Sri Lanka: Helpdesk for the DPC Tsunami Disaster Program

The Tsunami Disaster Program started just after the 2004 Tsunami, when the Department of Italian Civil Protection (DPC) began its intervention of first emergency aid in favour of the Tsunami victims. Based on the reaction of Italian citizens (who have donated over time, € 53,368,711.81) the DPC was in charge for the management of the funds, by working directly and in collaboration with several implementing bodies.

More specifically, the programme consisted of 56 projects, 34 of which subject to agreements with NGOs, 8 with other bodies and organizations, and 14 implemented directly by the Italian Civil Protection Department.

In order to ensure a strong and accountable programme management, different external bodies were created, among which the Monitoring Committee, where PuntoSud was included to ensure the development of procedures, the training of humanitarian operators and to support the audit of the financed projects.

PuntoSud operated from September 2005 until the end of the overall final assessment of the entire operation in Sri Lanka, in 2010.

PuntoSud encouraged the DPC to standardise its own procedures in line with the best practices in use within the European Commission, thus taking on board the DG ECHO Framework Partnership Agreement set of norms and provisions. PuntoSud has therefore assured the DPC the consulting and technical support necessary for the evaluation of the management procedures, the elaboration of project documents for the training of personnel engaged in the management of the Programme and for the final validation of the financial reports produced by the implementing partners.

Doing that, it became over time the focal point for the monitoring, control and administrative closure of the overall program in Sri Lanka. Within this context, PuntoSud has been working to make sure that the correct and regular development of reports and request of amendments were in line with the overall programme objectives and provisions.

An important element of the PuntoSud work was the participation to the “Auditing Group” of the final reports presented by the implementing agencies. Moreover it developed an ad-hoc DPC website dedicated to the reporting of the activities in Sri Lanka, including all the documentation produced by the programme. The PuntoSud activities also resulted in the organisation and the archiving of all the administrative documents relating to the programme.

The PuntoSud main helpdesk activities can be summarized as follows:

• 24 hours on-line support;
• Elaboration of the DPC standard procedural package;
• Training (in Italy and Sri Lanka) for the correct management of DPC funded operations;
• Technical support to DPC staff in Italy and Sri Lanka;
• Support ensured to the “Group of Auditors” in charge to ensure accountability on the use of funds;
• Monitoring of all projects;
• Development of e-tools;
• Consolidation of the “post-tsunami” DPC dedicated website;
• Contribution to the publication of the Final Activity Report, the “Final Report Emergency Tsunami Sri Lanka“.

Within the framework of the PuntoSud helpdesk for the Tsunami Disaster Program, four PuntoSud Team members were conferred, in 2008, the “benemerenza” at the presence of the President of the Italian Republic.