Haiti Observatory of aid practices (2012-2015)

Post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti: a textbook case in many respects

The post-earthquake response created a precedent in the sector

With the scale of the humanitarian response following the earthquake in 2010, involving a very large number of projects and stakeholders, a certain number of shortcomings in the aid system became evident. The post-earthquake urban reconstruction in Haiti is often considered to be a textbook case and created a precedent for professionals. Groupe URD contributed to this lesson learning and analysis, working on urban questions, environmental issues, coordination problems, etc.

Evaluation as a learning mechanism…

Evaluation was the main pillar of the learning process established in Haiti. Reinforcing national capacities in project evaluation, sharing lessons learned and good practices and establishing a stakeholder network were Groupe URD’s main objectives over the three years.

This involved individual support for teams who were carrying out or overseeing evaluation processes, training in evaluation and the setting up of a data base of Haitian evaluators. Our activities consisted, for example, of carrying out regular briefings and debriefings, organizing workshops on specific subjects (such as data collection methodology) or providing guidance on how to write evaluation documents (Terms of Reference, inception reports, evaluation reports, etc.).

Nourished by complimentary activities

In keeping with Groupe URD’s collective learning process, several other complementary activities were also implemented in Haiti via the Observatory:

• Project evaluations for national and international NGOs, United Nations agencies, donors, etc.
• Operational studies and research to explore certain subjects in more depth and suggest ways for actors to adapt their programmes.
• Tailored training courses on Groupe URD’s specialist subjects. The evaluation training course was reviewed to make it relevant to the Haitian context, and to include lessons learned and good practices, with a specific accent on questions of recovery and development.
• Workshops to stimulate debate, disseminate and discuss lessons learned.

The idea of setting up the Haiti Observatory came out of discussions with the evaluation network of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the United Nations’ evaluation network (UNEG) and ALNAP. Its activities were funded by USAID, Irish Aid and UKAID.