Supporting Safer Housing Reconstruction After Disasters - Planning and Implementing Technical Assistance at Large Scale

Guidelines: scope and intended audience

These guidelines, aimed at decision makers and implementers across four main stakeholder groups (government, assistance agencies, the built environment sector, and disaster-affected communities), aims to increase the level of knowledge about technical assistance and operationalise its implementation, so that the reconstruction of housing in disaster-affected communities results in sustainably safer housing. The project, executed by UN-Habitat and supported by AXA, has resulted in a document in two parts, Part A and Part B.

Part A–Why Technical Assistance?

Part A describes the current context of post-disaster housing recovery and what the role of technical assistance could be in ensuring safer housing reconstruction in disaster-affected communities. It then briefly outlines principles for housing recovery, before determining ten (10) guiding principles for technical assistance. The principles are summarised as follows:

1. Everyone has a right to advice
2. Harness all capacity available to provide technical assistance
3. Be strategic to optimise scarce resources for maximum impact
4. Timing matters. Start early and sustain assistance.
5. Action plan and be flexible. Housing and technical assistance are iterative processes.
6. Adopt joined up approaches for multi-dimensional topics
7. Technical assistance is an investment in people
8. Local is more sustainable. Promote subsidiarity.
9. Take a long view. Learn from the past and prepare for the future.
10. Aspirations are insufficient. Technical assistance strategies should be realistic and deliver.

Part A then outlines key recommendations for stakeholders, and ends with an overview of initiatives and organisations relevant to technical assistance in housing recovery

Part B–What Technical Assistance: Thematic Chapters

Part B is a compendium of guidance for planning and implementing technical assistance activities in an effort to operationalise the principles set out in the introduction guide. Consisting of 11 thematic chapters, Part B addresses organisational arrangements, roles and relationships, funding, cross-cutting issues, disaster risk management cycles, and institutionalisation. These 11 chapters are not meant to serve as a step-by-step manual, but rather present options for technical assistance activities. Each chapter consists of an introduction, a generalised strategy, risks and challenges, factors to consider, and guidance on individual activities. Brief descriptions of each thematic chapter are presented below along with a diagram illustrating the structure of the document.