SERVICES: National Platforms

Fiji

Context: Fiji is prone to climate-related disasters. In 2016 Tropical Cyclone Winston demanded an enormous disaster response and recovery operation, led by the Fijian Government. The government has been working with Australia and others on preparedness efforts built on a premise that international assistance can offer a unique and specific supporting role during major disasters.  In 2018, as part of a DFAT funded joint CDAC-GTS project, a CCE scoping mission was undertaken with a gap for collective preparedness action identified. With the approval of the NDMO, work began on setting up a common service leading to the establishment of the Fiji Communication and Community Engagement Working Group (CCEWG). It serves as a preparedness platform for the coordination of CCE activities in times of disaster. 

 Leadership: The CCEWG sits within the Communications Cluster and links closely with the second Cluster working group; the Emergency Telecommunications (ETC) WG. The NDMO, together with the Ministry of Communications, has convened four meetings of the National multi-stakeholder CCE Working Group to date, Multiple CCE stakeholders have contributed to the development of a platform ToR. 

In 2019, it was agreed that the Ministry of Communications would be responsible for leading the Communications Cluster as a whole. The Department of Information within the Ministry of Communications will lead the CCE Working Group, with the support of the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) and UNICEF as Co-Leads of the CCE Working Group. 

The Department of Communications within the Ministry of Communications will lead the ETC Working Group, with the support of the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji (TAF) as a Co-Lead of the ETC Working Group. There will be two-way communication and reporting lines between the Working Groups and the overall Cluster.

The CDAC National Coordinator provides technical support and works closely with the NDMO and the Ministry of Communications, with additional support from a CDAC Regional CCE Advisor based in the region.  

Key achievements: As part of Year 2 activities, Ground Truth Solutions undertook feedback training in Suva in Fiji August 2019 on systematic data collection, analysis & feedback while CDAC, in cooperation with its members, facilitated technical training in CCE/ Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) tailored to the Fiji context in September 2019 with over 40 representatives from government, national and international partners and the private sector taking part. A further one-day Northern divisional CCE meeting took place in October 2019 involving over 45 participants from NDMO and other Northern divisional stakeholders, with more planned.

In year 2, CDAC has supported the development of a 4Ws mapping tool (Who is doing What Where and When) with regard to CCE in Fiji – in an effort to improve coordination among CCE stakeholders and collect data from stakeholders to inform decision making. This work is deeply embedded in the operations of the NDMO. CDAC is also reaching out to other partners in relation to 4Ws mapping to share lessons learned in an effort to support the development and uptake of a common 4Ws mapping tool among other Fiji Clusters, as appropriate (for example, FAO and UN Women who are supporting the Fiji Food Security and Protection Clusters respectively).

CDAC has also initiated the development of a Fiji Media Telecommunications Linguistics Landscape Guide as a preparedness resource to inform communication strategy design and information needs assessments. The Guide will support the design of effective communication strategies and will include profiles of the main media outlets, a summary of the most popular and trusted sources of news and information, a summary of the more traditional forms of communication, and respected channels of communication, mobile phone ownership, social media use and communication culture.

National and international actors involved: NDMO, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Education, Telecom Authority of Fiji, OCHA, UNICEF, FAO, IFRC, the Australian High Commission, Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), Live and Learn Fiji, Plan International Australia, ADRA, FemLink Pacific, Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation, Rainbow Pride Fiji, Partners in Community Development Fiji, Save the Children Fiji, Ground Truth Solutions and CDAC, among other CCE stakeholders. The NDMO has opened up the membership of the CCE Working Group and interested organisations can submit an expression of interest to NDMO.

Opportunities and challenges: There are various strong examples of community engagement in Fiji, especially with community leaders, that take into account young people, women, people with a disability, elderly, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and members of the LGBGTI community. Engagement however often gravitates towards leaders and strengthens existing power structures. It has been difficult to date to close the feedback loop. 

Collective, coherent and coordinated community engagement which feeds into decision making, using multiple channels (e.g. Common Feedback mechanism incl. hotlines, regular micro surveys on key indicators, rapid assessments, etc.), with a focus on analysis of trends and recommendations and on closing the loop presents an immense opportunity to strengthen existing systems. A recent GTS pilot showed promising opportunities to improve programme quality, strengthen community relations and NDMO reputation and create an evidence base for response impact.

Priorities going forwards include:

• Strengthening systems and coordination among CCE stakeholders to create further linkages with existing activities (across both development and humanitarian/DRR sectors)

• Continuing to expand the membership and deepen participation of CCE WG members, including across a diverse range of government Ministries (e.g. Ministry of iTaukei Affairs)

• Ongoing advocacy as to the benefits of collective CCE approaches and activities

• Providing technical assistance, mentoring and training to improve the effectiveness of CCE activities

• Expanding roll out of CCE support at divisional levels.

READ MORE:

• Fiji Media, Language And Telecommunications Landscape Guide

• Operationalising Localisation And The Participation Revolution: Communications Preparedness And Accountability For Disaster Response In Fiji And Vanuatu

• The Journey To Build Fiji’s National Communication Platform

• Scoping Mission Report For Fiji

National Platform Countries

• Afghanistan

• Bangladesh “Shongjog”

• Bangladesh Cox’s Bazar

• Burkina Faso

• Central African Republic

• Democratic Republic of Congo

• Dominica

• Fiji

• Haiti

• India

• Indonesia

• Kenya

• Mozambique

• Nepal

• Papua New Guinea

• Philippines

• South Sudan

• Somalia

• Sri Lanka

• Sudan

• Syria

• Vanuatu

• Venezuela

• Yemen

• Zimbabwe