Research projects and partners

"Understanding Vulnerability of Coastal Communities to HIV/AIDS" (India)

• Partner: Swasti Health Resource Center
  
• Partner mission: To enhance the health and well-being of communities through innovating, improving the effectiveness of organizations in the health sector, and assisting communities to better address their health care priorities.
• Key finding: Trauma, crowded living conditions, lack of employment, and lack of HIV education contributed to a spike in vulnerability to HIV infection in the aftermath of the tsunami.
• Completed: May 2007

"Toolkit for Mainstreaming HIV prevention and AIDS care in (Natural) Humanitarian Emergencies" (India)

• Key outcome: development of a toolkit to bridge the gaps in understanding on the HIV vulnerability of tsunami-affected coastal communities and to integrate HIV mitigation strategies in the ongoing tsunami response activities.
• Completed: December 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher/Swasti CEO, N. Shiv Kumar, shiv@swasti.org

"Understanding Gender Mainstreaming Strategies by NGOs in Tsunami Rehabilitation" (India)

• Partner: Anawim Trust
• Partner mission: to empower rural communities to exercise their rights and access to natural resources in order to increase control over their lives, livelihoods, and environment.
• Key finding: NGO staff lacking personal understanding of women's needs were less effective at meeting the needs of women and girls following the tsunami; gender mainstreaming is necessary to negotiate complex social relations following a disaster.
• Completed: April 2007
• Contact: Lead researcher, Chaman Pincha, pincha.chaman@gmail.com

"Strengthen Gender Mainstreaming in Tsunami Response: Through Research Dissemination, Toolkit Development and Capacity Building" (India)

• Partner: Nanban Trust
• Partner mission: To combat exploitation and oppression of children through the protection and promotion of their basic human rights.
• Key outcome: Development of a disaster-specific and evidence-based toolkit on gender mainstreaming that is relevant for aid providers local to South India.
• Completed: November 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher, Chaman Pincha, pincha.chaman@gmail.com

"If It Rains Again: A Rapid Assessment of the Shelters in Five Tsunami Affected Districts" (India)

• Partner: Department of Social Work, Loyola College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Partner mission: To help students better understand rural and urban social issues, and build on their conceptual and practical skills.
• Key finding: Temporary shelters deteriorated long before many displaced people were able to move into permanent houses, leaving shelter residents living in conditions that were unhealthy and unsafe.
• Completed: October 2006
• Advocacy videos: "If It Rains Again," on the standards of living in temporary shelters, and
  
• "Resisting Coastal Invasion" on the overcrowding of India's coastlines, which leaves poor coastal people more vulnerable to storm surges.
• Contact: Rector of the college, Father K. Amal, S.J., kamalsj@gmail.com; Lead researcher, Ashok Xavier Gladstone, gladstonexavier@gmail.com; Hari Krishna, Oxfam America, hari_2068@yahoo.com

"Public Awareness and Policy Research and Advocacy for Appropriate Shelters: Building on Lessons From Tsunami Response in South India" (India)

• Partner: Visual Search
• Partner mission: To foster communication and create spaces for social action in India through production and distribution of documentaries and feature films on social issues.
• Key message: Documents the processes and conditions under which aid organizations were more or less than successful in delivering shelter after the tsunami, and highlights lessons for the future.
• Completed: November 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher, K. P. Sasi, kpsasi36@gmail.com

"The Coir Industry in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: National Institute of Business Management (NIBM), Sri Lanka
• Partner mission: To train students to take advantage of business opportunities in management and industrial technologies.
• Key recommendations: Coir sector workers ought to use mechanized equipment to spin twine faster and create value-added products like doormats, brooms, and planters to increase their leverage in the marketplace.
• Completed: August 2006
• Contact: NIBM director general, Dr. E. A. Weerasinghe, weerasjp@yahoo.com; lead researcher, S. C. Kaluarachchi, kalu_sck@yahoo.com

"Research on Reviewing Existing Disaster Preparedness Policy and Practice" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Sri Lanka
• Partner mission: To contribute to the economic development of Sri Lanka and enhance the quality of life of its people through research-based analysis of national policy issues.
• Key finding: For national disaster management policy to be effective, greater political will, community input, and closer coordination between government, civil society, and the private sector are required.
• Completed: October 2006
• Contact: IPS executive director, Dr. Saman Kelegama, kelegama@ips.org; lead researcher, Paul Steel, steele@sltnet.lk

"Field Study on Previous Community Capacity Building for Disaster Preparedness" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development (IPID)
• Partner mission: To transform the processes of governance and community development by promoting participatory methodologies among governmental, non-governmental and community-based organizations.
• Key finding: When aid providers did not align their capacity-building work with community priorities or with other aid agencies, projects failed to engender full community engagement.
• Completed: September 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher/IPID chairperson, Mallika R. Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net; IPID executive director, Jayatissa Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net

"Study on Paddy/Rice Sector in Tsunami and Conflict Affected Districts in Sri Lanka" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Batticaloa
• Partner mission: To pursue teaching, research, scholarship for the enhancement of public welfare, prosperity, and culture.
• Key finding: Three years after the tsunami, the high cost of rice seed and the long-term damage to their fields made it difficult for farmers to recover financially from the tsunami; diversifying livelihoods and marketing options for farmers is essential to long-term recovery.
• Completed: June 2008
• Contact: Eastern University vice chancellor, Dr. N. Pathmananthan, Tel. +94 (0) 65-2240581; lead researcher, Professor K. Thedenamoorthi, dcensus@lanka.com.lk

"Participatory Action Research on Community-Based, Hazard-Specific Disaster Risk Reduction" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: Institute for Human Development and Training (IHDT)
• IHDT mission: to develop the capacity of communities in Sri Lanka to face the challenges of the 21st century by creating people-oriented approaches to human development.
• Partner: Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI)
• SLFI mission: To develop training, education, awareness, and research around human rights, gender, and labor relations. Advisory support by the Disaster Management Center (DMC)
• Key finding: Local communities have unique and specific ways to keep members safe in emergencies; understanding these local practices can be useful to aid providers during a humanitarian response.
• Completed: September 2008
• Contact: IHDT, lead researcher, Prabath Patabendi, prabhthp@yahoo.com; SLFI chairman, Dr C. P. Udawatta, slf_chairman@padanama.org; SLFI director and lead researcher, Dr. P. B. Dharmasena, dharma.fcrdi@yahoo.com

"Improving Disaster Risk Reduction in India through Research Capacity" (India)

• Partner: DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation
• Partner mission: To improve the livelihoods of poor people by fostering innovation, helping local development institutions reach scale, and bringing young professionals into the development sector.
• Key outcome: The founding of the Advanced Center for Enabling Disaster Risk Reduction (ACEDRR), a disaster-risk reduction research center within the development-focused Tata-Dhan Academy; in its first year, ACEDRR conducted 20 research and pilot projects on topics related to disaster risk reduction.
• ACEDRR mission: The mission of ACEDRR is to enable the integration of disaster risk reduction into mainstream development by building and sharing knowledge gained from practice and by pioneering research, networking and advocacy.
• Completed: December 2008
• Contact: DHAN Foundation director, Mr. Vasimalai, tatadhanacademy@satyam.net.in; ACEDRR coordinator, Sangeetha Rajadurai, sangeethatda@gmail.com

"Study on Mental Health Interventions in Emergencies" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: People's Rural Development Association
• Partner mission: To enhance the economic and social well-being of rural poor people, and in particular women, in Sri Lanka by building the capacity of community-based organizations.
• Key finding: Local communities have their own criteria and indicators of well-being, which can be measured over time to understand how psychosocial responses to disaster recovery are progressing.
• Completed: November 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher, Chamindra Weerackody, chamindra@wow.lk

"Contingency Plans for Rapid Emergency Response" (India)

• Partner: Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief (RedR)
• Partner mission: To provide frontline relief agencies with technical assistance in restoring the everyday lives of disaster-affected communities.
• Key impact: Helped Oxfam's partner organizations develop resource-based contingency plans, which provide comprehensive information about physical and human resources for disaster response.
• Completed: July 2008
• Contact: RedR India director, Sarbjit Singh Sahota, sarbjit@redrindia.org; lead researchers, Victor Moses, moses_victor04@yahoo.co.in, and Mandar Vaidya, mandarcv@yahoo.com

"Learning from the Tsunami: Insights for Future Leaders" (India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia)

• Partner: Center for Environmental Education (CEE)
• Partner mission: To improve public understanding of environmentally sustainable development through education.
• Key impact: Prepared youth researchers for careers in humanitarian research and response; the final report compiled lessons learned from the tsunami for young people interested in following a similar path.
• Completed: June 2008
• Contact: Project manager, Madhavi Joshi, madhavi.joshi@ceeindia.org; lead researcher, Gopal Kumar Jain, gopal.jain@ceeindia.org

"Research on Gender and Women's Empowerment in Disaster Risk Reduction" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: IPID
• Partner mission: To transform the processes of governance and community development by promoting participatory methodologies among governmental, non-governmental and community-based organizations.
• Key finding: While women were involved in disaster risk reduction programs at the community level, there is a lack of women's participation at decision-making levels.
• Completed: November 2008
• Contact: IPID chairperson, Mallika R. Samaranayake, ipidc@panlanka.net; lead researcher, Indira Aryarathne, mika345@yahoo.com

"Study on Strengthening Local Capacity for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction" (India)

• Partner: Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of Coastal Communities
  
• Partner mission: To build disaster-resilient and sustainable coastal communities by working with local, state, and national public and private stakeholders to develop appropriate interventions for local problems.
• Key finding: Local governance is an essential component of disaster management; humanitarian agencies have an important role to play in helping disaster-affected communities build better relationships with local government and creating the conditions in which they can respond to disasters themselves.
• Completed: December 2008
• Contact: Lead researcher/BEDROC director, Annie George, annie.anniegeorge@gmail.com

"Participatory Action Study on Sustainable Exit Strategies for Tsunami Related Programs" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES)
• Partner mission: To deepen the understanding of identity politics and conflict, and to foster conditions for a peaceful society through research, publication, dialogue, creative expression and knowledge transfer.
• Research completed: December 2008 (report forthcoming)
  
• Contact: Lead researcher, Sanayi Marcelline, smarcelline.ices@gmail.com

"Impact Assessment" (India and Sri Lanka)

• India partner: Alchemy Urban Systems
• Partner mission: To provide professional services in development research, development planning, urban environmental planning, and management.
• Sri Lanka partner: Dr. Buddhadasa Weerasinghe, consultant, formerly with the DMC, Sri Lanka.
• Research completed: December 2008 (report forthcoming)
  
• Contact: India lead researcher, Mr. B.R. Balachandran, bala@alchemyurbansystems.com; Sri Lanka lead researcher, Dr. Buddhadasa Weerasinghe, buddhi4@hotmail.com

"Pilot Study on Review of International Finance to Tsunami-Affected States" (India)

• Partner: Environmental Planning Collaborative (EPC), India
• Partner mission: To transform human settlements in India and South Asia into productive, equitable, safe, and sustainable living environments through interventions in mainstream urban planning, development, and management policies and practices.
• Key finding: Funds given by international donors to the government of Tamil Nadu for tsunami relief and rehabilitation were more than the amount of money spent by the state government on such projects.
• Completed: June 2006
• Contact: Former EPC director, Dr. B. R. Balachandran, bala@alchemyurbansystems.com; Lead researcher, Darsan Parikh, dparikh@crisil.com

"Study on the Impact of Humanitarian Aid on Conflict" (Sri Lanka)

• Partner: Colombo University Community Extension Center (CUCEC), Sri Lanka
• Partner mission: To undertake research on social and economic development issues and to create an environment for professionals from government, NGOs, and universities to collaborate and participate in training and action-oriented community development research.
• Key finding: Discrepancies in distribution criteria and poor coordination between responders has caused or inflamed underlying tensions in some Sri Lankan communities.
• Completed: October 2006
• Contact: Lead researcher/CUCEC director, Professor Lakshman Dissanayake, uc-jica@eureka.lk