‘Revolution not evolution’ rallied Rigo, Head of Care’s Emergency Department. This was my exciting and inspiring introduction to the ECB project. Although still contracted by Save the Children as Emergencies Adviser to Myanmar, I received brilliant support from Gareth, Alex and the team at Save the Children, enabling me to make the trip to the US to be at the phase II ECB launch workshop. This was to be my induction into my new role of ECB Global Field Project Manager, a brave new world that I was stepping into. I remember walking away from Atlanta feeling tired, but exhilarated and keen to start in the role. I was also excited to see if improved and increased collaboration amongst some of the worlds finest and most influential aid agencies really could bring about the sea change of improved quality, speed and effectiveness of aid, so needed in the sector.
So it was with the inspirational words of Rigo still ringing in my ears, that I found myself on a flight to Bangladesh on my first day in the new job. Although slightly nervous, any tentativeness on my behalf was tempered by the knowledge that Bangladesh is a country that I know well, and will never tire of visiting. It was wonderful catching up with old friends such as Hev Blackwell, Suman and Faridbhai
Although newcomers to the ECB, the Bangladesh consortia took up the mantle of pioneers, by holding the first launch workshop of ECB Phase II. During the first day/morning, there was plenty of debate and a critical focus on Disaster Risk Reduction and human adaptation to climate change. The presence at the workshop, and within the consortia, of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, (a new programme that sits within the critical government ministry of Food and Disaster Management), hinted at great opportunities to influence policy or practice in partnership with the ECB consortia. Even an attempted mini-coup in Dhaka just after Matt Bannerman (ECB Project Director) and I left for Jakarta couldn’t quell the enthusiasm of this group. Under the expert marshalling of Barbara, Kathleen and Harun (all from the Save lead team), a draft Consortium Engagement Plan can now be found on the ECB SharePoint site.
A short hop south-east led us to Jakarta, Indonesia for the next workshop. With learning from the Bangladesh workshop fresh in our minds and documented on SharePoint, we were probably better prepared for this workshop. Not that we needed to be. The CRS team of Charlie and Yenni, supported superbly by Eryn from Mercy Corps, didn’t really need our help and coordinated proceedings marvellously. In my humble opinion, the workshop in Jakartta was as good as, if not better, than the superb ice cream served at Cold Stone just up the road from the workshop venue. And for those that know me, you will know that that is really saying something!
As in Bangladesh, the consortia conversations focussed around Disaster Risk Reduction and human adaptation to climate change. The capacity mapping that we found hard in Dhaka proved a challenge again here, but looking forward it has been proposed to follow this activity up with more detailed brainstorming and planning.
In this workshop, the presence of the Indonesian Society for Disaster Management, a team of professional and technical disaster management experts suggest potential gold dust in terms of influence on humanitarian thinking and replication. By this stage we were tired, but our energy was boosted by the superb facilitation team and participation from the consortia combined with the heady scents of sandalwood, cinnamon and coffee beans that seemed to accompany us everywhere we went.
On arriving back in the UK, my wife and I had just enough time to complete the legal work and pick up the keys to our first ever house. Meanwhile, back in the office, Matt and Andrea I were busily preparing our next trip to Bolivia for the third of the workshops. Having never visited Latin America before I was delighted to have this opportunity. And despite close to 24 hours of travel, any weariness and jet lag was soon forgotten as we landed at around 4000m, amid the snow capped peaks of the Andes with Ilimani taking centre stage like a towering talisman. With the near perfect light and fresh air, and a mild euphoria from the altitude powering our journey, we descended from the El Alto into the splendid amphitheatre setting of down town La Paz.
Roger, Simon and Yamina had worked hard to make the workshop a success and we were treated to some remarkable facilitation from the team, including a mock up of Hard Talk (BBC World 24), where representatives from the consortia were put into a pretend television programme as a panel of experts. We were also fortunate to have Valerie and Elvis, representatives from the Gates Foundation, who helped contribute some of their expertise and numerous insights into how to tackle some of the challenges during our two days together.
Potential short term government change as a result of the forthcoming elections in December provided a framework of uncertainty around the discussions, but this didn’t stop some good visioning and prioritisation of activities across the three cross cutting themes of Disaster Risk Reduction, Staff Capacity and Accountability & Impact Measurement. A challenge still remains to ensure that the humanitarian sector in Bolivia is aware of the ECB Phase II project and what it can offer.
With planning for the workshops in Niger and Kenya underway, within just a week or two we will have completed the consortia level start-up workshops and should have a set of five Consortia Engagement Plans to guide us on our way.
While still in its infancy, and therefore too early to tell if Phase II of ECB will revolutionise the humanitarian sector, the first three workshops have gone extremely well and suggest that while huge paradigm shifts may well be aspirational, at this stage, there will be plenty for the humanitarian sector to gain, through this innovative collaboration.
David Hockaday || Global Field Project Manager
Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB)
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