A new Centre for Post-crisis Leadership and Development (CPLD) has been launched with a seminar at the Overseas Development Institute.
The purpose of the Centre, which delivers activities through the Australia New Zealand School of Government Institute for Governance (ANZIG) and the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit at the University of York (UK), is to nurture, at all levels, the leadership required to engage communities around tackling difficult underlying problems in a constantly changing and uncertain environment.
Leadership is tested in times of crisis, when it is most needed. In the midst of mounting and invariably complex humanitarian crises, a lack of leadership can result in uncoordinated, unstrategic and even ineffectual responses that undermine local authorities, economies, and social structures – and moreover fail to respond adequately to those in need of assistance. But how can leadership be fostered within aid agencies, governments and international organisations?
At the launch event, speakers from the humanitarian community discussed why responses often lack a common strategy between local, national and international actors and the need for an adaptive approach to leadership in those responses and post-crisis development.
Welcoming the launch of this new centre, Rory Truell, IFSW Secretary General, commented: ‘The IFSW policy statement on the working environment of social workers and The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development both make clear that leadership and management must create the right conditions for ethical and effective practice. This applies equally at times of crisis. Research shows that leaders have a significant impact on how services are delivered and on the commitment and effectiveness of staff. We therefore welcome this new focus on leadership of humanitarian services in crises’, he concluded.
The individual speakers can be each be viewed on video here.