Improving the Role of NonGovernmental Organizations in Disaster Response and Recovery

Joie Acosta, Anita Chandra, Vivian Towe, Yandong Zhao, Yangxu Lu
RAND Corporation

April 1, 2016

The RAND Corporation has partnered with the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development to explore the role of Chinese and U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — specifically, voluntary associations, philanthropic organizations, advocacy groups, community groups, and businesses — in disaster response and recovery. The team identified the key assets and skills of NGOs and to develop a toolkit (the Enabling NonGovernmental Agencies to Get Engaged in Disasters, or ENGAGED, Toolkit) to facilitate more reliable and effective NGO involvement in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

The toolkit assists public health and emergency planners and NGO stakeholders in determining the capacity and capability of particular NGOs for disaster response and recovery. In addition, the toolkit fills an important gap in knowledge and understanding about the key elements that drive NGO participation. Revisiting the toolkit routinely can help an NGO monitor its progress in achieving goals for engagement in disaster response and recovery and for working with other NGOs in a community or region.

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