1. Shelter after disaster: strategies for transitional settlement and reconstruction
This handbook, produced by the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Shelter Centre and
the Department for International Development (DFID) has been produced in collaboration with members of the
humanitarian community and has been tested as a field edition from 2008. The guidelines cover coordination,
strategic planning and implementation relevant to transitional settlement and reconstruction following natural
disasters. Guidance covers the transition following a natural disaster from the emergency shelter needed for
survival to recovery for communities, including identifying needs for support to communal infrastructure such
as roads and hospitals, after a period of several years. The guidelines introduce the six options for displaced,
and six options for non-displaced populations which have been shared through extensive consultation with the
humanitarian community. Based on the field test, some of the categories will need further definition.
Six options for displaced populations
Six options for non-displaced populations
The 2008 field edition categorised 12 assistance methods, which following field testing and further
discussion within the humanitarian community have expanded to 16 and are now classified in relation according
to their contribution to the different livelihoods assets.
The The PCR Toolkit will aim to contribute additional information that can be used in the six options for non-
displaced populations, and the two self-settlement options for displaced populations. It will also add information
on assistance methods, but not to all 16 of them.
2. Safer homes, stronger communities: A handbook for reconstructing after natural disasters
This handbook, written by A. Jha et al. on behalf of the World Bank, is meant to assist Bank staff and their
government counterparts in planning large-scale reconstruction programmes. The book contains a set of guiding
principles that are being harmonised with those of the previous handbook, and have been mostly incorporated
in those for PCR. The various chapters then take us through the stages of reconstruction: needs assessment,
planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as some cross-cutting issues like participation.
Each chapter contains its own guiding principles, useful checklists for planners, and recommendations. But
since the handbook is aimed at decision makers in the first place, it is rather short of practical tools and
examples, which is where the Toolkit will add value.
3. Owner driven housing reconstruction guidelines
These guidelines, written by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are
designed for use by the IFRC and its national member societies and meant for field practitioners planning and
implementing reconstruction programmes. They are currently in final draft format. After an introductory chapter
on what ODR is, further chapters cover programme development, participatory process, technical support and
financial assistance. Since the guidelines are written for people in the field, they are of a more practical nature
than the above two handbooks that are more geared towards decision makers. The annexes cover a number of
tools promoted by the IFRC, e.g. on community action planning, community development funds and community
contracting, which are particularly useful to PCR too.
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This Briefing was produced by Practical Action Publishing. © Practical Action, April 2009