Workstream 3:
Capacity Building & Knowledge Management

Develop capacities of all stakeholders to guarantee a broader understanding of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance, with comprehensible information easily disseminated through user-friendly knowledge-sharing platforms

InsuResilience Working Group on Impact

The Impact Working Group is one of the Partnership’s technical Working Groups. It is intended to form a consensus-minded advisory board on the Partnership’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning workstream. Membership in this Working Group is drawn from various sectors, including implementation programmes, the private sector, academia and NGOs with about 35 active members. The Working Group is co-chaired by Vositha Wijenayake, Executive Director of the SLYCAN Trust, Dan Bierenbaum, Vice President of Global Parametrics and Sönke Kreft, Executive Director of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), with support from the InsuResilience Secretariat.

Throughout 2018, the Working Group focused on developing the Pro-Poor Principles, which were endorsed by the High-Level Consultative Group (HLCG) in 2019 as a self-commitment for all members. Their aim is to adopt a principles-based approach that puts people’s needs at the centre of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI). As the Partnership transitioned from the InsuResilience G7 target to its holistic Vision 2025, the Working Group’s focus also shifted towards a more comprehensive view of impact assessment.

The objectives of the Working Group are to strengthen the Monitoring & Evaluation and Learning systems of the Partnership and to develop a broader dialogue around evidence and impact. The overall goal of the Partnership in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) is to set out global standards for impact measurement and monitoring of CDRFI solutions generally, as well as to measure progress towards the target of Vision 2025. The realization of the Pro-Poor Principles should be at the centre of all activities.

In 2020, the Working Group’s activities revolved around three areas of work:

  1. Establishing common terminology and a technical foundation for the Partnership’s M&E
  2. Serving as a technical sounding board for the Partnership’s M&E
  3. Creating an evidence-based roadmap to expose gaps in CDRFI investments and impact measurement

Area of work 1: Establishment of definitions for key terms and common terminology

 Establishing a common understanding of key terms and concepts is an important cornerstone for a consistent M&E Framework. As such, one of the first activities of the Impact Working Group in 2020, was to identify and compile key terminology and concepts from the Partnership’s main strategic guidance statements  (Vision 2025, Concept Note, Pro-Poor Principles) and draw up a document to establish a conceptual foundation of key concepts for the Partnership’s M&E. The resulting list of terminology and concepts was reviewed, defined and endorsed by the Working Group with the aim of ensuring cohesion in their use within the Working Group and in the Partnership’s M&E.

Area of work 2: A technical sounding board for the Partnership’s M&E framework

One of the core activities of the Impact Working Group was supporting the development and enhancing the M&E Framework for Vision 2025. Members of the Working Group acted specifically as a technical sounding board for the revised M&E Framework developed by strategic economics consultancy Vivid Economics and specialist company RMS for developing risk models. The group provided extensive feedback on the methodology, adequacy of indicators and target levels, and practical feasibility of the framework. This inclusive process ensured that different perspectives of stakeholders were reflected from NGOs, the private sector, implementing programmes, academia and governments, and helped to make the M&E Framework more robust.

Area of work 3: Supporting the development of an Evidence Roadmap

In the third workstream, the Impact Working Group focused on making a contribution to result area iv of Vision 2025. This targets an “Increase in evidence relating to the most effective and most cost-efficient Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) solutions”. The Working Group drew on targeted support from the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) in order to design a joint Evidence Roadmap to advance research on the long-term resilience benefits of risk finance and insurance for poor and vulnerable people. The goal is to stimulate an Evidence Roadmap that goes beyond Partnership Members to promote research and learning on disaster risk finance while addressing evidence indicators of Vision 2025. This would enable evidence-based communication associated with a broader and more diverse community of practice.

A four-day virtual workshop hosted by MCII kicked off the Evidence Roadmap agenda. The workshop focused on innovations in the CDRFI space and sharing of significant lessons learned from these innovations.

It highlighted the importance of research partners, donors and implementers for developing a joined-up Evidence Roadmap based on a combination of strategic analytics and evidence-based action. Another important aspect related to disseminating these insights and case studies to facilitate a certain level of thematic guidance. This helps the Partnership get closer to Vision 2025’s objective of increasing evidence on the most (cost-)effective and efficient CDRFI solutions.

The focus for the Impact Working Group in 2021 will be on supporting implementation of the Evidence Roadmap. If you would like to get involved in the Impact Working Group, please contact secretariat@insuresilience.org.

Key Achievements of the
Working Group in 2020

Partnership’s M&E framework technically enhanced

Key Achievements of the
Working Group in 2020

Common M&E terminology established

Evidence Roadmap launched

“Without adequate risk mitigation measures in place, those struggling to escape poverty are most vulnerable to the impact of climate shocks. Axco shares the vision that insurance provision can make a significant contribution to providing social protections. Now more than ever, collaboration and partnership are important as we strive to build stronger economic resilience and protection.”

Jolle Wever,
Managing Director, AXCO (new member in 2020)

“We believe in the power of partnerships to make SUAVE (simple, understood, accessible, valuable, efficient) risk management solutions a reality for low-income people globally. The Partnership provides an unparalleled platform to share knowledge, lessons, resources, and expertise among members so that collectively we can increase resiliency on a large-scale.“

Michael J. McCord,
Managing Director, Micro Insurance Centre at Milliman (new member in 2020)