While the L2GP initiative’s research so far has focused on qualitative research into local understandings of protection, this article focuses primarily on quantitative data as it attempts to summarise existing and available information on funding flows to local humanitarian actors in general. Any analysis of the magnitude of funding flows to local humanitarian actors is of course linked with discussions about the nature of the funding relationship, coordination and priority setting. It is also intimately connected with the capacity of local actors to meet the accountability demands of international donors and agencies. Any such analysis is equally connected to the capacity of international donors and agencies to use proposal, reporting and accounting modalities, which would allow national and local actors to access available global humanitarian funding on an equal footing with international agencies.
This desk-based research though, will not go into a detailed discussion about these more qualitative issues but will focus on providing the clearest possible overview of how much of the global humanitarian funding actually reaches national and local actors given the current policies, structures and systems. The briefing note also explores the quality and the depth of the available information in order to make recommendations as to how better to monitor future trends in this area and thus contribute to a more qualified discussion and decision-making throughout the global humanitarian system – before, during and after the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.
