Once your EAP has been approved, it is time to preposition stock and conduct preparedness and readiness activities while monitoring the trigger. This chapter briefly outlines the process for activating your EAP when the trigger is reached and eventually revising and resubmitting it for revalidation.
If at any stage the preapproved trigger is reached, then the National Society can start implementing their early action activities. The activation needs to be confirmed by the global IFRC-DREF team, and this is done via the DREF/EAP Activation. This activation template can be prepared in advance (since the early action and budget have been preapproved) and can be updated based on the specific details of the activation.
If the National Society would like to activate the s/EAP with a different forecast, trigger or threshold, this kind of activation needs to be confirmed with the global IFRC-DREF team, the IFRC-DREF Appeal Manager, and/or the Validation Committee. To justify the activation, a National Society should provide detailed information on the event and rationale for changes as early as possible to allow time for the approval and activation.
To access the early action budget, the National Society should submit the signed request for payment along with the DREF/EAP Activation. The DREF/EAP Activation should be published on the IFRC website by the IFRC Regional PMER Focal Point.
Once the s/EAP has been activated, the timeframe and reporting will be adjusted. The new operational timeframe is normally three months (including the lead time), and an activation report (narrative and financial) will be scheduled two months after the end of the operational timeframe for the National Society and one additional month later for the IFRC in the ERP system.
If you want more information on the activation process, please read chapter five of the IFRC interactive guidance package.
Following an activation, the National Society should do post-distribution monitoring and facilitate a lessons-learned workshop (see guidance in the toolbox). Each of these activities will help identify the changes that must be made to the s/EAP and to the budget before they are resubmitted to the IFRC-DREF. These activities need to be done within the operational timeframe. If this might not be possible, we recommend that the National Society considers requesting a no cost extension via an operations update. This request should come before the end of the current operational timeframe. You will find more information on evaluations and lessons learned in chapter 9.
The National Society also needs to complete the DREF/EAP Activation Report and submit it to the IFRC according to the revised timeframe mentioned above. If you have any questions about the reporting deadline, please consult the IFRC Project Manager or your Regional IFRC-DREF Focal Point. Delays in submitting the DREF/EAP Activation Report may affect the National Society’s ability to access IFRC-DREF funding, so a National Society is recommended to complete the narrative and financial report as soon as possible.
What happens if I don’t activate my EAP?
If during the EAP lifespan there is no activation (five years for the full EAP or two for the sEAP), the National Society should prepare a DREF/EAP Final Report (narrative and financial) and submit it to the IFRC Delegation as per the project funding agreement. The IFRC Project Manager can support the approval of the report and will liaise with the IFRC PMER focal point to publish the report on the IFRC website. The National Society can then work on making any updates to the s/EAP and/or budget before resubmitting to the IFRC-DREF for revalidation.
Once you have completed any post-distribution monitoring, lessons learned workshops, or other evaluations (see chapter 9 for MEAL guidance), or identified other changes in case of non-activation, you should revise your s/EAP. If challenges or areas for improvement emerge from the activation or evaluation, you should consider how those will be addressed for future activations and clearly document those changes in the EAP. The validation committee will have access to evaluation reports shared with IFRC and expect to see how the lessons and recommendations have been incorporated. Be sure to adjust the number of recipients and budgets as well based on any changes.
Once you have revised your s/EAP and budget, resubmit the s/EAP following the process that begins at step 1 of chapter 12. The process will be the same as it was for the initial submission.
If you want more information on the post activation process, please read chapter six of the IFRC interactive guidance package.