CRISIS MODIFIER

CMs can also be used for Anticipatory Action, in areas where there is an AA protocol/framework in place.

Whether it gets activated or not, there are a number of key steps related to the CM that DG ECHO partners are expected to take throughout the various phases of an DG ECHO-funded Action, these include the following:

Action design:

• carry out a risk assessment, identifying potential risks that might justify the inclusion of the CM in the proposal
• set indicators, related triggers and a contingency plan for the CM activation
• include a dedicated disaster preparedness result in the Logic of Intervention and a dedicated CM line in the budget of the Action
• explain how the CM budget will be used to scale up activities falling under another Result of the action in the event that no activation occurs

Action Implementation:

• Partners will monitor the preset indicators and the potential achievement of the related triggers.
• If triggers are ACHIEVED: Partners will activate the CM (simply notifying ECHO, as no approval for activation is required – see below). Please note that, although it is not a contractual obligation, if the CM is not activated, a valid justification must be provided to DG ECHO.
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• If triggers are NOT ACHIEVED: No activation occurs. Funding may be redirected towards the implementation of the activities falling under another Result of the Action, as stated in the Single Form at design stage.  Please note that toward the end of the Action, the partner may also discuss with DG ECHO the option of amending the Single Form and removing the CM result.

Final reporting:

• If the CM was ACTIVATED: Partners will explain why the CM was activated and how it was used
• If the CM was NOT ACTIVATED: Partners will report that activation of the CM was not required and, thus, indicators associated with the CM-related result are irrelevant

Notification of the Crisis modifier

As the CM is linked to a dedicated Result of the Action with its corresponding Budget, it is considered approved in the same way as any other component of the action described in the approved Single Form. This helps to keep the activation process simple and rapid. However, DG ECHO expects Partners to notify relevant ECHO personnel in a timely manner about the need to activate it and to provide essential information about the activation, including the nature, magnitude, and severity of the crisis evaluated against the triggers set in the Single Form, as well as the thresholds and specific planned response activities. Such a notification consists of an email to the DG ECHO Technical Assistant (TA) in the country, unless otherwise specified (for example, it may be recommended to inform also the Desk officer).

If the partner decides to include a CM in an action, this has to be encoded as a separate result and must be present in the Logical Framework of the action (preferably the last result tab). 

There is no standard formulation for the CM result, and partners may propose their own. (for example: In DRC: Emergency assistance for targeted households in case of renewed displacement due to violence.)

• In the result sub-chapter, enter the result title of the CM. On the sector tab, select from the drop-down menu the “Disaster Risk Reduction/Disaster Preparedness” sector and the “Contingency Planning and Preparedness for Response” sub-sector, independently of whether it is a multi-sector or single sector approach. 

• In the sector tab, you should also indicate the estimated total amount allocated to this result. The budget allocated to the CM should be proportional to the overall total budget of the action (it is recommended to stay within the average observed amount of 10%). It should be based on the type of envisaged interventions and an indicative number of beneficiaries (if possible). Determine whether this amount can be provided at the proposal stage and, if not, indicate “0”. This last case is strongly not recommended and should be seen as an exception. In this case, a plan should be agreed upon with ECHO regarding how the CM would be funded in the event of activation.

• Moving to the indicator tab, for this subsector a key result indicator (KRI) is expected to be used. The indicator and its description are non-editable “Number of people covered by early actions / contingency plans” but the source, method of data collection, baseline and target value can be modified. A custom indicator can be used in conjunction with the KRI. It could be relevant to include an indicator measuring the time lapse between the trigger and the activation of the crisis modifier, in the case of an early response. For example: “Number of days between the crisis and such a response (suggestion to generally quantify as 24/48/72 hours between the crisis and the response).” In the case of anticipatory action (actions taken before a forecasted shock) an example of a custom indicator could be “Number of days between the activation of the CM and the shock”.

• The activities tab, must provide a short description of preparedness measures already in place (for example, linkages with national early warning systems, triggers for engagement / disengagement, surge staff, coordination with non-DG ECHO/EU-funded assistance). Partners are required to describe here also the type of activities that will be implemented under the CM. For example: Short-term unconditional cash transfers, short-term food distribution, provision of emergency water supply etc. In the activities tabs the partner should also indicate what will be done with the allocated funds if there is no activations of the CM (i.e. scale-up another result). Please note: CMs do not support preparedness actions, they support the response/anticipatory action in case of an emergency. Any preparedness actions should be carried out beforehand through other means (mainstreamed in the action for example).

• In the chapter “Needs Assessment and Risks Analysis” provide here a risk analysis on which the Crisis Modifier is based. You can describe here the options for activation (for example, displacement due to conflict, epidemics, natural hazards, etc.), triggers and thresholds of the CM.
  For recurring and predictable crises (e.g. cyclone and monsoon season, recurring cholera outbreaks or conflict-related displacement), partners should have the programming ability to consider predictable events in the risk analysis and design scenarios for activation and triggers, which can be quantitative or qualitative. Triggers should be defined in collaboration with the relevant sectors / sector clusters and national authorities for harmonisation and complementarity, whenever possible.

• In the Chapter “Field Coordination”, you will address the issues of coordination other actors (national, local and development actors).

• In the related country tab of the chapter “Project Data Overview by Country” partner will indicate the geographic area(s) where the CM will be used and the number of unique beneficiaries.  Please note that, the idea of the CM is that it is faster for an organisation which is already working on the ground to act early after a shock than to set up a new response. Therefore, in general the geographic areas should be the same (or near) as the general project being implemented. Furthermore, the sector should be the same: if it is a WASH project, the CM should mainly work on WASH too.