Initial organisational formation of the housing reconstruction programme in bam

Abstract

Disaster exposes failures in previous development activities; there are expectations from reconstruction for improvements. However, the difficult task is how to organise the necessary processes and procedures, e.g. regarding participants and their roles. Practical decisions have to be made towards approaching initial objectives. This chapter examines how the housing reconstruction programme in Bam that covered most of the urban area was initially organised. It enables an understanding of the organisational configuration of the programme delivery system. The interplay of programme size, urban process and existing reconstruction policies led to introducing practical considerations for the formation of a sociotechnical delivery system for the programme that was innovative, purposeful, multi-organisational. It connected financial, technical, social and practical considerations in the reconstruction programme, and connected disaster-affected beneficiaries/applicants and various organisational positions together. Each of these 13 positions including applicants was a system element, from local individuals to local urban governance, provincial professional bodies, private sector consultancies, national organisations and revolutionary organisations. This multi-organisational delivery system created a temporary housing development process across the city. The initial workflow process included two main phases, design and construction phases with controlling points for assuring the works were approaching the primary strategic objectives; and brought the sociotechnical system to life. Various influential considerations underlying the complexities for organisational configuration in housing programmes are explored.