Editor’s Note:
As we approach the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016, we are encountering analyses on the state of humanitarian response and humanitarianism overall. Below are summaries of new reports by ODI and ActionAid International on behalf of the Transforming Surge Capacity Project.

World Humanitarian Summit: https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/whs_about

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Time to let go: remaking humanitarian action for the modern era
ODI – Humanitarian Policy Group
Research reports and studies – April 2016 :: 84 pages
Team leader and main author: Christina Bennett; Editor and co-author: Matthew Foley
Pdf: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/time_to_let_go_report.pdf

Foreword
This report reflects a growing sense, both from our own research on the ‘changing humanitarian landscape’ and in conversations with colleagues, that the ‘traditional’ humanitarian sector is on the cusp of a decisive moment in its history.

For three-quarters of a century, the stalwarts of humanitarian assistance and emergency relief – Western donors and non-governmental organisations, the Red Cross Movement and UN agencies – have seen themselves as the essential heart of humanitarian action: indispensable players, both as implementing agencies and as the arbiters of the norms and standards governing the conduct of relief.

What became increasingly plain as our research progressed was that this centrality and indispensability was, if not an illusion, then at least a very partial picture of the reality of global humanitarian assistance. Northern NGOs, the UN system and the Red Cross are by no means redundant – the billions of dollars still being channelled through them is testament to that – but they are just one part of a much broader universe of assistance made up of a myriad of other actors, with their own distinctive traditions and cultures of care.

Drawing on recent HPG research, this report – a collective effort by the HPG team, as well as the fruit of insights from thinkers and doers in humanitarianism from around the world – reflects on this complexity, and sketches out some of its implications, both for the practical business of emergency assistance and for the principles, ethos and culture that underpin it.

If humanitarianism really is the broad church we believe it to be, what does the concept of ‘humanitarian’ even mean? How should we respond to these challenges, and is change desirable or even possible? These are very large questions, and this report cannot provide complete answers. Hopefully, though, it will contribute to a fuller and more constructive debate on the future direction of humanitarian policy and practice.
Sara Pantuliano
Director, Humanitarian Policy Group
April 2016

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Press Release
Time to let go: remaking humanitarian action for the modern era
As the international humanitarian system faces a crisis of legitimacy, the Humanitarian Policy Group’s landmark report proposes a new model of humanitarian action.

…The humanitarian sector is suffering a crisis of legitimacy.

Despite a decade of system-wide reforms, the sector is failing to adapt to meet the needs of people in crises. As humanitarian emergencies become more frequent, more complex and last longer, the need for radical change is ever growing.

Drawing on four years of research, this report argues that the humanitarian system needs to let go of some fundamental – but outdated – assumptions, structures and behaviours to respond effectively to modern day crises. It argues for a new model of humanitarian action, one that requires letting go of the current paradigm.

First, the UN and large international NGOs need to let go of power and control, to enable national and local aid organisations to lead crisis response.

Second, the humanitarian system needs to let go of the incentives that place organisational drives for greater resources and visibility above the needs of crisis-affected people.

Third, the humanitarian system needs to let go of its own exceptionalism and accept that different forms of relief – from development organisations, religious organisations and private sector companies – can co-exist and can be equally legitimate…