Conference Report: Supporting local actors across the HDP nexus

ALNAP’s HDP nexus evaluation synthesis shares key findings from evaluations over 2017-2022 on how organisations have advanced their version of a nexus approach, noting the gaps in linking these approaches to localisation and local leadership.

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Working across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus: What can we learn from evaluations?

ALNAP is supporting the Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Force 4 on Humanitarian and Development Collaboration and its Linkages to Peace to develop an update to a 2021 IASC publication the Mapping of Best Practices of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus. The new report will be published this spring and will include a focus on the work of local and national actors that highlights promising examples of programming and their perspectives on national-level efforts to coordinate across the nexus.

Previous 2021 mapping report:

IASC Mapping of Good Practice in the Implementation of Humanitarian-Development Peace Nexus Approaches, Synthesis Report

Outcome Report: Conference on Supporting local actors  across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace-nexus, 5-6 October 2023 - UN City, Copenhagen

There continues to be greater emphasis on the need for locally led action and leadership that can deliver coherent and integrated programming through humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus approaches, including connections with climate change action. Local actors have a better understanding of the context and are better placed to address both shorter and longer-term needs and objectives across the HDP nexus.

In the context of increasingly complex and compounding crises facing the world today, and the slow progress on global commitments in support of local actors, this conference was organized to answer the question: What can different actors do to create the best possible conditions for locally led action across the HDP nexus?

Nexus & Localization Conference - Outcome Report

With funding from the Swiss FDFA, Nowegian Refugee Council has been conducting research examining the operationalisation of Nexus approaches and its impact on Principled Humanitarian Action in five case study contexts, namely: Libya, Iraq, Cameroon, Somalia, and Afghanistan.

The aim was to understand to what extent and how nexus approaches are being implemented in these fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

NRC webpage:

The Nexus in practice: The long journey to impact | NRC

Report:

The Nexus in practice: The long journey to impact

Summary:

Executive summary - The Nexus in practice: The long journey to impact

Localisation of humanitarian action in the Red Cross Red Crescent national society development building capacities for crisis management, resilence and peace

The World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 agreed a new agenda for “localization of aid”, committing to a “Grand Bargain” to increase international investment in the leadership, capacity and delivery of local humanitarian organizations. Investment in long-term institutional capacity of local actors, including civil society, is a critical piece of this – based on a shared understanding among those with long experience in the humanitarian community that it will lead to more effective and less costly aid.

However, change of this kind requires changing minds well beyond the confines of those who have, with their own eyes, seen the impact of such initiatives. Evidence is still needed of the long-term benefits (as well as the challenges) of such efforts.

Report:

Localization_humanitarian_action_RCRC_2021_EN.pdf (ifrc.org)

Survivor and community led response (Sclr)

The survivor and community led response (sclr) approach is a promising example of placing funds and decision-making in the hands of local communities to address their own priorities that do not necessarily fit neatly into a single pillar of the HDP nexus.

Report:

Survivor and community-led crisis response: Practical experience and learning

Local to Global’s page on learning and resources

Publications | local2global

Community-led Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the rapid appearance and expansion of community support and mutual aid groups around the world as people stepped in to share hygiene and social distancing guidelines and support vulnerable members of society, often when governments and humanitarian organisations were slower to react.

COVID-19 | local2global

Learning Brief: survivor and community-led crisis response in Gaza

L2GP’s latest learning brief continues to explore the implementation of survivor and community-led crisis response (sclr) interventions through a pilot in Gaza between July and December 2019. Following a workshop co-facilitated with 7 Gaza-based NGOs, the pilot aimed to test the ability of local partners and communities to respond rapidly to future crises.

Survivor and community-led crisis response in Gaza | local2global

Alliance for public health, Ukraine: SCLR learning brief

Aliance_Article_eng_13_06 (local2global.info)

ECOWEB's use of community led responses in the Philippines 2017 - 2020

Established in 2006, ECOWEB is a Philippines NGO based in Mindanao working on humanitarian response, conflict transformation, poverty alleviation, environmental restoration, human rights and promotion of good governance2 . Since 2017, following initial support from L2GP, ECOWEB has been incorporating survivor and community-led crisis response (sclr)3 approaches into all its humanitarian programming. ECOWEB’s interest in doing so is to strengthen survivors’ communal self-help capacity, not only for meeting immediate lifesaving and recovery needs, but also for reducing vulnerability to future disasters.

L2GP_Philippines_LearningBrief_2021.pdf (usercontent.one)

Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership Philanthropic Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to provide information about the concept of “localization” and how a group of U.S.-based funders addresses philanthropy’s role in strengthening local humanitarian leadership. This work-in-progress will continue to be updated as new activities occur or relevant information becomes available.

https://disasterphilanthropy.org/resources/strengthening-local-humanitarian-leadership-philanthropic-toolkit/

Localization Issue Review

It is commonly acknowledged that all disasters start and end locally. Those who are first to respond in a disaster are primarily neighbors, community-based organizations, first responders and faith communities.

Localization - Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Indirect Cost Recovery: A powerful tool for grantmakers to enable greater localization and equitable partnerships

Many donors want to fund organizations as close to the communities they are trying to help as possible. Locally-led humanitarian response is widely regarded as more effective, more efficient and more likely to improve accountability to, and the participation of, those most affected by crisis. For a variety of reasons, there may be instances when directly supporting local organizations isn’t feasible, practical or convenient, and providing grants through international intermediary organizations becomes a necessity. This is especially true when responding to international disasters and humanitarian crises.

Indirect Cost Recovery: A powerful tool for grantmakers - CDP (disasterphilanthropy.org)

Evolving localization journey

Many donors want to fund organizations as close to the communities they are trying to help as possible. Locally-led humanitarian response is widely regarded as more effective, more efficient and more likely to improve accountability to and the participation of those most affected by disasters and crises. The voices, knowledge and expertise of those most affected must be heard and respected in developing solutions.

CDP’s evolving localization journey - CDP (disasterphilanthropy.org)

Supporting survivor and community-led response in Turkey

Supporting survivor and community-led response in Turkey - CDP (disasterphilanthropy.org)

ENOUGH THEORY! A Somali consortium putting nexus programming into action Somali Nexus Platform – what we have learned so far

Enough-Theory-NEXUS-Platform.pdf (nexusom.org)

Syria analysis regarding the HDP Nexus

Localisation Across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus - Sultan Barakat, Sansom Milton, 2020 (sagepub.com)