Networks clearly have wide-ranging applications in the humanitarian sector, yet surprisingly little has been written on the strategic development and management of networks with the humanitarian sector in mind. In this Background Note, we address the question of what networks actually do from this perspective, drawing on existing initiatives and mechanisms. We move on to outline a simple, flexible and powerful methodology — the network functions approach (NFA) — that can be applied to analyse and strengthen humanitarian network initiatives.
This note aims to help those facilitating, acting within or supporting humanitarian networks and communities of practice – whether across or within organisations – reflect on their activities and frame them in a more structured and strategic fashion. In doing so, we hope that network strategies will be honed, thinking will be clarified, activities be sharpened and ultimately, humanitarian performance will be improved – delivering greater value to members and to those receiving humanitarian assistance.
Following the signing of the Geneva Accords on Afghanistan in April 1988 and the subsequent withdrawal of Soviet military forces, the United Nations Office for Coordination in Afghanistan (UNOCA, changed to UNOCHA in 1993) was formed to administer the Afghanistan Emergency Trust Fund established by...
This guide was developed under ICVA’s NGO Fora Support Programme. It presents good practice and key considerations for NGO coordination fora seeking to achieve active and sustained member engagement. Whilst the guide is not definitive, it outlines a variety of considerations to inform member...
This Article critically assesses the crucial but troubled system for the coordination of international humanitarian assistance—the UN “cluster approach.” Regardless of whether the cluster approach actually helps in disaster response, it exercises substantial power over affected populations by...
