"ALNAP puts me personally on a continuous learning curve."

Ignacio Packer, Executive Director at ICVA, on ALNAP’s dedication to learning and his hopes for the network going forward.

As an ALNAP member, ICVA is a frequent user of the learning dynamics and products of the ALNAP network. ALNAP puts me personally on a continuous learning curve.

We sometimes underestimate the ‘power of documents’. The availability and use of the knowledge and evidence offered by ALNAP empowers the humanitarian community. ICVA members reported recently at our membership meeting in Bangkok on how the ability to reference credible sources of information has enabled greater participation of a diverse range of NGOs and stimulated other more technical changes in-country.

We know that any progress is hard won and that deeper structural changes are difficult to realise. Nevertheless, documents assist change in very concrete ways. The data and analysis from the State of the Humanitarian System reports reflecting the distribution of power in the sector is one of my favourite sources for developing arguments when engaging with donors and UN agencies, and also with the NGO community in all its diversity.

ALNAP’s dedication to learning how to improve responses to humanitarian crises is truly important. We are too often confronted by deceptive and dangerous logic, with assumptions all-too-often embraced as common wisdom. Responses and solutions that are based on unfounded assumptions lead to shortsighted policy responses and implementation strategies that heighten the vulnerability of affected populations.

The gravity of the questions with which we are confronted means we must think critically, learn hard lessons from the past, and challenge the assumptions that have underpinned too much of the response of the international community so far. Long-lasting solutions for affected people call for the transformations of the system based on values and evidence. For the humanitarian system to perform better and be more accountable, it must be rooted both in real-world evidence and in international humanitarian and human rights law. This is not a choice, but a necessity.

In a world ensnared by a vicious cycle of distrust and denial, we have to fuel our thinking in a critical manner and build the courage to turn the tide against the disincentives that hinder necessary transformations. More than specific outputs, I would encourage ALNAP and many of our organisations to better join the dots and release the collaborative advantages of our organisations.