Paper details

Paper authors	Josie FLINT
In panel on	What is holding us back? Humanitarian Reform and the Shift to Locally-Led Response
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Localisation will only continue to have momentum if we can show it is improving the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian aid. The ability to demonstrate if, and how, localisation has translated into tangible change to the humanitarian system is vital. To date the humanitarian sector has started to track what actors are doing and where (evidence of activity). Evidence of the impact of the shift to a more localised approach, however, is scant. It is unclear what the approach should be – what should be measured and how. This is an obstacle - without evidence for change and the ability to hold the international humanitarian system to account, momentum will stall. We don't yet have a holistic picture of what localised humanitarian can and should be expected to achieve across areas inclusive of leadership, funding, partnerships, capacity, participation, coordination, visibility and policy influence.

The Intention to Impact research project is intended to address this gap. It seeks to gather evidence on what, or if change is occurring and the challenges and opportunities around localisation in the Pacific. This paper explores what a complementary, locally lead response would look like, i.e., what ‘as locally as possible and as international as necessary’ looks like in practice at the country and regional level, and how this can be measured across time. It seeks to provide an evidence base that can be used by local and national actors to hold the international humanitarian system accountable.

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