Summary of the Report
An Independent Completion Review (ICR) was commissioned to assess the contribution of the Support Program for Disaster Response (SPDR) in enhancing the capacity of the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in disaster response. It also evaluated the actual performance of the SPDR against targets and expected results, including the sustainability of outputs.
The ICR noted that SPDR's program activities, particularly prepositioning and warehouse construction, enabled DSWD to “deliver a larger response in a shorter timeframe.” The ICR also found that the Disaster Response Manuals developed for DSWD's field offices through the SPDR are now broadly used and have been providing a clear and systematic approach to DSWD field staff during the onset and aftermath of a disaster. However, the ICR also found that some of the capacity development outputs of the project have not been adopted by DSWD or remained underutilised. The report also highlighted several inefficiencies that affected the achievement of program outcomes.
The ICR put forward the following key recommendations for similar programs:
- proactively engage with the program to ensure continuity and inclusion of the required activities in the work and financial plans;
- design, during the inception stage, a monitoring and evaluation toolkit to be used throughout project implementation; and
- provide an orientation on DFAT's priority policies and standards to potential fund recipients.
Download report
- Support Program for Disaster Response (SPDR) independent completion report [DOCX 4.2 MB]
- Support Program for Disaster Response (SPDR) independent completion report [PDF 1.7 MB]
Summary of the Management Response
DFAT welcomes the findings of the ICR and acknowledges its recommendations for similar programs, several of which have already been implemented. DFAT will consider the key lessons learned in future programming of humanitarian preparedness and response investments. In particular, DFAT fully agrees with recommendations pertaining to monitoring and evaluation – an area for improvement.