Strategic Research into National and Local Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management

In September 2013, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) contracted Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and the University of East Anglia (UEA) to conduct Strategic research into national and local capacity building for disaster risk management. The overarching question guiding the research activities was ‘what works and why?’ This report sets out the findings of the research, covering trends in capacity building for disaster risk management (DRM), providing lessons learned in relation to the process and content of DRM capacity-building interventions, and outlining recommendations for policy-makers and programme implementers.

This synthesis report presents the main findings and draws on experiences from the six case study countries. The report starts with a 10 page executive summary. Other sections include the research approach and methodology, global trends in DRM capacity building, what works for DRM capacity building, a theory of change for building DRM capacity and an M&E framework. To conclude the report sets out what new ideas and evidence emerged from the research as well as policy and practice recommendations.