The humanitarian system seeks adequate answers to the immense and constantly growing humanitarian needs. As part of the local civil society, local actors are usually the first responders after a shock. Effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian action can be improved through local knowledge, trust and other complimentary capacities, giving local actors an increasingly important role. While local and national humanitarian organisations provide an important work, they often still function as mere implementers of strategic and operational decisions taken by international humanitarian organisations.
It is therefore crucial to support local actors in their own operational preparedness and response capacity, their organisational and institutional ability, in the availability of adequate funding and integration in relevant humanitarian coordination mechanisms. Equally important is the transformation of roles between the different actors within the humanitarian system.
This guidance note is intended to provide guidance as to how arrangements between donors, and UN agencies, INGOs and other international humanitarian organisations (referred to here as “international intermediaries”), can further the Grand Bargain’s localisation goals in cases where direct...
In contexts of armed conflict, international humanitarian organisations increasingly rely on local and national actors to deliver aid. South Sudan is no exception. This report moves beyond abstract assumptions and global-level debates to understand the reality of the struggles and strategies of...
ICVA has been supporting and facilitating NGO coordination since the 1990s. A key aim of ICVA is to help improve humanitarian preparedness and response, and increase the effectiveness of NGO coordination mechanisms in humanitarian contexts. In 2014 ICVA convened three regional meetings of NGO...
