How does it operate?

 

The HRI is a virtual organization that is hosted by its founding and partner organizations.  It is logistically supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Earth Institute at Columbia University,  and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). There are currently three multi-partner offices that directly support the implementation of the HRI:

  • Peguyville. The UNEP-UNOPS support office is located in Peguyville (adjacent to Petionville), in the West Department of Haiti. This small office provides logistical support to all elements of the HRI and hosts Sustainable Development Solutions and the proposed Haiti 2040 activities.
  • Port Salut. The new Côte Sud Initiative Office is located in Port Salut, South Department. This UNOPS-supported office provides logistical, technical and coordination support to all partners of the CSI and is the largest geographic focus of resources in the HRI. Funds permitting, the CSI plans to construct and open a Visitors Centre in Port Salut in 2012.
  • Port-à-Piment The new Port-à-Piment Millennium Village Project field office is located in Port-à-Piment township in the South Department. This small office provides a forward working base in the heart of the PaPMVP.

Practical Action On the ground, the HRI is visible in the form of practical projects implemented by its partner organizations - projects that also provide lasting benefits through quality design and planning implemented with a participatory approach.

In addition to the implementing offices in Haiti, three of the major partners of the HRI also provide significant support through project offices located within larger complexes in Haiti and abroad:

  • Les Cayes. Catholic Relief Services is one of the main implementing partners for the CSI and the Port-à-Piment MVP and has a large operational base in Les Cayes, servicing these initiatives and the larger CRS programme in the Southern Peninsula.
  • New York. The Earth Institute at Columbia University has a dedicated HRI support office at its Manhattan campus, with strong links to the global-level Millennium Villages Project team.
  • Geneva. The UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch provides technical, logistical, and financial support to the HRI.

Finally, the work of the HRI is put into practice on the ground as a growing collection of practical action projects. For 2011-2012, the focus of most practical action will be the South Department, however the longer-term goal is to establish a national network of HRI affiliated projects.