Early Recovery workshops 

Below you will find a short introduction to all eight workshops. By downloading the complete workshop description you will be provided with more information on draft commitments and key questions and outputs from the workshop.

Workshop 1: Assessing early recovery needs

Introduction:
A better assessment of early recovery needs is a key starting point for strengthening the process of early recovery and informing strategy. This workshop aimed to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to assessing early recovery needs and develop specific follow-up actions to recommend to the Policy Forum about what needs to be done in terms of tools and approaches.

Workshop 2: Incremental and integrated strategic planning

Introduction:
The gap in strategic planning for early recovery after natural disasters and conflict is increasingly apparent. While mechanisms are well established to develop strategies for humanitarian and development aspects of an international response, frameworks, tools and capacities remain underdeveloped for bringing together the different dimensions of early recovery in a coherent strategy. This workshop aimed to discuss specific issues relating to how strategic planning could be strengthened and develop practical policy recommendations.

Workshop 3: Improving real-time evaluations of early recovery efforts

Introduction:
Real-time evaluations have generated valuable learning in other aspects of international aid, as well as providing a means of accountability. This workshop develops the theme of how real-time evaluation methodologies can be applied to early recovery efforts.

Workshop 4: Building national and local capacities

Introduction:
There is a broad consensus that national and local capacities are the key to early recovery, but it is also the case that early recovery contexts are frequently by their nature characterised by capacities that have been weakened by conflict or the natural disasters to which they are needed to respond. This workshop developed practical examples of how capacities can be strengthened by the international community rather than substituted.

Workshop 5: International civilian capacities

Introduction:
Time is often of the essence in early recovery settings, and international civilian capacity can provide a useful temporary support where local capacity is depleted or insufficient. However, as with other aid settings, international technical assistance can often be a costly and inappropriate substitute for the development of national capacity. This workshop aimed to highlight examples of good practice and develop specific practical policy recommendations on how international civilian capacity should be enhanced and deployed.

Workshop 6: Funding mechanisms for ER assessment, coordination and planning

Introduction:
The financing gap for early recovery assessment, coordination and planning has been highlighted as a key constraint to better strategic approaches and programming. This workshop identified specific funding mechanisms that are operational or could be set up to fill this gap.

Workshop 7: Flexible donor development financing

Introduction:
The need to bring development funding into the process of early recovery more rapidly and with greater flexibility is another key constraint. Humanitarian funds are often used for early recovery activities in ways that detract from meeting humanitarian needs, while not meeting early recovery needs as appropriately as they should do. Development financing by its nature is often part of a longer term process, with a greater role for national and local authorities, making it harder for donors to programme rapidly. This workshop aimed to discuss and develop innovative ways to fill the gap in early recovery financing.

Workshop 8: Links to prevention and long-term development efforts

Introduction:
Early recovery often provides the greatest opportunity to make the argument for better preparedness and reduction of risk from future disasters. However, taking advantage of that opportunity is sometimes given insufficient priority in the face of urgent needs to rebuild and hasten recovery. While the intellectual argument is now gaining mainstream credibility, practical programming and policy approaches are still insufficient to ensure that links to longer term threats and opportunities are built into early recovery planning. This workshop aimed to discuss and develop specific policy recommendations for those responsible.