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HistoryALNAP was established in 1997, as a mechanism to provide a forum on learning, accountability and performance issues for the humanitarian sector, following the Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda (JEEAR). The JEEAR was the most comprehensive system-wide evaluation of an international response to a humanitarian crisis and led to demands for increased professionalisation of the humanitarian sector. Consequently, several other initiatives aimed at improving the performance of the humanitarian sector emerged during this period: The Code of Conduct for The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, the Sphere Project, the Humanitarian Ombudsman Project (which became HAP International) and People In Aid. Thus, it was felt appropriate that a mechanism should be formed to allow different organisations to keep each other and the wider humanitarian community informed of their performance-related activities. Consequently, ALNAP was conceived through discussions following the JEEAR; first at a meeting of European bilateral donor organisations in May 1996 in Copenhagen; and then again in July 1996 at a meeting in London of donor, UN, NGO and Red Cross representatives. The UK Department for International Development subsequently commissioned the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) to write a concept paper which was circulated to bilateral and multilateral donor organisations, UN agencies and NGOs in December 1996. Following a positive response from several organisations, an initial meeting of interested agencies was held to develop the concept and to begin establishing the mechanism that subsequently became ALNAP. Although it was anticipated that ALNAP would be limited to a small group of about 30 members, this was quickly expanded to 40, and then 50 members due to demand and interest in the issues addressed by the network. This was then increased to a maximum of 60 in 2005. ALNAP quickly built itself a reputation for developing high quality tools and analysis on learning and accountability issues for the humanitarian sector. This has particularly been the case in the area of evaluation of humanitarian action, where ALNAP has developed training modules, guidance booklets and hosts a collection of evaluation reports in its Evaluative Reports Database (ERD). Yet, ALNAP has also been flexible enough to apply itself to carrying forward such innovative projects as the Learning Support Office, which was field tested in Malawi in 2002/2003 and hosting the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition in 2005/2006. ALNAP has also been successful at producing guidance material on issues of current concern: Protection – an ALNAP guide for humanitarian agencies was published in 2005, and has proved to be an invaluable addition to existing guidance on this subject. Today, ALNAP has a membership of almost 60 Full Members who meet twice a year at biannual meetings, and over 600 observer members who are informed of ALNAP’s activities and key mailings. Amongst a wide range of activities, its flagship publication, the Review of Humanitarian Action provides the sector with a means to reflect on its performance annually. ALNAP also responds to new natural disasters and complex emergencies through wide circulation of its ‘lessons learned’ papers, primarily based on material found within the ERD.
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