Measuring resilience in Somalia : an empirical approach

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to build an understanding of the concept of resilience and provide an empirical method of measuring resilience using food security as a case study. This was carried out in three locations (rural, town and the internally displaced camps) of Luuq District in Somalia. The research was conducted through a mixed research methodology that involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative study, 390 individual household questionnaires were administered, and the qualitative aspects involved focus group discussions and key informant interviews. In total 12 key informants were interviewed while 10 FGDs were conducted in selected villages in the district. The study made seven findings. First validating that resilience and vulnerability are not antonyms but are both useful terms in the humanitarian aid and development discourse. Secondly, that the previous attempts to measure resilience lacked direction; agreement and they were devoid of resilience metrics. The validity of resilience measures was not acceptable, and it was demonstrated that the majority of the respondents did not feel that they had attained resilience or were on a path of achieving it. Thirdly, the effectiveness and relevance of resilience measures was location dependant and in-turn linked to the security of the location. Fourth, that though there was little appetite to improve resilience measurement, the FAOSHARP method came close to considering most of the aspects of resilience. Fifth, that implementing resilience in fragile locations called for innovation for effectiveness. Sixth, that while there were clear improvements needed on resilience measures though there was little appetite to change due to cost barriers. Lastly, the study synthesised subjectivity as a potential measure of resilience capacities and three questions that potentially measure resilience were recommended for further scrutiny. The major recommendation is that effective resilience building and measuring efforts are context specific and unique and the consideration of such is important for the validity of measures and impact of implementation.