HECA Regional Livelihoods & Food Security Framework. Version 12 - Final

Transcription

1 HECA Regional Livelihoods & Food Security Framework Version 12 - Final

2 Summary The countries in Oxfam s Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA) region represent a wide range of contexts posing different challenges as well as opportunities for food security and livelihoods. 1 Common challenges facing poor and marginalized people include poor governance, low investment, and resource scarcity that are compounded by more frequent and severe occurrences of drought, flooding and conflict. These challenges have led to chronic food insecurity, low and precarious livelihoods opportunities, and rising poverty level. Despite these challenges, there are also abundant opportunities in HECA for improving economic growth, development, food security and livelihoods. 2 Given investment in an enabling environment, good governance, improved infrastructure and capacities, the region could benefit millions of poor and marginalized people through providing them with sustainable livelihoods and food security options. We need to help communities to identify and build on opportunities, while tackling the root causes of poverty and vulnerability. Tackling the root causes of poverty and food insecurity requires addressing issues across the whole system. Embracing complexity, 3 employing critical thinking and undertaking systems analysis, can lead to co-creation of innovative solutions with others that address the root of problems and not just the symptoms. Sustainable livelihoods, which provide the foundation for building dignified lives, go hand in hand with empowerment in social and political spheres. They are the economic drivers for growth through generating income for household level consumption and the means for investing in the future. In addition sustainable livelihoods allow for the collection of taxes and resources that can help facilitate state provision of social protection and services, thus enabling those who are unable to engage in livelihoods to live in dignity. In HECA, where shocks are a regular occurrence, livelihoods will continue to be disrupted until people s resilience and ability to withstand and recover from these shocks are strengthened. Emergency responses are essential when crises arise, and we recognize that we will need to provide humanitarian responses for the foreseeable future. Responses to emergencies depends on access to critical resources such as food or water which in turn require adequate advanced planning to provide these resources at a time of crisis. Oxfam s food security and livelihoods programming seeks to ensure preparedness for crises at regional, national and local level through improved understanding, planning and clear monitoring of key indicators allowing for timely response. This goes hand in hand with advocacy work which seeks to eradicate the causes of crises through ensuring governments prepare and have the means to respond to crises. 4 Integration between Oxfam s long term livelihoods work and humanitarian interventions is of paramount importance to building resilience and sustainable livelihoods. The divide between emergency food security and livelihoods is blurred and artificial. In reality people move between varying states of food insecurity and threats to livelihoods, and within any given community, different people will experience different levels of stress. Food security and livelihoods occur on a continuum from critical / emergency contexts to more stable environments. There is therefore a need to dissolve this division and recognize that food security and livelihoods are a prerogative in all contexts. Humanitarian responses need to ensure that their benefits extend into longer term development, and long term programmes must minimize risks to the most vulnerable households in communities. In the countries in HECA, being able to respond to recurring crises such as drought or conflict is simply a part of building sustainable livelihoods and good programming. 1 Livelihoods are refer to the means by which people make their living and the ways in which people access and mobilize resources that enable them to pursue goals necessary for their survival and longer term well being, and thereby reduce their vulnerabilities. Food security refers to a household's physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that fulfills the dietary needs and food preferences of that household for living an active and healthy life. (Oxfam / FAO / WHO) 2 See for example FAO Strategic Framework for Africa ; CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY (2009); and Oxfam / ADP HECA PS Contextual Analysis Report 2011 (Internal). 3 For discussion on complexity see 4 See Oxfam s GROW Campaign and OI Economic Justice Strategic Goals (currently in draft) for discussions on Food Justice and building national / regional food security, as well as the Rights in Crisis campaign. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 1

3 This Framework sets out a vision and ambition for developing and embedding Food Security and Livelihoods into our work in order to develop long lasting, sustainable solutions by and with the communities for whom we work. While there is no single overall model that will address all the needs of people living in poverty, this Framework emphasizes the need to reconcile long term with short term approaches and to embrace a systemic approach that recognizes the complexity of the issues of and solutions to food insecurity and livelihoods. Oxfam s one programme approach, the regional JCAS s and this framework focus on leveraging systemic changes that bring about transformational changes that benefit poor women and men. This framework outlines what needs to be done, leaving the development and implementation of strategies of how to achieve these aims to each country programme. Food Security & Livelihoods Vision Oxfam in HECA s vision is that women and men currently living in poverty have diversified sustainable livelihoods, live dignified lives, have access to resources and opportunities, demonstrate resilience and are at the frontiers of creating wealth. In HECA, the following outcomes are key to achieving this vision: 1. Improved and sustainable livelihoods for small scale producers, especially women, across HECA region. In other words, smallholder women farmers, pastoralists and traders are living dignified lives and accessing opportunities and resources within environmental limits; 2. Increased resilience for chronically vulnerable/ food insecure communities through appropriate interventions that support and build long term livelihoods in rural agricultural settings, arid and semi-arid lands and urban areas. 3. Access to social protection measures, primarily provided by governments, for chronically vulnerable people and safety nets that prevent people from slipping into chronic poverty / vulnerability during periods of shock ; 4. Promotion of women s economic opportunities to enable them harness development gains to improve their wellbeing and that of their families; 5. Improved emergency responses, guided by in-depth analysis, better planning and clear monitoring of key indicators that inform when to intervene. Such programmes should aim to support longer-term aims and also aim to be phased out as community resilience increases. 6. Improved policy frameworks and mechanisms by governments and regional institutions for sustainable livelihoods, food security and resilience Oxfam in HECA takes an integrated approach to livelihoods programming, combining the development of sustainable livelihoods for those who have the potential to be economically active, with social protection measures for most vulnerable households. Our approach and intention is to empower people economically, socially and politically so that they can shape the structural factors affecting their lives and act as agents of change for resilient livelihoods and food security. RESILIENCE refers to the ability to anticipate, absorb and recover from shocks with little or no external help, whilst maintaining the wellbeing of individuals or communities. Resilience is not a fixed end state, but is a dynamic set of conditions and processes that enable individuals and communities to maintain the capacity to improve their wellbeing despite adversity, and to keep pace with rapidly growing and evolving types of risk. In the HECA context, crises/stresses linked to climate and conflict are cyclical and recurrent. While these crises will require emergency responses, our interventions must also tackle the root causes of vulnerability and insecurity. New approaches that build resilience, increase incomes, and improve livelihoods must reach the most vulnerable members of communities, particularly women. This will require long-term investment to address inequality, environmental degradation, gender equity, land rights, poor infrastructure, weak governance, and access to essential services and natural resources. It requires building the governance structures and institutions that allow people to realise opportunities, adapting their livelihoods strategies according to their needs and external stimuli. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 2

4 Context HECA encompasses a wide range of contexts, including rural agricultural, arid & semi-arid lands and urban settings. Within these contexts, women and men employ a range of different livelihoods strategies, ranging from subsistence agriculture, pastoralism, petty trading and wage labour. Most poor women s and men s livelihoods strategies are heavily dependent on access to land and natural resources and on rain. This dependence on nature has led to the development of many unique coping strategies by communities to deal with recurrent stresses on livelihoods such as droughts and floods. The region is also fraught with political instabilities that lead to conflict or political crises. Many of these stresses, which are often divided along ethnic lines and related to resource access, are becoming more frequent and intense as weather patterns become less predictable and growing populations create strains on the availability of land, natural resources, and economic opportunities for poor people. Furthermore, global financial crises and rises in prices of basic commodities are threatening to derail efforts to overcome these challenges as aid budgets are cut and private investors become more discerning with their funds. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging from developments in information and technology, new consumer markets and trends, changing trade and investment patterns etc. In recent years, several countries in HECA have experienced economic growth levels of around 6%. There are efforts to improve governance structures (e.g. through new national constitutions), moves towards economic integration through the East African Community (EAC); new investment in infrastructure; and evidence of untapped natural resources. Rising demand for food regionally and globally represents a huge potential for the growth of HECA economies. The agricultural sector, employing approximately 75% of the people in the region and estimated to be less than half as productive as in Asia, and 20% of Chinese productivity, provides opportunities for growth. 5 Many of the issues could be addressed through better policies and governance and an enabling environment for development. Sadly, the opposite has happened for many of the more marginal areas where governments are notably absent in education, infrastructure development, ensuring the rule of law, and in general building the capacity of local communities to provide livelihoods opportunities for people living in poverty. Furthermore as the food crisis in 2011 demonstrated, governments are conspicuously absent in regulating markets to ensure access to essential food and services during times of crisis and from providing communities with the support they need to cope with and recover from emergencies when these do occur. In some of the most severe instances, such as Somalia and parts of DRC and Sudan the state is either completely absent or unable to offer basic personal security to its citizens meaning that resources and opportunities are left untapped as people concentrate on their survival. For many years in past history, people in the Horn and Central Africa were able to develop intricate and complex livelihoods systems with coping mechanisms to address some of the harshest stresses on the continent. Some of these strategies are facing dramatic changes which require adaptation to deliver sustainable livelihoods going into the future. The challenge is how to meet the needs present and future of the poorest and most vulnerable people without exceeding the capacity of the Earth to provide the fundamental ingredients for human well being. In HECA many countries are rapidly exploiting abundant natural resource bases in the clamour for development and while powerful vested interest groups seek to gain from these exploits, poor and powerless people lose out not only in terms of returns from these resources, but in their ability to build sustainable livelihoods and food security solutions in the long run. 6 Achieving sustainable development means ensuring that all people have the resources needed such as food, water, health care, and energy to fulfil their human rights. It means ensuring that humanity s use of natural resources does not stress critical Earth system processes by causing climate change or biodiversity loss, for example to the point that Earth is pushed out of the stable state. (...) Any vision of sustainable development fit for the 21st century must recognise that eradicating poverty and achieving social justice is linked to ensuring ecological stability and renewal. 5 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Agricultural Development Strategy Overview. 6 Kate Raworth, A Safe and Just Space for Humanity. Discussion paper, February HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 3

5 Framework for Sustainable Livelihoods & Food Security Oxfam s integrated approach to livelihoods programming aims to combine long-term sustainable livelihoods development and social protection through building peoples economic, social and political power so that they can shape the structural factors affecting their livelihoods. All our programming must build resilience into their core enabling programmes and communities to identify and consistently monitor risks and triggers, act on them promptly, and adapt their livelihoods strategies in order to continue building their resilience to crises. There are usually multiple factors leading to a crisis, and the role of development actors cannot be to identify and deal with all of these causes. Rather, society has to be able to identify, unpick, and be able to deal with these causes as they arise through. Communities as well as the interventions by NGOs need to be able to embrace complexity and systems thinking in order to build resilience. This relies on a combination of factors, which the figure below outlines and which form seven regional priorities for HECA s work on livelihoods and food security. The over-lapping spheres represent people with different levels of vulnerability for which different types of interventions / programming will apply at different points in their lives. The spheres at the top represent good governance by different actors which can create an enabling environment for developing sustainable livelihoods and for responding to crises through a combination of measures. The bars at the bottom depict key drivers leading to sustainable livelihoods and food security. Complex problems require complex solutions Oxfam in HECA engages with different stakeholders, involving as well as influencing them in providing sustainable solutions for livelihoods and food security. This includes the communities and households themselves, government / authorities (at different levels), other NGO s and civil society organisations, as well as the Private Sector. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 4

6 1. Governance Good governance underpins sustainable livelihoods and food security as government policies and investment flows determine people s access to food, basic products and services. Good governance and accountability of all government, private sector and other duty bearers (for instance, traditional authorities) are essential to ensuring poor and vulnerable people s rights and opportunities are protected. Oxfam s work on governance involves influencing different actors (through advocacy, lobbying, providing evidence and engagement) to develop and implement pro-poor policies and practices for livelihoods and food security. Oxfam seeks to develop the capacities, rights and responsibilities of marginalized people in particular women. This requires engagement with the political elite as well as promoting a public-private partnership in which governments become enablers rather than blockers. Specific policy areas relevant to livelihoods include: - implementation of a business environment that encourages investment into marginal communities and is conducive to growth benefiting small producers, in particular women; - provision of social protection systems by government to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable are met; - improvement in the provision of and access to public goods and services to support people s livelihoods; - development of clear policies and frameworks to link rural and urban areas/concerns; - management of resource-based conflicts; 2. Market systems Markets are pervasive in most livelihoods and food security strategies in HECA. However, people living in poverty suffer from unequal and limited fair access to markets and their benefits e.g. due to unfair trade terms and limited (bargaining) power. Equal and fair participation in and benefits from markets for women, who often carry the burden of production without associated access to or power in markets, is particularly challenging. We will continue to work with and through markets, seeking to improve poor women s and men s access to markets for commodities (food and other needs and services), inputs, and products and services (such as labour). In emergencies, we will monitor market delivery of food and basic goods and services, and endeavour to support access to markets by the most vulnerable where appropriate. In our long-term programming, we seek to influence or develop market systems that benefit smallholder producers. Markets approaches provide a useful set of tools for understanding systems and defining systemic changes needed to improve poor people s lives. Market systems approaches invite us to analyze and understand the whole system as a basis of improving people s lives with different stakeholders, and allow designing interventions that ensure access to food and goods, to inputs for production, and to income sources. Oxfam s Gendered Enterprise & Markets approach provides a framework for developing and influencing market systems so that they benefit smallholder women producers in particular, while the Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) toolkit allows programmes to develop markets based interventions to secure people s access to food and essential goods and services in times of crisis. 3. Women s empowerment Whilst women across HECA play a major role (over 60% of agricultural work is carried out by women) they reap the least benefit from these efforts. They also are most vulnerable in terms of food insecurity, violence and conflict, and limited access to resources. Despite all the work women do towards household and community livelihoods, women are more likely to be poor than men. Oxfam is committed to putting poor women s rights at the heart of programming through working towards three objectives: 7 7 As agreed 2011 Livelihoods Learning Event on Gender. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 5

7 a) Support for livelihoods programme development in HECA that will deliver transformational changes leading to economic, political and social empowerment of poor women. b) Ensure learning on approaches to putting women at the heart of programming is shared across the region and globally. c) Provide mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating, and improving livelihoods programmes so that they have a real impact on women s livelihoods and rights. Oxfam s Livelihoods work promotes women s economic leadership which provides one entry point that can lead to improved political and social power for women. However, the two often are reciprocal and livelihoods programming needs to link with our governance and women s empowerment work to ensure that these complement the rights of women. 4. Natural resource management / environment Achieving sustainable livelihoods and food security in HECA will require that all people have the resources needed such as food, land, water, health care, and energy to fulfil their human rights. The impacts of livelihoods programming on natural resources need to be better understood, and solutions sought that build the natural resource base and Earth s critical processes and systems. 8 Livelihoods in HECA are intrinsically dependent upon natural resources in the region, and upon the climate which governs life supporting and productive systems. Yet the environmental systems on which livelihoods depend are becoming increasingly threatened, unreliable, and scarce. Vulnerable communities are particularly exposed to the consequences of eroded ecosystems and ecosystem services such as water, clean air, accessible land, forests, and biodiversity. Whilst most heavily dependent upon these resources, women tend to have minimal control over natural resources. Oxfam needs to develop interventions that uphold access to and sustainable use of resources, mediating between communities, governments and the private sector to ensure that natural resources are managed sustainably within environmental limits and with fair access for their rightful stewards. Programmes need to support sustainable resource planning, use, and management in order to secure fair and equitable access to these resources in the future. 5. Social Protection. For people who cannot and will not be able to participate in livelihoods strategies that meet all their needs, Oxfam will ensure that there is adequate protection and support to provide these women and men with the basic necessities for a dignified life. In some cases this entails providing support that acts as a stepping stone towards building livelihood options, particularly when people adopt new livelihoods strategies such as when they move to urban areas. Oxfam will also ensure that mechanisms are in place for people who take risks and adapt to or adopt new livelihoods strategies, for instance through insurance schemes. 6. Emergency responses Oxfam recognises that emergencies will arise in HECA over the coming years. OXFAM s humanitarian mandate requires responding to between 10% and 25% of affected populations in high risk countries. Crises increase people s vulnerabilities by directly or indirectly threatening the very foundations or assets - on which their livelihoods are built. OXFAM aims to ensure that responses to crises are timely and effective, preventing those who are able 8 See Kate Raworth, A Safe and Just Space for Humanity. Discussion paper, February HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 6

8 to engage in livelihood strategies from losing all their assets during a crisis and ensuring vulnerable households access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, water and other necessities for living an active and healthy life. A range of different crises can affect people in HECA and are usually due to a combination of factors including weather / climate (such as drought of flooding); political instability; economic crises (including rising prices of food or crashing prices of commodities such as coffee) or social (including chronic disease such as HIV Aids). Many of these crises are recurrent and cyclical, and our livelihoods strategies have to be able to address the consequences of these crises. Conflicts, characterised by a lack of resources, law and order, a proliferation of small arms, and a breakdown of the social structures and behaviours that protect the most vulnerable people, require particular strategies. Oxfam in HECA, will build internal, partner, and communities capacities to monitor, recognise and respond to conflict. In addition our programmes will ensure that any interventions do not put people at further risk nor inadvertently fuel conflicts or create new ones. 7. Working with the private sector Oxfam recognizes the private sector (PS) as a key driver of development and a possible formidable force in poverty reduction if its actions do not compromise the rights of people and the environment. Oxfam sees its role in this regard as facilitating fairness and equity in the activities of the PS by engaging, lobbying, contracting, consulting and working with the latter in a variety of ways. This requires a deeper understanding of, working with, and promoting the development of a fair and equitable PS that contributes to equitable economic growth, livelihoods, and economic justice through providing jobs, services, goods and market access for people, particularly women, living in poverty as well as ensuring sustainability not only in financial or economic terms but also environmental terms. We will particularly seek out opportunities for promoting women s empowerment through women s equitable involvement in and benefits from private sector development. Working with the private sector encompasses a range of approaches from influencing to increase investment in services and goods such as provision of appropriate technology and energy; co-creating products and services for the poor, such as financial products; as well as working with the informal or formal micro / small / medium sized sector to develop an equitable and fair private sector that provides opportunities for women and men living in poverty. Linking HECA regional priorities to OXFAM global priorities: 1. Sustainable food security and poverty reduction: securing the asset base; sustainable production; power in markets; national agricultural and food security policy 2. Redistribution/ re-directing of major financial flows: transparency, accountability and due diligence in corporate & public governmental financial flows; domestic tax reforms; community voice and participation 3. Equitable and sustainable use of land, water and carbon: Equitable and sustainable natural resource use; ethical lifestyles; coalitions of ambition to reduce carbon emissions 4. Enabling environment for poor women s economic empowerment: strengthening women s property rights; ending regulatory and customary discrimination; increasing women s representation in producer organizations 5. Urban: support women s & youth s economic empowerment/leadership via social enterprises e.g. waste recycling, green jobs, cheap renewable energy, water & the informal sector. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 7

9 Ways of Working This framework outlines a vision and ambitions for achieving sustainable livelihoods and food security in HECA. Implementation of the framework will rest with country strategies, programmes and resourcing plans. However, a number of common themes emerge for our approach to implementing this framework. These are outlined below. The list is not exhaustive, but provides a guidance for the approaches which we will develop and employ in order to realise our ambitions. One programme approach. Oxfam s one programme approach integrates campaigning and advocacy into programming in order to increase impact and create significant and lasting changes in policies, attitudes, and beliefs that affect poverty. Transformations that improve the overall operating environment, shift power towards more vulnerable people, and change attitudes and beliefs are drivers that can lead to sustainable livelihoods and food security. Therefore livelihoods and security programmes must work at multiple levels which include campaigning and advocacy. This includes linking with the GROW and Rights in Crises campaigns that seek to address injustices caused by conflict, climate change, and food systems. People s livelihoods and therefore incomes are also linked with their ability to secure their dignity and future through being able to access essential resources and services such as water, health, and education. Conversely, people s vulnerabilities and livelihoods are directly affected by their ability to build and access these assets creating a natural imperative to also work together with our WASH, Education, and Essential Services programmes. Analysis. We have always built our programmes on thorough analysis and must continue to do so, extending this analysis beyond the initial stages of programme development and into programme implementation. Critical thinking, systems mapping, holistic analysis of problems are attributes necessary for responding to the non-linear trajectories of life and therefore our programmes. Analysis has to be of entire systems be these market systems, ecosystems, landscapes, recognising that systems are inter-connected, multi-layered, complex and dynamic. Analysis needs to be an integral and ongoing part of programs designed to respond to both crisis and opportunities, and be cognisant of benefits and potential harm of any actions. In order to build resilience and empower the communities where we work, it is important that their capacities to analyse and understand complex problems and solutions are developed. Adaptation. Since most livelihoods shocks in HECA are cyclical/ongoing, Oxfam needs generate an upward spiral of development. At times this means programming to strengthen the resilience of existing systems. Increasingly, it also means adapting or stepping out into new livelihoods options to build community adaptive capacities and resilience. Adaptation strategies will be closely linked to careful analysis and advocacy that shift attitudes and policies towards meeting the demands in changing contexts. Accountability is core to Oxfam s success and Oxfam is committed to be accountable people whom we work with/ support, treating women and men living in poverty as rights holders as well as responsible drivers of change and contributors to development. This implies a shift in approaches from consultation and delivery/ implementation to more emphasis of co-creation and facilitation. It also requires programmes to continuously assess and adapt to the risk and harms, as well as benefits, that emerge from programmes. Advocacy. Influencing key actors (at local, national, regional and global levels) can generate the conditions necessary for people to enjoy food security and livelihoods. Our advocacy work must ensure that we build power within people to become drivers of change themselves, and is strongly linked to building capacities of communities. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 8

10 Facilitation and brokering entail Oxfam playing a role of bringing and linking different stakeholders together, working through others, and empowering others to act. Unlike direct service provision, which can create dependencies on Oxfam, facilitation and brokering brings other actors such as different levels of government, private enterprises and communities together for mutually beneficial outcomes. Through facilitation, Oxfam can build the voice, capacity, and motivation for people to place demands on different actors and hold others to account for delivering changes that lead to their food security and livelihoods Working with others. OXFAM works through others to reduce poverty. We will work with partners and other stakeholders to formulate joint solutions and to ensure the right actors fulfil their responsibilities towards society and are held accountable to communities where they Transition from Safety Nets to Livelihoods with Social Protection operate. For instance, we will work with governments to ensure that they are able to provide social protection mechanisms in the long term thereby reducing reliance on NGOs. Where governments fail to deliver social protection we will work through partners to ensure that the most vulnerable people receive the support that they need. Emergency Preparedness. Effective and timely response requires that good baseline information is present, clear preparedness actions are taken, monitoring linked to clear triggers and actions are in place, staff and partners are equipped with the capacity to respond, and practical response plans are created which can be easily taken up by others. The ability to respond to a crisis depends on a number of factors including community preparedness, an understanding of what triggers a crisis and a rapid response mechanism. Whilst programming can help build community capacities to identify and manage risks better, our own response mechanisms also need to be strengthened. Oxfam will ensure that assessments conducted include basic analysis of threats to civilians and their coping mechanisms, and that monitoring includes any changes to a particular situation. This will enable us to respond effectively, if needed, by utilising advocacy, direct assistance, sharing of information, or through building the voice of the vulnerable. In addition it will enable us to build programmes which do not put people at further risk nor inadvertently fuel or create new conflicts. Capitalising on opportunities and fostering innovation. Rather than focusing mainly on problem areas contributes towards innovation and finding lasting solutions. New opportunities in HECA exist in a range of sectors, from information technology, in financing, new market development to the new spaces that constitutional changes provide. Fostering innovation involves taking risks, building on and investing in successes. It also means recognising, learning from and letting go of less successful pilots! Multi-stakeholder approaches. Working with and through others is important not only because it opens spaces for others to help analyse and design programmes, but also because through multistakeholder forums / platforms it is often possible to leverage change and support through others. Oxfam s role as facilitator provides a crucial approach to address complex problems through joint programming that is inclusive of different actors with a stake in a particular issue. Flexibility. In a resource constrained world, we cannot rely on specialists for every context that we work in. Our staff and partners must be flexible able to apply their skills in different contexts be they within their geographic areas of responsibility, or in new areas where needs arise. Processes also need to allow for flexibility in matching resources with needs and support sharing and learning amongst personnel, as well as shifting resources around. Finally, processes need to be able to be adapted to different circumstances quickly in order to respond to the urgency of crises or the needs of stakeholders and partners, such as the private sector. Gov t / Social Protection Sustainable Livelihoods NGO Safety Nets Oxfam Focus (now) Oxfam Impact (Long Term) Sustainable Livelihoods Govt Social Protection NGO Safety Nets We want to be moving from here to there in xx years HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 9

11 Learning & capacity building. Action learning and research provide powerful platforms through which to build capacity skills, resources, knowledge and networks of staff, partners, and other stakeholders will require development. Programmes that are co-created through inclusive processes build capacities, joint learning and ownership. Learning needs to be set as an integral part of programming, and Oxfam needs to find a balance between the delivery of programmes, and finding time and resources to step back and reflect. We need find ways to share our learning and resources across countries within the region, helping each other to deliver livelihoods and food security. Collaborative efforts through staff secondments, loans, and cross-country support combined with regional level learning and training activities will provide important vehicles to improve our capacity to deliver across the region. Exit strategies & sustainability. Good programming sees the end of the programme at its inception. Sustainability involves ensuring stability and security of the very components which a programme delivers through mechanisms that do not require further financial assistance or other forms of intervention. Organisation Complexity theory and systems thinking provide powerful approaches through which to work, and can help programme staff, partners, managers as well as external stakeholders identify new pathways to development. These approaches will also challenge some of the thinking, processes and tools currently employed within Oxfam and externally. Oxfam and our stakeholders already offer a wide range of skills that we need to make the changes towards more sustainable and resilient development pathways. We need to agree to sharing skills to build stronger programmes through secondments, providing advice to other regions, and participating in learning events. To bring about a reconcilement in the division between emergency and long term programs ( EFSL and Livelihoods ), a number of organisational features will be important over the coming years. These are outlined briefly below, and will be covered through separate plans at regional and country levels in more detail. Consolidated Advisory Support Technical advisory and support services, need to be available in all programmes be they in an emergency or a long term or transitional nature. The basic skills will be the same, and advisory staff need to be able to apply their knowledge to different contexts. Such exchange builds learning and understanding across our programmes allowing improvements in the way that we develop our long term as well as emergency programmes. Two main areas of building internal capacity will need to be examined: - At country level, exploring opportunities for more cross-programme and cross-country learning and support, both through exchange learning events, but also through offering staff to support other programmes than those which they are focused on. - At a regional level, revising the way in which advisory and support services are provided so that it is aligned more along the lines of technical expertise (e.g. for instance on markets, social protection, cash programming financial sector, natural resources) which can be applied in a range of different contexts including emergencies. Three main developments would enhance the effectiveness and speed of delivery of all technical advice: 1. ensuring a mechanism exists that prioritises emergencies and enables quick release in the case of a crisis from other responsibilities of an adviser, whilst guaranteeing a proportion of resources are always available for long-term programming. 2. building a solid database of consultants and external sources who can support our work. 3. building capacity of advisers on common approaches to programming, M&E, analysis etc. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 10

12 Systems and Structures Oxfam's systems currently discourage innovation and risk taking, and even put off some stakeholders, particularly from the Private Sector, from working with us. There needs to be a serious look at some of the systems and processes within Oxfam, what purpose they serve, and how they are carried out. While recognizing the need to remain accountable to stakeholders, many of our systems could be streamlined so as facilitate nimbleness, reduce response times and encourage (calculated) risk taking. For example, working with the Private Sector requires quick decision making and implementation which bureaucratic systems, such as multiple sign-off requirements for recruitment of consultants or staff, are often at odds with. Funding Many of the approaches to livelihoods and food security programming contained in this framework will require changes to Oxfam s approaches and therefore to the way in which funders / donors are willing to support us. Some donors are already embracing some of these the principles e.g. bringing short term / humanitarian responses in line with long term development approaches. Other approaches, such as being responsive to changes in a complex world, will challenge donors comfortable in traditional logframe style programming. This requires better profiling by showing evidence based impact, stories, experiences and learning with a view to making Oxfam the Go-to- Agency for donors. Through being more strategic and pro-active and influencing donors we can shape the way in which livelihoods and food security are delivered across different actors in the region. Single Management System (SMS) This framework has been developed predominately by Oxfam GB and reflects ambitions and thinking embraced by the OGB regional leadership team. At a time when countries are forging ahead to integrate their programmes with other affiliates, this framework acts as a good marker of where OGB stands. However, in order to become relevant, it needs to be shared and imbedded in the SMS process. Conclusion Much of Oxfam s livelihoods work in HECA is shifting from addressing only the most extreme forms of livelihood vulnerability and food insecurity, to developing livelihoods as a key driver of change within the region. This shift recognizes the potential for equitable economic growth and social protection to contribute to peace, stability, good governance and general well-being for communities across the region as well as improving food security. We aspire to continue building and strengthening approaches that integrate food security and livelihoods across all of our programming recognizing that food security and livelihoods programmes in rural agricultural, arid/semiarid lands, and urban need to be developed to address a range of issues. HECA FSLH Fwork - v12 (jz180712) Page 11