Space for learning in humanitarian operations is often limited by the fluctuating environments in which operations take place, the nature of humanitarian bureaucracies as well as the reactive, time-pressured responses which characterise the sector. Space is further reduced in the highly politicised contexts of complex emergencies, particularly where western militaries are operationally involved as is currently the case in Afghanistan and Iraq. As introduced in Chapter 1, opportunities for field level learning require trust, transparency and flexibility, all of which are militated against by the opaqueness, distrust and hierarchical rigidity common to military–humanitarian operations; operations which, by their very definition, are political.
Yet in order to improve humanitarian response – an objective identified as necessary by successive ALNAP Reviews – it is important that individuals and organisations involved in humanitarian action do learn. And as humanitarian action is in large part dependent upon the ability of field staff to manage and implement humanitarian operations, this chapter focuses on field level learning – the field of operation being the place where much learning crucial to the success of humanitarian action takes place.
