Operations and other experience
Scroll the timeline below to see John Cosgrave's exerience (other than evaluation or training) since 1997 or click here for a static version.
2009: Analysing survey results. Survey of humanitarian evaluators asked for their views of a series of 51 lessons on recovery from natural disaster identified by the World Bank.
2008: Presenting at the IECAH meeting on the coordination of humanitarian action in Madrid.
2008: Developing mapping tools for use both globally and nationally by the Water and Sanitation Cluster with field visits to Panama, Nicaragua, Guinea, and India.
2008: Writing earthquake lessons learned paper for ALNAP and ProVention. Responding to earthquakes 2008: Learning from earthquake relief and recovery operations. London and Geneva: ALNAP and Provention, 2008.2008: Writing chapter for the 2008 Humanitarian Performance Index.
2007: Lead author for synthesis chapter in ALNAP's seventh review of humanitarian action.Perceptions of crisis and response: A synthesis of evaluations of the response to the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake. Chapter 4 (pp. 177-224) of ALNAP 7th Review of Humanitarian Action. London: ALNAP. (with Maurice Herson) ISBN 97808500386512006: Writing opinion piece for Development Today on NGO accountability.
2006: Writing TEC expanded summary report.Synthesis Report: Expanded Summary. Joint evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami. London: Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, 2007. ISBN 97808500383542006: Presenting the TEC results at meetings organised by different bilateral and multilateral donors.
2006: Co-writing the TEC Synthesis Report. Joint Evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami: Synthesis Report. London: Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, 2006. (with John Telford as lead author). ISBN 97808500380732005: Writing the TEC Initial Findings Report Tsunami Evaluation Coalition: Initial Findings. London: Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, 2005. ISBN 9788776674118
2004 (June to July): Security assessments for Mercy Corps in Azerbaijan and Pakistan.
2004 (May to June): Technical Support for Development Workshop's DFID-funded Sustainable Community Services Project in Angola, including solid waste component.
2003 (April to June): Assessment team leader for Oxfam for post-conflict Iraq. Managing assessment team of six concentrating on water, sanitation, and public health, as well as technical assessments for UNICEF.
2002 (August): Security assessmment for IRC in Aceh and North Moluccas, Indonesia.
2001 (September- November): Site assessment and planning refugee sites in Baluchistan, Pakistan to Sphere standards for UNHCR via DFID. Started-up staging site and camps. Click on Killi Faiso 1 to see the first six days of development of a border transit site, and on Killi Faiso 2 to see how the development continued up to 22nd day. During this planning work I developed a series of generic refugee camp layout plans for the new sites being built in Baluchistan to receive those first arriving in Killi Faiso. Click on the thumbnails or the text to see a full size version (they are all small files).
Generic block layout for 1,250 persons.
Camp layout for 10,000 persons.
Camp layout for 10,000 where the width of the plot is restricted.
Layout for the camp administrative block.
Communal latrine block. In order to meet cultural requirements the latrines were designed as separate screened compounds for each sex and latrines were separated from each other. The plan was to use communal latrines only while family latrines were being built.
The intermediate water system for the camp. Here the idea is to provide one water point in each block so that children do not have to leave their "home" blocks when collecting water.
Numbering system for the camp. While such admin planning is not very 'sexy' you need to think about it at the start to have a consistent system across each camp, and across all the camps.
Camp block marking system. While individual blocks develop their own character as people build mud walls around their tents, the blocks can seem very similar at first. This marking system was intended to help children locate their own blocks among the sameness of the camp.
Rapid plastic shelter. In the end we did not use plastic shelters for transit reception, but simply hired wedding tents to provide quickly erected shade areas. I previously used this design for Burundi refugees in Tanzania.2000 (June and August): Security assessments in East Timor and Burundi for IRC.
2000 (January): Implementing audit recommendations, training finance staff, drafting outline of field operations manual for Cordaid in Kosovo.
1999 (October-December): Setting up systems for Cordaid in Kosovo.
1999 (April, May): Technical adviser and civil-military liaison for DFID in Macedonia for the Kosovo crisis. Identifying and developing refugee sites in Albania to Sphere standards.
'92-'97: From Regional Programme Coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation in Angola to LWF Representative in Rwanda running a complex relief and development programme. Also based in Mozambique, Namibia, and Tanzania with visits to Uganda and Malawi.
'91-'92: Responsible for project planning, appraisal, evaluation and implementation with Oxfam in Angola. Oversaw agricultural recovery programme. Designed and evaluated urban water projects.
1991: Assessing both emergency and rehabilitation water supply needs in post-war Iraq.
'90-'91: Logistics capacity assessment for WFP in Sudan including rail and river.
1990: Prepared training materials on water supply and sanitation for Intertect.
1990: Designed an air-portable latrine-slab with a plastic enclosure.
'89-'90 MSc in Agricultural Engineering (Soil and Water) at Cranfield University. 1st in class.
1989: Set-up a national food distribution system for returnees in Namibia.
1989: Ran a six-week $1M construction programme for returnees to Namibian under the peace agreement.
'85-'89: Set up and ran a $0.8M/year programme in Mozambique based around rural water supply for the Lutheran World Federation.
1985 Logistics, roads, water supply, construction, and control cholera in relief camps in Ethiopia for Concern. Built camp for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan to tight schedule.
1984 Site engineer on motorway structures in the UK.
'83-'84 Postgraduate Diploma in Mech. Eng. University College Cork (UCC). 1st in Class.