Based on Tearfund's draft document on 'Organisational Capacity Indicators and Measurement Guidelines' for development work, the following have been identified as areas for assessment of partner capacity to work in relief situations. The same guidelines as for development still apply but with additional extra strengths necessary for good relief response.

The work has been based on the assumption of a rapid onset disaster situation of huge proportions. This places it at the far end of the relief/development spectrum and therefore creates a case for the most extreme assessment need.

Legitimacy

Does the NGO have a clearly defined mandate and objectives for the relief work that it wants to do?

Does it fit in with the overall vision and strategy of the NGO?

Is the NGO already engaged with the local community? Will it remain long term involved with the community after the emergency is over?

Does it already have a proven track record of working with the beneficiary group in some other capacity?

Has the partner any previous experience of this type of relief effort before and the particular sector in wish it wishes to work (eg watsan, health, food distribution etc.)?

Organisational Management

Does the NGO have the ability to remain neutral, non-partisan and impartial in any relief programme? (It may be easier to be impartial but real neutrality can be extremely difficult for a local NGO).

Does the NGO have the flexibility and adaptability necessary to respond to a constantly changing political and military situation?

Does it have the security experience and wisdom needed for working in a potentially dangerous environment?

Are financial management systems in place to cope with large amounts of international donor money?

Internal Functions

Does the NGO have the organisational structure to make rapid decisions that also fulfil sound accountability requirements?

For NGOs working in countries which often experience emergencies,what disaster preparedness measures are in place for early recognition or mitigation of likely disaster situation? Are staff regularly trained in awareness of these?

Are standard procedures in place already to respond rapidly to the most likely needs? and are administrative systems simple and clear so that new staff and those unfamiliar with them can react rapidly and efficiently?

Does the NGO have the ability to sift and assimilate vast amounts of information quickly and act upon what is relevant and important?

Does the NGO have the ability to seek and maintain funding from governments and other big donors?

Does the NGO have the proven ability to provide accurate and concise reports both financial and narrative for a variety of different donors, including experience of producing logframes etc?

Programme Management

Does the NGO have the ability to look objectively at the underlying causes of the emergency and keep them in mind when managing relief projects? Need to maintain a macro perspective at all times and avoid not being able to see the wood for the trees.

Is the NGO able to monitor adequately the side effects of relief interventions? Has the NGO developed the analytical skills necessary to self evaluate programmes? What kind of impact evaluations can be put in place and made by the NGO itself?

Project Management

Does the NGO have experienced logisticians and a sound logistics base with clear systems? Is there experience within the department for setting up and using appropriate forms of emergency communications? Can such communications systems be implemented rapidly if provided with the necessary resources?

Is the NGO able to provide an available pool of suitable personnel (? Christian) for rapid recruitment in an emergency? Drivers, administrators, translators etc are often needed urgently and should be objectively chosen for their abilities rather than their family ties.

Does the NGO have previous experience of carrying out needs assessments (even if no programme resulted from it)?

External Relations

How good is the NGO at networking with government, departments, other NGOs (both national and international), and UN bodies? Has the NGO done this level of networking before? Is representation good amongst other NGOs? What kind of a reputation does the NGO have amongst others?

Is the NGO able to co-ordinate and co-operate with these different bodies both in relief planning and on becoming operational? Is the NGO able to provide regular representation at interagency meetings and and issue verbal and written feedback on project progress or setbacks?