The role of local actors in crisis response, and the nature of their relationship with international responders, has been discussed in the humanitarian discourse for many years. The importance of working with and supporting local responders is reflected in many of the key documents that frame the current humanitarian system, including the General Assembly resolution 146/82. Evaluations of major responses and consultations with local actors themselves, however, have revealed that these institutional commitments rarely translate into effective relationships on the ground (in particular the TEC evaluation of the Tsunami response and the Synthesis Report capturing the consultation process for the World Humanitarian Summit).
