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H2H – pieces of a puzzle

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I have wanted to write this blog post for a long time. It is only now, listening to the presentations at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) global consultation in Geneva, that I seem to have got my thoughts together.

WHS is all about how we reform the system. It is a frustrating process. There is a broad consensus that we need to change something, but there is no agreement on how. Some talk about radical change, disruption and revolution. Others are more careful, wanting to tweak the system bit by bit, mostly out of fear of losing what we already have.

I am split between the two positions. On the one hand, we cannot tear down the system and design a new one from scratch. However, if we confine ourselves to simply tweaking what exists, we will not get the change we need. This is exactly the reason the WHS has innovation as one of the key themes.

I think the future humanitarian approach needs to be a decentralised, networked operational model, which will adapt and manifest itself in different ways according to context, engaging as much with partners outside the humanitarian system as within it. Just think of how the traditional humanitarian architecture is struggling to deal with the refugee crisis in Europe. Our existing set up isn’t working and we have to look outwards rather than inwards to solve this.

The good news is that we actually already have a vibrant innovative ecosystem of actors who are re-engineering the way the system works. Unfortunately, this ecosystem is all but invisible in mainstream humanitarian dialogue. Individual members of the ecosystem are mentioned here and there, but the importance and impact of the overall ecosystem is not recognised.

I am talking about a group of actors, who can best be described as “H2H”. H2H means Humanitarian to Humanitarian and is inspired by the B2B (Business to Business) concept from the private sector. H2H providers vary in form and shape, but tend to be specialist service providers of some description, often with a degree of independence. Think iMMAP, MapAction, REACH, IRIN, Sphere, Groundtruth, JIPS, INSO and IDMC for example. I have had the pleasure of leading one such organisation, the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) over the past five years, and a lot of the thinking in this post comes from that experience.

The humanitarian sector needs to embrace these H2H organisations and allow them the space to flourish and help to reinvent the system. In doing this there are three major challenges we need to address:

  • There is no platform where H2H providers can dock and provide services to the sector. Where is the neutral space which will enable H2H to be a public good for the sector, rather than a tool in the hands of a few agencies.
  • Small is beautiful, but it can also be ineffective. H2H providers must get much better at ensuring the inter-operability of their services and develop new and flexible models for collaboration
  • There is a lack of infrastructure in terms of funding, strategy and learning for the entire ecosystem of H2H providers. We must find a way to have a more structured dialogue between H2H and the agencies, donors and other stakeholders they serve. If we do not join up forces to cultivate the right type of ecosystem, we will not get the right services from H2H and miss out on the potential synergy within the system.

WHS is a unique opportunity to set the course for the future humanitarian system. I strongly believe that a stronger focus on H2H and a more joined up and strategic approach to cultivating the right kind of ecosystem is a key element making the system fail forward faster.

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