Institutional Amnesia and Humanitarian Disaster Management

Abstract

Institutional amnesia is a serious concern for those who plan for, respond to and recover from humanitarian crises. Yet little effort has been made to understand its effects in disaster management generally and humanitarian agencies specifically. Consequently, we have no idea how to reform in ways which can deal with the issue of memory-loss. This paper addresses these concerns by defining institutional amnesia in conceptual and empirical terms, establishing its causes in the humanitarian policy space, ascertaining its effects within and across disasters and, most importantly, setting out a series of recommendations that can help humanitarian agencies address their own amnesia. The central argument is that institutional memory-loss is robbing individuals, organisations and networks of their lesson-learning gains. This is the single biggest reason why memory-loss must be acknowledged and treated as matter of some urgency.

Institutional amnesia pushes fish spawning aggregations towards extirpation

“…Finally, 'poaching' of local staff by international NGOs should be disincentivised (Stark, 2020) to ensure local expertise.…”

“…The lack of a regional database, where data can be consulted, tracked, and shared (Pittman & Heyman, 2020) Tell stories. Storytelling is a neglected dimension of organizational memory building (Stark, 2020). Creating narratives around why certain things are done the way they are is an effective way of passing down knowledge.…”

“…Organizations will always forget, and a future in which institutional amnesia is completely eliminated is improbable (Stark, 2020). Scholars also note that not all amnesia is negative or even accidental (de Holan, 2011), as selective amnesia can allow us to forget those ideas and practices that do not work, or conversely, forget we have a problem in the first place (e.g.…”

“…Durable local NGOs also retain more accessible records (Heideman, 2016). Finally, ‘poaching’ of local staff by international NGOs should be disincentivised (Stark, 2020) to ensure local expertise.…”

“…Tell stories . Storytelling is a neglected dimension of organizational memory building (Stark, 2020). Creating narratives around why certain things are done the way they are is an effective way of passing down knowledge.…”