RAPID: The Response-Recovery Transition Phase and its Implications for Long-term Recovery: Case Study, Katmandu.

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Following a major disaster such as the Nepal earthquake, national agencies, local non-governmental actors, and international aid agencies converge onto the impacted region to provide assistance for emergency response and relief efforts. Ideally, these relief activities should over time seamlessly transform into long term recovery plans and actions. However, there is an evident lack of coordination, and inefficient resource allocation during this transitional period. Consequently, there are inordinate delays in planning and implementation of critical recovery projects that are necessary for return to normalcy for the impacted community. The findings of this Rapid Response Research (RAPID) study are expected to contribute towards understanding these obstacles and challenges faced by local government agencies, non-governmental actors, and international aid agencies in transitioning from emergency response to community recovery actions. The outcomes of this research will help in development of priorities for facilitating effective and efficient transition from emergency response to recovery. Thus, this study has the transformative potential to streamline future disaster recovery efforts and improve the efficacy of resources committed by the various agencies (local and international) towards community recovery both at home and abroad. This data collection effort seeks to explore a number of critical issues that influence long-term recovery. The specific research questions that this study seeks to address include: 1) How do the external aid agencies influence emergence of local recovery policy and organizational framework during response-recovery transition; 2) How can the external aid agencies ensure meaningful national ownership of recovery planning frameworks during the period of response-recovery transition; 3) To what extent does pre-disaster planning and organizational frameworks influence policy formulation during response-recovery transition; 4) What are the challenges that local governments face to ensure that response aid is transitioned into development-focused assistance with local policy support while funding and international attention is sustained; and, 5) How can we ensure that local voices are heard in formulation of a recovery agenda during this transitional phase? Data gathering at this critical stage of disaster response will enable us to map the ongoing process of recovery policy formulation during the response-recovery transition, and help identify specific obstacles, and challenges that influence subsequent community recovery actions.