Improving Department of Defense International Humanitarian Assistance Investments
Open Access
- Author:
- Stokes, Everleigh Elizabeth
- Area of Honors:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Supervisor
Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Honors Advisor
Brian Hastings King, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Department of Defense
humanitarian assistance
disaster relief
MCDA - Abstract:
- The United States uses humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts after manmade and natural disasters to meet long-term strategic goals and reduce human suffering. Each fiscal year these humanitarian assistance and disaster relief projects are primarily administered through the Department of State and the Department of Defense. In the past decade, the frequency and intensity of man-made and natural disasters has increased, subsequently increasing the number of individuals living in vulnerable or recovering communities around the globe. However, overall spending on humanitarian assistance by the United States has decreased compared to levels of assistance provided in the past. As a result, it has become imperative that financial and physical assistance is allocated as effectively and efficiently as possible in order to truly decrease human suffering. The focus of this thesis is on Department of Defense projects funded through the Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA) Appropriation program. Currently, there is no transparent, geographically scalable, data driven, or consistent process used by the Department of Defense for their site selection decision-making process. Therefore, the Department is criticized for potentially selecting a suite of ineffective, repetitive, biased projects for funding. To help combat this issue, the Army Corps of Engineers has designed a decision process incorporating multi criteria decision analysis, presented here. This proposed process will create transparency, allow for flexibility, apply to all regions of the globe, and ultimately increase effectiveness of Department of Defense humanitarian assistance and disaster relief projects.