In the EU project CapaCities a core team of 3 knowledge partners – the Safety region South-Holland South and ITINERIS health & safety from the Netherlands and the Regional Centre of Sustainable Development from Moldova – has helped three cities in Eastern Partnership countries: Ararat in Armenia, Kutaisi in Georgia and Ungheni in Moldova. The general objective was to structurally improve the capacities of these three cities to lead and coordinate a structured process of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) planning. By the end of the project these cities were capable to continue a structured DRM planning, led by knowledgeable and competent focal points and based on a concrete DRM strategy including a roadmap (local, with relevant regional dimensions), that has been developed during the project with all relevant stakeholders. The project was funded by European Union Civil Protection
One of the results of the project, specifically developed by ITINERIS, was a Framework for Local Peer Review. This framework is based on the experience of the European Commission with DRM peer review on national level, as well as the good practices of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In accordance with the wide experience of OECD in peer reviews, a local DRM peer review is defined as: “a systematic examination and assessment of the performance of a municipality in the field of Disaster Risk Management by expert colleagues (peers) from other municipalities.” A peer review is a discussion amongst equals and not an external audit or judgement. This makes peer review a more flexible tool. Municipalities may be more willing to accept criticism and fresh ideas, and other municipalities more prone to provide those, if both sides know it does not commit them to the recommendations, but that it rather provides fresh insights. As such, peer review is considered a governance tool, rather than a technical, analytical tool. It helps to foster dialogue between municipalities, as well as between the municipality under review and its vital DRM stakeholders.
More information can be found at www.drm-capacities.eu
