25th ALNAP Meeting

Innovations in International Humanitarian Action

London17th- 18th November

2009

A man was walking home one dark and foggy night. As he groped his way through the murk he nearly tripped over someone crawling around by a lamp post.

“What are you doing?” asked the traveller.

“I’m looking for my keys” replied the man.

“Are you sure you lost them here?” asked the traveller.

“I’m not sure at all,” came the reply, “but if I haven’t lost them near this lamp I don’t stand a chance of finding them.”

An innovations parable

Agenda

Improving the humanitarian system

What an innovations lens brings

Key questions for further exploration

Formal International Humanitarian System: main actors The formal system is made up of

The providers: donor governments, foundations and individual givers

The implementers: Red Cross/Crescent Movement, INGOs; UN agencies and IOM; national and regional civil society

The recipients: affected populations

There are a number of other key actors who often seen to be outside the formal system, and a number of informal systems which are also of importance

Central but often neglected actorsAffected governmentsThe militaryBusinesses

Informal systems Global remittancesZakat systemFront-line, local humanitarian systems

International Humanitarian Footprint: staffing

Estimated humanitarian staff 595,200 UN agencies and IOM 49,500 Red Cross/Crescent 48,400 INGOs 112, 900

Aid worker population has increased by 6% over last 10 years

International Humanitarian Footprint: funding

International humanitarian resources $18 billion 2008

Emergency aid flows $4.4 billion 2007Emergency aid flows $6.6 billion 2008

Humanitarian aid rising faster than official development assistance (ODA)

RESOURCES

INFORMATION

The system is made up of multiple actors, relationships, resource and information flows

Over the last 10-15 years, aid agencies have attempted numerous strategies to improve humanitarian work

Three broad, overlapping approaches can be discerned... Focusing on performance and results

Developing codes, standards and principles

Improving participation of affected communities and local ownership

Many different kinds of change and reform initiatives to help improve the sector

QUALITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, LEARNING, ADVOCACY Sphere, HAP ICVA, Voice ALNAP, PiA URD, Coord Sud

THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT Rights & Empowerment HIV-Aids, Gender LRRD Protection Participatory Approaches

STRUCTURE Clusters Internationalisation / Decentralisation

JOINT ACTION AND PARTNERSHIPS Joint Ventures e.g. ECB,

Good Humanitarian Donorship Capacity Building Programmes Partnership Building e.g. WEF PPPs

BUSINESS PRACTICES Finance & Funds e.g. CERF Leadership e.g. HCs Communications & Media

But the tendency has been to work within existing mental models and paradigms of aid

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse”Henry Ford

“...Agencies need to pay as much attention to how they do things, as to what they

actually do...”

As the TEC identified....

Agenda

Overview of the humanitarian system

Innovations in humanitarian response: key ideas and examples

Burning questions and reflections for the day

There are three broad kinds of learning in the international system Single-loop learning is undertaken in line with existing practices,

policies and norms of behaviour. The focus is on incremental improvements in practices The lamp light

There are three broad kinds of learning in the international system

Double-loop learning involves reflection on the appropriateness of existing practices, policies and norms within an organisation.

Conscious process of re-designing products, processes and methods to generate new ways of doing things in response to changing contexts Moving beyond the existing light

There are three broad kinds of learning in the international system Most challenging is triple-loop learning, which represents the highest

form of organisational self-examination. It involves questioning the entire rationale of an organisation, and can lead to innovative and concurrent transformations in structure, culture and practices Rethinking the light

What does humanitarian innovation look like in practice?

Case Studies: Community-based feeding therapy

Utilising corporate knowledge, new products and participatory approaches to transform malnutrition treatment

Case Study: Cash-based programming

From Clara Barton to the Tsunami

Case Studies: Use of mobiles in emergencies

Partnerships with leading technology and mobile operators

Cash and food distributions

Case Studies: Transitional Shelter

Shelter as a process, not a product

Community-led process

More at the Innovations Fair 6-7pm

Showcasing 23 Humanitarian Innovations

The 4 P’s

Innovation Processes

Innovation contexts are also critical

Bringing it all together

4 ‘P’s 5 Stages

Agenda

Overview of the humanitarian system

Innovations in humanitarian response: key ideas and examples

Burning questions and reflections to take forward

We don’t pretend that we have all the answers! But we do have a good sense of the questions...

Questions (1)

How can the humanitarian sector create incentives for innovation, while managing the different kinds of risks posed by innovation?

What is the role of codes and standards in promoting and fostering innovation?

What role should evidence – specifically evaluation and research – play in generating, piloting and testing innovations, and what are the related opportunities and challenges?

How can organisational approaches to develop, test and scale up innovations be strengthened?

Questions (2) What kinds of partnerships are needed for effective innovations in the sector,

and what are the implications for existing relationships? (e.g. consider relations between operational agencies, donors, private sector, academic, counterparts in affected states?)

What kinds of cross-organisational mechanisms can help to foster greater open and collaborative innovation across the sector?

How can humanitarian agencies best utilise new technologies for the benefit of humanitarian innovation?

How can 'user-generated innovations' be made more prominent in the humanitarian sector? How can international humanitarian agencies better capitalise on the innovative potential present in the communities and countries in which they work?

Innovation is especially important in the context of...

Increasing vulnerability, more disasters, global-local crises (food, fuel, finance)

Changing international order China, Russia, India, Brazil; G8 to G20; etc

Changing disaster management business models Internationally driven (Darfur) Hybrid (Pakistan Earthquake) Nationally owned (Sichuan earthquake)

In the humanitarian sector, open innovation models may be essential

We will never have the resources of the private sector for innovation

But we must emulate cutting edge-private sector approaches, moving beyond parochial and organisationally-specific view of innovations

Need take a more open, collaborative approach from the outset

Need to work collectively to look and move beyond the humanitarian lamplight

...We can't solve

problems by using the

same kind of thinking we

used when we created them...

Thank you!