2. LESSONS
A. Information Management Systems for Monitoring Disarmament,
Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) (Lesson #2502)
Observations:
Managing a large quantity of data is critical for successfully implementing and monitoring
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs. The DDR program established
by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) following the end of Liberia’s civil war in 2003, however, did
not incorporate an information management system from the beginning, resulting in double
registration of ex-combatants and violence in the capital.
Discussion:
Measuring the effectiveness of DDR programs is complex. When designing DDR programs and
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to evaluate them, it is important first to identify what results
the DDR program aims to achieve. According to the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), a “results chain” for DDR programs includes various components: the impact is the long-
term effect of a DDR program on a population group (i.e. the degree to which the DDR of ex-
combatants affects overall regional stability); outcomes are short/medium-term effects (for example,
how many participants of DDR returned to their communities in economically viable ways); outputs
are specific products/services delivered by the DDR program (such as the specific number
male/female ex-combatants trained or weapons destroyed); activities are specific actions necessary to
obtain outputs (such as enrolling ex-combatants in the program); and inputs are resources used in a
DDR program (such as funds, equipment, and staff).
In order to evaluate a DDR process, this results chain must first be established. After that, it is possible
to identify what needs to be monitored, develop a strategy, define indicators, agree on indicator
baselines, form an overall M&E plan, and outline necessary capacities/conditions/budget. The results
chain thus determines which questions need to be answered during an evaluation of a DDR
program. The following step is to determine which data is needed to answer those questions and how
it will be collected – whether from already existing data sources in the host nation (which would
strengthen local capacity) or ongoing monitoring by the DDR program, or from both. Once these
requirements are identified, an information system must be established to monitor results and risks
throughout the DDR process.
DDR programs require an extensive capacity for managing large quantities of data collected via
monitoring. As such, establishing an information system is integral. Such an information system
typically consists of both software to record personal/family/socio-economic data of ex-combatants
and benefits they receive as well as photographic and/or biometric equipment to identify DDR
participants and thereby avoid double registration. This system can then monitor and track
information such as how many female and male ex-combatants enter the reintegration process. The
importance of data management is underlined in the UNDP M&E Guide for DDR – “Errors in
information management of DDR programmes can have a serious impact on the DDR process, on
the security of staff, and on the consolidation of peace” (p. 43).
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