Supporting locally led humanitarian action has become a priority for many in the sector. For some, this shift is driven by an ethical imperative. For others, it is a practical reality.
Yet the pace of change on locally led action and localisation has fallen far short of the rhetoric of international actors and the hopes of national and local organisations.
Here we navigate the challenges of understanding what success looks like for locally led humanitarian action.
“ ALNAP has been a great partner in our push for the localisation agenda."
Manu Gupta, Co-Founder at the Sustainable Environment & Ecological Development Society (SEEDS)
The terms ‘localisation’ and ‘locally led humanitarian action’ are often used interchangeably but can be seen to have different meanings. They may be used to reflect what some humanitarian professionals articulate as two different starting points to the issue of the role of local actors in humanitarian action:
Localisation refers to an ambitious, broad-ranging policy agenda to increase the power and funding of local actors in humanitarian response. It is the mainstream, and more narrow, approach taken by the formal international system. It is embodied in reform efforts like the Grand Bargain – which speaks of being ‘as local as possible, as international as necessary’ and narrowly frames localisation in terms of ‘strengthening international investment and respect for the role of local actors, with the goal of reducing costs and increasing the reach of humanitarian action’ (Grand Bargain Localisation Workstream, 2021).
Locally led action is used to denote approaches where programmes are conceived, shaped and delivered closer to the communities facing crisis; designed in accordance with local norms and needs; and which may occur with or without support from the formal international system.
Our latest resources
Latest resources in this collection
There are 1048 resources in this collection
