Reporting & dissemination
- Jean-Christophe Barbiche (Unlicensed)
- Aliocha Salagnac
Report & disseminate information on WASH needs, response and gaps
List coordination reporting requirements and set up reporting calendar
From the initial stages of the emergency, the WASH coordination platform have a key role in relaying and reporting information on needs, response progress and identified gaps. Reporting by the WASH coordination platform has several specific objectives and target, as listed in the table below. All reporting template and examples can be found in the Visual and reporting templates section of the Information management chapter.
| Objective | Details | Tools and mechanism |
|---|---|---|
Operational gap analyses | At subnational level, there is the need for the WASH partners to be quickly informed about needs and response gaps to orientate their operation |
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| Inform strategic decision | At national level, there is the need for HC/HCT, the National WASH coordination platform and the donor to get consolidated information on response input and quality, to understand the reason for bottleneck and be able to address them |
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| Report on strategic indicators | At national level, there is the need to report on HRP strategic indicators, to inform OCHA and UNICEF's Monitoring and Evaluation system |
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| Advocacy | At global level, there is a need for the Global WASH Cluster and WASH partners' HQ staff to understand the nature of the quality issues faced by the partners and the possible underlying causes (lack of capacity, specific technical or contextual challenges, lack of funding…) in order to provide adequate support and advocate as necessary |
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| Accountability | To enhance accountability and participation, affected population must be informed of the current and expected level of WASH services |
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Much of the reporting can be anticipated: a calendar of reporting requirements must be developed by the WASH Sector Coordinator in consultation with OCHA and UNICEF (as CLA) and included in the WASH Coordination Platform workplan in the early stages of the response. The robustness of the analysis plan, indicator definitions and calculations, and means of data collection, compilation, and cleaning – covered in the preceding Chapters – comes into play: provided these are in place, it will be easy to update and automatize reporting tools and products. That will minimise the time spent on basic reporting, and allow the IMO to focus on other more strategic tasks.
Who is doing it?
Reporting is a responsibility shared by all coordination team members, although WCC will be more involved in the reports’ design and finalization, while the IMO will work more on content and visualization.
Produce regular WASH sector dashboards and bulletins
One of the main responsibilities of the WASH coordination platform regarding reporting is the production of regular WASH response Dashboard and bulletin (refer to Visual and reporting templates section of the Information management chapter), usually on a monthly basis.
Contribute to UNICEF and OCHA reporting mechanisms
The Cluster response tracking systems will feed into overarching response tracking systems maintained by OCHA (as the lead agency for coordination) and UNICEF (as WASH Cluster Lead Agency), which will vary slightly from context to context. It is critical to clarify information requirements, format, and frequency, and to factor this into the Cluster’s system design. Reference and support materials are maintained both by OCHA and UNICEF, and are available on line (see OCHA and UNICEF tools in Key guidance and tools above). It is a good practice to align the WASH core and strategic indicators to the UNICEF reporting system, to minimize the number of indicators to be informed.
Disseminate response updates to relevant audience
Response progress and gap analysis reports must not only be communicated to OCHA and UNICEF, but also reach all relevant humanitarian actors. Due to the large amount of information circulated in modern emergencies response, dissemination channels and format must be carefully chosen so it reaches its target without overloading partners with information, especially through email list.
Websites | See WASH sector website section in Information Management chapter. |
Social Media | Many organisations are using social media as part of their overall dissemination strategy. Social media such as Twitter or Whatsapp can be very useful in emergency situations. |
SMS | In some emergency situations where connection is limited, SMS may be the best way to share data, both in sending and receiving information. There are many service providers specifically targeting humanitarian situations. Consult on best practice with colleagues, many responders have experience in using SMS in countries prone to disasters. Beware of hidden costs. |
URL Shorteners | It is often necessary to share links to various websites or document repository. The links may be long and not easy to managed. Use a URL shortener to create a shorter link to completed web addressed. for instance, in first phase emergency, you display a short URL on a white board during a cluster meeting that partners can copy on their notebook and use back in the office to download documents. |
Key external web links