Iasc cluster approach evaluation, 2nd phase april 2010

participate in clusters 
§ 110 ff
Marginal participation of national and 
local NGOs, the private sector and 
foundations 
§ 110 ff
129
  Concerning its future implementation, the cluster approach holds an important 
potential, but also faces a number of risks that are summarized in table 4.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Method
Background
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations

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74
  Table 4
  Future potential benefits and risks
Potential future benefits of the cluster 
approach
Potential future risks of the cluster 
approach
More effective link with financing 
mechanisms enabling better coverage
Exceedingly close links with financing 
mechanisms risk creating tensions among 
cluster members, diverting attention 
away from coordination and encouraging 
‘political’ allocation decisions
Greater inclusiveness, especially of 
national and local NGOs, leading to 
capacity-strengthening, better needs 
assessments and better response
Greater inclusiveness risks undermining 
the effectiveness of meetings and the 
speed of response if meetings are not well 
managed
Stronger reliance on local or long-term 
international staff as coordinators, leading 
to capacity building
Stronger involvement of local staff can 
lead to conflicts of interest and create 
security risks for these individuals 
Excessive integration can undermine 
humanitarian space, reduce diversity, 
hinder innovation and lead individual 
organizations to abdicate responsibility
Coordination
(+)
 platform used to a) 
strengthen focus on early recovery and 
other cross-cutting issues; b) facilitate 
creative debate on innovation; c) promote 
and use participatory approaches 
and further accountability to affected 
populations; d) coordinate needs and 
capacity assessments; e) stronger use peer 
reviews and accountability mechanisms as 
well as disseminate good practice
Effective inter-cluster coordination, 
focusing on identifying and addressing 
multi-disciplinary issues and inter-cluster 
gaps, helping with a strategic common 
response to priority gaps
Better links with and to development 
actors
Peer control and / or rigid hierarchical 
command and control by cluster lead 
organization
130
  The introduction of the cluster approach is an organizational change process that 
requires  up-front  investments  and  generates  benefits  over  time.  Five  years  into 
that process and based on largely qualitative evidence collected in six countries, 
the evaluation team concludes that these investments are beginning to pay off as 
the benefits generated by the cluster approach to date already slightly outweigh its 
costs and shortcomings. It is also important to note that the direct financial costs of