Authors
Dr. Yitbarek Woldetensay, Developmental Evaluation Lead – Disaster Risk Management; Yomif Worku, Developmental Evaluation Team Member; Endashaw Asfaw Beshir, Developmental Evaluation Team Member; Esrael Woldeeyesus, Deputy Developmental Evaluation Lead – Disaster Risk Management; Rebecca Herrington, CEO of Headlight Consulting Services; and Chelsie Kuhn, Collaborating, Learning, Adapting, Monitoring, and Evaluation (CLAME) Specialist and Developmental Evaluation Administrator Lead
Description
Disaster Risk Management (DRM) policy in Ethiopia has matured from its origins as an emergency relief mechanism in the 1970s to a system whose stated intention is now the management of disaster risk. While the policy framework for DRM has continually adapted in response to the country’s changing political and economic dynamics and to reflect an evolving understanding of
disaster management (1993, 2013, and 2022), the institutional arrangements for delivering that policy have not kept pace and in some areas started to decline.
Beginning in 2020, the USAID/Ethiopia Mission embarked upon an ambitious, integrated Project to strengthen the capacity of Ethiopia’s communities and institutions to effectively manage disaster risks. This five-year Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Systems and Institutions (SDRM-SI) Project (2020-2024) is operating in a complex and ever-changing context that requires systems-based and adaptive implementation. With this in mind, the SDRM-SI Project Team is pursuing a Developmental Evaluation (DE), implemented by Headlight Consulting Services, LLC, to help answer the Mission’s complex DE Learning Questions and support the adaptation and refinement of USAID/Ethiopia’s DRM approach at the strategy, activity, and operational levels.
One of the evaluative efforts the DE team conducted in 2022 is the DRM Institutional Architecture Assessment (IAA). The assessment explored the DRM policy system using the IAA framework to capture a baseline as the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) is repositioned under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), enabling the DE team and the Project 1 team to make comparisons and better track change and USAID contributions to DRM policy
system strengthening over time.
The Institutional Architecture (IA) for improved policy formulation is an innovative approach to create the right policy environment for public and private sector investments. The IAA examines the key systems, processes, and relationships that influence policy development and implementation by examining the country’s multi-sector capacity to drive and participate in policy reforms and implementation. This is done by analyzing six policy aspects: 1) Guiding Policy Framework, 2) Policy Development and Coordination, 3) Inclusivity and Stakeholder Consultation, 4) Evidence-based Analysis, 5) Policy Implementation, and 6) Mutual Accountability.
The main objective of this Institutional Architecture Assessment was to examine DRM policy-related processes among DRM lead sector institutions (as identified in the existing Ethiopia DRM policy document), donors, civil society organizations, private sector actors, and relevant non-governmental implementing partners. This assessment will provide the government of Ethiopia, the USAID/Ethiopia Mission, local policymakers, and other key stakeholders with information on possible constraints that could hinder effective policy change. The IAA will also help to identify appropriate support to address constraints and improve the DRM policy capacity process – including in areas of transparency, predictability, inclusiveness, and evidence-based analysis.
View resource: Ethiopia DRM Policy IAA Report August 2022
