RKSM Interactive Sessions

Plenary and Thematic Sessions

Esther Ruth Mbabazi / Save The Children

Agenda

Please click the following links to access session descriptions.

Day 1 Sessions Day 2 Sessions Day 3 Sessions

The RKSM will offer a mix of plenary and small group sessions. Interactive sessions will run under five themes:

Joint Planning: Practical ways to join up humanitarian, peace, and development program design and planning at a field level;
Collective Impact: Proven approaches to Sequence, Layer, and Integrate (SLI) to address the food crisis;
Improved Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) for HDP Coherence: Promoting better analysis, utilization, and coordination of evidence and learning for timely and informed decision-making;
Pathways Toward Climate Resilient Livelihoods: New and creative adjustments to livelihoods programming including participant-led program design, interaction of livelihoods and migration, climate resilient agriculture, and improved water management; and
Adaptive Management: Working flexibly to adjust programming, including processes for taking rapid action, utilizing reflective action planning processes and mechanisms and shock-responsive approaches.

Day 1 - Tuesday, May 9

Please click the following titles to learn more about each session.

Opening Remarks

Opening Remarks & Keynote Address (9:00-9:30)

To be announced

Opening Panel

HDP Coherence in the Greater Horn of Africa (9:30-11:00)

This panel will focus on the concept of Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) coherence, which aims to promote complementary collaboration across humanitarian, development, and peace actors in pursuit of a common agenda. Its goal is to maximize impact and sustainability of programs across different kinds of assistance and to reduce the need for humanitarian assistance (HA) over time. The panel will examine how HDP coherence can be applied in the context of the Horn of Africa and how it can help to build resilient communities that are better able to withstand future shocks and crises. The discussion will also explore the challenges of achieving HDP coherence in a complex and dynamic environment and the importance of collaboration and coordination among actors working in these areas.

Moderator: Dr. Joshua Wathanga

Panelists to be announced

Country Sessions

Country Sessions (11:00-13:00)

During country sessions, participants will be split into groups by country. In this first country session, through facilitated discussions, participants will reflect on existing practices of applying HDP coherence principles in the context of their country of implementation. Participants will identify what practices are working well and where better implementing practices would support HDP coherence. They will also spend some time organizing themselves to get the most out of the concurrent thematic sessions.

Joint Planning

Joint Planning – What is it and Why Do It? (14:30-16:00)

Successful joint planning among entities serving a community helps promote all partners’ alignment, effectiveness, and sustainability and ultimately results in better outcomes for the target populations. Joint planning can foster alignment in many components of project design, including theories of change, results frameworks, work plans, and even monitoring and evaluation. The Government of Kenya, Road International, and the Resilience Learning Activity will participate in a fishbowl discussion, exploring a shared joint planning case study from multiple perspectives. Participants will then use group work to delve into what it means to jointly plan and consider the enablers and barriers to successful joint planning across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding contexts.

Get ready to share in pairs and small groups as we work together to consider the conditions and factors that contribute to successful joint planning. Everyone will get to consider one area where we can improve joint planning in our activities and one immediate action we can take to achieve this.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Generate ways joint planning could add value to their specific context;
Share enabling conditions and innovative approaches for successful joint planning with peers; and
Problem-solve a challenging area of joint planning in their work.

Sequence, Layer, and Integrate (SLI)

Centering Local Knowledge for HDP Coherence (14:30-16:00)

Come learn innovative ways to shift power back to communities when deciding how assistance should be effectively sequenced, layered, and integrated in programming. Join this session to take an active role in determining the most productive strategies and greatest barriers for centering local knowledge in intervention design and implementation across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding assistance. Capacity Strengthening for Fragile Contexts (C4FC) in Somalia, Pathways to Resilience in South Sudan, and Movement for Community-Led Development in the region will share their expertise. Then, participants will work in small groups to reflect deeply on what currently prevents us from centering local knowledge and share strategies to overcome the most pressing challenges.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Explore how local knowledge influences the sequencing, layering, and integration (SLI) process, and how it can inform program cycle stages, donor engagement on responsive funding, and partner coordination—particularly around shocks;
Evaluate tools and processes that center local knowledge and identify key enablers and barriers for implementation in their own context; and
Identify effective, scalable practices that country teams can apply in their action plans

Improved Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Harnessing the Benefits of Data Sharing across HDP: Insights from Ethiopia (14:30-16:00)

We all collect data, so why is it so important to share it across organizations, programs, or activities? Let's uncover the answer together as we draw from examples in Ethiopia, exploring how and why to share data across HDP pillars. Data-sharing experts from the Ifaa RFSA, the Joint Emergency Operation consortium, and the SPIR II RFSA from Ethiopia will engage in a lively discussion, which will guide us as we explore the extent to which teams collaborate in data sharing, the key components of that collaboration, and the role of local/national government agencies in these efforts. In a small group activity, we will then reflect on the successes and barriers to deeper collaboration, our values around data sharing, and explore potential next steps to improve data sharing within our organizations.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Examine the value of sharing data across pillars and organizations, including the processes involved in establishing and maintaining data sharing throughout the program cycle; and
Formulate recommendations to address common barriers to effective data sharing.

Pathways Toward Climate Resilient Livelihoods

Pastoralist Livelihoods in the Face of Climate Change (14:30-16:00)

Through the lens of climate change, humanitarian and development programming can either support traditional pastoralist livelihoods through modern methods and tools or promote a transition to alternative livelihoods by retraining the targeted population. The question of which approach best enables long-term resilience becomes increasingly important as drought cycles in the Greater Horn continue. Join this session to reflect on the viability of pastoralist livelihoods, to learn from the experiences of RIPA North and RIPA South programs in Ethiopia, and to discuss key factors in strengthening livelihoods resilience with other participants.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Gain insights into the challenges programs face when prioritizing, designing, and implementing resilient livelihoods initiatives for pastoralist communities in Ethiopia;
Learn about compelling, new research on how volatility in South Sudan and the world’s drylands raises questions around the long-term viability of pastoralist livelihoods; and
Collectively problem solve around one of the Horn’s most pressing issues.

Adaptive Management

Partnering with Local Stakeholders for Context Monitoring and Contingency Planning (14:30-16:00)

This session will explore successful approaches to partnering with local stakeholders to monitor changes in context as well as create and activate contingency plans. Save the Children in Somalia will present a case study, then we will discuss the challenges involved in balancing the advantages of collaboration with the time it requires. We will also have individual time to reflect on how this applies to our activities and identify action steps to better engage and align with local stakeholders for context monitoring and contingency planning.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Gain insights into the advantages of local community involvement in context monitoring and contingency planning, and
Develop approaches to successfully address implementation challenges, such as how to engage local communities within time constraints.

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Day 2 - Wednesday, May 10

Please click the following titles to learn more about each session.

Panel: HDP Initiatives at Cross-Border Level

Inclusive and Context-Specific Design and Implementation of HDP Initiatives at the Cross-Border Level (8:30-9:45)

This panel discussion will focus on the institutionalization of Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) coherence at the cross-border level. The discussion will explore the current status of HDP coherence implementation by regional intergovernmental agencies, national, and sub-national governments. The panelists will also examine the approaches for implementing the HDP at the cross-border level and the lessons and opportunities that can be learned from successful implementation. Furthermore, the panelists will discuss the engagement of key stakeholders in the design and implementation of HDP interventions, including the importance of coordination and collaboration across different sectors and agencies. The panel will also discuss effective resourcing for HDP coherence and identify key considerations for ensuring HDP coherence at the cross-border level.

Moderator to be Announced

Panelists to be Announced

Joint Planning

Leveraging Mapping to Improve Joint Planning and Implementation (10:00-11:15)

Joint planning is easier when all actors involved have a common understanding of the challenges they need and want to address. Using maps to visualize geographic areas can help implementers improve coordination with local actors, other implementing partners, and activities. Maps can also improve how these actors coordinate to respond to shocks and crises. During this session, we will all participate in an interactive mapping exercise. We will then have a lively discussion with U-Learn, OpenStreetMaps, and CAPAIDS in Uganda who will describe how we can use their approaches to mapping to assess, plan, and implement joint work planning exercises. We will finish the session in small groups to synthesize what we have learned and connect it to our own work.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Acquire knowledge about the various forms of mapping and gain practical skills on how to implement mapping exercises; and
Identify and analyze opportunities to use mapping as a tool for improved knowledge sharing and collaboration across stakeholders.

Using Joint Work Planning to Improve HDP Coherence (11:45-13:00)

Joint work planning among implementing partners, local governments, local partners, and stakeholders helps align activities and support HDP coherence. In this problem-solving session, we will reflect on our activities, examine current challenges, and generate ideas for implementing and improving joint work planning in our work as individuals, pairs, and small groups. In between these conversations, the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) and the Resilience Population-Level Measurement Activity in Somalia will share practical examples of challenges they have faced, how they have pivoted, and the lessons learned from their experiences. The examples will highlight practitioners' experiences aligning joint work plans with the goals of both government and USAID missions.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Engage in a dynamic brainstorm to identify current barriers hindering joint planning, along with potential solutions to address and mitigate these challenges; and
Identify practical actions to more effectively integrate joint planning across HDP activities.

Sequence, Layer, and Integrate (SLI)

SLI for more Crisis-Responsive Water Security (10:00-11:15)

Crises like slow-onset droughts or rapid population movements present stark challenges for immediate and longer-term water resource management and other critical drivers of food security. Through a highly interactive group activity, we will explore how innovations in SLI programmatic approaches can help mitigate these moments of shocks and stress and reflect on how to turn these innovations from ideas into action. Afterwards, we will hear fromCross-border Community Resilience in Somalia and Millennium Water Alliance in Kenya About adapting water security interventions in the face of major shocks. Join us to learn about the tools we can use to support conflict-sensitive, inclusive water security for resilient food and nutrition outcomes by implementing SLI approaches across humanitarian and development assistance.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Analyze the current state of SLI in the water security sector and identify key approaches to support HDP-coherent responses during shocks;
Reflect on practical strategies to align water security-related development and emergency programming to meet the immediate and long-term needs of households and communities experiencing recurrent crises and food insecurity; and
Identify promising practices and tools that foster effective collaboration to advance a common agenda for water security.

Integrating Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding in Food Crisis Response (11:45-13:00)

How can we operationalize the “P” within the HDP nexus in food security interventions? Join us to learn about lessons and strategies for integrating conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into development and humanitarian food security activities in the Greater Horn region. ACCESS in South Sudan and the Program for the Development of Eastern Congo (P-DEC) in the DRC will start off the session by sharing the lessons they have learned, including the enablers and barriers to food access, availability, and utilization. Working collaboratively in groups, we will identify practical models for assessing, implementing, and monitoring conflict-sensitive interventions to apply to our work. We will then collectively assess solutions to determine what is both impactful and achievable in our contexts.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Engage in critical reflection and analysis of the ways that conflict contributes to and exacerbates pre-existing conditions leading to food insecurity;
Share examples of emerging and established conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding approaches in food security programming; and
Collaborate to identify concrete strategies for operationalizing conflict sensitivity in food security responses.

Improved Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Adapting Early Warning Systems to Support Early/Anticipatory Action (10:00-11:15)

Early warning systems are essential for enabling anticipatory action. During this session, we will discuss the need for collaboration within these systems across HDP pillars. First, we will hear from the humanitarian consortium Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) about their successful development and use of an early warning system to address short-term humanitarian needs, prevent crises, and protect resilience gains. Then, through small group activities, we will discuss how to develop cost-efficient systems as well as how to ensure communities are involved in the development and utilization of early warning systems. We will also explore how early warning systems should be adapted to local contexts, how systems might change over time as a result, and how data is used to inform anticipatory action.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Develop a deeper understanding of the benefits of early warning systems across HDP pillars;
Evaluate the key elements of effective community consultations and involvement in the design and implementation of early warning systems, including their impact on sustainability; and
Gain practical insights on how to establish cost-efficient early warning systems, their evolution over time and across locations, and the effective use of data to inform timely action.

Technology for Data Sharing: Options for IPs across HDP Pillars (11:45-13:00)

Come discover different technologies to store, manage, and share data across HDP pillars within organizations, with partners, and with the wider public. In addition to hearing an example of how the Joint Emergency Operation (JEOP) consortium used PowerBI in Ethiopia to increase coordination, we will examine the feasibility of data sharing with FEWS NET. Through individual reflection and small group activities, we will collectively identify what core factors must be considered when selecting data-sharing technologies. We will also discuss the issues implementing partners should think about when sharing their data and the resources required to do so.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Explore the value and feasibility of data sharing technologies, including their benefits and limitations for sharing data across HDP pillars; and
Collectively identify key programmatic considerations that influence the choice of data-sharing technologies to improve HDP coherence in programming.

Pathways Toward Climate Resilient Livelihoods

Sustainable Agriculture in a Changing Climate (10:00-11:15)

Climate change profoundly impacts agricultural livelihoods in the Greater Horn, necessitating innovative adaptations. Join this interactive discussion to share lessons learned and promising practices to enhance climate resilience of agricultural livelihoods. We will hear from the Somalia Resilience Program (SomRep) consortium’s long-standing work throughout Somalia and the FSP-Enyanya RFSA’s innovative approach to hillside farming in South Kivu, DRC. Then, participants will share their experiences and identify actionable solutions to address the challenges their programs face.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Deepen their understanding of interventions to enhance the climate resilience of agricultural livelihoods, such as farmer-managed natural regeneration, agroforestry/agroecology, rangelands/grasslands restoration, and index-based livestock insurance;
Discuss experiences and promising practices to successfully integrate climate-resilient approaches into livelihoods programming; and
Develop actionable recommendations for effectively integrating community engagement, conflict sensitivity, and social inclusion into interventions.

Climate Resilient Water Management Practices (11:45-13:00)

As climate change intensifies the likelihood and severity of drought and other extreme weather in the Greater Horn, supporting climate-resilient water management is key to food security, sustainable agriculture, and livelihoods development. Budikadidi in the DRC and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Kenya will share successes and challenges from ongoing water conservation and resilient landscape design work, focusing on livelihood challenges posed by drought and climate change. Then, participants will share knowledge and co-create solutions with peers in small groups, increasing collaboration between sectors and organizations working on drought resilience, landscape management, and integrated water resource management across the region.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Increase their knowledge and understanding of ongoing resilience interventions, with an emphasis on drought, livelihoods, and sustainable water use in the multidisciplinary context of the HPD nexus;
Assess innovative approaches and techniques in sustainable water management and drought resilience to gain insights into their potential benefits and limitations; and
Share knowledge and experiences to build a foundation for collaboration and improved programming.

Adaptive Management

10 Minute AM: Simple Tools for Learning and Adaptive Management when Time is Short (10:00-11:15)

In this session, we will identify challenges in our work and then collaborate to discover the adaptive management (AM) approaches and practices we can adapt to address these challenges. The session will start with a round-robin, smaller-group exercise showcasing simple tools and methods used by implementing partners in the Greater Horn. Then, we will provide time and space for everyone to come together to discuss ways to incorporate these simple practices into our activities, with input from Nawiri in Kenya and Apolou in Uganda. By the end of the session, everyone, reflecting individually and in pairs, will commit to trying at least one new AM practice with their teams.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Discuss the role of adaptive management to address key programmatic challenges; and
Deepen their understanding of how to apply adaptive management approaches to overcome these challenges.

Building an Enabling Environment for Quick Pivots (11:45-13:00)

The nature of humanitarian, development, and peace programming is complex and unpredictable. The most well-designed activities may need to pivot due to a sudden change in context or catastrophe. When a major catastrophe strikes, responding organizations must be ready to navigate unforeseen crises that occur as the recovery work progresses. Through a 1-2-4-All approach, allowing for individual reflection, pair work, small group work, and full plenary discussion, this session explores factors that create or detract from an enabling environment for quick pivots in programming during complex crises. We will learn from each other by generating lessons learned and recommendations to help organizations prepare and set up the right environment for adaptive management as they respond to future crises.

During this 75-minute session, participants will:

Share examples of quick implementation pivots due to a crisis, emergency, or significant context change;
Work together to identify enabling factors for those quick pivots and generate lessons learned and recommendations for improving the preparedness of future activities; and
Identify opportunities to integrate these recommendations into their current activity or operating context to improve preparedness.

Country Sessions

Country Sessions (14:30-16:00)

In this session, participants discuss key learnings emerging from the RKSM sessions so far. How can stakeholders better work together towards common goals?

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Day 3 - Thursday, May 11

Please click the following titles to learn more about each session.

Panel: Finding Recovery in the Nexus

Finding Recovery in the Nexus: Is Transition from Humanitarian Assistance to Development Possible in a World of Constant Crisis? (9:00-10:30)

In situations of crisis, humanitarian assistance is often the primary focus to provide immediate life-saving assistance to those affected. However, the ultimate goal is to help affected communities transition from a state of emergency to a more sustainable and resilient state of development. Panelists will discuss how the transition from humanitarian assistance to development is almost never linear and how it is important to recognize that in a world of constant crisis, development efforts must be adaptable and flexible, able to respond quickly to changing circumstances and emerging needs. Panelists will share their experiments with new approaches, what they have learned from successes and failures, and ways of working together with various actors to ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered in a way that lays the foundation for long-term development.

Moderator: Rita Larok, Chief of Party, Graduating to Resilience, AVSI Uganda

Panelists to be Announced

Joint Planning

Operationalizing Joint Planning in the Field Offices (11:00-12:30)

Joint planning requires good communication and coordination within organizations and with external stakeholders. In this session, we will participate in a gallery walk and have an informative chat with Vision Quest in Kenya. Then, we will break-out into groups to explore ways to create the conditions for teams in the Greater Horn region to break down silos and work across technical areas in our projects and coordinate with external stakeholders in the same area, such as the government, private sector, and other organizations.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Identify common challenges for integrating joint planning and collective share tools and promising practices to address these challenges; and
Develop a list of action-oriented recommendations designed to help participants progress in implementing and operationalizing joint planning.

Sequence, Layer, and Integrate (SLI)

SLI for Resilient Livelihoods to Improve Food and Nutrition Security (11:00-12:30)

Join us to deepen your understanding of how layered and sequenced programming investments enhance risk-diverse livelihood pathways in the Greater Horn region. Through group work and individual reflections, we will explore what factors contribute to the success of building resilient livelihoods for food security. We will collectively evaluate what combination of resilience capacities best addresses the needs, roles, and responsibilities of various household members when targeted for interventions. Nawiri in Kenya will share what informs their SLI approach for resilient livelihoods and the strategies they have adopted. We will also discuss how to address multiple targets and outcomes through sequencing, layering, and integration to build resources, relationships, and capacities for resilient livelihoods, food, and nutrition security.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Develop a deepened understanding of evidence-based approaches for improved SLI to ensure resilient livelihoods, including adjusting sequencing, strategically layering, and intentionally integrating work across sectors;
Discuss the impacts of contextual changes on household-level roles and responsibilities and how to strategically adapt programs to address the evolving context; and
Develop action-oriented recommendations to adapt organizational livelihood models for improved household food and nutrition security in evolving contexts.

Improved Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Emerging Issues in MEL for Peacebuilding (11:00-12:30)

How can we incorporate peacebuilding into integrated and multisectoral HDP programming and what are the implications for MEL activities? Join this session to learn how designing MEL activities for peacebuilding diverges from traditional MEL in the humanitarian and development pillars, where relationships between factors are rarely linear and contextual nuances often require both qualitative and quantitative monitoring. Through facilitated small-group discussions, we will explore how to use conflict analysis to inform program design, baseline studies, and ongoing monitoring, ensuring that activities Do No Harm. Catholic Relief Services’ Homes & Communities Program in Uganda and Pathways to Resilience in South Sudan will share their experience of integrating peacebuilding into humanitarian and development activities. Finally, we will evaluate the importance of context monitoring and the disaggregation of results along the lines of division in local communities.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Deepen their understanding of the importance of MEL designed for peacebuilding, with considerations to the limitations of traditional MEL; and
Share promising practices, tools, and methods to integrate conflict monitoring and analysis for improved MEL systems.

Pathways Toward Climate Resilient Livelihoods

Climate Change, Migration, and Livelihoods: Community-Centered Support for Populations on the Move (11:00-12:30)

Climate-change-related migration, rural-to-urban migration, migration to receive aid, and migration to access better livelihoods are just some of the contextual factors influencing populations on the move. Migration impacts all we do. These trends have all become more pronounced with increasing climate-related migrations, and we know that a new, multi-year strategy is required. During this session, participants will work through pre-identified topics on migration trends in multiple small groups. Participants will then have an opportunity to propose additional sub-topics for the small groups. Collectively, we will document the themes and trends in the HDP process in the coming years. This session will focus on long-term themes and trends, with an opportunity to work together as USAID, USAID IPs, and partner organizations.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Delve into the factors that will require strategic changes for long-term response in the regions, including a variety of migration motivations, such as short-term factors and permanent changes, climate, and markets;
Discuss the need for strategic priorities of a long-term regional response to migration in the Greater Horn region; and
Explore actionable ways to integrate the USAID Climate Strategy guidance into their work.

Adaptive Management

Navigating Protracted Crises: Improving the Use of Evidence for Iterative Adaptation of Emergency Programs (11:00-12:30)

Emergency program funding is inherently short-term, typically lasting from six to 24 months. However, the recovery process often lasts longer than traditional longer-term development programs, with new emergency activities funded year after year to continue recovery activities. The cyclical nature of these iterations disrupts the learning process for program improvement and disincentivizes proactively embedding learning and adaptive management processes across multiple activity iterations. In this problem-solving session, we will learn about, reflect on, and discuss a variety of real-world examples, exploring how to refine, grow, and improve our use of the evidence base from development and humanitarian activities to improve the design of emergency programs facing an iterative life cycle.

During this 90-minute session, participants will:

Define the type of learning question that can improve the evidence base and practice creating better operational learning questions;
Propose solutions to common gaps in the application of learning across activity cycles; and
Formulate actionable next steps to improve the use of evidence for improving programs.

Country Sessions

Country Sessions (14:00-16:00)

In this session, participants will focus on application of individual- and group-level solutions at country scale. What have we learned that could be used or applied in the context of our country of implementation? The culmination of this final country session includes draft action plans and recommendations for how to better achieve HDP coherence.

Questions? Contact us at rksm-horn@fsnnetwork.org

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