Completed Review of OCHA IM&A

KonTerra recently completed the global review of OCHA’s Information Management (IM) and Analysis function. The purpose of the review was to evaluate whether the IM and Analysis tools and products met the needs of humanitarian decision-makers. Over 200 interviews were conducted, and visits were made to five regional and country offices (Jordan, Nigeria, Panama, Somalia and Ukraine).

The findings show a broad recognition of OCHA’s leading role in IM and Analysis in the humanitarian response efforts. Through this function, OCHA provides critical support to inter-cluster analysis, and thanks to its highly decentralized  system the support offered is contextualized at both the country and global levels. Differing expectations from humanitarian actors, the great variety of tools and approaches and the absence of a clear IM and Analysis strategy have hindered the streamlining of OCHA’s function.

The review recommends creating a governance mechanism to ensure strategic oversight, coherence, and accountability for IM and Analysis activities. In addition, developing a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for the IM and Analysis function would help reduce fragmentation and enhance the analytical offerings. The review suggests a unified resourcing strategy and a strengthened inter-agency coordination through strategic coordination bodies to bolster the IM and Analysis approach.

The review team was led by Terrence Jantzi and composed by Lisa Peterson, Omar Gonzalez, Erika Rojas and Mélanie Romat. Jane Burke and Sophie Dunn supported the team as QA advisors. The public facing report is available here: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/provision-information-management-and-analysis-organizational-review.