Mongolia regularly suffers from extreme weather conditions. The crisis is known locally as a dzud—a complex, long-lasting natural disaster in which a summer drought is followed by heavy snowfall and unusually low temperatures in winter.

But the most recent dzud, which happened between 2009 and 2010, was the catalyst for an important step in improving Mongolia’s disaster preparedness, response and coordination efforts. It is yielding results this winter.

Channel Research, an independent development consulting and evaluation firm. The evaluation provides an independent assessment of the CERF over the period from 2006 until 2010. It highlights the CERF’s strengths and weaknesses and provides recommendations at the policy and operational levels to improve its effectiveness. The evaluation was carried out by a team of twelve consultants over an eight-month period. Data was collected through 16 case studies, based on visits to six countries where the CERF is used and a desk-based review of CERF operations in ten other countries.