Our recommendations in August:
Navigating Ethical Dilemmas for Humanitarian Action in Afghanistan
The fourth synthesis report of the Afghanistan Strategic Learning Initiative examines ethical dilemmas for humanitarian action in Afghanistan based on 250 interviews and an opinion survey among Afghan women.
Crafting Development Power – Evolving European Approaches in an Age of Polycrisis
Chen at al. analyse how France, Germany, Sweden and the UK use development instruments as strategic power.
Aid Strategies in ‘Politically Estranged’ Settings
How can donors stay and deliver in fragile and conflict-affected states where relations between major donors and national authorities are ‘politically estranged’. Cliffe et al., Chatham House, analyse the political barriers in a new research report and propose suggestions to overcome them in a policy brief.
Can Humanitarian Experience Guide the Development of New Loss and Damage Funding?
During COP27, countries pledged to establish new financing arrangements and a dedicated fund to address Loss & Damage. This was a major breakthrough and the start of an important process. But how can we ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past? Debbie Hillier of Mercy Corps and Paul Knox Clarke of Adapt Initiative explore how humanitarian experience can provide guidance on potential pitfalls and opportunities.
Humanitarians and the Climate Emergency – The Ethical, Practice and Cultural Challenges
The global climate crisis is the greatest strategic challenge for the humanitarian sector, as all areas of humanitarian action will intersect with climate change. A whole new paradigm for humanitarian organisations, requiring urgent changes in humanitarian practices in three institutional areas – ethics, practice and culture. Hugo Slim's lecture at the University of Jena is found here as a web essay.
The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) Report
In 2022, the number of individuals requiring humanitarian assistance reached 406.6 million people – a figure twice as large as that from five years prior. While international donors increased their aid by almost a third in comparison to the previous year, reaching a sum of US$46.9 billion, only 58% of those in need were reached. Furthermore, there has been no discernable progress in allocating humanitarian funds more directly to local actors. Only 1.2% of funds continue to be allocated directly to local actors. These facts are just a few of the insights from the new GHA report by Development Initiatives.
Adaptive Management in Refugee Programming
Helen Dempster and Nicol Herbert's report highlights the potential of adaptive management to benefit IRCs refugee-led programming in the area of refugee economic self-reliance – an area where IRC sees many uncertainties. However, adaptive management also poses a number of challenges, both for donors and implementers, for whom the report offers a number of valuable recommendations.
Humanitarian Aid as Performance?
Naohiko Omata poignantly outlines how greenfield humanitarian "theories of change" in Uganda and Ghana leave humanitarian workers frustrated when they are not in line with the actual behaviour of refugees. Rather than scrutinizing or adapting these theories to be more inclusive and adaptable, deviations in behavior are sometimes attributed to a "refugee syndrome" – a notion of mental stress leading to irrational decisions and behaviour.
A Pathway to Localisation Impact: Laying the Foundations
If and when do localisation interventions actually lead to better humanitarian outcomes? This paper by HAG, CoLAB and GLOW outlines a clear three-step path toward measuring and understanding change, as well as showcasing the impact on crisis-affected populations – one of the first attempts towards measuring localisation.
“Co-investigators But with Different Power”: Local Voices on the Localization of Humanitarian Research”
Humanitarian research has long been dominated by institutions from the Global North, while institutions and researchers from the Global South have been largely uninvolved or played a subordinate role. A dominance perpetuated by funding, which in turn enables control over research agendas and research standards, for example. Merry Fitzpatrick, Isabella Cordua, Teddy Atim, Anita Kattakuzhy, and Kyra Conciator of the Feinstein International Center provide an overview of the challenges facing humanitarian research institutes in the Global South and ways in which they can be more equally involved and better supported by donors and INGOs.
Humanitarian Leadership for the Future: When 2023 is the New 2030
What is the most effective way to delineate humanitarian leadership, encompassing the pertinent competencies and capacities required to meet future challenges? Gintare Guzeviciute and Delvin Varghese explore the role of leaders in shaping the future, looking ahead, listening and valuing feedback in this report from the IFRC Solferino Academy. An important report for all future-oriented humanitarian leaders.
Chatbots in Humanitarian Contexts: Learning from Practitioner Experiences
Becky Kazansky, Olivia Johnson and Bárbara Paes of The Engine Room provide a must-read for any practitioner considering the use of chatbots in humanitarian operations, giving a valuable overview of practical examples and showcasing recent learnings when using chatbots in a humanitarian context.
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