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1. Advancing locally led evaluations: Practical insights for humanitarian contexts

Author:
Hana Abul Husn and Dorothy Mae Albiento
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Evaluation is widely recognised as a way to learn and to hold humanitarian action to account. Over time, the field of evaluation has evolved because of criticisms of traditional or classic models that are seen as top-down, quantitative and highly technical. Many evaluators are urgently calling for a focus on social justice and equity, as they feel the role and power of local voices in evaluation needs to be re-examined. Alongside humanitarian sector-wide discussions on the need to decolonise and localise aid is a call to re-examine and reframe evaluation practice. Locally led humanitarian action and the growing attention to accountability to populations affected by crisis both support the case that local evaluators are better able to lead community-centred evaluations based on their deeper understanding of local contexts, cultures and values. The overarching objective of this scoping paper is to raise the visibility and accessibility of locally led evaluation among relevant stakeholders in humanitarian contexts. We hope that it can be more easily applied and recognised as having greater value. The paper summarises the opinions and experiences of evaluation stakeholders captured during informal discussions, interviews and scoping events, as well as evidence from relevant literature. We explore what is meant by locally led evaluation and the principles underpinning it, as well as why, how, and by and for whom evaluations are carried out. More specifically, we suggest how evaluation stakeholders can meaningfully engage with and participate in locally led evaluations.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Accountability, and Evaluation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Future research and learning: Shaping agendas to inform more people centred humanitarian action

Author:
Veronique Barbelet
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
In recent years, several critical reform agendas - localisation, accountability to affected populations (AAP) and inclusion – have built momentum at the heart of a push for quality humanitarian action grounded in equity and the experiences of crisis-affected people. Despite this progress, ALNAP ’s recent review of outcomes and practices highlights the inadequacy of current methodologies and a particularly weak evidence base around these reforms (although better for localisation). It revealed that while it is likely good practices do exist in the field, they often have not been fully evidenced, researched or widely disseminated. The review also underlined the need to reflect on and better inform research and learning.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Reform, Accountability, Localization, and Gender Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Explain: Inclusion and inclusive humanitarian action

Author:
ALNAP
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This is part of the Explain: Essential briefings for humanitarian decision-makers series. In recent years, the humanitarian sector has increasingly focused on marginalised groups such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and minoritised communities. While this shift is both essential and overdue - given the persistent evidence of people falling through the cracks - translating attention into meaningful action has proven challenging. Implementing inclusive humanitarian action is hindered by the absence of an agreed definition, clear policy commitments and a standardised way to measure progress. Inclusion, at its core, acknowledges that different people are affected by crises in varying and disproportionate ways and that discrimination and marginalisation, based on different identity factors, create barriers to accessing assistance and services. Addressing these challenges requires targeted analysis and actions.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Disability, Accountability, Marginalization, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. From tick box to turning point: Getting accountability right for improved humanitarian action

Author:
Jennifer Doherty
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This paper identifies key challenges and essential issues that need to be addressed to create positive change for people affected by crisis. It draws on a synthesis of different types of evidence, including: focus groups discussions with and survey data from people affected by crisis a literature review small round-table discussions with humanitarian decision-makers key informant interviews with policymakers and practitioners across the sector. The paper offers humanitarian leaders within donor organisations and operational agencies 12 key recommendations - areas that they should invest in as they grapple with accountability as one of the key sticking points holding the humanitarian system back from making progress for crisis-affected people. The paper concludes by identifying key evidence and learning gaps to which agencies could contribute by documenting and sharing their learning, as they take steps to more firmly centre their work around the perspectives of people affected by crisis.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, International Organization, Accountability, and Donors
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Harnessing evidence and learning for people-centred humanitarian action

Author:
Veronique Barbelet, Josie Flint, Emmeline Kerkvliet, and Sara Philips
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Reforms have sought to shift the framing of humanitarian action towards a quality and equity agenda focused on the view and experiences of people affected by crisis. Reforms linked to the localisation, accountability to affected people (AAP) and inclusion agendas point to the same general vision – a humanitarian aid architecture and system that enables approaches tailored to context and individuals, including through greater leadership and participation of local actors and communities. This report synthesises the available evidence on existing approaches to people-centred humanitarian action and their outcomes, and it reviews good practices. It identifies key gaps on localisation, AAP and inclusion, explores the inter linkages between them, and reflects on the evidence needed by donors, practitioners and researchers to reform humanitarian practice and policy.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Reform, Accountability, Inclusion, and Localization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. User-Centred Design and Humanitarian Adaptiveness

Author:
Sofya Bourne
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Gathering and acting on feedback from affected communities is a key means to identify potential triggers for change during the design and implementation of humanitarian programmes. This study is focused on user-centred design (UCD), an approach often used outside the humanitarian sector to design products and services that are tailored to the needs and preferences of end-users and are created with the users’ involvement in the design process. Because UCD is meant to facilitate a structured, quick, and iterative design process that is oriented towards the perspectives of users, it has the potential to help humanitarian organisations design programmes that are more responsive to the needs of affected people, i.e. more user-centred, which in turn could support greater adaptiveness of humanitarian programmes. But can the benefits of UCD hold when this approach is applied in the context of the contemporary humanitarian system? This case study seeks to explore the utility, applicability and effectiveness of UCD in supporting humanitarian adaptiveness, and to understand whether UCD can enable humanitarian actors to be more adaptive, or whether these organisations need to have well-developed adaptive capabilities to be able to apply UCD in a way that facilitates different types of adaptiveness in their responses.
Topic:
Accountability, Participation, Adaptation, WASH Projects, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Making it Count: a feasibility study on collective indicators to monitor progress in the Agenda for Humanity - Summary

Author:
Alice Obrecht, Tim Harcourt-Powell, and Amelie Sundberg
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This feasibility study undertaken by ALNAP seeks to identify a set of potential indicators for monitoring the Agenda for Humanity and assess how practicable it is to use these indicators, given current consensus on method and the availability of data. To assess the feasibility of using shared indicators to track progress in the Agenda for Humanity, ALNAP developed 71 indicators for 10 Transformations (two for each Core Responsibility). Each indicator was ranked using the ranking system in table 1 below, adapted from the ranking system used for the SDG indicators. The study concludes that better collective monitoring of progress in the Agenda for Humanity is possible – if the sector considers it to be a priority.
Topic:
Sustainable Development Goals, Accountability, Performance Evaluation, and Feasibility
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. Working with people and communities in urban humanitarian crises

Author:
Leah Campbell
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This Working Paper explores the topic of working with urban populations and communities. It draws on practical challenges and approaches in relation to targeting and communication with urban populations, and in the mobilisation of urban communities.
Topic:
Communications, Media, Crisis Management, Accountability, Urban, Participation, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Global Focus