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31. Shifting Mindsets | Section 4: Culture and people

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This standalone section of the ALNAP Study Shifting Mindsets: Creating a more flexible humanitarian response focuses on culture and people for greater flexibility. This is one of the three pillars that flexibility relies upon according to this research and also one of the starting points to make humanitarian responses more flexible. It covers flexible approaches in organisational culture and staff, as well as anticipatory and adaptive strategies to this extent.
Topic:
International Organization, Culture, Performance Evaluation, Humanitarian Response, Flexibility, and Organizational Learning
Political Geography:
Global Focus

32. Shifting Mindsets | Section 3: Systems for greater flexibility

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This standalone section of the ALNAP study 'Shifting mindsets: creating a more flexible humanitarian response' focuses on organisational systems to support flexibility. This is one of the three pillars that flexibility relies upon according to this research and also one of the starting points to make humanitarian responses more flexible. It covers flexible approaches in: logistics, supply chain and procurement systems; programme design and programme cycle management; and monitoring of these systems.
Topic:
Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chains, Monitoring, Humanitarian Response, and Flexibility
Political Geography:
Global Focus

33. Beyond Assumptions: How humanitarians make operational decisions

Author:
Leah Campbell and Paul Knox Clarke
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
The ability to make good decisions – particularly under urgent and uncertain circumstances – is fundamental to effective humanitarian response. Yet decision-making to this extent has received little academic attention. The ALNAP Study ‘Beyond assumptions’ seeks to address this gap and it is the result of over two years’ work exploring the nature of humanitarian contexts, the different types of decisions that they require, and the most suitable approaches to making these decisions at the country/ field level. This research builds upon ALNAP’s previous work on humanitarian leadership and coordination, where the importance of good decision-making emerged as a key theme. Time and again humanitarian evaluations have also flagged it as an issue, with decision-making receiving regular criticism for being too slow, disconnected from strategy, opaque and unaccountable.
Topic:
Leadership, Decision-Making, Coordination, Humanitarian Response, and Assessment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

34. Increasing the Effectiveness of the Humanitarian Response in Yemen

Author:
Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The second Development Champions Forum of the “Rethinking Yemen’s Economy” initiative recently brought together more than 20 of the leading socio-economic experts on Yemen to discuss the most critical challenges facing the country. Among the key topics included were the need to increase the coverage and efficiency of the campaign international humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies are undertaking to address Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. Among the major issues the Development Champions identified during discussions were: The need for international humanitarian actors to increase their coordination with local authorities, civil society actors, and the Yemeni private sector; The importance of decentralizing the humanitarian response and the many benefits of prioritising cash transfers to beneficiaries over the direct provision of food stuffs; and The importance of prioritising assistance to the most vulnerable populations, in particular internally displaced peoples. The Development Champions also proposed various policy recommendations for international humanitarian actors, the Government of Yemen, the de facto authorities in various parts of the country, as well as Saudi-led military coalition member states and the international community; these recommendations are discussed below.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Food Security, Economy, Displacement, Cash Transfers, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
Middle East and Yemen

35. Dynamic gridlock: Adaptive humanitarian action in the DRC

Author:
Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Humanitarian actors are increasingly responding to more complex situations, such as protracted conflict and high-risk cyclical natural disasters. They face continually changing, uncertain and long term crises, which is a stark contrast to the shorter term rapid-onset situations - such as flooding or earthquakes - that the humanitarian system was built around. How can they adapt the response they deliver in these changing environments? As part of an ALNAP research project addressing this increasingly important issue of adaptive and flexible humanitarian action, this country study focuses on how agencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are responding to a complex and protracted crisis. The country has been in a perpetual state of sporadic conflict for the last twenty years, with huge numbers of people displaced and a chronic absence of adequate infrastructure or government response to address its people’s needs. Humanitarians are working in an environment that is continually changing, as many small-to-mid-level, complicated crises arise in different parts of this vast country on a weekly basis. Through interviews with international and local agencies, ALNAP Senior Research Fellow Alice Obrecht maps how programmes and donors have tried to adapt in a setting of complex protracted conflict.
Topic:
Conflict, Adaptation, Humanitarian Response, and Flexibility
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

36. What’s missing? Adding context to the urban response toolbox: Annex A

Author:
Leah Campbell
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This annex contains a more detailed description of the 25 tools reviewed as part of the ALNAP Study What’s Missing? Adding Context to the Urban Response Toolbox. The research sought to find tools which could be used to improve understanding of context (the environment and circumstances within which something happens and which can help to explain it). 25 tools were identified, and have been grouped as follows: 16 ‘Core’ tools developed for, or used in, urban or sub-national contexts in an emergency or crisis context, and deal in whole or in part with context. • Six ‘Supplemental’ tools these deal in whole or in part with context. Some focus on a country or an urban level in a crisis context but in a development or planning context. • Three ‘Related’ tools these tools have been considered because they address context in some way, but have a larger focus on, for example, needs or conflict.
Topic:
Urban, Humanitarian Response, and Humanitarian Organizations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

37. What's Missing? Adding context to the urban response toolbox

Author:
Leah Campbell
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
Recognition of the need for humanitarian response to be ‘context relevant’ has been increasing. It comes up in discussions on coordination, accountability, localisation, and effectiveness and is now broadly accepted as something humanitarian response should be striving towards. Despite this awareness, there is little clarity about what context relevance looks like or how to achieve it. In order to explore whether ‘context tools’ can help improve humanitarians’ ability to think and act more effectively in urban environments, this paper asks the following questions: • What is context? • Do we need to understand it to respond more effectively to urban crises? If so, why? • What are ‘tools to understand context’? How do these differ from one another, and from other sorts of analysis? • How can humanitarians use these tools most effectively?
Topic:
Urban, Humanitarian Response, and Context
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

38. Operational Humanitarian Decision-making Infosheet

Author:
Leah Campbell and Paul Knox Clarke
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
ALNAP is undertaking a new piece of research to better understand how humanitarians can make effective decisions in situations of urgency and/or uncertainty. Why study humanitarian decision-making? Decision-making is an important, yet often criticised, aspect of effective humanitarian response. Evaluations point to numerous instances where decision-making has been slow, opaque and unaccountable. The importance of good decision-making has also emerged as a significant theme in ALNAP’s previous work on humanitarian leadership and coordination. Despite this, relatively little academic attention has been given to decision-making in humanitarian response.
Topic:
Leadership, Decision-Making, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

39. Making Operational Decisions in Humanitarian Response: A Literature Review

Author:
Leah Campbell and Paul Knox Clarke
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
During a crisis, humanitarian leaders must make a range of decisions including whether, when and how to intervene; how to address technical, logistical, political and security constraints; when and how to cease operations; and the list goes on. Many of these decisions are made in urgent circumstances, have life-saving implications, and take place in a context of uncertainty. The importance of effective decision-making in operational humanitarian response has emerged as a theme in ALNAP’s previous work on humanitarian leadership and coordination. However, little academic attention has been given to this subject so far. This literature review considers the context in which humanitarian leaders are asked to make decisions, explores the range of decision-making approaches which exist, and considers how effective these approaches might be in humanitarian environments. The paper draws from existing humanitarian literature and evaluations, and also from the wealth of experience which exists from the world of emergency management decision-making (including fires and public health emergencies). In doing so, it gathers existing knowledge, identifies gaps in understanding and proposes areas for future research. ALNAP is undertaking a new piece of research to better understand how humanitarians can make effective decisions in situations of urgency and/or uncertainty. To find out more about the research and how you can get involved read the Infosheet.
Topic:
Leadership, Crisis Management, Coordination, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Global Focus

40. 10 tips to make the most of context tools

Author:
ALNAP
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:
This brief list of dos and don'ts draws key findings from ALNAP's latest study - 'What's missing? Adding context to the urban response toolbox', and includes 10 quick tips to bear in mind when using any context tool.
Topic:
Urban, Methodology, Guidelines, Humanitarian Response, and Context
Political Geography:
Global Focus