Executive Summary
Background and Purpose
The Inter Agency Steering Committee (IASC) introduced the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC) concept in 2013 as part of the Transformative Agenda to replace the consolidated appeal process (CAP) in protracted crises. The shift to HPC was intended to both streamline processes and at the same time shift the focus from fundraising to achieving results and improving accountability. The Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is a key component of the HPC with the purpose of providing an effective management tool for the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT). The HRP should include an estimate of overall budgetary requirements based on needs that provides a basis for both tracking contributions and an assessment of how effectively and efficiently needs are being met.
However, there is a growing consensus that HRPs are not adequately fulfilling their intended purpose, notably in terms of providing a coherent and strategic costing of needs and situational analysis. This study was therefore commissioned to develop alternative costing approaches to present to the Principals of the IASC during their meeting at the end of 2016 as an initial step towards revising HRP systems.