Regional Learning Event on Cash Coordination 19 June 2015 Bangkok, Thailand Rebecca H. Vo, CaLP Asia Regional Focal Point With support from:
CASH COORDINATION IN THE PHILIPPINES A CASE STUDY Lessons Learnt from the Typhoon Haiyan Response Photo: inquirer.net
Cash Coordination LEARNING EVENT OBJECTIVE: To build awareness of current experience, best practice and lessons learned, including key issues and challenges, in the coordination of emergency cash transfers.
Contents Overview of CTP in Haiyan Findings & Lessons i. Inter-agency cash coordination ii. Coordination with govt. social safety net iii. Coordination with the private sector Recommendations for OCHA and others i. Philippines-specific ii. Global
Haiyan Response: CTP Overview
Background to the Study: Global Context Increasing trend towards the use of cash transfer programming (CTP) as a response modality in emergencies including all Level Three emergencies since 2010. Increasing use of CTP to meet broader humanitarian needs, beyond sectorial responses to food and livelihoods insecurity and beyond organisational and cluster mandates. This is highlighting particular challenges, as well as opportunities for aid coordination. Emerging global trends: increasing role of national governments in disaster response efforts and provision of safety nets; advances in financial services and technology; non-traditional humanitarian actors outside of the traditional humanitarian coordination system.
Haiyan s Path and OCHA s Presence
Typhoon Haiyan Response: CTP Overview US $845m UCT CCT 60% 20% 20%
Context specific factors with impact on cash coordination The Philippines as an archipelago: required response coordination across island hubs 3 rd most disaster prone in the world: growing interest in investing in disaster preparedness and familiarity of aid agencies and government with CTP National social protection programme: established system for CTP delivery reaching millions of people, which could provide a channel to deliver emergency cash to Haiyan-affected people. FSPs well-versed in delivering cash from Filipinos abroad and with some experience of partnering with humanitarian agencies in previous emergencies; plus a population sensitized to remittance systems
Context specific factors with impact on cash coordination 1st time: (i) OCHA hosted a dedicated Cash Coordinator; (ii) CaLP staff deployed for coordination support. An ad hoc CWG that had convened informally in previous emergencies but was defunct when Haiyan struck. Private sector experienced in postcrisis support to supply chain recovery. Non-traditional actors injecting cash faith based groups and private corporations.
CaLP Coordination Review: Objectives 1. Identify cash coordination mechanisms and tools in the Typhoon Haiyan response that effectively facilitated and streamlined decision-making and implementation across agencies. 2. Define what coordination elements contributed, or not, to use of flexible cash grants. 3. Build evidence on optimal coordination models that can create an enabling environment for CTP and especially multi-purpose cash grants where appropriate in future humanitarian interventions.
Cash Coordination Includes operational functions that focus on process and strategic functions that focus on results and impact. Strategic Operational Influencing standards and transfer values in partnership with national government. Joint analysis and decision-making on appropriate types of response, ensuring complementarity between cash transfers and other modalities. Coordinating the aid response so as to avoid gaps and duplications. Advocacy with host governments, humanitarian country team (HCT), donors and others as required. Joint assessments to make informed decisions on CTP. Providing cash grants to cover multiple objectives. Harmonising approaches to delivering cash. Joint monitoring. Using common guidelines and tools.
FINDINGS
i)inter-agency Coordination 1. Dedicated Cash Coordinator position, hosted within OCHA 2. National Cash Working Group of agencies, followed by 3 regional CWGs
i) Inter-agency Coordination: Findings Coordination mechanism Dedicated Cash Coordinator Added value to cash coordination Raised CTP as strategic issue in ICC meetings. Linked humanitarian sector to financial service providers (FSP). Set and shared government standards and guidelines for CTP, including transfer values, and cash for work programmes. Set up regional CWGs. Linked forums for cash coordination including the clusters and CWG. Limiting Factors Role too broad for 1 person. Confusion on coordination roles and responsibilities of CaLP versus OCHA. Some challenges with buy-in within OCHA and HCT. Current 3W reporting can t accurately capture and manage CTP information. Technical expertise is needed to complement coordination skills. Too ambitious not all objectives were realised in practice.
i) Inter-agency Coordination: Findings Coordination mechanism Cash Working Group Added value to cash coordination 3Ws helped avoid duplication. Circulated standards for CTP and Cash for Work, for harmonisation of approaches. Circulated information on market assessments. Shared experiences and challenges. Limiting Factors Some duplication as not all agencies attended. Limited harmonisation of operational approaches Staff turnover and lack of agency focal points limited decision making. Delay in setting up regional CWGs, due to the lack of dedicated resources at sub-national level, limited the CWG s utility and longevity.
ii) Linking to national safety nets (4Ps) The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps): Launched in 2007 by DSWD to improve health, nutrition and education of children 0-14 yrs in very poor households. Over 4m extremely poor HHs receive a monthly CCT of up to PHP 1,400 for health/nutrition, and education expenses of children. Payments delivered bi-monthly via a network of payment providers, including remittance companies, postal system, and card-based payments, managed by Landbank.
ii) Linking to national safety nets (4Ps) WFP s humanitarian response: Over 800,000 of these HHs (20.5% of the 4Ps caseload) resided in typhoon-affected areas. WFP funded DSWD to provide an emergency cash top-up to over 105,000 4Ps-registered HHs in Dec. 2013 and Jan. 2014. The top up was PHP1,300 per HH for two months, designed to fill the gap in the food basket.
ii) Linking to national safety nets: Findings Factors enabling coordination of humanitarian aid through 4Ps Previous relationship with DSWD. Disaster-affected 4Ps beneficiaries were identified quickly. Well established cash distribution system reaching rural areas significantly less time consuming and costly than a parallel system. Beneficiaries were familiar with the system - no training needed. The 4P programme s Parent s Associations proved a useful conduit through which to locate and inform disaster-affected beneficiaries. Challenges faced by aid agencies and government Some challenges of coordination, with other actors also delivering cash in affected areas. Some difficulties for FSPs in managing the additional monthly payment (as normally bi-monthly not monthly). The 4Ps programme is not designed to serve both developmental and humanitarian objectives great for meeting needs of existing beneficiaries but excluded the new transient poor created by the disaster.
iii) Coordination with private sector 1. Examination of ways in which aid agencies, through the CWG, coordinated with financial service providers (FSPs) for the delivery of cash transfers to affected populations.
What worked well in coordination between iii) Coordination aid agencies and with FSPs the private sector: Negotiation and contracting Information sharing Operations Contracting was relatively smooth (with remittance companies). Pre-existing relationships simplified and speeded up the process. findings An initial assessment by ACF of FSPs that was circulated by the CWG in the early weeks was useful to other aid agencies. Sharing of agencies experiences of partnering with FSPs, through the CWG, influenced decisions of other agencies during the recovery phase. Having FSPs attend CWG meetings gave agencies an overview of the options and informed FSPs on agencies requirements. The Central Bank relaxed KYC requirements for Typhoon-affected households, enabling the use of alternate IDs for verification of beneficiary identify: barangay certificates, and NGO IDs. Challenges experienced Contracting e-transfer companies led to delays. Agencies approached FSPs separately, for very similar information. The initial assessment by ACF was not updated by the CWG; therefore information on service recovery was not centrally available. Some FSPs felt their inclusion in the CWG came too late to influence agencies choice of provider for the response phase. FSPs experienced difficulties in ensuring liquidity in the early weeks. No harmonisation of delivery plans between agencies using the same FSP.
LESSONS
Lessons 1. Added value of a Cash Coordinator and CWG: contributing to greater streamlining of decision-making and implementation of CTP across agencies, though with several limiting factors. 2. Barriers to MPCT: Some are internal barriers, including structures and mind sets; some relate to sectorial structure of humanitarian coordination system. A cash working group has potential to overcome some of these sectorial barriers. 3. Value of coordinating with the national safety net: Proved the potential to provide emergency cash assistance to a large cohort (though not all) of disasteraffected HHs efficiently and effectively.
Lessons 4. Value of timely coordination with Financial Service Providers (FSPs) forging links between implementing agencies and FSPs contributed to improved coordination of cash delivery, 5. Potential added value of broader partnerships with private sector for aid coordination: includes building formal linkages between government, private sector, OCHA and CWG for coordination of humanitarian interventions, 6. Importance of action as part of disaster preparedness: Support to better cash coordination in future humanitarian interventions requires investments throughout the humanitarian programme cycle, but particularly as part of disaster preparedness.
RECOMMENDATIONS OXFAM
Recommendation Detail Stakeholders 1. Institutionalise an active cash working group in a nonemergency setting 2. Develop OCHA s role in supporting cash preparedness 3. Improve preparedness planning between aid agencies and FSPs 4. Develop mechanisms to ensure further coordination between the social protection system and humanitarian aid during emergencies A Philippines Cash Working Group should be set up and institutionalised as a permanent coordination structure with a clear, and agreed, terms of reference, secretariat, leadership and membership, including representation of DSWD. OCHA Philippines to support cash coordination through a Cash Coordination function institutionalised within OCHA Philippines, and with the possibility of a dedicated surge role being deployed in event of a L2 or L3 emergency. OCHA to develop a national HCT strategic preparedness plan. CaLP to support OCHA and others such as the government to build internal preparedness on cash, through capacity assessment and training. Aid agencies to establish pre-agreements/service level agreements with financial service providers. OCHA and CWG to undertake regular mapping of FSPs services and coverage. Define any relaxation of financial regulations (Know Your Customer requirements) during large scale emergencies with the central bank. Cluster Leads, DSWD and humanitarian donors to discuss learning from this Philippines pilot and explore ways to build capacity of the 4P programme for vertical expansion during emergencies: Identify actions needed as part of preparedness to transform or adjust the 4P programme to better accommodate humanitarian needs in a disaster (programme design, staff training, operating procedures). Define terms of engagement with Cluster Leads and donors to ensure rapid response through the 4P programme to meet needs across sectors. Identify trigger indicators to activate emergency responses through the 4P programme and to scale down and exit. OCHA Philippines, CaLP Asia, CWG steering committee OCHA Philippines, CaLP Capacity Building Officer FSPs, OCHA Philippines, implementing agencies in the CWG, Central Bank Cluster Leads, DSWD, donors,
Recommendation Detail Stakeholders Building OCHA s cash coordination role in contexts where OCHA leads coordination 1. Develop internal understanding of CTP within OCHA 2. Build OCHA s internal capacity for supporting intercluster coordination of CTP 3. OCHA to develop technical partnerships to support operational coordination OCHA to invest in development of an organisational policy and guidelines on CTP and trainings for Inter Cluster Coordinators (ICCs), Heads of Office, resident coordinators, humanitarian coordinators and other strategic positions within OCHA, to inform their engagement in cash coordination. OCHA to build internal capacity to support inter-cluster coordination of CTP, including through: Defining and disseminating procedures to guide OCHA ICCs in coordination of CTP. Developing key competencies in CTP for deployment on cash coordination perhaps through a broader Cash CAP facility. Develop a cash coordination toolkit. OCHA to identify a co-lead/co-leads on cash coordination, enabling OCHA to focus on strategic elements and the technical partner on operational coordination between agencies (at least in the short term whilst OCHA s capacity in cash coordination is developing). OCHA, donors, CaLP OCHA, donors, CaLP OCHA, CaLP, INGOs
Recommendation Detail Stakeholders Actions to move towards greater use of Multi-Purpose Cash Grants 1. Financial and technical support for joint assessments 2. Changing sectorfocused reporting templates 3. Critical assessment of the appropriateness of the cluster coordination system OCHA to engage with Cluster Leads and working groups to identify means to coordinate joint assessments and analysis. Donors to support this through provision of funding for coordinating joint assessments and promoting confidence within implementing agencies to share agency-specific assessments. Global Cluster Leads and OCHA to discuss and develop reporting templates and financial tracking systems that reflect the reality (processes and outcomes) of response programming across sectors. This should be a core agenda of the Humanitarian Summit. From the perspective of CTP coordination and moving towards MPCG, one alternative for consideration could be if aid were coordinated by process rather than by sector. OCHA, Cluster Leads, humanitarian donors OCHA, Cluster Leads, donors OCHA, CaLP, humanitarian donors, UN and other implementing agencies
THANK YOU. More information on CaLP can be found on our website, www.cashlearning.org Smith, G. (2015) Cash Coordination in the Philippines: A Review of Lessons Learned during the Response to Super Typhoon Haiyan, CaLP