Ideas to action: independent research for global prosperity
Rethinking Humanitarian Reform: Toward Demand-Driven Action
Focusing on affected populations first.
About the Project
The humanitarian system allocates its resources inefficiently, reaches too few people, and fails to provide what vulnerable populations say they need the most. Our project aims to understand the incentives behind the system and shift them to better prioritize the needs of affected populations
Featured Work
People-Driven Response
Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
Five Takeaways on the Future of Humanitarian Reform
Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
The Dos and Don’ts of USG Humanitarian Reorganization
Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
Fit for the Future: Envisioning New Approaches to Humanitarian Response
Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
Introducing the Podcast "Rethinking Humanitarianism"
Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
Featured Work
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People-Driven Response: Power and Participation in Humanitar...Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
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Five Takeaways on the Future of Humanitarian ReformJeremy Konyndyk et al.
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The Dos and Don’ts of USG Humanitarian ReorganizationJeremy Konyndyk et al.
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Fit for the Future: Envisioning New Approaches to Humanitari...Jeremy Konyndyk et al.
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Introducing Rethinking HumanitarianismJeremy Konyndyk et al.
The world is currently facing the highest levels of forced displacement and humanitarian need. Yet the humanitarian system allocates its resources inefficiently, reaches too few people, and fails to provide what vulnerable populations say they need the most.
Despite modest progress as a result of three major reform efforts since 2005, each have fallen short of their aspirations. There is a lack of political will to tackle the power dynamics and skewed incentives that characterize the humanitarian system’s business model.
To achieve deeper reform, efforts need to be reoriented away from the priorities of aid agencies and donors – towards the needs of affected populations. To build on progress to date, this project aims to:
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Transform understanding of power structures in the humanitarian system and the resources that reinforce these structures;
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Support efforts to shift control of coordination, financing and governance models to be about those we serve, not those who serve; and
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Develop recommendations which support aid agencies and donors to deliver more accountable and effective humanitarian action.
Our research will develop actionable and concrete policy options for moving the humanitarian system away from a fragmented, supply-driven model – toward a more coherent, demand-driven model that’s fit for the future. It will deliver a more ambitious vision targeting three aspects of the system.
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Coordination: field delivery coordination models that put affected people first and strengthen frontline response.
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Financing: alternative approaches to humanitarian financing that lower entry barriers for local and national actors.
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Governance: humanitarian governance that prioritises efficiency and performance, and accountability to affected people.
To learn about the future of crisis response, explore our limited podcast series with Heba Aly and Jeremy Konyndyk, Rethinking Humanitarianism. Listen now by searching for “The New Humanitarian” in your preferred podcast app (available on Spotify, Apple, Google, Stitcher, and YouTube). If you have feedback on the podcast, or want to send us contributions, email RHPodcast@thenewhumanitarian.org.
Blogs
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Who Represents Whom? A Conversation on Decolonizing Humanitarian GovernanceThe Black Lives Matter movement, #AidToo, and the failure to support locally-led responses during COVID-19 have spotlighted power ... -
Beyond the Grand Bargain: The Humanitarian Financing Model Needs More Radical ChangeThe global scale of the pandemic has not only placed new constraints on the current humanitarian financing model. It has also reve... -
Demand-Driven Humanitarian Action in the Asia-PacificWe’re facing a “make or break” moment to reset commitments to humanitarian reform. The Asia-Pacific region has proven itself a uni... -
Adapting Humanitarian Aid CoordinationCOVID-19 is compounding humanitarian crises across the globe and exposing the current aid model as ill-adapted to support the fron... -
Turning the Grand Bargain Upside Down: Views from IndonesiaPast humanitarian reform agendas have continually emphasised the need for humanitarian response to be locally owned. But for two d... -
Local Voices: Learning from an Inclusive Humanitarian Coordination Model in AfghanistanCoordination is essential to effective humanitarian action. As a recent policy paper argues, an area-based approach would better a... -
Rethinking Humanitarian Reform: A View from International ActorsThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted once again that the humanitarian business model is poorly suited to today’s world. Humanitar... -
Humanitarian Coordination in Iraq and How to Do It DifferentlyCoordination is essential to effective humanitarian action. But as a recent policy paper argues, the cluster system struggles with... -
Moving Funding to Frontline Workers Fast in the Time of COVID-19After the publication of “Humanitarian Financing Is Failing the COVID-19 Frontlines,” the United Nations Office for the Coord... -
Humanitarian Financing Is Failing the COVID-19 FrontlinesLongstanding weaknesses in the humanitarian business model are undermining the COVID-19 response in fragile and conflict affected ... -
The Humanitarian System Should Rethink its Business Model after COVID-19This is a crisis of truly global scale and it will place enormous constraints on traditional humanitarian operations. -
Three Key Ways to Modernize Humanitarian FinanceIs the humanitarian system broke or broken? -
Broadening the Dialogue on Humanitarian Action at UNGAAt the 74th UN General Assembly meetings, Jeremy Konyndyk and I held a high-level side event at the Rockefeller Foundation headqua...
Publications
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How Do Humanitarian Donors Make DecisionsIn this policy paper we review donor responses to a survey and interviews to probe the effects of the broader political and econom... -
Effective Humanitarian GovernanceThis paper argues that humanitarian system reform should extend to governance. Governing institutions—such as member state boards ... -
Financing the Global Humanitarian Public GoodOn July 7, CGD convened a private, online, high-level roundtable of 15 major humanitarian donors, multilateral agencies, and NGO l... -
Financing the Humanitarian Public GoodThe international humanitarian system provides a global public service but is financed on a voluntary basis. The way official dono... -
Inclusive CoordinationArea-based approaches treat needs holistically within a defined community or geography; provide aid that is explicitly multisector... -
People-Driven ResponseTo produce real systemic change, the aid system must move beyond technical and rhetorical approaches to accountability and begin r...
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Five Takeaways on the Future of Humanitarian ReformThe world’s humanitarian aid architecture is growing outdated. Relief programs are most effective when they are integrated, locall...
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The Dos and Don’ts of USG Humanitarian ReorganizationThe proposed FY 2020 budget changes would be the most significant overhaul of USG humanitarian structures in decades. The proposal...
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Joint Humanitarian OperationsThe US has long sought enhanced coherence, quality, and efficiency from its UN and NGO partners; it is time that the US gover... -
Fit for the Future: Envisioning New Approaches to Humanitarian ResponseFor more than a decade, reform efforts have attempted to put crisis-affected people at the center of humanitarian response, and ma...
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Rethinking the Humanitarian Business ModelDisrupting the traditional humanitarian business model holds risks that must be managed carefully. If this disruption proceeds in ...
Media Mentions
Events
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Who Represents Whom?The Black Lives Matter movement, #AidToo and the failure to support locally-led responses during Covid-19 have shone a spotlight o... -
Locally-led Humanitarian ActionEngaging Local/National Actors (L/NAs) is critical to the success of every humanitarian action but local expertise and leadership ...
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Rethinking Reform: Demand-driven Humanitarian Action in the Asia PacificPast humanitarian reform agendas have emphasised the need for emergency responses to be locally owned. But more than one year on f...
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Area-Based Humanitarian Coordination: A More Inclusive Model?Coordination is essential to effective humanitarian action. But the humanitarian cluster coordination system has struggled with pe... -
Power, Money, and Influence: Tackling the Imbalances at the Heart of Humanitarian ResponseHumanitarian relief must involve, and be accountable to, the crisis-affected people it serves. Versions of this principle can b...
Contact
For more information, contact rworden@cgdev.org
Contact
For more information, contact rworden@cgdev.org
Experts
Jeremy Konyndyk
Jeremy Konyndyk was a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. His research focused on humanitarian response, USAID policy reform, and global outbreak preparednes...
Patrick Saez
Patrick Saez was a senior policy fellow on secondment from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where he serves as a Senior Humanitarian Adviser. His research focu...
Rose Worden
Rose Worden was a research associate for the Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian Policy program, supporting Jeremy Konyndyk and Patrick Saez’s work on humanitarian policy and...
Experts
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Jeremy KonyndykJeremy Konyndyk was a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. His research focused on humanitarian response, USAID policy reform, and global outbreak preparednes...
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Patrick SaezPatrick Saez was a senior policy fellow on secondment from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where he serves as a Senior Humanitarian Adviser. His research focu...
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Rose WordenRose Worden was a research associate for the Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian Policy program, supporting Jeremy Konyndyk and Patrick Saez’s work on humanitarian policy and...
Acknowledgments
CGD would like to acknowledge the generous support and engagement of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
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