The donor-NGO relationship and humanitarian assistance : monitoring and evaluation in the Syrian refugee response in Lebanon -

Abstract

Humanitarian aid funding has reached record highs. DAC donors are the leading supporters of humanitarian relief efforts but a growing number of non-DAC donors contribute substantial sums to humanitarian crises as well. The research provides analysis of the humanitarian funding mobilized for the Syrian refugee response in Lebanon in order to gain a better understanding of which donors are funding response efforts, how much, and where the funding is channeled. Governments are the primary funders of humanitarian assistance and NGOs a primary recipient of this funding. Spurred by New Public Management (NPM), a paradigm shift in public administration, which promotes the role of non-state actors and emphasizes results, donors have adopted performance measurement techniques within the humanitarian sector. Scrutiny over how funding is spent means that donors require NGOs to demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions. Monitoring and evaluation (MandE) is a mechanism enabling NGOs to demonstrate results, to be held accountable to donors and beneficiaries as well as provide an opportunity for organizational learning and improvement. An analysis of how MandE is incorporated into refugee response plans and the MandE tools being utilized is provided. Employing the principal-agent theory, this research examines the donor-NGO relationship and how it shapes the MandE practices of NGOs active in the Syrian refugee response in Lebanon by presenting the perspectives of both donors and NGOs. Major findings indicate that MandE is both an external and internal function and considered to be of primary importance in project implementation. Adoption of results-based management (RBM) among donors reveals a focus on project outcomes and impact yet resources available to NGOs for MandE are limited and measurement of higher-level results remains a challenge.