The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is pleased to share this Capacity Assessment Report for the consultancy National Institutional Capacity Assessment (NICA) for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in Trinidad and Tobago. This Report is part of a project by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to enhance the delivery of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in Trinidad and Tobago. This Technical Cooperation Agreement is comprised of two components: 1. Conduct of a Country Disaster Risk Evaluation and 2. Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building.

The objective of the NICA project is to assess the institutional capacity of the GORTT to manage the risks associated with the multi-hazard environment of the country with a focus is on natural hazards, and climate change. It entails consideration of the capacity at all levels (national, sectoral and community) to handle risk identification, prevention and mitigation, financial risk management, preparedness and response; and rehabilitation and reconstruction. A core principle is to integrate disaster risk management into development decision-making.

The objective of the NICA consultancy is to "conduct a comprehensive assessment of the institutional capacity to manage the risks associated with natural hazards in Trinidad and Tobago and prepare supporting documents for institutional strengthening in DRM". This is to be achieved through the successful completion of a capacity assessment and response process that groups the scope of work under four broad tasks:

1. Institutional Capacity Assessment
2. Operations Manual for CDM
3. Packages and a Proposal for Institutional Strengthening
4. Delivery of Workshops

The Report will help to inform development of an Operations Manual and Institutional Strengthening packages. A project proposal for Institutional Strengthening is the final output of the NICA project. Eight Ministries have been identified by ODPM for institutional strengthening under this component of the project - National Security(public safety arm including the ODPM), Planning and Sustainable Development, Environment, Public Utilities, Finance; Social Development, Local Government; and Health. The Report is organised to present:

• A contextual introduction, scope and approach to the consultancy
• Assessment methodology
• Findings of the Review and Gap analysis
• Summary Findings and Recommendations

To read the full report, please click here.