Capacity Development.
No two capacity development projects are alike, so a “copy and paste” approach is doomed to failure. Successful capacity development models are successful because they consider and align multiple unique factors, e.g., risks, threats and vulnerabilities, leadership, ownership, available financial resources, technical requirements, organisation culture, community culture, environmental factors, to name a few. Copying and pasting a solution from one environment into another and expecting the same results will inevitably lead to disappointment and wastage. In order to maximise the impact of any capacity development project, it has to be tailored to suit the unique environment in which it will be deployed.
Existing capacities, no matter their level, cannot be ignored. They serve to guide future capacity development requirements and so are critical to consider in the design of any capacity development project.
Successful emergency response capacity development occurs when action leads to a sustainable, enhanced ability to respond, generated, guided and owned by those it is intended to benefit.
One size does not fit all – we tailor your best fit.
Our focus is to strengthen and empower indigenous capabilities, optimising local resources – people, institutions, technology and resources. Our philosophy is to build on and and enhance existing capabilities, not simply rip out and replace them. We concentrate on people, fostering an enabling environment to develop individual’s knowledge, skills and experience, who in turn drive sustainable organisational change. We place a great deal of emphasis on measuring both direct as well as indirect impact. We believe if you not measuring effectively, you can’t manage effectively.
At DART we understand that local challenges require local solutions
Developing a disaster assistance response team (DART) requires a significant commitment of money, resourcing and time. While some types of disasters occur with some degree of predictability, e.g., annual monsoon-related flooding, others occur unexpectedly, e.g., earthquakes. In today’s ever increasingly financially constrained environment, it is very challenging to justify developing and maintaining a dedicated response team that may not deploy for months to years. DART looks to maximise an organisation’s return on investment by increasing the frequency of deployment. This is achieved by multi-skilling and multi-tasking.
Regardless of the technical discipline of the DART, they all require core elements which form their foundation, including leadership / management; coordination, communications, planning and logistics. The various technical disciplines, determined by the nature of the disaster, can then be bolted onto the core functions, much like a hub and spoke model. Experience has shown this to be the most cost-efficient manner of maximising the return on investment. Teams should be deployed as regularly as possible, and this model allows for that to occur.
