Attachments
Summary
The final evaluation of the project “Increasing capacities and scale for anticipatory action including through social protection systems” reviewed a three-year FAO-DG ECHO partnership (2021–2024) that aimed to integrate anticipatory action (AA) with social protection (SP) systems in Bangladesh, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. It also sought to advance policy dialogue at regional and global level, supported ASEAN’s disaster management goals, and developed ten national Anticipatory Action Protocols (AAPs). The evaluation found the project largely effective and relevant, with strong contributions to national and regional disaster risk management frameworks. However, challenges in government engagement, beneficiary targeting, and administrative bottlenecks limited full effectiveness. While progress was made in linking AA to national SP systems and disaster risk financing, deeper institutional integration remains needed. The evaluation concludes that the project laid a strong foundation for future initiatives, demonstrating AA’s potential to reduce reliance on emergency aid and support policy change. Future efforts should focus on generating robust evidence of AA’s value, engaging governments and communities early, adopting a programmatic and nexus-oriented approach, and establishing a joint FAO–ECHO coordination and decision-making framework to enhance communication, coordination, and strategic decision-making.