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An Industry Consensus on Minimum Standards for Economic Recovery Programs in Crisis Environments

  
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How to Host a Regional Consultation Workshop

Background

The Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) articulate the minimum level of technical and other assistance to be provided in promoting the recovery of economies and livelihoods affected by crisis. In 2011 the MERS were recognized as a Companion Standard to the Sphere Handbook. The programmatic focus of MERS is on strategies and interventions designed to improve income, cash flow, asset management, and growth among crisis-affected households and enterprises. These include four distinct technical program areas: financial services, productive assets, employment, and enterprise development.

The MERS revision process for the Third Edition Handbook was launched during a writeshop in Washington, D.C. on January 27 and 28, 2016. During the workshop, a group of high-level experts came together to form technical working groups with the objective of updating, rewriting, and revising the Second Edition MERS Handbook.

What is a Member-Led Regional Consultation Workshop?

The Member Led Regional Consultation Workshops aim to solicit input and feedback from practitioners and end users of the MERS Handbook. Through member-led regional consultation workshops, we want to ensure that the updates and revisions to the handbook reflect current best practice and account for current challenges faced by program implementers in the field. We invite SEEP members to partner with us to jointly leverage resources and reach more practitioners through our consultative process.  

MEMBER-LED REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS

In order to achieve a much broader consultative process we are inviting SEEP members to join us in this important effort by hosting a member led regional consultation workshop.

To organize or host a Member-Led Regional consultation, please contact [email protected]

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Expected Workshop Outputs
  • Ensure that the revisions include perspectives from SEEP Members, primarily from direct field operations/program implementers;
  • Capture lessons learned from recent market based programs in conflict or crisis situations;
  • Incorporate important industry advances including cash based programming and digital payments;
  • Spotlight the innovative work of SEEP member organizations.
Expectations and Level of Effort

Participants should be aware that they are expected to commit to work in the technical working groups beyond the initial workshop. 

The Technical Working Groups are:

Foundational and Cross-Cutting Standards

Technical Standards

  • Core Standards

  • Assessment and Analysis

  • Enterprise Development

  • Employment

  • Productive Assets

  • Financial Services


Target Audience and Participation
  •  Participants representing a diversity of organizations;
  • Field practitioners working on livelihoods, employment, or enterprise and market systems development programs in crisis environments.
Roles and Responsibilities

 

The SEEP Network will provide:

SEEP Members will commit to:

  • Workshop plan and design

  • Workshop materials (PowerPoint, information leaflets, evaluations, MERS Third Edition drafts)

  • Communications and outreach materials (invitations, mass emails)

  • A Summary presentation  of revisions to the handbook

  • Key questions for the consultations

  • Ongoing support to participate in global Community of Practice

  • Recognition for the host in event promotion  and through SEEP channels  (MERS website)

  • Recognition of contributors and organization in the Third Edition Handbook

  • Help SEEP to promote the event widely

  • Reach out to the right group of experts in the region

  • Share information with regional forums 

  • Support SEEP by providing a venue (conference room, meeting space) to host the workshop

  • Take the lead facilitating the workshop with technical and logistic support from SEEP

  • Provide a summary of the discussion from the workshop in the form of a workshop report, along with list of attendees


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