Resilience is of growing importance globally (as highlighted in the June 2017 Report of the UN Secretary-General) and is seen as a key concept in the UN’s shift from ‘meeting needs’ to ‘ending needs’.
The concept of resilience
The concept is often considered as a unifying lens that can inform more effective interventions in the humanitarian-development nexus, which has relevance for many of the contexts the World Food Programme (WFP) works in, where protracted or repeat crises and ongoing fragility undermine efforts towards reaching zero hunger and food security. A resilience lens forces programmes to consider gender-based inequalities and social exclusion, as these key factors undermine people’s and community’s capacities to cope with and recover from threats.
Objectives
WFP has a policy on Building Resilience for Food Security and Nutrition but no single all-encompassing initiative. Many of the organisation’s programmes, approaches and functions already address resilience implicitly or explicitly and to a greater or lesser extent. WFP has commissioned this evaluation recognising that its resilience-building may benefit from a clearer understanding of the inter-connectedness and complementarity of approaches required to reduce risk and enhance resilience among individuals, families and communities, as well as through national systems.
Itad’s strategic evaluation will provide WFP with a robust body of evidence and expertise to support its decision-making relating to enhancing resilience. It will draw together the extent of work WFP is already doing around the world to support resilience, considering not only the organisation’s programmes and pilots but the concepts, strategies and guidance that underpin them. This will be assessed in relation to the leading best practice on resilience strengthening, and the analysis will inform a discussion with WFP on whether and how resilience could be better used to achieve the organisation’s goals and commitments.
Image © Receiving monthly WFP food rations. Credit: Scott Kelleher/AusAID. (CC BY 2.0)
