PCNAs are increasingly used by national and international actors as an entry point for conceptualizing, negotiating and financing a common shared strategy for recovery and development in fragile, post-conflict setting. The work of recovery planning includes both the assessment of needs and the national prioritization and costing of needs in an accompanying Transitional Results Framework (TRF). Over the last decade, donors have attributed increasing importance to providing timely and substantive support to post-conflict recovery and peace building. A large part of this assistance has been mobilized via international reconstruction conferences, at which donors make pledges based on the overall assessment of post-conflict recovery needs. As of July 2010, PCNAs have been undertaken or remain ongoing in Afghanistan (not formally a PCNA), Timor Leste (not formally a PCNA) Iraq, Liberia, Haiti, Sudan (North/South), Somalia, Sudan (Darfur), Pakistan, Zimbabwe (only preparation) Georgia and Yemen.
Following a global review in 2006-2007 of experiences with PCNAs, lessons were learned and validated with national and regional stakeholders and actions taken to improve future efforts. Foremost amongst the principles guiding the revisions is an understanding that the Transitional Results Framework (TRF), sometimes called the results matrix, is the "heart" of the PCNA: it lays out a selective group of priority actions and outcomes and their financial implications, and offers a tool that national and international stakeholders use to align efforts to maximize the opportunities for a successful transition and minimize the risk of reversal into violent conflict.
The revised PCNA-TRF methodology supports a common platform for action, with explicit linkages to relevant security, political, and humanitarian processes and actors, The revisions undertaken in 2007-2008 to this mechanism are based on an extensive, collaboratively led UNDG-World Bank process that brought field expertise from multilaterals together with national counterparts, regional organizations, and bilateral governments to review experience with post-conflict needs assessments from 1999-2006 and propose changes to the methodology and tolls for integrated recovery planning. Additional work on the PCNA toolkit has taken place since late 2008, with financial support from the European Commission and DOCO. The work amongst others includes the development of additional practical tools for capacity assessments and conflict analysis, communication protocol within the UN and between PCNA partners within the context of a PCNA-TRF. Over the spring of 2010 PCNA familiarization sessions took place with the World Bank, the European Commission, the African Development Bank and the United Nations. Furthermore, during the first week of June 2010 the first training for PCNA Expert Practitioners took place with participants from the African Development Bank, the European Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank. These Expert Practitioners will become the first members of a PCNA roster will be enable the PCNA partners to quickly and qualified respond to request for PCNA missions in the future.
The revised PCNA-TRF process is flexible enough to cover situations where: (i) there is a sudden breakthrough in a peace or political transition process which makes it imperative to have a clear plan and budget to support the process; (ii) a peace or political transition process is at a stage where mediators believe it is useful for parties to focus on practical transition planning; (iii) a later transition – for example, from a transitional to an elected government- requires a new process to confirm national priorities; or (iv) a political, security, economic or social crisis requires a re-evaluation of priorities and plans.
For further information, please contact Ms. Ana Maria Hermoso in the Crisis and Post-Conflict Cluster at DOCO. |