Dominica: Enhancing Resilient Reconstruction

Context and objectives

The ACP-EU NDRR Program supported a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) following Hurricane Maria that hit Dominica on 18 September 2017. Building on the recommendations of the PDNA, this ACP-EU NDRR Program is supporting the project "Enhancing Resilient Reconstruction in Dominica".

The Government of Dominica initiated multiple large-scale housing reconstruction programs, one of which is the World Bank-financed $40 million Housing Recovery Project. This ACP-EU NDRR Program supports the critical early-implementation stage of this Housing Reconstruction Project and seeks, more broadly, to improve the application and uptake of resilient building practices and build-back-better considerations in the housing sector in Dominica.

Main activities and results

This ACP-EU NDRR project advances the key elements that are necessary for a successful national housing recovery sector. It does so by implementing the following activities:

• Supporting the maintenance of a Management Information System that supports both the housing recovery program and the physical planning process, and training its primary users (e.g. the Project Implementation Unit; staff of the Ministry of Housing);
• Developing and completing transparent beneficiary identification and selection for the Housing Recovery Project;
• Providing resilient reconstruction guidance through hands-on training to staff in the Technical Assistance Centers and to local building contractors and artisans.

Activities have supported the design, implementation and operationalization of a management information system to store and manage all data related to housing reconstruction programs, including applications, surveys, screening, assessments and subsequent management. This has been crucial to support the assignment of site visits to surveyors, monitor the rate of successfully completed site reports, assess performance, and provide feedback regarding these country-wide housing recovery programs. In addition, transparent beneficiary identification and selection processes have been developed to support the collection of data and identification of engineering needs during site and building assessments. This project also provided resilient reconstruction guidance through hands-on training to local building contractors and artisans and to government staff in technical assistance centers.

Overall, these activities have improved the uptake of resilient building practices to limit the damage from natural hazards in Dominica. The project developed transparent beneficiary identification and selection for the $40 million World Bank Housing Recovery Project.

Partnerships and coordination

All activities were developed in conjunction with the National Housing Task Force, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary of Dominica, and were complementary to those of the other development partners present in the country.

Useful link

A Results in Resilience story is accessible here.