Shock Responsive Programs

There is an increasing recognition with the international development community of the need for a shock responsive approach in development activities to help countries and communities mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks thereby reducing losses, preventing a downward spiral of divestment leading to destitution, and protecting hard-won development gains.

Even in countries not prone to recurrent crises, shocks and stresses may occur during the normal implementation of development activities. Adopting a flexible, shock-responsive approach to development programming enables implementers to adapt and respond appropriately and quickly to shocks when they occur. This adaptive approach includes the ability to use a range of development and humanitarian tools to mitigate the effects of a shock and speed recovery. Shock responsive programs are able to respond to a wide range of shocks, including droughts, pests, and political crises, and could involve adjusting elements of the program or the entire intervention; experimenting with new approaches; or eliminating programming that isn’t working in the new context.