Proceedings of ICLT 2017
EXPLORING OPTIMAL AID MIX IN HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS: AN ARCHIPELAGIC PERSPECTIVE
Temmy Tanubrata; Ruth Banomyong
Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University, Thailand; Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University, Thailand
International Conference on Logistics & Transport 2017, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 187-193
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Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript is to explore whether a combined humanitarian assistance involving traditional aid delivery and cash transfer modalities is the optimal response in an archipelagic country? This paper aims to assess whether in such context, cash-based intervention may rise as a more suitable transfer model that is rapidly scalable given the wide-reach of the banking, mobile technology and financial sectors compared to the traditional aid delivery model. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach has been selected for the study. Data has been collected through a series of semi-structured interviews, and unstructured observations to obtain perspectives from various stakeholders. Findings: The use of digital money, mobile wallets and e-cash arguably serves as an effective modality for humanitarian intervention in remote places in archipelagic countries. These cash based interventions offer greater flexibility for the disaster affected populations to restore their livelihoods and resume their normal lives. However, traditional aid delivery cannot be totally eliminated because of limited access to information, communication and technology infrastructure. Research limitations/implications (if applicable): The study is an exploratory research and therefore is more conceptual than empirical. It is intended to gain further information to suggest hypotheses to the topic under review. Practical implications (if applicable): Insights will be obtained from practitioners on the optimal mix of between traditional aid delivery and cash based programmes based on experiences in archipelagic countries. Originality/value: As cash-based programming is anticipated to grow larger than the traditional supply chain of aid delivery within the next decade, many relief organisations have attempted to come up with the most suitable operational setup for both cash-based and voucher-based interventions but are lacking guidelines on the optimal mix.
Keywords
Cash-based programming; Archipelagic; numerous damages to infrastructure; thus resulting in economic costs (Alamsjah et al; 2015) The same can be observed in the Philippines
Citation
Temmy Tanubrata; Ruth Banomyong (2017). EXPLORING OPTIMAL AID MIX IN HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS: AN ARCHIPELAGIC PERSPECTIVE. Proceedings of the International Conference on Logistics & Transport (ICLT 2017), Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 187-193.