will be given to how these informal systems take up rebel- and governmentperpetrated crimes against women and girls. One of the methods to study how gender and sexual based crimes are handled within traditional systems will be to investigate how the different war-affected ethnic groups (namely the Acholi, Langi, and Iteso) perceive certain justice and accountability issues such as gender-based and sexual crimes vis-à-vis their own traditional systems and those of the other groups. Looking at ethnic groups’ activities independent from one another, we will document what they are doing to realize justice and accountability within their group and throughout the war-affected region as a whole. As traditional systems in the north have not evolved to deal with widespread and systematic violence like that experienced and perpetrated in this conflict, it is the intention of the Tufts/FIC team to provide timely information on the formation of these mechanisms and examine their application of local customary law. Our prior research supports claims that among the different ethnic groups in the north there are dissimilar notions regarding the ‘road map’ to attain justice and accountability for war-related crimes and, ultimately, for the formation of sustainable peace. How traditional systems handle war-related crimes will have social, economic, and political implications nationally and regionally. 64
Feinstein International Center
Background Since 2002, our research teams in northern Uganda have documented, analyzed, and reported on the widespread nature of violence perpetrated by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army and the government of Uganda including the Uganda People’s Defense Force. This work has been carried out mainly in Acholiland and the Lango sub-region, with emphasis on the experiences of women and girls. By investigating the experiences of women and girls within the settings of LRA captivity, urban centers, and internally displaced persons camps, we have collected witness testimony on widespread and frequent human rights violations and crimes, including rape, LRA abduction, forced marriage within the LRA, as well as domestic violence. With the 22-year conflict as a backdrop, we have analyzed the circumstances under which these crimes have been carried out and documented the legal and logistical challenges confronting women and girls moving their cases through traditional and local justice systems. What we have discovered are patterns of failed and incomplete legal procedures where women and girls have been limited by biased patriarchal systems and antiquated practices. Similarly, male youth who have experienced high levels of violence during the course of the war have faced their own challenges in accessing traditional and local justice systems to seek legal redress for crimes committed against them. Considering Agenda Item 3 of the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (2008) between the LRA and the government of Uganda, traditional justice mechanisms look to form a central part of the justice and reconciliation framework in the north. Our research supports the claim that among the different war-affected populations of the north, particularly along ethnic and geographic lines, there are competing views of how traditional justice and accountability shall be administered with the administration of these systems laying the foundations for sustainable, regional peace. Overview The purpose of this research will be to provide timely documentation on developments among traditional justice and accountability systems within Acholiland, and the Lango and Teso sub-regions. Through interviews, our written
documentation and reporting will analyze how these systems compare to women’s and girls’ expectations and concerns of what justice and accountability for crimes perpetrated against them should include and how they should play out in communities and nationally. Likewise, the research will analyze how traditional systems deal with gender-based and sexual crimes within different ethnic regions and how these systems, although similar in a historical sense, evolve (or not) to address the realities of the conflict. This research began in July 2008 and will continue through August 2010. Outputs In the past the team has worked in cooperation with key stakeholders and interested parties throughout its work. This study will be no different. The main groups include survivors’ and victims’ groups, local and regional government offices, clan and ethnic leadership circles, national and local legal groups, including the Legal Aid Project and the Refugee Law Project at Makerere University, national women’s human rights groups including Isis-WICCE, UNICEF Protection and Child Protection, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A final international report will be published with findings from the field research and disseminated within Uganda and internationally. Additionally, briefings will be conducted to policy and programming offices and agencies to influence developments in Uganda and in other areas where traditional justice and accountability systems may address gender-based and sexual violence. Impact This work will influence two processes: transitional (including traditional) justice and accountability systems addressing gender and sexual-based crimes; and the inclusion of different ethnic groups in formulating broad, congruent strategies to best address crimes committed within the context of armed conflict. At the national level, this work will provide key knowledge of the administration of traditional justice and accountability systems where national and international systems do not always have influence on the arbitration of gender-based and sexual crimes. As early signs indicate that impartial adjudication of crimes perpetrated against women and girls is uncertain in northern Uganda, this
work will inform present and future policy and programming initiatives that aim to increase women and girls’ access to effective justice mechanisms. Furthermore, this work will inform parties to the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation about how different ethnic groups want particular crimes to be addressed and how they are going about those processes. This research will demonstrate the many different perceptions groups in the north have regarding definitions of justice and accountability and what they think needs to be done to promote both. At the regional and international level, this work will be informed by and develop linkages with regional and international efforts to develop women and girl’s access to justice and accountability. Collaboration This work is part of Tufts/FIC’s larger projectbased work in South Sudan and Uganda looking at how armed conflict has affected communities and people. This work complements the work described above, justice and accountability within formal justice mechanisms. Furthermore, this work is carried out with key partners operating within northern Uganda on issues of justice and women’s rights. Linkages continue to be established and strengthened between this project and local and national human rights organizations and key NGOs with programming activities focused on the promotion of justice and accountability. Importantly, this project recognizes that working with grassroots organizations and with community and ethnic leadership is vital to not only understand the systems under examination, but also to influence their development and implementation of practices we find beneficial to women, girls, and communities affected by war-related violence. United Nations’ agencies such as UNICEF’s Uganda child protection office have been supportive in the past and we expect to maintain close contact with that agency throughout the duration of this study. The team is also linked with UNICEF researchers at UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy and the International Center for Transitional Justice.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
65
Part II Project Details While agencies, their senior management and boards, found the report a useful tool for thinking and planning for the near future, it was neither sufficiently comprehensive nor explicit when it came to the practical ’so what’ for operational agencies at the operational level. This new research aims to fill that gap.
THE EVOLVING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OF CRISIS AND CRISIS RESPONSE Preparing For Humanitarian Crises Of The Future (Peter Walker) Goal and Rationale The shape of humanitarian crises is evolving, with climate change and globalization set to have a profound impact upon community vulnerability. Humanitarian agencies will also need to evolve and change the way they work if they are to meet the challenges of the next two decades. This research seeks to understand the impact climate change and globalization will have on future humanitarian crises, focusing initially on two at-risk countries, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The research then goes on to examine the present fitness of key humanitarian agencies in meeting these expected challenges and will develop strategies for agency institutional change to better meet these challenges.
Overview The project has one abiding objective, which is to better inform the humanitarian community (writ large) in preparing for the complexities and uncertainties of the future by enabling it to enhance its anticipatory and adaptive capacities. The project has four key components to achieve this objective. There will be an analysis of external drivers affecting the humanitarian environment in the next fifteen years with a particular emphasis on varying impacts on different types of communities and their respective impacts on livelihoods. An analysis of internal drivers influencing the capacities of humanitarian organizations in the future will be done. A mapping of present institutional anticipatory and adaptive capacity assessments, both at the HQ and field level, for dealing with the future will be another component. Finally, an exploration of possible futures through scenario development, again at both the HQ and field level, will be included.
Outputs The intention of the project is to ensure that its very methodology and interactive processes will be regarded as an important output for those who have been project participants. Thus a key output is a change in agency thinking and planning capacity based upon what they learn through interaction with the project. There are specific sets of outputs which the project intends to provide over the course of its 24-month time frame. Being Background aware of many other change processes going on in Tufts/FIC’s 2004 Ambiguity and Change report the humanitarian system, and other coalitions for spelled out some of the predicted big drivers of change, it is critical that this project’s outputs be the humanitarian environment over a ten-year widely disseminated and openly shared with other period. It focused on environmental changes, change programs. They should benefit from our urbanization, migration, and HIV/AIDS as well as work and we need to benefit from their insights. changes within humanitarian agencies. It was Output products will include: policy briefs on underwritten by a grouping of operational compelling external and internal drivers; a guide international non-governmental humanitarian to anticipatory and adaptive behavior; and sceagencies, the International Working Group (IWG). nario guidelines and a manual.
66
Feinstein International Center
Impact We are seeking primarily to inform the boards and senior management of the seven participating NGOs of the IWG. Through workshops, briefing notes, and discussion we hope to offer them tools that will allow them to develop more appropriate responses to the crises of the future. Collaboration This program will involve four key sets of collaboration. First, the research will be carried out jointly between Tufts/FIC and the Humanitarian Futures Project at King’s College, London. Second, the researchers will work closely with the seven NGO members of the IWG to disseminate the research outputs and to regularly brief their senior management. Thirdly, we will be co-opting recognized experts on climate change and globalization from outside our institutions to help drive this work. Finally, in Ethiopia and Bangladesh we will be working with national researchers to help us build a local perspective on the global trends identified. This research also links across Tufts/FIC to ‘Advancing Financial Resilience,’ to ‘The Humanitarian Agenda 2015,’ and to ‘“Winning Hearts and Minds?” Understanding the Relationship between Aid and Security.’ The Humanitarian Agenda 2015: Principles, Power, And Perceptions (Antonio Donini) Goal and Rationale The evolution of the humanitarian enterprise, the power relationships that it entails, and the perceptions of communities affected by crisis and conflict remain priority concerns of Tufts/FIC. Building on the evidence-based findings on the views from below, we intend to continue to engage in policy and institutional development actions with donors, UN agencies, and NGOs with a view to improving the effectiveness of assistance and protection activities for the most vulnerable. Background Over the past three years, Tufts/FIC has conducted 12 country case studies on local perceptions of the work of humanitarian agencies. The objective was to understand, from the perspective of those most affected by crisis and conflict, whether humanitarian action was seen as responding to a universal imperative or as an externally-driven
approach linked to Northern and Western agendas. The studies also shed light on the impact of terrorism and counterterrorism on humanitarian action, as well as the relationship between humanitarianism and politics and the security of agency staff and local communities. A synthesis report summarizing the findings of the field work and identifying critical issues for the future of humanitarianism was issued in March 2008 and distributed widely throughout the aid community and academia. The HA2015 team has collaborated with other institutions engaged in applied research in the same field, for example with the Listening Project of the Collaborative for Development Action, whose findings closely resonate with ours. Overview Building on the findings and considerable materials accumulated through the HA2015 research, our work will expand into three directions. We will follow up the HA2015 final report. A series of briefings, workshops, and policy initiatives are already underway to engage with policy-makers and agencies on the ground around the conclusions and recommendations of the report. These will take place in the US, Europe, and some of the countries covered by HA2015. In addition, by the fall of 2008 we will have completed follow-up reports that will look at the evolution of humanitarian policies and principles in three countries where humanitarianism is under threat: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. These updates will provide new and topical material to be used in dissemination and institutional support actions through mid/late 2009. Another expansion is into a book project. Capitalizing on the research, a book on humanitarian action and the changing nature of vulnerability in the age of terror and globalization will be undertaken. The book will investigate the pressures on those who attempt to provide succor in the world’s disparate crises, whether man-made or exacerbated by human action. Using the HA2015 case studies as its raw material, the book will conduct a more ambitious exploration of what we have learned through our research in terms of global humanitarian issues, the evolution of the humanitarian enterprise, and the manipulations to which it is subjected. A final direction will be towards understanding the non-like-minded. Our research has shown the disconnects between Western/Northern September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
67
Part II Project Details perceptions of humanitarianism and those of other cultures and traditions. Humanitarian agencies are often shunned or reviled because they are seen as instrumental to alien agendas, but also because they are misunderstood. We will hold consultations on how to engage with the nonlike-minded with actors who are critical of the humanitarian discourse, including the vernacular media, religious groups, and political parties in countries in crisis. We will also have consultations with those holding non-Western perspectives of humanitarianism (China, India, Brazil, and others). Outputs As mentioned above, three case studies and a book arising from HA2015 are foreseen. In addition, short policy briefing papers, as well as articles both in academic journals and publications for the aid community, will be produced. Papers will also be presented at international academic conferences. Impact We hope that, as in the past, our work will contribute to a better understanding of the issues faced by communities affected by crisis and therefore improve the effectiveness of humanitarian responses. We expect to continue to be called upon by donors and agencies to assist them in their discussions on humanitarian policies and strategies and thus contribute directly to institutional change in these institutions. Collaboration This work relates directly to the institutional change activities under the ‘Ambiguity and Change’ project. We expect to continue to collaborate with CDA (Collaborative for Development Action) as well as with local research groups in the countries concerned. A number of linkages are also being forged with academic institutions in the US and Europe. “Winning Hearts And Minds?” Understanding The Relationship Between Aid And Security (Andrew Wilder) Goal and rationale There is a widely held assumption in military and foreign policy circles that reconstruction and development assistance is an important soft-power tool to promote stabilization and security. Coun68
Feinstein International Center
terinsurgency doctrine in particular emphasizes the importance of aid projects (often in the form of Quick Impact Projects or QIPS) to “win hearts and minds” and undermine support for insurgents and/or terrorist organizations. This assumption is having a major policy impact on how development assistance is apportioned and spent and provides an important rationale for the growing securitization of development assistance. Given how widespread the assumption is, and given its major impact on aid and counterinsurgency policies, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence that supports the assumption of a causal relationship between increased aid and improved stabilization and security in counterinsurgency contexts. The objective of this study is to address this evidence gap by conducting a comparative study in three different contexts—Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa—to examine the assumption that aid projects contribute to improved stabilization and security. By helping to clarify the relationship between aid and security, the study hopes to make development assistance more evidence-based and effective in addressing the needs of the poor and marginalized in crisisaffected communities and states around the world. Background This securitization of aid study builds on five years of related research at Tufts/FIC on the security of marginalized communities in Afghanistan. In 2003-4 Tufts/FIC conducted its first research in Afghanistan on the human security and livelihoods of rural Afghans, which demonstrated that security and the rule of law were the top priority issues for Afghans. In 2006 Tufts/FIC followed up this research with a study focusing specifically on local perceptions of security in Afghanistan, which highlighted the differences between Afghan and international perceptions of security and insecurity. The study showed that Afghans were concerned about personal security and rule of law issues at the local level, whereas the international community was concerned nearly exclusively with the Global War on Terror (GWoT) and the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. This GWoT focus had a major impact on security sector reform initiatives as much more money was allocated to developing military institutions like the Afghan National Army (ANA) to help fight the War on Terror, rather than civilian institutions like the police and judiciary
that could help address the main public security and rule of law concerns of Afghans. Given the importance of this issue, Tufts/FIC, in collaboration with the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) based in Kabul, conducted research in 2006-07 on the police sector in Afghanistan. The results of the research were published as an AREU Issues Paper entitled “Cops or Robbers? The Struggle to Reform the Afghan National Police.” Overview The main objective of the proposed research is to try to answer the question: How effective is aid, particularly humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, in promoting stabilization and security in counterinsurgency contexts? The study will include a literature review of relevant literature relating to the relationship between development and security and case studies. The primary data sources for the study will be generated by case studies in three counterinsurgency contexts where conscious efforts are being made to use humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to achieve stabilization and security objectives. The main field research for this study will be conducted in Afghanistan. This will provide an opportunity to examine one of the most concerted recent efforts to use “hearts and minds” projects to achieve security objectives. It has been the testing ground for new approaches to using reconstruction assistance as a counterinsurgency tool, which in some cases, for example Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), were then exported to Iraq. In the Horn of Africa, research will focus on the role and activities of the new Djibouti-based Unified Combatant Command for the African Continent (AFRICOM) and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). The CJTF-HOA was established in 2002 and implements “hearts and minds” projects in Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, mostly along the Somalia border. The third context, Pakistan, provides an opportunity in a frontline state in the Global War on Terror to examine the security benefits of the large-scale donor assistance programs since 9/11 and to examine the planned strategy to use large-scale increases in development assistance to achieve security objectives in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.
These case studies will use the following methodologies: semi-structured interviews with key informants, including current and former government officials, donors, diplomats, military officials, PRT, UN and aid agency staff involved in implementing “hearts and minds” operations; semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with local beneficiary populations, tribal and religious leaders, local government officials, and traders and businessmen; analysis of data from existing databases, surveys, and public opinion polls. Where possible, the study will draw much of its quantitative data and analysis on aid mapping, poverty mapping, security incident tracking, public opinion, etc., from existing data sources. Outputs An important objective of this study is to ensure that the research findings contribute to practical policy advice that helps inform and influence policy-making. Tufts/FIC will therefore disseminate and communicate the research findings from this study in a way that targets a variety of audiences using different strategies and approaches. These will include different publications for different audiences, seminars and conferences, individual briefings with key policymakers, and media interviews. The specific outputs of this research project will include: a series of individual case studies and a synthesis paper analyzing the main case study findings; a shorter briefing paper highlighting key issues, major findings and recommendations; a seminar/conference targeting relevant policymakers, academics and media; individual briefings with key policymakers; media interviews and op-eds; and a revised version of the case studies and synthesis paper published as a book, if an interested publisher is found. Impact The assumption that aid projects contribute to stabilization and security is having a major impact on both development and counterinsurgency policies, as well as on how an increasing percentage of development resources are programmed and spent. One important policy impact is that a high percentage of humanitarian and development assistance is being programmed based on strategic security considerations rather than impartially on the basis of poverty and need. Another important policy impact is that as more September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
69
Part II Project Details money gets allocated to insecure areas where traditional development agencies are increasingly finding it too dangerous to operate, and due to its perceived importance in counterinsurgency operations, the implementation of reconstruction projects is increasingly being done by military forces or combined civil-military teams such as PRTs.Yet nearly every PRT review has highlighted that to date there is still extremely little evidence of measurable impact. By helping to address this evidence gap, this research hopes to influence the way key military and development actors and institutions think about and develop policies based on the assumed relationship between aid and security. There is a growing interest among policy makers and aid practitioners in the issue of aid effectiveness, and increasing amounts of research is being conducted on the effectiveness of foreign aid in achieving humanitarian and/or development objectives. However, given that a major objective of US foreign aid is to promote perceived US political and security objectives, there needs to be more explicit attention given to the effectiveness of foreign aid in achieving these objectives, and not just development objectives. A clearer understanding of the effectiveness and comparative advantages of foreign aid in achieving political, security and/or development objectives could potentially contribute to more realistic expectations of what foreign aid can and cannot do effectively, as well as more effective ways to prioritize the use of scarce aid resources. Collaboration A conscious effort will be made to have this study contribute to institutional change by means of the communications strategy outlined above, as well as by collaborating with and involving key actors in this research from the outset. This study therefore has many collaborative dimensions, both internally as well as externally. Within Tufts/FIC this study will collaborate with and build on the important work of the HA2015 study, especially its work on the impact of the War on Terror on humanitarian action. Externally, the major collaboration will be with the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) based in Kabul, which will host and help implement the Afghanistan case studies. Other collaborative relationships that could help promote the institutional change agenda of the study will be with the donors to this study, the 70
Feinstein International Center
governments of Australia, Norway, Sweden, and possibly Canada, who have requested that their PRTs in Afghanistan be included within the scope of the study. Other collaborative relationships have been or will be formed with both military actors (NATO/ISAF (NATO/International Security Assistance Force), AFRICOM, CJTF-HOA, Army War College) as well as civilian ones (NGOs, USAID, donors and host government, etc.) Humanitarianism And Corporate Social Responsibility (Lynellyn D. Long) Goal and Rationale Major international private corporations are increasingly aware that their investments and operations can improve humanitarian outcomes through their contributions to local and regional development. Increasingly, private sector, CSR programs go beyond charity and public philanthropy to engage in specific interventions and investments to achieve sustained humanitarian outcomes. Nationally and globally, standards of corporate citizenship and accountability may also contribute to improved political security and economic growth. Investors likewise recognize that the lack of due diligence may increase local inequalities and heighten resource conflicts within communities. The lack of corporate due diligence also sanctions corruption, creates public distrust in markets leading to costly and sometimes ineffective regulation, and increases economic volatility. Thus, CSR to promote humanitarian objectives is increasingly considered good business practice. Linking CSR programs to specific humanitarian objectives and outcomes is of growing interest to the corporate/private sector, NGOs, international organizations, and communities. Both private and public sector actors recognize the importance of developing these linkages. Nevertheless, important questions remain as to corporate commitment, feasibility, effectiveness, costs, benefits, and risks. A significant difference exists between private companies undertaking humanitarian operations as part of their core profit-making business and corporations engaged in humanitarian operations as part of their social and civic responsibility. The former, commercial ventures, derive direct financial benefits from disaster capitalism and seek to profit from humanitarian interventions, whereas the latter, corporate ventures, engage in humanitarian activities to
mitigate risk for their core operations and constituencies, to demonstrate social responsibility (and social license to operate), and to exemplify good citizenship practices. While this study will identify and distinguish the different modes of private sector operation in humanitarian affairs, its primary focus will be to identify cost-effective CSR interventions and performance standards for both corporations and nonprofit humanitarian organizations. The proposed research builds on the investigator’s own CSR and humanitarian analyses in several countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Background Increasingly, international performance standards, including the Equator Principles, Global Compact, Social Accountability 8000, International Labor Organization (ILO) Core Labor Standards, Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Environmental and Social Standards, and International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), promote either directly or indirectly humanitarian objectives and principles. Specifically, international standards for corporate responsibility and due diligence mandate preventing or mitigating environmental degradation, forced labor, trafficking, security abuses, and political unrest. Proactively, corporate responsibility and due diligence mean safeguarding human rights, health and safety, improving social and economic welfare, providing financial transparency and accountability, and promoting local and corporate governance in all operations. Corporate investments potentially allow local communities to re-invest royalties and earnings to derive long-term economic and social benefits from a business operation. However, investment programs also have the potential to privilege vested elites, become one-off infusions, and/or at best, promote the corporate brand. All too often CSR investments and initiatives are not sustained and have little to no long-term impact. At the end of the day, corporate responsibility and due diligence serve primarily as symbolic public relations exercises rather than substantively changing the way the company does business or the economic and social status quo. All too often, when the company leaves, local communities are left addressing ongoing or new humanitarian
concerns. That said, most companies expect a demonstrable return for their CSR investments and want their operations and brand to be appreciated and remembered well. Thus, identifying specific procedures and guidelines for community investment programs to achieve sustainable social, economic, and humanitarian outcomes would be useful to both corporations and communities. While humanitarian organizations increasingly solicit private sector support for their operations and welcome private-public partnerships, they also question whether such support compromises their neutrality, objectivity, and/or impartiality. Private-public partnerships, in particular, often expose competing objectives and performance standards. Differences in size and financial contributions create unequal power balances between the partners. Thus, privatepublic partnerships are not necessarily the most effective use of corporate resources and involvement. At the same time, certain types of partnerships and models may be very effective and instrumental. Specific criteria to assess specific kinds of partnerships and situations in terms of humanitarian objectives and outcomes would be useful for both corporations and humanitarian organizations. Still to be explored, however, is the extent to which CSR performance standards and criteria might also improve nonprofit, humanitarian operations. The advantage of the private sector in humanitarian operations may not be the efficiency of profit-motivation or the logistical and financial capacity of the Bechtels, Halliburtons, and CH2M Hills, but rather good governance, community relations and investments, core labor standards, and financial transparency entailed in CSR operations. The private sector advantage that profits from misfortune and disaster inherently provides the wrong incentives. However, considering the private sector advantage in terms of adherence to CSR performance standards has direct relevance to all humanitarian operations and could inform both public and private investments to improve humanitarian futures. Overview The study will review corporate compliance standards and policies, including the Equator Principles, SA8000 (Social Accountability 8000), ILO Core Labor Standards, Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, IFC Environmental and September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
71
Part II Project Details Social Standards, and ICMM, to determine their relevance to humanitarian principles and practices. The review will focus on how these standards and policies affect actual business conduct and practices in three industries: mining and minerals, the garment sector, and banking/financial services. In addition, the review will identify the relevance of these standards within the particular industry to improving humanitarian operations. The review will provide a textual analysis of compliance standards, policy documents, and industry analyses. Interviews will also be held with key international organizations like Global Compact, ILO, IFC, EBRD, interest and advocacy groups, and businesses and NGOs involved in setting and regulating social, health and safety, labor, human rights, security, and environmental standards to identify specific industry applications and examples. In addition, this stage of the research will involve a content analysis of corporate responsibility and sustainability reports in the three industries. The estimated time frame for this first stage is 12 months. Subsequently, case studies of specific CSR interventions in the three industries at the community level will be conducted. The case studies will detail how and to what extent CSR interventions are affecting and/or addressing humanitarian objectives. Case studies will also be compiled of the same industries in similar communities, where CSR programs were not undertaken. To the extent possible, communities and corporations will be compared by the presence or absence of CSR intervention. The assumption will not be made that CSR interventions necessarily promote positive humanitarian outcomes or that a lack of CSR investment does not. Rather, the case studies involving longitudinal and retrospective interviews and observations will seek to identify the conditions and situations in which CSR interventions or a lack of due diligence affect humanitarian outcomes. For this stage of the research, interviews and focus groups will be conducted at the local community level and with the relevant companies at both operational and headquarters levels. Proposed sites are Vietnam, Jordan, Guinea, and Wales. These four sites represent different humanitarian concerns, levels of conflict and resource/labor extraction, and phases of community engagement and operation across the three industries. A total of 12 in-depth case studies will be prepared by industry and locale. The estimated 72
Feinstein International Center
time frame for this phase of the research is 12 months. Subsequently, the team will do a meta-analysis of the 12 case studies. This meta-analysis will inform the development of a survey the three industries to determine the range of different CSR interventions and expected outcomes. Follow-up interviews will also be held with CSR managers in mining and minerals, garment, and financial services industries. Next, the team will organize a stakeholders’ meeting of private foundations, international organizations, bilateral aid agencies, NGOs, and business for comment on the survey and interview findings. The stakeholders will also be asked to generate recommendations and action steps for the future. Following the meeting, the research team will analyze and summarize specific implementation strategies for existing performance standards so as to promote and sustain humanitarian objectives in corporate operations. The research team will also report on relevant findings for improving humanitarian operations. The estimated time frame for this stage is 12 months. Outputs The expected output for stage one is a practical operations manual for businesses, profiling best humanitarian practices and implementation strategies. An article analyzing the relevance of core standards and practices to improving humanitarian operations will be produced. For stage two, the expected output will be detailed case studies to be published in business and CSR journals. Stage three’s output will be an edited academic volume. The volume will critically distinguish the humanitarian role of corporate versus commercial operations, report on the survey findings, provide case studies of specific operations and investments that have made a difference, and outline the relevance of business practices to improving humanitarian operations. Impact This project is expected to improve the contribution of private firms and corporations working in potential situations of conflict and violence to prevent and/or mitigate conflict. The research could also build CSR capacity to address humanitarian objectives. A potential outcome of this work is new forms of private-public partnerships
and concepts of the private sector role and advantage versus for-profit humanitarianism. Finally, analysis of the relevance of CSR performance standards, particularly with regard to financial transparency, core labor standards, human rights and security, and community investments and training, could potentially improve overall performance of humanitarian operations.
their political and military actions. Their message resonated in isolated and marginalized hill communities that had seen little or no development in the past two or three decades. Our research will therefore endeavor to understand whether the Maoist message still sticks, or whether the feudal structures are re-establishing themselves, and how the message relates to other drivers of change.
Collaboration This work links to other work of Tufts/FIC in terms of ‘The Evolving Humanitarian Enterprise’ and ‘Preparing for Humanitarian Crises of the Future.’ The research team will seek partnerships and collaboration with private foundations, MDBs (Multilateral Development Banks), watchdog NGOs (such as Business for Human Rights, Transparency International, Amnesty/USA), CSR leaders in mining, manufacturing, and financial services, business schools with CSR programs, Saatchi and Saatchi, and key humanitarian international organizations involved in private-public partnerships (ProVention Consortium, Oxfam International, Save the Children Alliance, and Plan International).
Overview One of the two components of this project is the relationship between aid policies and violence in Nepal. Preliminary research in Nepal, as part of the HA2015 country case study, has uncovered a number of issues relating to the relationship between government, donor, and aid agency development policies and the events leading up to the Maoist insurgency. The prevailing view seems to be that the insurgency was a result of development failure in the sense that the Maoists were able to capitalize on the lack of traction by the Kathmandu elites and mainstream aid agencies in addressing issues of structural inequality, caste, ethnicity, and other forms of discrimination. The objective of the research is to document how the Kathmandu-based development and humanitarian players reacted to the incipient conflict and adapted to it. The analysis of the tensions that existed in the aid system between those actors who tended to minimize the impact of the conflict and the extent which it impacted on development activities, on the one hand, and those who saw in the conflict the emergence of a deeper humanitarian and structural crisis, on the other, is likely to result in a number of lessons that would lend themselves to policy recommendations. Research on this project is already underway and it is planned to produce a report or article to be finalized in the fall of 2008. The other component is about conflict, gender, and social transformation in Nepal. The Maoist insurgency was built around an agenda which at its core attacked the feudal nature of Nepali society and the structural inequalities inherent in it. Whether this agenda was an instrumental tool for toppling the monarchy and feudalism or the harbinger of a profound social revolution is still an unanswered question, both at the Kathmandu level and in the remotest rural areas. It is not too early, however, to analyze social change resulting from the Maoist agenda and communities’ exposure to conflict. The Maoists
Crisis And Social Transformation In Nepal (Antonio Donini) Goal and Rationale How does the work of aid agencies during and after conflict affect people’s perceptions of change? What can we learn from recent experience? Our work in Nepal has uncovered a number of interesting issues around the humanitarian-development relationship and the challenges of social transformation in a (hopefully) post-conflict environment that we feel are important to research both because they are largely unexplored and because of their potential policy implications. These are discussed below. Background Nepal was one of the 12 countries of the HA2015 research. As a follow-up to the case study, we have decided to conduct additional research both to deepen our understanding of the root causes and dynamics of the crisis and to track its impact on local communities’ perceptions of change and what drives change. The Maoist agenda was built around awareness and rights in the sense that the Maoists used these concepts as an entry point for
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
73
Part II Project Details introduced, often forcibly, measures aimed at addressing centuries-old, deeply-rooted forms of discrimination. Feudal structures and the caste system were abolished, parallel peoples’ structures of governance were introduced, affirmation of ethnic identity was encouraged, etc. Perhaps more profoundly, women’s empowerment was promoted both through the abolition of odious social practices (such as relegation during menstruation and childbirth) and encouragement of women’s enrolment in the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (in which it is said that some 30% of combatants were women) and in the Maoist governance structures. Now that the conflict is over, at least formally, what remains of these various forms of empowerment? Have the feudal structures and social norms re-established themselves? What is happening to returning female combatants? Are they being shunned or are they asserting themselves? What kinds of tensions are emerging at the village or community level? These are some of the issues that will be explored through focus groups and interviews at the community level. In addition, a comparative dimension will be introduced in the study through linkages with other Tufts/FIC research on the implications of conflict on gender and social transformation (in northern Uganda and in Sudan in particular). The overall objective of the research is to better understand the dynamics of social transformation in Nepal in the context of the Maoist insurgency and its aftermath. Specifically, the research will seek to document and analyze the nature and drivers of change at the community level through interviews, focus groups, and retrospective analysis. The project also aims to provide an evidence-based picture of social transformation and derive from it key conclusions of relevance to aid agencies and policy makers.
74
Feinstein International Center
A separate component of this project will focus on gender issues will start in the fall of 2008. This component will look at female combatants in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), their demobilization and reintegration process, the return to their villages and the problems encountered. For example, will the former female combatants be perceived as role models by their communities or will they be shunned by them? Will they play an active political or social role or will the earlier feudal roles prevail? Outputs The two components above will generate three major studies and/or articles for academic journals. At a later stage, the possibility of a book on social transformation in Nepal will be explored. Impact We expect two types of impact. In Nepal we hope to contribute to ongoing debates in the aid community on the nature of the crisis and on policies for addressing it both from a humanitarian and development perspective. This will be done through country-level briefings and seminars. At the international level, we expect our findings will constitute useful lessons for donors and aid agencies who struggle to adapt their policies and activities to sometimes rapidly changing conflict and post-conflict environments. Collaboration Our work in Nepal has been collaborative from the start. UN agencies (in particular OCHA), donors, and NGOs have sought to involve us in their own debates on the nature of the crisis and the humanitarian-development relationship. This will continue and will be extended to Nepali research institutions and universities.
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
75
ACRONYMS AFRICOM ANA AREU ARIs AU AUC AUC CAHWs CBO/NGO CBOS CDA CHV CJTF-HOA CMAM COMESA CRSP/PARIMA CSR DCPSF DDDC DFID EBRD ENTEC FAO FATA FiRe FMD FPAN GOE GoS GWoT ICMM IDP IFC IIED ILO INGO IOM Isis-WICCE IWG LEGS
76
Feinstein International Center
Unified Combatant Command for the African Continent Afghan National Army Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Acute Respiratory Infections African Union African Union Commission American University in Cairo Community-based Animal Health Workers Community Based Organization/Non-Governmental Organization Central Bank of Sudan Collaborative for Development Action Community Health Volunteer Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Collaborative Research Support Program/Pastoral Risk Management Corporate Social Responsibility Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation UK Department for International Development European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Environmental Technology Task Force Food and Agriculture Organization Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Financial Resilience project Foot-and-Mouth Disease Food Policy and Nutrition Masters Government of Ethiopia Government of Sudan Global War on Terror International Council on Mining and Metals Internally Displaced Persons International Finance Corporation International Institute for Environment and Development International Labor Organization International Non-Governmental Organization International Organization for Migration Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange International Working Group Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards
LRA Lord’s Resistance Army MAHA Masters in Humanitarian Assistance MALD Masters in Law and Diplomacy MDBs Multilateral Development Banks MoARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MoFA Ministry of Federal Affairs MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development MOHFW Ministry of Health and Family Welfare NATO/ISAF NATO/International Security Assistance Force NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NRC Norwegian Refugee Council NRC/IDMC NRC/International Displacement Monitoring Centre NRM Natural Resource Management OCHA See UNOCHA OFSP Other Food Security Programmes OHCHR see UNOHCHR PHNI Pastoral Health and Nutrition Initiative PLI Pastoral Livelihoods Initiative PRTs Provincial Reconstruction Teams PSNP The Productive Safety Net Programme QIPS Quick Impact Projects or QIPS RCO Resident Coordinators Office SA8000 Social Accountability 8000 SAM Severe Acute Malnutrition SCIU Save the Children in Uganda SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army SPS Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards Tufts/FIC Feinstein International Center at Tufts University UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environmental Programme UNEP/UNICEF IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNOHCHR United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights UPDF Uganda People’s Defence Force USAID United States Agency for International Development VSF Vétérinaires Sans Frontières WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization
September 2008 • Feinstein International Center Three Year Plan
77
Feinstein International Center Tufts University 200 Boston Ave., Suite 4800 Medford, MA 02155 USA tel: +1 617.627.3423 fax: +1 617.627.3428 fic.tufts.edu