Poster Session #2: UC South Ballroom

Presentation Type

Poster

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Kimber H. McKay

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Anthropology

Abstract / Artist's Statement

The April 2015 Nepal earthquake was the largest such event since 1934. It killed thousands, injured tens of thousands, and left an estimated two million homeless. The property damage was estimated to be equivalent to 25% of Nepal’s GDP. The chaos caused by the earthquake was soon compounded by a complex political gridlock and resulting blockade, which has only recently been resolved. In this catastrophic setting, the non-governmental organization response was difficult to coordinate, and occurred with reduced capacity due to inadequate or total lack of access to resources. Kopan Monastery temporarily shifted the locus of its work to the immediate relief effort, from its normal educational operations. Since earthquakes are a continuous possibility in Nepal and other tectonically active regions, active monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of disaster response is an important part of preparedness for future events. We suggest a framework to monitor and evaluate Kopan Monastery's response to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Our work indicates that a simple LogFrame approach informed by social networks analysis of the disaster response will provide the best framework. This can be manifested by a short-term repeatable timeline of actions stakeholders at the monastery can do during an ongoing relief effort. Most geological disasters are difficult to plan for and respond to, as they involve sudden stochastic events. Earthquakes are magnitude-predictable, yet not time-predictable. However, risk can be seen as chronic and can be minimized with adequate techniques. In Nepal, the swiftness and flexibility of an organization’s response is vital in ensuring immediate needs are provided for. Accordingly, the M&E framework must be flexible, simple, and straightforwardly applicable to sudden catastrophic events. We hope our M&E framework will provide Kopan Monastery with the tools to assess and modify its response to better serve its community in the future.

Category

Social Sciences

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Apr 15th, 3:00 PM Apr 15th, 4:00 PM

Disaster Relief: A Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for Kopan Monastery

The April 2015 Nepal earthquake was the largest such event since 1934. It killed thousands, injured tens of thousands, and left an estimated two million homeless. The property damage was estimated to be equivalent to 25% of Nepal’s GDP. The chaos caused by the earthquake was soon compounded by a complex political gridlock and resulting blockade, which has only recently been resolved. In this catastrophic setting, the non-governmental organization response was difficult to coordinate, and occurred with reduced capacity due to inadequate or total lack of access to resources. Kopan Monastery temporarily shifted the locus of its work to the immediate relief effort, from its normal educational operations. Since earthquakes are a continuous possibility in Nepal and other tectonically active regions, active monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of disaster response is an important part of preparedness for future events. We suggest a framework to monitor and evaluate Kopan Monastery's response to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Our work indicates that a simple LogFrame approach informed by social networks analysis of the disaster response will provide the best framework. This can be manifested by a short-term repeatable timeline of actions stakeholders at the monastery can do during an ongoing relief effort. Most geological disasters are difficult to plan for and respond to, as they involve sudden stochastic events. Earthquakes are magnitude-predictable, yet not time-predictable. However, risk can be seen as chronic and can be minimized with adequate techniques. In Nepal, the swiftness and flexibility of an organization’s response is vital in ensuring immediate needs are provided for. Accordingly, the M&E framework must be flexible, simple, and straightforwardly applicable to sudden catastrophic events. We hope our M&E framework will provide Kopan Monastery with the tools to assess and modify its response to better serve its community in the future.