13 Capacity-Building Strategy for Creating Disaster …
247
However certain challenges have also existed. Some of the key challenges in this
process were as follows: the process is very time-intensive from the community
side as well as for CRF Facilitators, absence of a monitoring system imposes a key
challenge to produce the final outcome. Master Trainers have encountered difficulties
in creating a good flow between modules such as linking the previous module to the
next, capturing key lessons in each module and providing few additional technical
inputs/know-how, and Master Trainers found it difficult to structure some modules in
logical steps and adapting the content of some modules to the target audience, which
has caused some confusion amongst trainees, missing some key tools during the
fieldwork. Further, the mainstreaming climate change adaption strategies had been
lacking in the risk-sensitive development planning and implementation in this pilot
project, which was found to be an important gap in operationalising the community
resilience framework as an overarching driving framework to build resilient and
sustainable communities.
13.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
The growing impact due to disasters demand risk-sensitivity in development planning more than ever before. An appropriate resilience investment is key to implement the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction priorities. However, over
the past decades, neither the standalone approach to reduce risks at the community
level, through CBDRM approaches, nor development plans implemented without due
concern to risk reduction integration were effective and brought expected impact. The
lessons in implementing CBDRM approaches and development initiatives without
proper mainstreaming of disaster risks have lead the concept of risk-sensitive development planning as a concept to drive the community resilience framework in Sri
Lanka.
The sustainable approach to roll-out risk-sensitive development planning and
implementation is to build the capacity of the state stakeholders in disaster management and development planning departments from the community to regional level.
This manuscript discussed the cascading capacity-building approach implemented
by the DIPECHO project in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka as a pilot project
to operationalise Community Resilience Framework (CRF). Initially, the divisional
staff attached to development planning and disaster management were trained as
trainers, who then trained the community-level state staff members who are the direct
facilitators of risk-sensitive development planning and implementation. This process
was successful, since the state departments felt the ownership from the beginning
of the project cycle, compared to externally driven, non-governmental organisation supported and facilitated method of implementing a project that had been the
traditional approach in the targeted communities.
This study has drawn following key recommendations from the implementation
of CRF at district/divisional level through cascading training approach: capitalising
on the positive lessons and improve the process and approach for the implementation
247
However certain challenges have also existed. Some of the key challenges in this
process were as follows: the process is very time-intensive from the community
side as well as for CRF Facilitators, absence of a monitoring system imposes a key
challenge to produce the final outcome. Master Trainers have encountered difficulties
in creating a good flow between modules such as linking the previous module to the
next, capturing key lessons in each module and providing few additional technical
inputs/know-how, and Master Trainers found it difficult to structure some modules in
logical steps and adapting the content of some modules to the target audience, which
has caused some confusion amongst trainees, missing some key tools during the
fieldwork. Further, the mainstreaming climate change adaption strategies had been
lacking in the risk-sensitive development planning and implementation in this pilot
project, which was found to be an important gap in operationalising the community
resilience framework as an overarching driving framework to build resilient and
sustainable communities.
13.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
The growing impact due to disasters demand risk-sensitivity in development planning more than ever before. An appropriate resilience investment is key to implement the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction priorities. However, over
the past decades, neither the standalone approach to reduce risks at the community
level, through CBDRM approaches, nor development plans implemented without due
concern to risk reduction integration were effective and brought expected impact. The
lessons in implementing CBDRM approaches and development initiatives without
proper mainstreaming of disaster risks have lead the concept of risk-sensitive development planning as a concept to drive the community resilience framework in Sri
Lanka.
The sustainable approach to roll-out risk-sensitive development planning and
implementation is to build the capacity of the state stakeholders in disaster management and development planning departments from the community to regional level.
This manuscript discussed the cascading capacity-building approach implemented
by the DIPECHO project in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka as a pilot project
to operationalise Community Resilience Framework (CRF). Initially, the divisional
staff attached to development planning and disaster management were trained as
trainers, who then trained the community-level state staff members who are the direct
facilitators of risk-sensitive development planning and implementation. This process
was successful, since the state departments felt the ownership from the beginning
of the project cycle, compared to externally driven, non-governmental organisation supported and facilitated method of implementing a project that had been the
traditional approach in the targeted communities.
This study has drawn following key recommendations from the implementation
of CRF at district/divisional level through cascading training approach: capitalising
on the positive lessons and improve the process and approach for the implementation