DARA (international organization)

Last updated
DARA
Founded2003;21 years ago (2003)
FounderSilvia Hidalgo
FocusHumanitarian assistance, aid effectiveness, evaluations
Location
Area served
Global Organisation
MethodAnalysis, evaluation, research, monitoring
Website daraint.org

DARA (Development Assistance Research Associates, Ltd.) [1] is an independent, international organization based in Madrid, Spain. DARA was established in 2003 by Silvia Hidalgo to assess the impact of humanitarian aid and to make specific recommendations for changes in policies and practices. DARA has carried out evaluations in more than 60 crises countries for a variety of organizations including United Nations agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the European Commission, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). [2] [3] [4]

Contents

DARA is registered as in independent non-profit organization in Spain, has 501(c)(3) status in the United States and is recognized as an international organization in Switzerland. [5]

Activities

The organization conducts evaluations of development and humanitarian operations, policies, strategies, projects and programs.

DARA works in various regions. Some of the larger projects DARA has undertaken include participation in the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, after the 2004 disaster in South East Asia; the creation of the Humanitarian Response Index; and the evaluation of the European Commission's Disaster preparedness Plans in Central America. [4]

The main activities undertaken in DARA are the following:

Evaluation and Technical Assistance

The Humanitarian Response Index (HRI)

The HRI is an independent assessment of donor performance, to assist the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) government donors in ensuring that their humanitarian funding has impact for people in critical need of aid. The HRI measures the individual performance of government donors against Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles drafted in recent years by various United Nations, public and private stakeholders [6] . [7] The 2010 edition was launched in December 2010 in Brussels, Belgium at the European Development Days event. [8]

Climate Vulnerability Monitor

Co-published by DARA and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, The Climate Vulnerability Monitor was initiated in 2009 by the Government of the Maldives, the "Climate Vulnerability Monitor" provides an overview of countries' susceptibility to short-term climate change (in 2010 and 2030), by using a barometer to assess the estimated effects on each country's health, weather disasters, human habitat loss and economic stresses. The 2010 report was presented at the UN Cancun Summit in December, 2010. [9] [10] [11] [12]

The Risk Reduction Initiative

This program examines factors and conditions that contribute to the generation of risk. It is meant to provides guidance for effective risk reduction in vulnerable and hazard-prone areas across the world. Findings and lessons learned from the Humanitarian Response Index are used to create a Risk Reduction Index (RRI), meant to measure the effectiveness of risk management policies, strategies and activities for reducing the impact of natural disasters on local communities. Its stated aim is to promote learning and sharing of lessons from risk reduction interventions. [13]

Leadership

DARA was founded by Silvia Hidalgo in 2003 and served as the Director General of DARA until January 2010. [7] Ross Mountain, former Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator for the UN system for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, served as Director General of DARA from January 2010 until December 2012. A former Chief Executive is Ed Schenkenberg [14] [15]

Board of trustees

Former Board Members

Board of Trustees in the United States

Funding

DARA receives funding from a variety of sources including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It also receives private funding from individuals and foundations (AVINA Foundation, Agility, Concordia 21). [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster</span> Event resulting in major damage, destruction or death

A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. Natural disasters like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by natural hazards. Human-made disasters like oil spills, terrorist attacks and power outages are caused by people. Nowadays, it is hard to separate natural and human-made disasters because human actions can make natural disasters worse. Climate change also affects how often disasters due to extreme weather hazards happen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Food Programme</span> Food-assistance branch of the UN

The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961, WFP is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 80 countries. As of 2021, it supported over 128 million people across more than 120 countries and territories.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations</span> European Commission department

The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, formerly known as the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office, is the European Commission's department for overseas humanitarian aid and for civil protection. It aims to save and preserve life, prevent and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises. Since September 2019, Janez Lenarčič is serving as Commissioner for Crisis Management in the Von der Leyen Commission, and since 1 March 2023, Maciej Popowski leads the organisation as the Director-General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian crisis</span> Large threat to the health and safety of many people

A humanitarian crisis is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or external conflict and usually occurs throughout a large land area. Local, national and international responses are necessary in such events.

The World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction is a series of United Nations conferences focusing on disaster and climate risk management in the context of sustainable development. The World Conference has been convened three times, with each edition to date having been hosted by Japan: in Yokohama in 1994, in Hyogo in 2005 and in Sendai in 2015. As requested by the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) served as the coordinating body for the Second and Third UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005 and 2015.

Humanitarian assistance is aid and action designed to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity during and after man-made crises and disasters. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including providing food, water, shelter, medical care, and protection. Humanitarian assistance is grounded in the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aid</span> Voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another

In international relations, aid is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The type of aid given may be classified according to various factors, including its intended purpose, the terms or conditions under which it is given, its source, and its level of urgency. For example, aid may be classified based on urgency into emergency aid and development aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capacity building</span> Process within NGOs and non-profits

Capacity building is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often been used interchangeably, although a publication by OECD-DAC stated in 2006 that capacity development was the preferable term. Since the 1950s, international organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities use the concept of capacity building as part of "social and economic development" in national and subnational plans. The United Nations Development Programme defines itself by "capacity development" in the sense of "'how UNDP works" to fulfill its mission. The UN system applies it in almost every sector, including several of the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. For example, the Sustainable Development Goal 17 advocates for enhanced international support for capacity building in developing countries to support national plans to implement the 2030 Agenda. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster risk reduction</span> Preventing and reducing disaster risk factors

Disaster risk reduction aims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. In technical terms, it aims to make them more resilient or less vulnerable. When DRR is successful, it makes communities less the vulnerable because it mitigates the effects of disasters. This means DRR can make risky events fewer and less severe. Climate change can increase climate hazards. So development efforts often consider DRR and climate change adaptation together.

The Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) is an independent civil society initiative to annually assess and rank wealthy countries against their commitment to improve the quality and effectiveness of their humanitarian assistance. Developed by DARA, the HRI's intended purpose is to assist the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) donor governments ensure that their humanitarian assistance has the greatest impact on beneficiaries. The HRI's aim is to improve the quality and effectiveness of aid, and promote greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of government donors. The first edition was published in 2007, followed by subsequent editions in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Humanitarian Initiative Just Relief Aid (HIJRA) is an African humanitarian organization focused on the implementation of emergency and resilience programming in the greater Horn of Africa, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda.

The Climate Vulnerability Monitor (CVM) is an independent global assessment of the effect of climate change on the world's populations brought together by panels of key international authorities. The Monitor was launched in December 2010 in London and Cancun to coincide with the UN Cancun Summit on climate change (COP-16). Developed by DARA and the Climate Vulnerable Forum, the report is meant to serve as a new tool to assess global vulnerability to various effects of climate change within different nations.

The Emergency Capacity Building Project is a collaborative capacity-building project aimed at improving the speed, effectiveness and delivery of humanitarian response programs. The ECB Project is a partnership between seven non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and implements programs in one region and four countries known as consortia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Bangladesh</span> Emissions, effects and responses of Bangladesh related to climate change

Climate change is a critical issue in Bangladesh. as the country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In the 2020 edition of Germanwatch's Climate Risk Index, it ranked seventh in the list of countries most affected by climate calamities during the period 1999–2018. Bangladesh's vulnerability to the effects of climate change is due to a combination of geographical factors, such as its flat, low-lying, and delta-exposed topography. and socio-economic factors, including its high population density, levels of poverty, and dependence on agriculture. The impacts and potential threats include sea level rise, temperature rise, food crisis, droughts, floods, and cyclones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction</span> United Nations organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Humanitarian Summit</span> 2016 meeting

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">All India Disaster Mitigation Institute</span>

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In Afghanistan, poverty is widespread in rural and urban areas. However, it has been estimated that poverty in Afghanistan is mainly concentrated in rural areas. It has been estimated that four out of five poor people live in rural areas. In these rural areas, families without enough access to adequate nutrition see many infants and children become stunted, malnourished, and die each year. The regions in Afghanistan where almost half of the inhabitants are poor are the eastern, northeastern, and west-central regions. According to the Afghan government's estimates, 42 percent of the Afghanistan's total population lives below the poverty line. Also, 20 percent of people living just above the poverty line are highly vulnerable to falling into poverty.

The WorldRiskReport is an annual technical report on global disaster risks. The yearly issues of the WorldRiskReport focus on varying critical topics related to disaster risk management and are published in German and English. The report includes the WorldRiskIndex, which identifies the risk of an extreme natural event becoming a disaster for 181 countries worldwide.

References

  1. "DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE RESEARCH ASSOCIATES SL". InfoCIF. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  2. About us - DARA
  3. "International Development - Heroes or zeroes? Dara's HRI breaks down aid effectiveness". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  4. 1 2 What we do - DARA
  5. "Who we are - DARA".
  6. Humanitarian Response Index 2009: Clarifying Donor Priorities | Brookings Institution
  7. 1 2 International Development - Dara co-founder seeks ways to improve humanitarian relief
  8. European Development Days | Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  9. High Commission of the Republic of MALDIVES | President Nasheed Launches Climate Vulnerable Monitor 2010 Archived March 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. http://live.tcktcktck.org/2010/12/the-time-to-act-is-now-new-report-predicts-10-million-climate-deaths-by-2030/%5B%5D
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2011-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. Latin bloc scolds rich countries at climate talks
  13. "What is the Risk Reduction Index (RRI)? | Dara". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
  14. "DARA welcomes ed Schenkenberg as new Chief Executive - DARA".
  15. "Rescue Global - Crisis and Disaster Response" . Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  16. Funding and Support - DARA