Panel details

Panel organiser(s) will be presenting	In-Person & Online
Number of paper presentations	4
Location	Bergen

Abstract

At a time of deep crisis, the humanitarian system is undergoing a "humanitarian reset", as declared by UN leadership. While global needs continue to grow, major donors (most prominently the US) are drastically cutting aid contributions. This raises urgent questions about the future of humanitarian action. Yet the tools to build a new system already exist: decades of evaluations, peer reviews, and lessons learned offer a robust evidence base with concrete suggestions for change. We are now at a crossroads – either we risk an unstructured dismantling of the system, or we use what we already know to shape a new humanitarian architecture grounded in evidence.

Some of the most promising reforms are already in place, but they remain underused. One example is greater localization through country-based pooled funds: the instrument of pooled funds can address urgent gaps and support local actors more nimbly than traditional channels. Scaling this approach, by allocating a greater share of overall funding to local and national organizations through pooled mechanisms, could turn the long-standing promise of localization into a reality and help build a more agile, legitimate humanitarian system.

The panel invites papers to explore how evaluations and evidence-based design can contribute to rethinking the humanitarian system. We are particularly interested in identifying the design principles that should guide the "humanitarian reset", as well as highlighting already existing evidence and lessons learned from systematically conducted evaluations that are useful for adapting to the new reality of humanitarian action.

Paper presentations