Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................................ I

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................. 1

ARC INSURANCE..........................................................................................................................................................1OVERVIEW OF THE CONTINGENCY PLANNING STANDARDS AND PROCESS..................................................................................3CRITERIA FOR A CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING (CGS)......................................................................................................6

SECTION 1: OPERATIONS PLANS.......................................................................................................................... 8

SECTION 1A: BASIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA..........................................................................................................................8SECTION 1B: IMPLEMENTATION CRITERIA.......................................................................................................................12SECTION 1C: THE GENERIC OPERATIONS PLAN FORMAT....................................................................................................13SECTION 1D: SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR OPERATIONS PLANS...........................................................................14SECTION 1E: OPERATIONS PLAN SCORING SYSTEM............................................................................................................18

SECTION 2: CERTIFICATES OF GOOD STANDING.................................................................................................20

SECTION 2A: RENEWAL OF CERTIFICATES OF GOOD STANDING..............................................................................................20

SECTION 3: FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (FIPS)...........................................................................................22

SECTION 3A: STANDARDS FOR FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS..........................................................................................23SECTION 3B: THE GENERIC FIP FORMAT........................................................................................................................23SECTION 3C: THE GENERIC SIMPLIFIED FIP FORMAT.........................................................................................................24SECTION 3D: SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR FIPS.............................................................................................25SECTION 3E: SIMPLIFIED FIP SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR RAPID-ONSET DISASTERS............................................28SECTION 3F: THE FIP SCORING SYSTEM.........................................................................................................................30

SECTION 4: GUIDELINES FOR MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING......................................................33

SECTION 4A: THE ROLE OF THE ARC AGENCY SECRETARIAT..................................................................................................34SECTION 4B: IMPLEMENTATION REPORTING STRUCTURE.....................................................................................................34SECTION 4C: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.............................................................................................................................35SECTION 4D: PROCESS AUDITS.......................................................................................................................................36

SECTION 5: DEVIATIONS FROM APPROVED PLANS............................................................................................38

SECTION 5A: EVALUATING DEVIATIONS FROM APPROVED PLANS..........................................................................................38SECTION 5B: THE ADJUDICATIVE PROCESS AND POSSIBLE PENALTIES......................................................................................39

APPENDIX 1: LOGFRAME SUMMARY – EXAMPLE FOR A FOOD-FOR-WORK DISTRIBUTION ACTIVITY (INCLUDING LIVELIHOOD RESTORATION WORK COMPONENTS)............................................................................................41

APPENDIX 2: PROCESS FOR AMENDING PLANS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION HAS STARTED...................................43

EMERGENCY WAIVERS...........................................................................................................................................43

ANNEX 1: LIST OF POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES (NON-EXHAUSTIVE) FOR THE RESCUE OR EMERGENCY PHASE OF FLOOD OR CYCLONE OPERATIONS................................................................................................................................ 44

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ANNEX 2A: GENERIC OPERATIONS PLAN- DROUGHT..........................................................................................45

ANNEX 2B: GENERIC OPERATIONS PLAN- FLOOD...............................................................................................46

ANNEX 2C: GENERIC OPERATIONS PLAN- CYCLONE............................................................................................47

ANNEX 3A: GENERIC FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- DROUGHT.......................................................................48

ANNEX 3B: GENERIC FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- FLOOD.............................................................................49

ANNEX 3C: GENERIC FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- CYCLONE.........................................................................50

ANNEX 3D: GENERIC SIMPLIFIED FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- FLOOD..........................................................51

ANNEX 3E: GENERIC SIMPLIFIED FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- CYCLONE.......................................................52

ANNEX 4: REPORTING FORMATS....................................................................................................................... 53

ANNEX 5: COMPLIANCE RULES.......................................................................................................................... 54

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INTRODUCTION

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) comprises two entities: the ARC Specialized Agency of the African Union (ARC Agency), and the ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd). ARC Agency provides capacity building services to Member States, as well as the political oversight and strategic direction for ARC, while ARC Ltd carries out the insurance and risk transfer functions of ARC.

The Governing Board of ARC Agency (the Board), in its role as the main governing and oversight body of ARC, is required to ensure that the activities being implemented using ARC Ltd funds adhere to the principles of ARC and meet the objectives of ARC as identified by the Conference of the Parties (the CoP) and the Agreement for the Establishment of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Agency (the Establishment Agreement). ARC aims to improve the predictability and speed at which responses to natural disasters are implemented in participating countries through the timely provision of funds and the use of pre-authorized contingency plans that address critical gaps in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

In order to ensure that countries are able to deploy ARC funds quickly and efficiently, the CoP and the Board have adopted certain criteria and standards that countries must meet before they are able to enter into an insurance contract with ARC Ltd. A country must have a Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) granted by the Board in accordance with criteria (the CGS Criteria) adopted by the CoP.1,2 As part of these CGS Criteria, a country must have a Contingency Plan approved by the Board.3

This document lays out the Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines (the CP Standards) established by the Board. It includes: the standards for the contingency plans; the process for their submission; guidelines for reporting, monitoring and evaluation; steps for dealing with deviations from contingency plans; and templates for submissions. The Board may amend the CP Standards over time as the Board, Secretariat and the participating countries gain greater experience with contingency planning and evaluation.

ARC INSURANCE

ARC offers, or will soon offer, insurance coverage for drought, cyclone and flood to countries that have obtained a CGS from the Board. ARC Ltd payouts are intended to be released to countries in a timely and predictable way so that governments can use ARC funding to assist affected communities after a natural disaster when other funds may not be accessible. The timing of these interventions will vary, depending on whether a natural disaster is slow-onset, such as drought, or rapid-onset, such as flood or cyclone, and ARC’s standards and procedures also vary according to the type of natural disaster.

1 See the Agreement for the Establishment of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Agency (Establishment Agreement), Article 13 paragraph 2 (h and l).2 Report and Decisions of the Second Conference of the Parties of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Agency, paragraph 9(d).3 See the Establishment Agreement, Article 15 (k and l).

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Drought In the case of drought, one of the most significant benefits of ARC is that the funds can be provided early – often before other funds are available – reducing the time it takes to assist vulnerable populations, protecting their livelihoods and preventing them from engaging in negative coping strategies. 4 Through the ARC contingency planning process, countries submit an operations plan that outlines the different ways in which the money could be spent in case of a payout. Countries then must submit a final implementation plan describing the use of an ARC Ltd payout when a payout is likely, which is defined as:

1. when the certainty of an insurance payout is greater than 70% within 60-70 days of the potential payout date; or

2. if, at the end of the sowing window defined in the insurance contract, it is determined that a country will be entitled to an insurance payout, regardless of the rainfall conditions for the remainder of the insured season.

The Director General of the ARC Agency (the Director General) may also declare that a payout is likely based on monitoring of the Africa RiskView Software.

Because countries experiencing droughts develop final implementation plans when a payout is likely, rather than waiting until the end of the insured season, ARC is able to release funds quickly at the end of the insurance period to countries whose final implementation plans have been approved, thereby helping to preserve the livelihoods of beneficiaries who would otherwise be negatively impacted by a delay in assistance.

Flood and CycloneARC funds are also intended to support countries affected by floods and tropical cyclones by providing access to quickly available liquidity to address critical needs faced by affected communities. Responses to a rapid-onset disaster, such as flood or cyclone, can be broken into three phases:

Phase 1: Relief Operations intended to meet the immediate, basic survival needs of the affected population such as protection, shelter, food, water and medical attention, for one to three months, and to resume basic services. Phase 2: Early Recovery Operations include restoring livelihoods by ensuring that affected populations are supported to resume basic food production and related livelihood activities, and by restoring lifeline infrastructure such as electricity, water, telecommunication, and transport, or by a combination of both, for example, cash-for-work programmes, or restoring infrastructure critical for supporting livelihoods. Phase 3: Rehabilitation/Rebuilding Operations refers to the rehabilitation or replacement of assets that were damaged by the natural disaster, including both public and private facilities.

4 See ARC Cost Benefit Analysis, http://www.africanriskcapacity.org/documents/350251/371565/ARC_CBA_and_Response.pdf

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ARC funds are intended to support operations that maximize the effectiveness of the funds within the context of the overall response, and to ensure that immediate lifesaving activities transition smoothly into livelihood protection and early recovery activities ahead of the rehabilitation and rebuilding phase. A non-exhaustive list of potential activities that a country may consider implementing during the rescue or emergency phases of flood or cyclone operations is attached at Annex 1.

During both slow and rapid-onset natural disasters, it is expected that the provision of timely and reliable funds linked to robust contingency plans will result in improved response and recovery operations for beneficiaries in participating countries5.

OVERVIEW OF THE CONTINGENCY PLANNING STANDARDS AND PROCESS

An ARC Contingency Plan comprises two parts (collectively, the Plans), which, together, constitute the Contingency Plans described in the Establishment Agreement6:

1. An Operations Plan includes information regarding: the country’s natural disaster risk profile, risk transfer parameters, planned interventions, and draft implementation plans for each possible activity proposed. A country must have an Operations Plan in order to qualify for a CGS.

2. A Final Implementation Plan (FIP) details information on how an ARC Ltd payout will be deployed after a specific natural disaster event.

Countries work closely with the ARC Agency Secretariat (the Secretariat), through the ARC In-Country Capacity Building Programme (the Capacity Building Programme), to prepare to take out insurance. As part of the Capacity Building Programme, countries:

1. review, validate, and customize Africa RiskView, as necessary7; 2. determine risk transfer parameters; 3. develop an Operations Plan (with the support of the Secretariat, if so requested); and 4. identify further capacity building and/or support needs to address identified gaps in country

disaster risk management8.

5 See ARC Cost Benefit Analysis, http://www.africanriskcapacity.org/documents/350251/371565/ARC_CBA_and_Response.pdf6 See the Establishment Agreement, Articles 13 (h and l) and 15 (k-l). 7 The extent to which a country must customize Africa RiskView depends on the type of natural disaster for which it is seeking insurance coverage. In all cases it must validate Africa RiskView modeled results for past natural disasters.8 ARC seeks to help countries identify means in which their disaster risk management structures may be supported through existing capacity building initiatives. ARC intends to act as an interlocutor with agencies offering assistance in key disaster risk management areas and to ensure that countries are supported to receive appropriate capacity investments to support their Disaster Risk Management activities.

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Although many of the ARC requirements and standards are consistent across different categories of natural disasters, there are important differences in the preparation for each. Therefore, each natural disaster has its own capacity building workstream and a country must enter into separate insurance contracts for each peril. A country may engage in these workstreams simultaneously, or consecutively, depending on the resources of ARC and the needs of the country.

Operations Plan ReviewWhen an Operations Plan is finalized through in-country processes, the country submits it to the Secretariat, which in turn submits it to the Technical Review Committee (TRC) comprised of seven independent experts. The TRC reviews and evaluates the Operations Plan, and provides a report of its assessment (the TRC Report) to the Peer Review Mechanism (PRM) of the Board.

The PRM, which includes three members of the Board, conducts its own independent evaluation of the Operations Plan, taking into consideration the TRC Report. The PRM then issues a report to the full Board (the PRM Report) with its recommendations regarding whether the Operations Plan has met the criteria set by the Board.

The Board takes the final decision regarding whether an Operations Plan has met the CP Standards.

Final Implementation PlansPrior to an ARC Ltd payout, a country is required to submit a FIP through a process similar to the Operations Plan submission process, and the Secretariat will provide support to the country for its FIP development, if so requested. The FIP, which includes detailed information on how an ARC Ltd payout will be deployed during a specific natural disaster, should only include activities that have already been approved as part of the country’s Operations Plan, unless there is a clear justification provided, for example, in the case of a rapid-onset disaster or in the identification of specific unforeseen needs outside of those considered in the Operations Plan. If a country would like to include additional activities that were not already approved as part of the Operations Plan, it must also subsequently amend its Operations Plan, as described in Section 1D below.

Once a country has finalized its FIP, it shall submit the FIP to the Secretariat for onward transmission to the TRC and PRM.

Drought Response FIPsIf a country is submitting a FIP for drought response, it shall make the submission when it is determined that an insurance payout is likely9.

9 Likely in this case is defined as: 1) when the certainty of an insurance payout is greater than 70% within 60-70 days of the potential payout date; or 2) if, at the end of the sowing window defined in the insurance contract, it is determined that a country will be entitled to an insurance payout, regardless of the rainfall conditions for the remainder of the insured season. The Director General may also declare that a payout is likely based on the monitoring of the Africa RiskView Software.

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When a country has finalized its FIP, the TRC reviews the FIP and provides its comments to the country and the PRM. The PRM then reviews the FIP and the TRC Report, and provides its comments to the full Board. If the TRC and PRM determine that the FIP should be strengthened, it may be sent back to the country for revisions, after which time the TRC will re-review the FIP.

Once the TRC and PRM are satisfied that the FIP meets the standards adopted by the Board, the FIP is presented to the Board along with the TRC Report and the PRM Report. The Board takes the final decision regarding FIP approval. Once the FIP is approved ARC Ltd will release the payout to the country.

Cyclone and Flood Response FIPsIn the event of a major flood or a tropical cyclone, a country has limited advance warning of the natural disaster, and, therefore, may not have the opportunity to prepare a FIP in advance when an insurance payout for cyclone or flood is triggered10. For this reason, the country can elect to follow a two-stage FIP process to ensure a very rapid release of initial funds. The two-stage FIP process is designed to enable the rapid release of funds to fill an immediate liquidity gap in the aftermath of a rapid onset natural disaster. The first stage of the FIP process allows ARC to release a portion of the total potential payout quickly, with the approval of a simplified FIP (the Simplified FIP), to support rapid response to the disaster. The remainder of the payout is released in the second stage of the FIP process once the full FIP is approved.

It is the decision of the country whether they wish to take advantage of the accelerated two-stage process to enable rapid disbursement of an initial funding amount, or if they prefer to complete the full FIP and receive the full funding in one tranche. In the event of an accelerated process, the country is required to inform ARC as soon as possible of its intention to seek an accelerated payout.

When a country submits an Operations Plan for flood or tropical cyclone, ARC Agency will identify two members of the TRC or experts from the TRC roster11 (the Reviewers) who will be responsible for reviewing the Simplified FIP immediately after it is submitted following a flood or tropical cyclone. 12 The Reviewers must have relevant geographical experience, expertise in sudden-onset disasters, speak the language in which the country will be submitting its Simplified FIP, and must be willing to commit to reviewing the submitted Simplified FIP quickly. Reviewers are responsible for reviewing the Simplified FIPs, before either submitting to the Board for approval, or reverting to the country for further clarification ahead of a Board submission. The Board is responsible for approving Simplified FIPs.

10 The insurance contracts for tropical cyclones and floods will define the triggering mechanism for payouts; the triggering mechanism may vary depending on the circumstances in the country and the parameters of the insurance contract. 11 ARC maintains a roster of individuals qualified and available to serve on the TRC.12 If a country objects to a Reviewer selected by the ARC Agency, the ARC Agency shall use its best efforts to identify an alternative Reviewer.

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Once the Simplified FIP is approved, initial funds, representing 10% of the total potential payout or the amount of the premium paid by the country, whichever is larger, are released to support rapid response to the disaster. In order to receive payment of the outstanding amount of the insurance payout, the country must then complete the full FIP following the usual FIP process described above. Payment of the remaining funds will depend on full FIP approval.

This two-stage process is intended to increase the speed of fund disbursement in the event of a rapid onset emergency. The process aims to provide funding at a time identified in the Operations Plan process as a funding gap in the initial stage, and is therefore designed to be as light as possible.

CRITERIA FOR A CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING (CGS)

In order to take out insurance from ARC Ltd, a country must have a CGS granted by the Board, in accordance with the rules established by the CoP.13

To obtain a CGS, a country must: 1. Be a signatory to the Establishment Agreement; 2. Have a Contingency Plan, approved by the Board, detailing the use of an ARC Ltd insurance

payout14; 3. Have completed its review, validation and customization, if applicable, of Africa RiskView; 4. Be up to date in its financial obligations to the ARC Agency; and 5. Comply with its approved contingency plans when using an ARC Ltd payout, as outlined in the

Compliance Rules adopted by the CoP.15

Although the CGS Criteria uses the term “Contingency Plan,” only the Operations Plan must be submitted prior to the application for a CGS.

When the PRM has approved a country’s Operations Plan, the Secretariat submits it to the full Board as part of that country’s application for a CGS, along with documentation showing that the country has met the other CGS Criteria. If the Board determines that the country’s Operations Plan meets the CP Standards, it will immediately consider whether the country has met the remaining CGS Criteria.

If the Board grants a CGS to the country, the Secretariat will inform ARC Ltd and the country may then take out insurance from ARC Ltd.

13 Criteria for Granting Certificates of Good Standing (ARC/LW/D001.1703_15).14 See the Establishment Agreement, Articles 13 (h and l) and 15 (k-l). 15 Criteria for Granting Certificates of Good Standing (ARC/LW/D001.1703_15).

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SECTION 1: OPERATIONS PLANS

As described above, in order to receive a CGS, a country must submit an Operations Plan. The Operations Plan is intended to be flexible. Some countries may propose several potential activities that could be funded by an ARC Ltd payout with the intention of choosing from among the activities based on the specific situation at the time of a payout. Other countries may include only one activity that they believe will be suitable in any situation.

The purpose of an Operations Plan is to delineate the use of an ARC Ltd payout in advance so that if a country receives such a payout it will be prepared to use the funds immediately and effectively, capitalizing on the advantages of predictable and rapid intervention.16 Operations Plans should take into account existing national systems and deploy an ARC Ltd payout to support activities to reach needy households with assistance in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Operations Plans are evaluated based on two standards:1. Do the proposed activities meet ARC’s Basic Eligibility Criteria?2. Can the proposed activities be adequately implemented, monitored and evaluated (collectively,

the Implementation Criteria)?

A country must submit an Operations Plan that conforms to one of the Generic Operations Plans formats adopted by the Board, attached at Annex 2. There are different Generic Operations Plans formats for each type of disaster. When the TRC and PRM receive an Operations Plan, they consider each proposed activity separately. First, they evaluate whether the proposed activity meets ARC’s Basic Eligibility Criteria, and if the activity does meet the Basic Eligibility Criteria, the TRC and PRM then consider whether the activity meets the Implementation Criteria.

SECTION 1A: BASIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The TRC and PRM consider three questions when determining if an activity proposed in a country’s Operations Plan meets ARC’s Basic Eligibility Criteria. Is the proposed activity:

1. Time Sensitive and/or Catalytic:a. Time-sensitive activities are those that:

i) Are made possible through the provision of timely and reliable funds, andii) Are implemented within approximately 120 days of when an ARC Ltd payout is

received.b. Catalytic activities are those that prompt or enable other activities that ensure faster, more

predictable and more effective action for the overall response.

16 Cost Benefit Analysis of the African Risk Capacity Facility, International Food Policy Research Institute (2012). This Cost Benefit Analysis was specific to drought intervention.

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2. Critical Services and Impacts:

a. ARC Ltd payouts should not be used for general investment. b. Activities must aim to support and catalyse critical activities post-disaster. In slow-onset

events, this means protecting livelihoods of beneficiaries that would be negatively impacted if they need to wait to receive assistance or face a gap or inconsistency in their assistance. In rapid-onset events, this may include supporting the basic needs of those affected, and/or protecting livelihoods of beneficiaries.

c. The interventions offer the best use of funds within a specific timeframe, according to the best available understanding of needs and with interventions targeting clearly defined impacts to address these.

3. Able to be completed within six months: a. Activities that will be funded by an ARC Ltd payout should be completed within six months

in order to ensure that financial resources are utilized in a timely and efficient manner, capitalizing on the “fast reliable” funds principle of ARC.

Each activity proposed in the Operations Plan must meet all three eligibility criteria. The table below includes a description of the eligibility criteria and some key questions that can help determine if the activity meets the criteria. Examples of potentially eligible activities are also included in Appendix 1.

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CRITERIA DESCRIPTION KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

TIME SENSITIVE/ CATALYTIC

Timely: Activity which can be enhanced

by the timely and reliable funds that ARC provides.

Implementation and first contact with beneficiaries through activity is feasible within 120 days of an ARC Ltd payout.

and/or

Catalytic: Activity enables other activities

that ensure faster, more predictable and more effective action for the overall response.

Are there other funds available for these activities? o ARC funds should be used for activities where lack of available funds would delay

implementation. When would these activities occur without ARC funds? ARC funds should be used for

activities that would have to occur later due to lack of fundingo Is strong evidence provided that first contact with beneficiaries could happen

within 120 days, e.g. has this happened before? Could starting these activities quickly help minimize the impact of the emergency?

o Is evidence provided to show how this could be done, e.g. evidence from previous emergencies?

ARC Ltd payouts may, in some cases, be a small fraction of what is required to respond to an extreme weather event. Countries can use a payout on activities that facilitate an improved overall response – supported by other funding sources – either a) directly, by reducing the potential cost of the later intervention through the

activity; orb) indirectly, by taking action through the activity such that the needs and therefore

cost of the subsequent response is not as large as it could have been required without that action.

CRITICAL IMPACT

Show that the ARC Ltd payout will not be used for a general investment activity.

Proposed activity must demonstrate that it carries critical impact for beneficiaries who would be negatively impacted if they needed to wait to receive assistance.

Is this a general investment activity? o General investment activities are ineligible for funds from ARC. However countries

should identify how an ARC Ltd payout would protect ongoing investment activities and outline linkages to such longer-term programs.

What is at risk if the funds are delayed? o Activities must directly address the impact of the disaster, considering critical

services, basic and livelihood needs of those affected by the extreme weather event

How would the activity identified catalyse activities and/or address critical needs faced by those affected by a rapid-onset disaster?

Is credible evidence provided that this activity will be successful in catalysing and supporting the post-disaster response and recovery of beneficiaries in the event of an ARC Ltd payout?

How does this activity link to ongoing programs and activities, including those that promote investment in livelihoods? Activities should focus on things that align with the

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CRITERIA DESCRIPTION KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

objectives of country development programs.BOUNDED IN DURATION

Activity should be completed within six months to ensure that financial resources are utilized in a timely and efficient manner.

Can the identified activity be completed within six months after the start of implementation?

Does the information provided in the Operations Plan clearly show how this would be feasible? o Because the goal of ARC is to promote timely and predictable intervention, activities

need to start almost immediately after a payout and finish within six months by which time other funds, if required, will likely be available.

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SECTION 1B: IMPLEMENTATION CRITERIA

Once the TRC and PRM have determined that an activity meets the Basic Eligibility Criteria, they evaluate whether the activity can be implemented, monitored and evaluated. Activities may be implemented, monitored and evaluated through external partner entities that the country has utilized for past operations. Detailed information on any implementing partners must be provided as part of the Plans. In all cases, the country should seek to scale up existing activities, where possible, in order to guarantee the most efficient use of ARC funds. All partners should ideally be existing partners who have worked jointly to implement programs with the country in the past and, therefore, have been appropriately vetted as part of these prior activities. If in the case of a rapid onset disaster response partners are likely to be different to those used in normal programming, countries should submit pre-signed MOUs with relevant agencies for relief covering specific programme activities.

Each country must provide information on each proposed activity to outline how the activity will meet the Implementation Criteria – including budgets, timelines and information on all entities involved – across five different areas:

1. Operations – Countries should provide a detailed summary of the activity being proposed and all of the steps that must be carried out to complete the activity, including expedited procurement processes, if any.17

2. Administration and Flow of Funds – Countries will be required to outline how the government will manage an ARC Ltd payout internally and how it will reach beneficiaries as assistance, including in the case of a rapid-onset, accelerated payout scenario.

3. Needs Assessment – Countries will need to provide information on existing needs assessment approaches, any changes that would be necessary in the event of an ARC Ltd payout, including for within a Simplified FIP payout scenario, and details on alternative approaches being considered if appropriate.

4. Targeting – Countries will need to provide information on how they will carry out targeting of beneficiaries, the expected profile of beneficiaries and categories of beneficiaries, what type of targeting mechanisms and criteria will be used to identify the different categories of beneficiaries, and how they will ensure that the appropriate assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries in a transparent manner with attention to gender equality and social inclusion.

5. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System – Each proposed activity will require a monitoring and evaluation system that properly assesses the outputs of the program based on the objectives of ARC and ARC reporting requirements. The M&E system should be based, where possible, on the existing M&E system of the proposed intervention. Full information on the M&E

17Countries should submit emergency procurement guidelines as part of their Operations Plans.

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system must be provided.

The Generic Operations Plan Format includes questions intended to address these five areas. Countries must also submit documentation to support the information provided, including regarding the feasibility and adequacy of the systems proposed to carry out the functions described in the plan and the national (including partner) implementation capacity to execute the plan efficiently. As much as possible, the systems proposed across all five areas should build on existing and tested activities and processes, and work with identified partners that the country has worked with in the past. Further, proposed procurement, needs assessment, targeting and M&E systems must be sufficiently robust to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of funds associated with ARC.

SECTION 1C: THE GENERIC OPERATIONS PLAN FORMAT

The Generic Operations Plan formats for drought, flood and cyclone, were adopted by the Board, and are attached as Annex 2. They all include the following ten sections:

Section 1: General InformationSection 2: Country Natural Disaster ProfileSection 3: Institutional ArrangementsSection 4: Risk Transfer ArrangementsSection 5: Scenario Definition and CoverageSection 6: Intervention DetailsSection 7: M&E Framework and PlanSection 8: Programme Risk and Assumptions Section 9: Definition of SOPsSection 10: Annexes

Section 1: General Information requires the country to provide an overview of the Plan.

Section 2: Country Natural Disaster Profile requires the country to complete historical information on the type of natural disaster for which they are taking out insurance (drought, flood or tropical cyclone) and the responses to those natural disasters so as to better understand their country’s risk profile.

Section 3: Institutional Arrangements includes a series of questions regarding existing institutional arrangements intended to help demonstrate how ARC activities would link to the country’s broader institutional arrangements. This will ensure that, in the case of slow-onset events, ARC funding serves its purpose as a source of early, predictable funding to larger, established programmes and interventions.

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Section 4: Risk Transfer Arrangements asks the country to define its risk transfer parameters, including the proposed insurance coverage period, the expected payout frequency, the maximum payout amount, the risk transfer level, and the expected premium to be paid.

Section 5: Scenario Definition and Coverage leads the country through a process of scenario development taking into consideration different payout scenarios and the associated impact on vulnerable populations or on the country. It also asks a series of questions about the existing needs assessment process that happens within each country in response to or in anticipation of a natural disaster.

Section 6: Intervention Details is perhaps the most important section of the generic Operations Plan. In this section, each proposed intervention is identified separately. It includes a series of questions that provide detailed information about each proposed intervention including: determining whether they meet ARC eligibility criteria; identifying implementing partners and contact information; and providing details on the flow of funds, programme targeting, procurement needs, and M&E. This section concludes with a detailed Gantt chart timeline that demonstrates how the different steps of implementation can occur within the required ARC timeframes.

Section 7: M&E Framework and Plan requires the country to define the results framework and indicator set that it will use to monitor the disbursement of ARC funds. Since most of the indicators are pre-defined by ARC, this section primarily consists of defining a single measure of impact for each intervention. These measures must be feasible to collect under existing reporting and M&E processes. Section 8: Programme Risk and Assumptions focuses on identifying the plan’s assumptions and possible risks.

Section 9: Definition of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) allows the country to detail the step-by-step process of implementing an activity and turning the more generic Operations Plan into a FIP. The SOPs identify next steps and responsibilities in the event of a payout. Countries are encouraged to edit the proposed SOPs or include additional SOPs to ensure that they are relevant to their own context . The SOPs will provide key information for post-payout auditors to ensure that the plans were implemented and to better understand what worked and what did not. This will result in important feedback and learning for future plan iterations.

SECTION 1D: SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR OPERATIONS PLANS

OPERATIONS PLANS SUBMISSIONS

1. In order to apply for a CGS, a country must submit an Operations Plan to the Board in the format that the Board has established.

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2. At a country’s request, the Secretariat will assist countries to develop their submissions and to ensure that they meet the standards set by the Board.

3. Countries shall submit their Operations Plans to the Secretariat in their finalized forms at least 25 days prior to the TRC meeting and 40 days prior to the PRM meeting so that they may be translated, copied and circulated to the TRC and then the PRM in a timely manner. The schedule of the TRC and the PRM meetings shall be communicated in advance so that countries will be able to meet this deadline.

4. Operations Plans shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

TRC REVIEW OF OPERATIONS PLANS

1. The TRC is an independent review mechanism for the Plans, comprising a team of seven independent experts in contingency planning, humanitarian response and disaster risk management selected by the Secretariat to review the Operations Plans and at a later stage the FIPs submitted by the countries. The role of the TRC is to provide guidance to the Board on the quality of the Plans. The TRC is also responsible for providing specific recommendations to help countries improving their Plans.

2. The TRC is responsible for reviewing each Operations Plan in detail and evaluating among other things, whether the proposed plan provides sufficient information to ensure that a country:i) Has a good understanding of its natural disaster risks, early warning mechanisms, and

vulnerable populations;ii) Has in place the institutional arrangements required to monitor an unfolding disaster and

coordinate an appropriate response;iii) Demonstrates the necessary capacity to implement interventions in the event of an

emergency;iv) Shows that the proposed interventions meet ARC requirements and are feasible to

implement given existing capacity constraints.

3. When a country submits an Operations Plan for flood or tropical cyclone, the ARC Agency shall identify two members of the TRC or experts from the TRC roster18 (the Reviewers) who will be responsible for reviewing the Simplified FIP immediately after it is submitted following a flood or tropical cyclone.19 The Reviewers must have relevant geographical experience, expertise in sudden-onset disasters, speak the language in which the country will be submitting its Simplified FIP, and

18 ARC maintains a roster of individuals qualified and available to serve on the TRC.19 If a country objects to a Reviewer selected by the ARC Agency, the ARC Agency shall use its best efforts to identify an alternative Reviewer.

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must be willing to commit to reviewing the submitted Simplified FIP quickly, in accordance with the Simplified FIP process laid out in this document.

4. The review process by the TRC shall be conducted as follows:

i) The TRC members shall convene in a two-to-three day workshop where Secretariat staff shall present the plans prior to a final group rating.

ii) In order to preserve the independence and transparency of the process, the Secretariat shall not participate in TRC deliberations and final recommendations shall come from the TRC alone.

iii) Within three days of the workshop completion, the chairperson of the TRC shall provide in writing:

a) The TRC specific guidance to the country on how to improve its plan to meet ARC standards.b) The TRC recommendations to the PRM, the committee of the Board, established to review

the Operations Plans and FIPs and make recommendations to the Board.

iv) The Secretariat shall communicate the TRC recommendations to the country.

v) The country shall within two weeks modify and update its plan before resubmitting it to the PRM for its review.

PRM REVIEW OF OPERATIONS PLANS

1. The PRM, a committee of the Board comprised of three Members of the Board with expertise in agriculture, finance and disaster response, will convene an in-person meeting to conduct its review and make final recommendations to the Board, taking into account the Report of the TRC.

2. The PRM shall provide the PRM Report, a written report of its findings and recommendations with the TRC Report included as an annex, within five days of its meeting.

3. The PRM Report shall be submitted to the full Board, along with the Operations Plans under review.

BOARD REVIEW OF OPERATIONS PLANS

The Board shall review Operations Plans and take the final decision as to whether they meet the CP Standards established by the Board, taking into consideration the PRM Report and recommendations of the TRC.

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i. Operations Plans must be approved by consensus or by a two-thirds majority, in accordance with the Establishment Agreement.20

ii. The Board will communicate its decisions regarding the adequacy of the Operations Plans within one week of the review.

iii. If the Board does not approve a country’s Operations Plan, it shall produce a written Revision Report explaining the reasons for its rejection of the Operations Plan. A country may resubmit its Operations Plan as many times as are necessary to address the inadequacies of the Operations Plan identified in the Board’s Revision Report. If a country resubmits its Operations Plan, the TRC and PRM may meet electronically to review the improved Operations Plan.

BIENNIAL REVISED OPERATIONS PLAN SUBMISSIONS

An Operations Plan is valid for two years from the date on which it is approved. This timeline will ensure these plans are still valid in the case of countries that must submit their plans well before their coverage period in order to meet the ARC insurance cycle.

1. Any country with an approved Operations Plan shall submit a Revised Operations Plan every two years highlighting any changes or capacity developments during this period.

i. Countries shall submit their Operations Plans to the Secretariat in their finalized forms 60 days prior to the Board meeting at which they will be considered, and at least three months prior to the date on which the country will enter into its annual insurance contract with ARC Ltd.

ii. Revised Operations Plans shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

iii. The Board may establish such additional approval procedures for Revised Operations Plans as it deems necessary.

AMENDED OPERATIONS PLAN SUBMISSIONS

1. A country may amend its Operations Plan between biennial submissions for good reason, no more than twice.

2. If a country wishes to amend its Operations Plan between submissions, it shall notify the Secretariat of its intention.

20 See the Establishment Agreement, Article 16, paragraph 3.

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i. A country shall submit its amendments along with a complete copy of its most recently approved Operations Plan to the Secretariat in their finalized forms 20 days before the TRC meeting, and 40 days prior to the PRM meeting at which they will be considered.

ii. Amendments shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

iii. The Board may establish such additional approval procedures for Amendments as it deems necessary.

3. In some limited cases, the Board may require a country to resubmit its Operations Plan within this two year window, for example when a country is renewing its insurance. This could be necessary if there are significant changes to the operating environment in the country or unexpected conditions that require revision of the plan.

SECTION 1E: OPERATIONS PLAN SCORING SYSTEM

The Operations Plans are evaluated using a transparent scoring system for evaluating whether the activities proposed in a country’s Operations Plan meet ARC’s required threshold:

1. The reviewer shall assign a numerical score between zero (0) and five (5) to each of the ten sections of the Operations Plan. An example of the Operations Plan scoring system is below.

2. Each section has a weight assigned to it depending on the importance of the section.21 The final score for each category is determined by multiplying the weight as a percentage of the section by its score.

3. The overall score is reached by adding the final scores for each category, for a maximum possible score of 500.

4. The TRC is responsible for establishing the appropriate weight for each section. Each TRC member shall vote on his/her top three priority sections and then agree on weights for each section by the result.

5. For the two most critical sections – Section 3: Institutional Arrangements and Section 6: Intervention Details – the country must achieve a threshold score in order to pass. Without the specific minimum for each of the critical sections and despite the total score, an Operations Plan will not be recommended for approval.

21 The weighting of the sections was determined by the TRC. Each member voted on her/hid top three priority sections and then agreed on weights for each section based on the results of the voting.

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Scoring system for the Operations Plans with Example(A) Operations Plan Section

(B) Assigned Weight of each section (%)

(C) Required Minimums for key sections

EXAMPLEReviewer assigned score of 0-5 by section 0 = Incomplete5 = Excellent

The Operations Plan final score (weight *assigned score)

Section 1: General Information

5 3 15

Section 2: Country Natural Disaster Profile

10 2 20

Section 3: Institutional Arrangements

25 75 4 100

Section 4: Risk Transfer

0

Section 5: Scenario Definition

5 5 25

Section 6: Intervention Details

30 120 4 120

Section 7: M&E Framework

15 4 60

Section 8: Risks and Assumptions

5 3 15

Section 9: SOPs 5 2 10Total 100 365

The final scores of the plans shall be evaluated using the following scale:

0-299 Return to country for further work and analysis before resubmitting300-449 Provisional approval, but return to country for some clarifications450-500 Direct approval. Operations Plan may be submitted, as is, to the PRM. However, if

there is still information that the PRM Board requires, it may withhold final approval of the Certificate of Good Standing until missing information is provided.

SECTION 2: CERTIFICATES OF GOOD STANDING

As described above, the CoP has established the CGS Criteria governing the issuance and withdrawal of

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CGS.22 In order to receive a CGS, a country must:

1. Be a signatory to the Establishment Agreement; 2. Have a Contingency Plan, approved by the Board, detailing the use of an ARC Ltd insurance

payout, as required by the Establishment Agreement; 3. Have completed its review, validation and customization, if applicable, of Africa RiskView; 4. Be up to date in its financial obligations to the ARC Agency; and 5. Comply with its approved contingency plans when using an ARC Ltd payout, as outlined in the

Compliance Rules adopted by the CoP.

When the Operations Plans and PRM Report are submitted to the Board for consideration, as described in Section 1 above, the Secretariat will also submit an Application for a CGS to the Board on behalf of each country that has submitted an Operations Plan. The Application for a CGS will include:

1. Confirmation that the country is a signatory to the Establishment Agreement;2. The Operations Plan;3. An Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Report signed by both the country and the

Director of the ARC Agency Technical Team as confirmation that the country has completed any necessary review, validation and customization of Africa RiskView;

4. Financial statements, as relevant, to indicate that the country is up-to-date in its financial obligations;

5. A statement from the Secretariat regarding the country’s conformity with the Compliance Rules.

If the Board approves a country’s Operations Plan, pursuant to the CP Standards, it may immediately consider the country’s Application for a CGS. If the Board grants a CGS to a country, the Secretariat will notify the country and ARC Ltd within 2 days of the Board’s final decision.

SECTION 2A: RENEWAL OF CERTIFICATES OF GOOD STANDING

CGS are valid for two years, as are Operations Plans. Thus, every two years, when a country resubmits its Operations Plan, the Secretariat will also submit a new Application for a CGS on its behalf.

In years in which a new CGS is not required, a country may nevertheless be required to complete an Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Report for renewing its policy. For drought the Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Report forms the basis for the ARC Ltd drought insurance contract on an annual basis and, therefore, must be completed and signed annually prior to taking out drought insurance from ARC Ltd. It will include a review of the previous season’s Africa RiskView performance and detail any changes, if any, that have been made to the customization as a result and the associated and newly selected risk transfer parameters. When a country has signed its Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Report, it must send it to the Secretariat; the Secretariat will provide the

22 See the Establishment Agreement, Article 13, paragraph 2 (l).

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final Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Reports to ARC Ltd.

In the case of cyclone or flood insurance Africa RiskView customization is less involved and in some cases not necessary, however validation of historical model performance is always required. Thus, a country must also complete an annual Africa RiskView Customization & Validation Report – with a primary focus on validation – before entering into cyclone or flood insurance contracts.

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SECTION 3: F INAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (FIPS)

When a country has received a CGS, it is eligible to enter into an insurance contract with, and become a member of, ARC Ltd. If a country is entitled to an insurance payout, or, in the case of drought, an insurance payout is likely, a country is required to submit a FIP to the Board before it can receive its insurance payout.

While an Operations Plan may include a range of potential activities, the FIP should focus on the specific activity or activities that will be undertaken to address the current situation in the country with a greater level of detail. The selection of the appropriate activities should be based on the country conditions (fiscal, political, food security) at the time of submission, the size of the ARC Ltd payout, and the anticipated conditions, including commodity and other relevant prices and costs, at the time of the response.

The activity or activities should be chosen from among the activities included in the approved Operations Plan. If that is not possible, the country may amend its Operations Plan, as described in Section 1D, above. If a change is necessary after the implementation phase has begun, a country may amend its FIP. The rules for such amendments are included in Appendix 2.

When the FIP is approved, the country will receive the ARC Ltd payout, if one is triggered.23

Submission of a Drought FIP In the event that an ARC Ltd payout is likely for a drought, a country is required to submit a FIP to the Board not less than 35 days before the anticipated payout date in order to receive the funds in a timely way. ARC Agency will notify the country that an ARC Ltd payout is likely: i. when the certainty of that payout is greater than 70% within 60-70 days of the potential payout date; or ii. if, at the end of the sowing window defined in the insurance contract, it is determined that a country will be entitled to an insurance payout, regardless of the rainfall conditions for the remainder of the insured season. The Director General may also declare that a payout is likely based on the monitoring of Africa RiskView. Countries can also monitor the likelihood of a payout in-country by using Africa RiskView and discuss potential seasonal outcomes with the Secretariat.

Submission of a Cyclone or Flood FIP 23 Board approval of a FIP does not entitle a country to an ARC Ltd payout. ARC Ltd payouts will be determined based upon the terms set out in the insurance contract between the country and ARC Ltd. The FIP is merely a prerequisite to receiving a payout to which the country is otherwise entitled based on the terms of its insurance contract.

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The process for reviewing a FIP for cyclone or rapid-onset flood is intended to be faster than the drought FIP process because the country will not have enough advanced warning of an impending natural disaster and may need an immediate disbursal of funds. With this in mind, ARC has developed a two-stage fund release and approval process for flood and tropical cyclone. When an insurance payout for tropical cyclone or flood is triggered24, a country can choose to submit a Simplified FIP. The Simplified FIP submission and approval can result in the release of 10% of the total payout amount or the amount of the premium amount paid, whichever is larger. To receive the remainder of the payout the country must complete the full FIP and submit it through the standard FIP approval process. A country is not required to do the Simplified FIP and may do the standard FIP process in order to receive the full amount in one tranche if it prefers.

SECTION 3A: STANDARDS FOR FINAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

FIPs are evaluated on the same Implementability Criteria as Operations Plans, described in Section 1B, above. The FIP must include updated implementation plans for each activity, including associated logframes and budgets, and be as specific as possible with respect to timelines, the people to be assisted, projected results and entities involved. It must also clearly show how funds will be spent and how the work will be carried out. The Simplified FIP, described in Section 3C, will require the same information but in a more abbreviated format.

SECTION 3B: THE GENERIC FIP FORMAT

A country must complete its FIP following one of the FIP Formats approved by the Board, included as Annex 3. There are different FIP Formats for each type of natural disasters. The FIP and Operation Plan Formats are structured so that the information provided in the Operations Plan can be used as a starting point for the FIP, and can be customized based on the relevant natural disaster. The full FIP Formats contain the following 5 sections:

Section 1: General InformationSection 2: Current Natural Disaster (Drought, Flood or Cyclone) SituationSection 3: Description of intervention activitiesSection 4: Summary AnalysisSection 5: Standards Operating Procedures

Section 1: General Information covers basic information on the expected payout amount and date, which can be estimated using the data from Africa RiskView.

Section 2 : Current Natural Disaster (Drought, Flood or Cyclone) Situation requires the country to

24 The insurance contracts for tropical cyclones and floods will define the triggering mechanism for payouts; the triggering mechanism may vary depending on the circumstances in the country and the parameters of the insurance.

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describe the current natural disaster situation, the early warning activities taking place (in the case of drought) and the details of the needs assessment process. Based on the available data, countries are then asked to identify at-risk and already impacted areas, as well as the planned or expected response for each of these regions. While all of this information is generally laid out in the Operations Plan, the country must be more specific about the geography in the FIP, based on the circumstances unfolding on the ground. If needs assessment information is available, it should be provided.

Section 3: Description of intervention activities requires the country to go into detail for each of the interventions that is expected to be carried out during the current natural disaster episode. This includes details on the specific provinces that will receive assistance via these interventions, the estimated number of targeted beneficiaries in each, and the estimated cost of covering the targeted population with these interventions for the entire ARC implementation period. This section also requires the country to provide additional details on the flow of funds, targeting and procurement processes (where applicable), and to re-confirm the monitoring and evaluation strategy and the possible risks associated with the intervention’s implementation. Given that much of this information is defined in the Operations Plan, completing the FIP details should be a fairly rapid process.

Section 4: Summary Analysis the country is asked to estimate how ARC funds will be allocated across the planned intervention activities based on the current circumstances and expected payout amounts.

Section 5: Standards Operating Procedures focuses on the identification of SOPs, which are crucial. The country is asked to update and edit the list of the SOPs previously provided in the Operations Plan and to ensure their relevance to the current natural disaster scenario.

SECTION 3C: THE GENERIC SIMPLIFIED FIP FORMAT

To support an early release of immediate funds, comprising 10% of the total value of the ARC payout or the amount of the premium paid by the country to insure against flood or tropical cyclone, countries are required to complete the generic Simplified FIP format, reporting the event, scale, known impact and outlining proposed activities (see Annex 3) to support initial activities should there be a requirement to target available funds at the initial relief phase. This Simplified FIP is approved by the designated TRC Reviewers and then directed to the PRM and Board for ultimate approval and quick release of funds. Following this initial disbursement, countries are required to submit the full completed FIP to the Secretariat as described above for onward transmission to the TRC and PRM to secure the full release of funding.

The Simplified FIP formats are structured so that the information provided in the Operations Plan can be used as a starting point for the Simplified FIP, and the Simplified FIP can be used as the basis for the full FIP that the country must submit to obtain its remaining funds after a Simplified FIP payout.

The Simplified FIP Formats contain the following 4 sections:

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Section 1: General InformationSection 2: Current Natural Disaster (Flood or Cyclone) SituationSection 3: Description of intervention activitiesSection 4: Summary Analysis

Section 1: General Information covers basic information on the payout amount requested by the Simplified FIP and date, and how that amount relates to the total potential payout estimated using the data from Africa RiskView.

Section 2 : Current Natural Disaster (Flood or Cyclone) Situation requires the country to provide an overview of the current natural disaster situation and the needs assessment process. Based on the available data, countries are then asked to identify at-risk and already impacted areas, as well as the planned or expected response for each of these regions. If needs assessment information is available, it should be provided.

Section 3: Description of intervention activities requires the country to describe each of the interventions that is expected to be carried out during the current natural disaster episode. This includes details on the specific provinces that will receive assistance via these interventions, the estimated number of targeted beneficiaries in each, and the estimated cost of covering the targeted population with these interventions for the entire ARC implementation period. This section also requires the country to provide additional details on the flow of funds, targeting and procurement processes (where applicable), and to re-confirm the monitoring and evaluation strategy and the possible risks associated with the intervention’s implementation. Given that much of this information is defined in the Operations Plan, completing the FIP details should be a fairly rapid process.

Section 4: Summary Analysis the country is asked to estimate how ARC funds will be allocated across the planned intervention activities based on the current circumstances and expected payout amounts.

SECTION 3D: SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR FIPS

FULL FIP SUBMISSIONS

1. If a country has entered into an insurance contract with ARC Ltd and, in the case of a slow-onset event, it appears that the country is likely to receive an ARC Ltd payout at the end of the agricultural season, or, in the case of a rapid-onset event, a payout is triggered, the country must submit a FIP in the format that the Board has established. The Generic FIP Formats are included at Annex 3.

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2. At a country’s request, the Secretariat will assist countries to develop their submissions and to ensure that they meet the criteria set by the Board. In all cases, a country will have the opportunity to consult with the Secretariat before submitting its FIP.

3. A country should submit its FIP as early as possible in order to avoid delays in receiving the funds. In the case of drought, the FIP must be submitted at least 35 days before the payout date.

4. FIPs shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

REVIEW BY THE TRC AND ARC LTD BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1. The TRC shall review the FIPs to evaluate whether:

i) the FIP demonstrates that the country has all the necessary structures and protocols in place to quickly implement the proposed interventions in the event of an ARC Ltd payout;

ii) all essential information has been provided for the proposed interventions.

2. The ARC Ltd Board of Directors shall also review the FIPs for specific issues relevant for ARC Ltd, such as banking and financial issues.

3. The review process will be conducted as follows:

i) Within 14 days of their submission, the TRC members shall receive the country FIPs and review them individually, using the scoring system described in Section 3F below.

ii) Within the same period, FIPs shall also be transmitted to the ARC Ltd Board of Directors.

iii) The TRC and ARC Ltd Board of Directors shall submit their comments to the Secretariat. If either recommends that changes be made to a FIP in order for it to meet the Standards set by the Board, the comments shall be transmitted by the Secretariat to the submitting country so that the country may make any necessary changes to the FIP prior to its submission to the PRM.

4. The country shall within two weeks modify and update its FIP before resubmitting it to the Secretariat.

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5. The TRC and ARC Ltd Board of Directors shall provide their comments in writing to the PRM within 5 days of their final decisions. The TRC and ARC Ltd Board of Directors may delay their final decision to allow a country to respond to comments made during the review process.

REVIEW BY THE PRM

1. The FIPs, along with the comments of the TRC and ARC Ltd Board of Directors, shall be provided to the PRM.

2. The PRM shall meet in person to consider the FIPs.

3. If the PRM finds that a FIP does not meet the requirements set by the Board, it shall communicate its comments to the submitting country within 2 days. The PRM may recommend that a country make changes to its FIP prior to approval, by:

i) Sending comments to the submitting country;

ii) Providing a time period for the country to make changes to the FIP;

iii) Accepting the revised FIP for consideration.

j) The PRM shall communicate its recommendations regarding the FIP to the Board within 2 days of its final decision.

REVIEW BY THE BOARD

1. The Board shall make every effort to review and approve a FIP within 5 days of receipt of the PRM recommendations. The Board may take the decision to approve a FIP electronically.

2. The Board will communicate its decisions regarding the adequacy of the FIP to the submitting country within 24 hours of review.

3. If the Board does not approve a country’s FIP, it shall produce written comments regarding its reasons.

4. A country may resubmit its FIP as many times as are necessary to address the inadequacies identified in the Board’s written comments.

5. The Board may request that a representative of the country attend the meeting at which the FIP is reviewed in order to provide additional information as necessary.

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When a country’s FIP has been approved, the Secretariat will inform ARC Ltd that the country has met all of the requirements for an ARC Ltd payout.

SECTION 3E: SIMPLIFIED FIP SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR RAPID-ONSET DISASTERS

A country is not likely to have advance warning, or may only have limited warning, of a rapid-onset natural disaster such as flood or cyclone, and therefore, it may not have the opportunity to prepare a FIP in advance. Thus, a country may use the Simplified FIP process when faced with a rapid-onset natural disaster to obtain an early release of immediate funds, comprising 10% of the total value of the ARC payout or the amount of the premium paid by the country to insure against the flood or tropical cyclone, whichever is larger. The Simplified FIP Process is intended to allow the FIP to be reviewed thoroughly by experts, while ensuring that such a review is completed as quickly as possible. Following this initial disbursement, countries are required to submit the full completed FIP to the Secretariat as described above for onward transmission to the TRC and PRM to secure the full release of funding.

SIMPLIFIED FIP SUBMISSIONS

1. When an insurance payout for tropical cyclone or flood is triggered25, a country must submit a FIP or Simplified FIP in the format that the Board has established.

2. The country must immediately inform ARC of its intention to complete a Simplified FIP (see format at Annex 3).

3. At a country’s request, the Secretariat will assist countries to develop their submissions and to ensure that they meet the criteria set by the Board. In all cases, a country will have the opportunity to consult with the Secretariat before submitting its Simplified FIP.

4. Simplified FIPs shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

5. The Secretariat will make every effort to ensure that Simplified FIPs are reviewed within 48 hours of submission.

REVIEW BY THE TRC REPRESENTATIVE

1. The TRC Reviewers designation in the Operations Plan shall review the Simplified FIPs to evaluate whether:

25 The insurance contracts for tropical cyclones and floods will define the triggering mechanism for payouts; the triggering mechanism may vary depending on the circumstances in the country and the parameters of the insurance contract.

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i) the Simplified FIP demonstrates that the country has all the necessary structures in place to quickly implement the proposed interventions in the event of an immediate partial ARC Ltd payout;

ii) all essential information has been provided for the proposed interventions.

2. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ARC Ltd shall also consider the Simplified FIPs to ensure that the necessary banking and financial information is included to enable ARC Ltd to make a payout.

3. The review process will be conducted as follows:

i) The Secretariat shall provide the Simplified FIP to the TRC Reviewers and the CEO of ARC Ltd in the language in which it was submitted. The Secretariat shall also provide a short memorandum detailing the Secretariat’s recommendations regarding the Simplified FIP.

ii) Designated TRC Reviewers shall review the Simplified FIPs, using the scoring system described in Section 3F.

iii) The TRC Reviewers shall take final decision regarding their recommendations within 3 days of receipt of the Simplified FIP.

iv) If either the TRC Reviewers or the CEO of ARC Ltd wishes to recommend that changes be made to a Simplified FIP in order for it to meet the required standard, these recommendations shall be transmitted to the country within 2 days of their decision.

4. The TRC Reviewers shall provide their comments in writing to the PRM, via the Secretariat within 2 days of their decisions. The TRC Reviewers may delay their final decisions to allow a country to respond to comments made during the review process.

5. It is preferred that the TRC Reviewers meet in person, if possible, to take final decisions regarding its recommendations to the Board. If an in-person meeting is not possible, the Reviewers may convene electronically and/or telephonically.

REVIEW BY THE PRM

1. The PRM shall have 48 hours to review the Simplified FIP and the recommendations of the TRC Reviewers, and submit any objections to a Simplified FIP to the Secretariat. In the absence of any objections from the PRM, the Secretariat shall submit the Simplified FIP to the Board.

2. If the PRM objects to the Simplified FIP, the Secretariat shall communicate the comments to the country. The country shall make amendments to the Simplified FIP as quickly as possible in response to the comments of the PRM.

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REVIEW BY THE BOARD

1. The Board shall make every effort to review and approve a Simplified FIP within a maximum of 48 hours of receipt of the recommendations of the PRM and the TRC Reviewers. The Board may take the decision to approve a Simplified FIP electronically.

2. The Board will communicate its decisions regarding the adequacy of the Simplified FIP to the submitting country within 24 hours of reaching a decision.

3. If the Board does not approve a country’s Simplified FIP, it shall produce written comments within 24 hours regarding its reasons.

4. A country may resubmit its Simplified FIP as many times as necessary to address the inadequacies identified in the Board’s written comments.

5. The Board may request that a representative of the country attend the meeting at which the Simplified FIP is reviewed in order to provide additional information as necessary.

When a country’s Simplified FIP has been approved, the Secretariat will inform ARC Ltd that the country has met all of the requirements for an ARC Ltd payout.

SECTION 3F: THE FIP SCORING SYSTEM

The challenge for scoring the FIP or Simplified FIP is that countries must complete a FIP and the PRM and TRC Reviewers must review the FIP within very narrow turnaround times. A scoring system should not unduly delay a payout, yet it should ensure that the FIP contains enough detail for the PRM to have confidence in the implementation. The following proposed process ensures that the plans meet a minimum threshold.

Rather than a scoring system as proposed for the Operations Plans, the recommended FIP evaluation is based on a set of requirements that must be met in order for the plan to be approved. If one or more of these requirements is not met, the FIP will be returned to the country for amendments.

The FIP scoring system is divided into two parts:1. A first set of questions that evaluate whether the FIP covers generic requirements

that demonstrate that the country has all the necessary structures in place to quickly implement the proposed interventions in the event of an ARC Ltd payout (needs assessment process, identification of affected areas, allocation of ARC funds, clearly defined SOPs).

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2. A second set of questions that will enable reviewers to assess whether all essential information has been provided for the proposed interventions.

Table 1: Example of Overall FIP Requirements

Criteria / RequirementsDoes FIP satisfy the requirement? (Y/N)

Comments

Section 1: Contact details, bank account details26 and information on the expected payout are provided.

Section 2: The plan describes the current natural

disaster The requested information on the

needs assessment process is provided.At a minimum, the impacted areas have been identified, an initial rapid assessment has been carried out, and a planned/expected response estimated for each (may be waived for a Simplified FIP, depending on circumstances).

Section 3: (see next table)

Section 4: An estimated allocation of ARC funds across the different interventions is provided.

Section 5: The country has clearly identified responsible parties for all SOPs and SOP turnaround times are generally realistic. SOPs reflect the information provided in the rest of the FIP and demonstrate confidence in the country’s/implementing agencies’ ability to execute (does not apply to the Simplified FIP)

26 The ARC Ltd Board of Directors shall review the FIPs for specific issues relevant for ARC Ltd, such as bank account details and related issues that could prevent a payout.

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Table 2: Intervention-specific requirements

Criteria / Requirements

Does Country FIP satisfy the requirement? (Y/N) Comments

Int. 1 Int. 2 Int. 3

Sufficient level of detail has been provided for the interventions that give the reviewers the confidence that these will be implemented within ARC timelines and with an efficient use of ARC funds (including the identification of relevant risks and mitigation strategies).

The provinces/districts that will receive assistance and associated number of targeted beneficiaries have been identified for all interventions.

A reasonable cost estimate for covering the targeted population for the entire ARC implementation period has been made for each intervention.

The process described for transferring the ARC funds to implementing partners is sufficiently clear to make the reviewer confident that this activity can be implemented in an emergency context.

Sufficient information on the targeting, procurement and M&E processes has been provided for the effective implementation of the intervention, including a clear assignment of roles for each process.

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SECTION 4: GUIDELINES FOR MONITORING , EVALUATION AND REPORTING

ARC holds all recipient governments accountable for ARC Ltd funds provided, and expects the proper financial management and accountability systems to be in place. Once disbursed to countries, ARC Ltd funds should:

1. Be used for the sole purposes stated within the approved FIPs or where applicable, following the terms of an emergency waiver granted by the Board;

2. Be used in a way that does not plainly exclude recipients on the basis of ethnicity, skin color, gender, religion or political affiliation;

3. Be used in a transparent manner with clear accountability structures for regular monitoring and oversight;

4. Be supported by the provision of accurate and verifiable monthly reports;5. Be managed within processes that meet national legal requirements and international standards

regarding transparency, accountability and anti-corruption.

The Board is responsible for ensuring that ARC Ltd funds are used by countries in an accountable and transparent manner, in full compliance with the terms of approved FIPs. Therefore, through appropriate oversight mechanisms and with the support of the Secretariat, countries are required to conduct ongoing monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the activities that are carried out with ARC Ltd funds. Independent monitoring organizations will also be engaged to conduct financial and process audits of the ARC Ltd payouts.

Measuring results through monitoring and evaluation serves two main purposes. It:1. Facilitates operational decisions by:

a. Systematically collecting and analysing data on results; b. Allowing poorly performing components to be identified and adjusted to

continuously improve performance.2. Ensures accountability by demonstrating how many resources have been spent and

the intended or unintended impact on beneficiaries’ lives.

Countries are required to keep records of all operations conducted using ARC funds and present them for auditing when requested, including but not limited to: financial records, documentation regarding procurement, and records regarding targeting and disbursement, for 7 years or any period as may be required under the country’s legislation, whichever is longer. Countries shall also require implementing partners, service providers and suppliers to maintain records relating to the use of ARC funds for 7 years or any period as may be required under the country’s legislation, whichever is longer.

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SECTION 4A: THE ROLE OF THE ARC AGENCY SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat will support countries in the transparent and accountable implementation of FIPs. Specifically, the Secretariat will:

1. Help to ensure alignment with existing country systems and the broader operational response to the disaster, including monitoring mechanisms to the greatest extent possible;

2. Prevent misuse of ARC Ltd funds through regular monitoring and by ensuring that robust oversight mechanisms for the activities implementation process are in place;

3. Apply a country-by country monitoring approach to reduce risks in an equitable and transparent manner;

4. When necessary work with countries and in-country partners to build and/or reinforce country monitoring and financial management and reporting systems.

SECTION 4B: IMPLEMENTATION REPORTING STRUCTURE

Following receipt of ARC Ltd funds, a country is required to conduct ongoing monitoring and reporting of the implemented activities. The country is required to:

1. Interact with Secretariat on a regular basis to discuss the implementation process and difficulties encountered during the implementation phase.

2. Submit to the Secretariat during the implementation period, monthly reports in the form of a situation report that provides an update on the ongoing activities.a. Monthly reports must follow the common format and process established by the

Board that is provided in Annex 4.27

b. Monthly reports should be compiled from cooperating partner distribution data using the management and reporting system that was specified in the FIP.

c. Monthly reports should outline any challenges (logistics, distribution, etc.) in the implementation and distribution (e.g. metric tons of food delivered, beneficiaries reached) during the reporting period, and any significant modifications to the operations plan as a result of unforeseen changes on the ground supported by evidence (e.g. needs assessments, changes in commodity prices, access issues).

d. Monthly reports should further include any other information deemed to be essential by the Secretariat, based on the specific FIP of the reporting country.

e. The evaluation and analysis of the above information should be carried out by those responsible for managing the implementation of the projects and operations under the contingency plan before being submitted to the Board.

3. Submit to the Secretariat at the end of the implementation period a Final Implementation Report which should provide details of the financial and operational

27 At the countries request this monthly report can be completed through an interview process with the Secretariat where a member of the Secretariat records the relevant information through a prescheduled monthly telephone meeting. This information is put into the monthly reporting template and submitted to the Government for review and approval. This review and approval must take place within five days of completion of the template.

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aspects of the full implementation process.a. The country should analyze the information gathered through the monitoring process

and provide information on lessons learned, impacts, challenges, and recommended alterations to the implementation activity or Operations Plan drafting process for future.

b. The Final Implementation Report should also include a comparative section reflecting whether the logframe outputs and outcomes initially set, have been met during the implementation process. When the results from implemented activities are found to have departed from the targets, projected results and intended outcomes, a detailed explanation of this divergence must be included.

c. The Final Implementation Report should also include details and/or recommendations of any After Action Review (AAR) or similar evaluation performed by the country for the response as a whole.

d. A Financial Statement for the received and programmed ARC funds must be provided (see next section).

4. Use the performance information derived from such measurements and reporting to promote learning to improve future results and prove accountability for resources consumed.

The Secretariat will monitor country compliance with reporting requirements. When facing difficulties in following a proper reporting process, the country should revert to the Secretariat. If the reports filed by a country are not sufficient to demonstrate that the country has complied with its approved FIP, the Board may be forced to assume that the country has not complied with its approved FIP and to take action accordingly, under the Compliance Rules (described in Section 5 below).28

SECTION 4C: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Final Implementation Report must include a Financial Statement conforming to the following standards:

1. Preparation of Financial Statements : The responsibility for preparation of the financial statement lies with the recipient country. The financial statements should be derived from the national reporting systems and should be prepared by the country in accordance with internationally recognized accounting standards, such as those issued by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

2. Accounting Policies . In all cases, the financial statements and the notes to such statements must include information on the basis of accounting that was used in their preparation together with all significant accounting policies. Where a local reporting framework is used, it should be in line with the internationally accepted standard and disclosed when submitted as part of the Final Implementation Report. Any material deviations will be brought to the ARC Agency’s attention during the financial audit (see next section).

28 See the Compliance rules.

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3. Income and Expenditure Statement . Financial statements should include an Income and Expenditure Statement (IES) showing ARC funds received and all ARC fund expenditures. The expenditures should be reported against the budget initially defined in the approved FIP, with deviations clearly explained and justified in the narrative report.

4. Currency . The statements may be presented in local currency, but the USD equivalents must be shown.

5. Records . The country shall maintain proper accounting books, records, documents and other evidence, adequate to show, without limitation, all balances, costs incurred and revenues earned by the country and implemented during the FIP implementation period. Financial records must be kept in the possession of the country and implementing partners for 7 years or any period as may be required under the country’s legislation, whichever is longer.

6. Access to Records . Countries must ensure that all books and records are available to the independent auditors, all accounting entries and adjustments are made and all other necessary steps are taken to enable the auditors to complete their work.

SECTION 4D: PROCESS AUDITS

ARC Agency is currently developing, through an independent firm, a set of Process Audit tools to monitor payouts. The Process Audit shall be paid for out of Secretariat funds to ensure independence. The Process Audit will include a financial audit and a review of all plans and procedures related to a given operation or activity. The Process Audit will be based on:

1. Country logframes and monthly and final reporting;2. Semi-structured questionnaires to track implementation of the SOPs and assess the

extent to which they were followed;3. Financial audits of Financial Statements and Records;4. Close-ended spot checks for assessing whether evidence of delivery to a random

selection of project sites corresponds to the Reports that have been submitted.

The aim of a Process Audit is to assess the level of compliance with approved contingency plans in order to reveal successes and failures, opportunities to increase effectiveness and value for money for the future and identify where processes need to be strengthened. Countries are required to fully cooperate with auditors during the conduct of the Process Audit in order to ensure that all essential information and evidence are available for transparent and accurate results.

The ARC Agency is developing the system for financial auditing, including standards and guidelines. It shall engage, and pay for, an independent financial auditor to conduct financial audits of all ARC Ltd payouts as part of the Process Audit. In its Operations Plan, each country must commit to cooperate with the ARC Agency’s independent auditors and to maintain all of the necessary and relevant documents and financial records for such an audit. If national legislation does not allow for auditing of government finances by external entities, a country

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must inform the ARC Agency of that fact when it submits its Operations Plan. In such a case, the country’s internal auditors may perform the audit, but such an audit must be conducted in conformity with internationally recognized standards and the standards provided by the ARC Agency.

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SECTION 5: DEVIATIONS FROM APPROVED PLANS

Creating and following Contingency Plans is important for ensuring the integrity of ARC and its continued access to funding. ARC Ltd is currently capitalized by development partners, although it is hoped that over time it will become financially self-sufficient. ARC Ltd also relies on market-based financial transactions to manage risk. Both the financial markets and development partners will be sensitive to the perception that ARC Ltd payouts are being used inappropriately. The CoP and the Board have critical roles to play in making sure that ARC Ltd payouts are used effectively, thereby maintaining the reputation of ARC.

The Establishment Agreement gives the CoP the authority to “adopt rules for ensuring Parties’ compliance with approved Contingency Plans.”29 The rules, referred to as the Compliance Rules (attached as Annex 5), help to ensure the integrity and continuity of ARC, and are therefore a critical part of the overall ARC structure. Implementation of approved Contingency Plans30 will be monitored through the Monitoring Reports described above.

What constitutes an appropriate Plan will vary from country to country, but whatever Plans a particular country has submitted, it will be important for the country to use the ARC Ltd payout in a way that conforms to its Plans. If the Monitoring Reports or the Process Audit indicate that a country has not followed its approved Plans, or has otherwise failed to use its ARC Ltd payout in a way that conforms to the principles of ARC, then the Board shall take action to ensure compliance. If the Monitoring Reports and Process Audit are not sufficient to demonstrate that a country has complied with its approved Plans, the Board may be forced to assume that the country has not complied with its approved Plans and to take action accordingly.

SECTION 5A: EVALUATING DEVIATIONS FROM APPROVED PLANS

Each country will be required to submit the Monitoring Reports, which will demonstrate that it has complied with its approved Plans The Secretariat will analyze the Monitoring Reports, together with the Process Audit, and in case of an indication that a country has deviated from its plan in a material way,31 will bring that deviation to the attention of the Board and to the country. 32 The country will then have six weeks to provide a written explanation of any apparent deviation. The Secretariat will provide

29 See the Establishment Agreement, Article 13, paragraph 2 (h). 30 See the Establishment Agreement, Article 17, paragraph 5 (f). 31 A Material Deviation is defined as a deviation 1. with a monetary value of 10% of the total payout; 2. when there is insufficient evidence of the allocation of the payout; 3. when there are indications of malfeasance including money-laundering, embezzlement, bribery; 4. when there is a 10% or greater deviation from the logframe indicators; or 5. a combination of these factors.32 Under the Establishment Agreement, the Secretariat is responsible for monitoring Parties’ compliance with approved Contingency Plans. By approving these Compliance Rules, the CoP is authorizing the Secretariat to take the steps outlined in these rules as necessary to facilitate and support the work of the Board and the CoP.

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the Monitoring Reports, the Process Audit, a report from the Secretariat, and the country’s written explanation to the Board for consideration.

The Board shall take the following steps to evaluate the seriousness of a deviation and determine the appropriate course of action to ensure compliance:

1. Determine the type of deviation. A country may deviate from its approved Plans for a variety of reasons, but it is likely that a deviation will fit into one of the following categories:a. Intentional Deviation. An Intentional Deviation is a deviation that is taken to respond to a

dramatic or unforeseeable event, but is still in keeping with the principles of ARC. For example, if another natural disaster occurs while the country is implementing its approved Plans, that country may be forced to deploy its ARC Ltd payout in a way that differs from the original Plans, but is still reasonable under the circumstances.

b. Unintentional Deviation. An Unintentional Deviation is a deviation that results from an unintentionally flawed implementation of the approved Plans.

c. Misuse of Funds. A Misuse of Funds is a deviation from approved Plans that is intentional and does not conform to the principles of ARC.

2. Scope of deviation. The Board should determine the nature and magnitude of the deviation.3. Cause of deviation. The Board should determine the cause of the deviation from the approved

Plans.4. Damage. The Board should ascertain the damage and overall monetary cost of deviation.5. Penalty. Based on the type of deviation, its scope, cause and the damage resulting from the

deviation, the Board should determine the appropriate penalty.

SECTION 5B: THE ADJUDICATIVE PROCESS AND POSSIBLE PENALTIES

If the Secretariat determines that a country may have deviated from its Plans, it shall bring the suspected deviation to the attention of the Board and the country. The country will have an opportunity to provide an explanation of the apparent deviations. The Board shall form a committee to investigate and shall conduct hearings at is deems necessary, allowing country representatives to appear in person to answer questions. The country shall have several opportunities to explain its position and the decision of the Board shall be provided in writing. In cases of more serious violations, the CoP may review the decision of the Board. The full adjudicative process is included in the Compliance Rules, attached as Annex 5.

Through the adjudicative process, the Board shall consider both the cost and the circumstances of the deviation, such as whether it was intentional and whether the country took any steps to mitigate the deviation. A single penalty may be applied, or a combination of penalties, as the Board considers appropriate in the situation. Below is a suggested range of penalties. However, the Board may assess other penalties as it deems appropriate.

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1. Additional Monitoring. For less serious deviations, particularly for Unintentional Deviations, the Board may require that the country engage additional or independent monitoring of any future payouts in the country’s CGS. Additional monitoring could be provided by the Secretariat or an independent outside monitor and should be paid for out of the ARC Ltd payout.

2. Restrictions on Future Plans. The Board may prohibit the country from undertaking certain activities with future payouts, or require that such activities may only be implemented if certain changes are implemented or additional implementing partners and/or monitoring is engaged.

3. Removal of a CGS. The Board may take away a country’s CGS and require for its CGS by resubmitting Operations Plans for approval.

4. Suspension. For serious deviations, a country may be have its CGS suspended, and may be prevented from receiving another CGS for a period of time from 1 year to 10, at the discretion of the Board. For the most serious deviations, a country may be suspended from participating in the ARC Agency. If the Board recommends either type of suspension of a country, its decision must be reviewed by the CoP.

5. Repayment. If a country commits a deviation, it may be required to repay its insurance payout, in whole or in part, to the ARC Ltd. If a country is suspended, such repayment shall be required. In other cases, repayment is left to the discretion of the Board. A country may not receive a new CGS, and therefore may not take out insurance from the ARC Ltd, until it has repaid the required funds.

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APPENDIX 1: LOGFRAME SUMMARY – EXAMPLE FOR A FOOD-FOR-WORK D ISTRIBUTION ACTIVITY ( INCLUDING L IVELIHOOD RESTORATION WORK COMPONENTS)

Performance Indicators Risks, Assumptions

OUTPUTS

Output 1: Food commodities distributed in sufficient quantity and quality to target populations within the prescribed timeframe

Actual beneficiaries receiving food assistance disaggregated by activity category and sex as a percentage of planned beneficiaries.

Actual MT of food distributed by activity category and commodity type as a percentage of planned distribution.

Actual quantity of non-food items, if any, distributed by activity category and by type as a percentage of planned distribution.

Availability and timely delivery of food

Availability and sufficient capacity of implementing partners

Output 2: Built or restored disaster mitigation assets through food-for-work activities

Risk reduction and disaster mitigation assets created or restored, by type and unit of measure

Output 3: Developed, built or restored livelihood assets through food-for-work activities

Number of community assets created or restored Number of women and men trained in livelihood

support activities

Target communities participate in identification, planning, implementation of projects and maintenance of assets

OUTCOMES

Outcome 1: Improved response times for assistance to targeted households (mandatory for all ARC countries and activities)

First ‘contact’ with targeted beneficiaries within 120 days of the ARC Ltd payout being received by the country.

Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place

Outcome 2: Improved implementation time for ARC activities (mandatory for all ARC countries and activities)

A 180-day implementation duration, starting from first “contact” with beneficiaries.

Sufficient targeted beneficiaries have been identified

Outcome 3: Adequate food consumption over Household food consumption score (% of

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APPENDIX 1: LOGFRAME SUMMARY – EXAMPLE FOR A FOOD-FOR-WORK D ISTRIBUTION ACTIVITY ( INCLUDING L IVELIHOOD RESTORATION WORK COMPONENTS)

assistance period for targeted households communities showing increased score)

Outcome 4: Targeted communities have increased access to assets

Community asset score (% of communities showing increased score)

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APPENDIX 2: PROCESS FOR AMENDING PLANS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION HAS STARTED

It is possible that a country could find itself in a situation where the best use of an ARC Ltd payout is an activity that was not included in the country’s Operations Plan. If the country realizes that it wishes to conduct an activity that is not in its Operation Plan before it has submitted a FIP, then the country should seek to amend its Operations Plan according to the rules set out in the Proposed Submission Requirements of Operations Plan for Approval, above.

If, on the other hand, a change is required after the submission of the FIP, the Director General could grant an Emergency Waiver.

EMERGENCY WAIVERS

1. In order to obtain an Emergency Waiver, a country must consult with the Secretariat regarding the requested change and provide the following information:a. The reasons that the change is necessary;b. How the proposed activity will fit in with any activities that have already been approved and

the country intends to carry out; andc. A description of the Operations Plan for the new proposed activity, including how it meets

the Eligibility Criteria, and of the Implementation Plan that meets the requirements laid out in the Implementation Scorecard.

2. Countries may present their requested change to the Director General orally, as long as sufficient information is provided to allow the Director General to take a decision regarding the appropriateness of the activity.

3. In order to receive final approval regarding any change, the country must submit its request for an Emergency Waiver to the Director General in writing.

4. The request for an Emergency Waiver shall be submitted in one of the ARC working languages of English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

5. The Director General shall approve Emergency Waivers in consultation with the Secretariat, the PRM and the Board, as appropriate.

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Annex 1: LIST OF POssible ACTIVITIES (NON-EXHAUSTIVE) FOR THE RESCUE OR EMERGENCY PHASE OF FLOOD OR CYCLONE OPERATIONS

SECTORS ACTIVITY ITEMS

Needs Assessment - Conduct field visit to assess the situation

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) - Drinking water supply- Adequate toilets installation

Shelter and Non-Food Item - Provision of tents- Distribution of Basic Non Food Items: Blankets,

sleeping mats/Mattresses, Mosquito Nets, Cooking sets, Jerry Cans/ Buckets, Soap, Clothes, Lanterns

Food assistance - Food

Education - School tents and kits- Educational material

Health - Restore access to basic and referral health care including curative and preventive health services

- Assessment of health situationNutrition - Life saving nutrition interventions and promotion of

infant and young child feeding practices

Possible activities (non exhaustive) for the recovery phase during flood and cyclone

ACTIVITIES

- Cash Transfer – conditional and unconditional- Food based activities- Supplementary Feeding- School Feeding- Livestock re stoking/rehabilitation- Land and house restoration- Water , Sanitation and Hygiene- Provision of agricultural inputs for farmers- Provision of building materiel - Provision of fishing material- Tertiary road rehabilitation- Repairs to state owned roads, bridges and culverts- Water, electricity and transport restoration

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Annex 2A: Generic Operations Plan- dROUGHT

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Annex 2B: Generic Operations Plan- Flood

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Annex 2c: Generic Operations Plan- cYCLONE

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Annex 3A: Generic fINAL iMPLEMENTATION Plan- dROUGHT

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Annex 3b: Generic fINAL iMPLEMENTATION Plan- Flood

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Annex 3c: Generic fINAL iMPLEMENTATION Plan- cYCLONE

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Annex 3D: Generic Simplified fINAL iMPLEMENTATION Plan- Flood

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Annex 3E: Generic Simplified fINAL iMPLEMENTATION Plan- cYCLONE

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Annex 4: rEPORTING fORMATS

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Annex 5: cOMPLIANCE rULES

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