Perceptions of crisis and response: A synthesis of evaluations of the response to the 2005 Pakistan earthquake

The evaluations that form the dataset for this Synthesis have as their own purposes some mixture of accountability and learning. In aggregate, these evaluations provide material reflecting what happened, what was done, and what can be learned from what was done. The inclusion of material from other reports that are not evaluations as such brings further validation. Synthesising their findings to provide a broader view for the wide audience that is the ALNAP membership and beyond will, it is hoped, enable analysis to rise above the perspectives of specific projects,
programmes and groups of programmes.

After a brief account of the disaster itself, this chapter reflects on evaluation
findings in relation to the following broad areas of current concern to the
humanitarian sector:

• needs assessments
• funding
• response capacities
• ownership and accountability.

It then uses these reflections as a way of assessing the quality of the work done in Pakistan in response to the 2005 earthquake. Finally, it assesses the parameters and criteria intended to describe the components of performance in development and humanitarian programmes in order to judge that performance. These OECD/DAC criteria are also the basis of the ALNAP Quality Pro Forma for judging the quality of evaluations.