Groupe URD in Chad

The Observatory of Aid Practice in Chad began in 2009 and functions as a field office of Groupe URD, supporting both aid actors and those in the political sphere to better understand the Chadian context in all its complexity. By conducting independent research and evaluation, the Observatory helps clarify decision-making for a fairer and better adapted humanitarian aid response.

The Observatory’s activities focus primarily on:

Producing knowledge and research findings based on contextual analysis of cross-cutting issues via operational research and regularly updated evaluations.

Knowledge sharing and diffusion of research results, using a flexible communications strategy adapted to the needs of different actors/decision-makers, thereby enabling the research results to affect real change.

Capacity building for actors in the field.

The Observatory has a permanent office and team of staff in Chad, who are joined by technical experts and researchers for specific short-term field missions.

In line with Groupe URD’s work globally, the Observatory’s work is structured around three thematic axes:

Aid architecture and humanitarian space – analysing issues related to access to affected populations, and how this is affected by the very structure of the international aid system, from a legal, institutional, operational and political perspective.

Crises and vulnerability – better understanding crisis contexts and their specific vulnerabilities (fragile contexts, socio-natural risks, technological risks, etc.) and how they affect different groups of people.

Aid Quality – questioning humanitarian practice and developing tools and methods to improve the quality of aid.

So far, the Observatory has completed the following:

Studies and reports published:

The return of displaced people in Eastern Chad, December 2011
Improving long-term access to water in the re-organised territories of Eastern Chad, August 2011
The resilience of pastoralists to drought - between tradition and upheaval - NGOs and the challenge of transhumance, Chad, Bahr El Gazal region, February 2011
Transitional challenges, eastern Chad, June 2010
Natural resource management and the environmental impact of humanitarian programmes in eastern Chad, October 2009
Humanitarian space in Chad, study commissioned by IASC, June-October 2009
Summary report - Multidisciplinary evaluation and research mission in eastern Chad, May 2009

In collaboration with PhD students from the University of Lille, Graduate School of Legal Sciences, Policy and Management (l’Ecole Doctorale en Science Juridiques, Politiques et de Gestion de Lille), research work on the following subjects is currently underway:

Workshops and Training Sessions:

Experience exchange workshop on "Constraints and opportunities for ecosanitation in Chad", 6th March 2012 in Goz Beida and 8th March 2012 in Ndjamena;
Experience sharing workshop on monitoring and evaluation, 13 December 2011 (location and agenda to be confirmed)
Experience sharing workshop on sustainable management of water points, 12th May 2011;
Presentation of the preliminary results of the study, “Management of Natural Resources in Eastern Chad”, 23th February 2011, Ndjamena ;
Workshop, sharing experience and practice on ecological sanitation, 14th – 16th September, 2010, Ndjamena;
Introduction to the Quality COMPAS, 14th September 2010;
Training Course ‘Mainstreaming the environment in humanitarian programmes’, 12th-14th April, 2010, Ndjamena;
Workshops on Humanitarian space, Goz Beida, Abéché, Ndjamena, October 2009.

Summary Papers and Technical Briefs

The improved cooking stove, a solution for reducing the consumption of firewood, janvier 2011;
Key messages of the Observatory of Aid Practices in Chad, June 2010;
The Dehydration Toilet, an alternative to the pit latrine, October 2009;
The Rope Pump, for access to potable water, October 2009;
The Solar Cooker, an alternative to firewood, September 2009.

Meetings and Conferences

13 December 2011 in N’Djamena : Experience sharing workshop on monitoring and evaluation.
10 October 2011 in N’Djamena : Round table "Stabilisation of returnee areas in Eastern Chad".
19th October 2010 in Brussels , presentation of the Observatory findings during the EC strategy meetings for the transition in Chad. The European Commission Directorates working in Chad were present at the meetings, as well as a Representative of the Chadian Ministry of Economy and Planning (the Deputy Director General of External Resources and Programming), and ECHO’s implementing partners in Chad.
10th June 2010 in N’Djamena , presentation of the study ‘Transitional Challenges’ to the aid actors working in eastern Chad.
May 2009 in Abéché and Ndjamena , Mini-seminars presenting preliminary results of first multi-disciplinary research missions.

The DG ECHO has been the Observatory’s main financial partner since early 2009, via an administrative partnership with Solidarités International. The French Cooperation has also supported the Observatory in 2010. Some activities have also been implemented with the financial and in-kind support of UNICEF, UNDP and the Mairie of Ndjamena.

The following evaluations have also been conducted, commissioned by external organizations or institutions:

Post Distribution Monitoring for WFP in Chad, October - December 2011
Evaluation of a programme by the Association pour le Développement Rural du Batha in Chad, June 2011
Evaluation of the ACTED programme to improve living conditions and build the capacity of Sudanese refugees and host communities, May 2011
Evaluation of the Project to support the stabilisation of Eastern Chad (PAS), for AFD, February 2011 – December 2012
Evaluation of the “Livelihoods and environmental protection” programme of Concern Worldwide NGO, Goz Beida, 2009;
Evaluation of LRRD programme, southern Chad, commissioned by the European Commission, January 2010;
Cluster Evaluation, Chad case study, for IASC/OCHA, 2009.

There are many different ways to work in partnership with the Observatory:

Supporting the activities of the Observatory as a whole;
Requesting and funding a specific research study
Requesting a training course, and setting up a collective system to cover costs;
Building a partnership for information-management and knowledge-sharing, by including it as a budget line in project proposals, etc.

In 2011, the Observatory will expand its research work, whilst still ensuring that the results continue to be communicated, shared, and put into practice through advocacy activities. We will continue to organize workshops, providing a space for actors to exchange experiences, as well as training courses on subjects of particular interest to field workers in Chad.

If you would like to work with us in Chad, are interested in our research findings or would like to organise an ad-hoc training course, etc, please do not hesitate to contact us:

In Chad: Marion Junca and Mahamat Mustaph Absakine