NCC/IMO key challenges and
needs
GNC Annual meeting
16-18 September 2014
Rome, Italy
Overview
• Humanitarian Programme Cycle
• Information Management
• Coordination by Cluster Core function
Humanitarian Programme Cycle
Challenges (1)
• Timing- short period of time to do everything and how do you
include everyone? Partners at national and regional level- unable to
consult with them given short time frames.
– Suggestions:
– Pre-planning- Pull together analysis before OCHA’s deadline
(September), NCC to influence OCHA rather than vice versa
– NCC’s push for adequate time for sub-national level to input into
guidance documents etc, directly with OCHA or to supervisors in CLA
as CLA sits on HCT and also can influence timeline
• OCHA Guidance – OCHA wants to dictate. Determination caseloads
and needs (and composition of analysis using composite index, ie:
GIS map) for their purposes to look good. What is the recourse for
NCCs? Who/where do they go to complain/raise this issue? How
can the GNC support with OCHA at HQ?
Humanitarian Programme Cycle
Challenges (2)
• Government input- How do you engage
government in HNO in a context where the
government is heavily involved (ie: Ethiopia)? If
the government is involved they will have to
‘approve’ and it will take time?
• OCHA tools- do these actually help us analyse the
situation on the ground appropriately? GIS map
requires inputs (can be from IPC or others,
country specific) results in humanitarian priority.
Support Needed
• Timeline. Discuss with OCHA how to influence timeframe
for feedback/input into guidance documents and analysis
(particularly to ensure partner, sub-regional, government
involvement)-GNC
• Organization/analysis of secondary data. How does the
cluster organize at country level to do this? If support is not
there, how do we ensure this? GNC-CT could pull together
experiences from different cluster countries to show the
options of how this can/is being done across a range of
contexts.
• Framework for analysis for OCHA. Guidance on analysis
framework to allow NCCs/IMOs pull this together to
influence the country management team-GNC
Information Management Challenges
(1)
Capacity.
• Often there is either no dedicated IM staff
• lack the capacity/skills set to deliver.
• Contract issues prevent good IM people from staying (SSA contract, short term etc.)
• Clarity on how to sustain IM support after initial emergency response has started and
link with nutrition surveillance.
Define Role of IM within CLA
• Lack of clarity on the role of IM in terms of their ability to support UNICEF programme
as well as cluster- what are the roles of each where there are two?
• Also clarity on the role of the IMO around the programme cycle (expectations and
outputs required)
• IMO’s responsibility/relationship towards OCHA and IMO working group.
• Mechanism for technical capacity/oversight provided by NCC to IM staff if IM is
outsourced (ie. Yemen).
IM Challenges (2)
Transition Arrangements
• Clarity/guidance on how to maintain capacity in IM when
handing over to government.
IM Vs KM Which way Fwd
• Where do NCCs get support for KM? Is it the IMO? No
capacity, Skills set, time or support for KM.
Data Issues
• Guidance on how to improve timeliness and quality of data
• Capacity of partners to do their own nutrition programme
analysis
• Government ownership on data- who owns data collected
by cluster partners/cluster?
Information Management Needs (1)
• Need a dedicated, skilled IM staff person for the cluster
GNC-CT & Partners.
• Guidelines on quality control or how to do quality checks
(for partners and NCC)
• Documenting good practice in the steps and process of
information sharing in different contexts (recognizing the
wider system/departments that nutrition fits in)-GNC-CT
• Clarity on who IMOs go to for technical support and
mentoring at GNC level-GNC-CT.
• Toolkit is useful but guidance on how information is
presented/analyzed/data based management (how to
organize databases, clean databases) is needed-GNC-CT
Information Needs (2)
• How to calculate the usage of food commodities for main
products (F-100, F-75 etc)-GNC-CT
• Assessments validation flow chart Guidance- how to
standardize and validate-GNC-CT
• Cluster governance structures at country level (SAG,
working groups etc.) and TORs-GNC-CT
• Mobile phone technology for reporting- guidance on how a
nutrition cluster could benefit and experiences to date.
GNC-CT
• Costing tool (included in CMAM caseload calculation tool
but not for other nutrition interventions and commodities)
and cost per beneficiary calculation (standard formula?)GNC-CT
Cluster Coordination
– Support service delivery
– Inform the HC/HCT's strategic decision-making
– Strategy development
– Monitor and evaluate performance
– Capacity building in preparedness and
contingency planning.
– Advocacy
– Accountability to Affected populations
Support to service delivery
Challenges
• Capacity mapping
• No standard
management/reporting
structures for cluster
coordination- some more
effective than others.
Support needed
• Need a tool for capacity
mapping and bottleneck
analysis (GNC)
• Learning documented and
guidance on what
management/reporting
structures work/don’t work in
each context to help national
advocacy and planning (GNC)
Inform strategic decision making
Challenges
• Influencing HC/HCT and
government in more sectorfocused situations.
• Capacity limitation for nutrition
assessments (and for agreement
on methodologies )
• lack of understanding who is
responsible for doing
assessments (partners)
• Lines of communication/influence
are not clear or straightforward
• Government not wanting
assessments due to potential
political sensitivities.
Support needed
• Guidance on global
agreements (if they exist)
with partners committed
financial or otherwise to
support clusters to do
assessments /surveys and
support to other cluster
functions (GNC-CT)
• Global partners
commitments to clusters
(partners)
Strategy Development (1)
Challenges
•
•
•
•
Get connected to other clusters/other
working groups developing other
strategies; connecting with other actors
 inter-cluster linkages
How to cost nutrition activities? We
need standard costing tools.
How to connect to subnational clusters
and engage them in strategic planning
How do you bring this type of strategy
development into a government system
(specifically example of Ethiopia where
government is very strong and already
has its own mechanisms)
Support Needed
• GNC to update on global
OCHA costing tool for
clusters (GNC-CT)
Strategy Development (2)
Challenges
• Harmonisation between SRP
projects costing and SRP projectless costing
• OPS  sometimes partners don’t
want to include their projects or
want to add them mid-year
• Poor quality of projects
submitted in OPS by partners 
takes a long time to review. Lack
of vetting criteria
• How does short-term HPC
programming fit into longer term
country strategies.
Support Needed
• Develop updated CAP/SRP
tips. Develop “template”
OPS project sheet for
partners? Share Ethiopia
OPS template-GNC-CT
• GNC to advocate for OPSless SRPs? Reviewing OPS
projects is too timeconsuming (GNC-CT/NCCs.
To be determined by HCTs).
Monitoring and Evaluation
Challenges
Support Needed
•
• Provide adequate translation of
CCPM documents.
• GNC-CT to discuss with OCHA
about CCPM questionnaire
flexibility.
• Clarify at country level that
targets should not necessarily be
cumulated (i.e. targets for SRP
should separate management of
acute malnutrition from IYCF-E
etc)-NCC
• Develop guidance for field
monitoring of coordination
activities-GNC-CT
•
•
•
CCPM is very rigid. Is there
possibility of tweaking questions to
better reflect context? CCPM needs
to also reflect national and subnational levels (questions need to
be contextualized).
A CCPM every 6 months is not
realistic
Definition of field monitoring visits
in terms of tasks (often end up
doing technical/programme
monitoring and not coordination
monitoring)
Translation of CCPM questionnaires
is not always optimal.
CD in CP and Preparedness
Challenges
• Clarify on what a capacity
development plan might include.
• Big challenging trying to merge
organisation contingency plans at
inter-cluster level
• Developing stand-by agreements
for partners in a preparedness
approach has been challenging
• Challenges in partners being able
to quickly respond and at scale
• Challenges in knowing what type
of contingency planning to put in
place for the nutrition sector
Support Needed
• Develop guidance on capacity
development for a response,
along with roles and
responsibilities. Clarify/Organize
at global level what are the key
partners that have these skillsGNC-CT
• Develop guidance on how to
conduct capacity-mapping –GNCCT
• Develop guidance on criteria for
exit after Emergency response for
nutrition partners-GNC
• Develop guidance on nutrition
contingency planning
Advocacy (1)
Challenges
Support needed
•
• Disseminate advocacy package
and develop country-level
guidance on advocacy (GNC-CT)
• Develop GNC advocacy strategy
(pillar one of workplan) and
support country strategies dvpt
(GNC-CT)
• Develop guidance on how to
engage with other advocacy
initiatives , SUN/Post 2015
Agenda etc. GNC
• Support comprehensive nutrition
responses at global level
(particularly IYCF-E)-GNC
•
•
•
•
•
Definition of advocacy  many
different views.
How to take into account government
advocacy initiatives?
Many different levels of advocacy
(programme, response etc)
Confusion in terms of how to engage
with donors for advocacy when there
is a lot of bilateral funding.
No template/guidance from GNC
with regards to advocacy
documents/advocacy strategies.
Demarcation between advocacy done
by NCC and advocacy done by CLA
Advocacy(2)
Challenges
• Challenges in engaging in higherlevel advocacy (what channels?
What audience?)
• Development of bulletins is very
time-consuming when
coordination teams are small
• No definition at global level on
how GNC relates to other global
level advocacy initiatives (post
2015, etc)
• Advocacy to partners in terms of
implementing comprehensive
nutrition package (not just
CMAM) not always very effective
Support Needed
• Develop guidance on
channels for advocacy
(particularly online media)GNC-CT
• Ensure that global partners
advocacy trickles down to
country-level. How can
global-level advocacy be in
harmony with country-level
advocacy?Partners
Accountability to Affected populations
Challenges
• No guidance on AAP,
particularly specific to the
nutrition sector.
• Unpack Activities for the
cluster addressing AAP.
• Humanitarian priorities may
overlook other needs in
other areas where we are
nonetheless accountable.
Support Needed
• Hunger for knowledge on
AAP. Unpack AAP for the
nut cluster( GNC-CT)
• Provide Knowledge
management on AAP (GNCCT)
• Dissemination on best
practices (GNC-CT).