Sida and the Tsunami of 2004 - a Study of Organizational Crisis Response

Sida and the Tsunami of 2004 is a study, commissioned by Sida and conducted by the Center for Crisis Management Research and Training, covering a number of basic organizational aspects of Sida’s response to the Tsunami disaster. It draws upon the growing literature on public organizations in crises, and uses the Tsunami disaster as a test case for core organizational functions to crisis management and mitigation capacity.

The main findings of the report is that the organization was only modestly tested as a crisis management actor, but that most tasks that were required under some threat to basic organizational values, time constraint, and uncertainty were completed. The report does notice a number of potential vulnerabilities that have become more or less apparent in the retrospective assessment of Sida’s operations. They include the tight staffing situation that leaves the agency susceptible to loss of key personnel, coordination difficulties that spring from the complex environment of interagency and inter-organizational exchange involved in disaster response, and other functions internal to the organizations communication practices that may not answer to the challenges of a full-blown emergency to the agency as such.