A Humanitarian Localization Baseline for Ukraine

The understanding of humanitarian localization in the Ukrainian humanitarian response remains a key policy and practice concern for donors and humanitarian actors. The Grand Bargain stressed the importance of local leadership in enabling other priorities in humanitarian response, which sought to promote the interconnections between localization, quality funding, «efficiency and effectiveness, visibility, risk sharing, transparency and accountability – including accountability to affected populations1». While localization of the humanitarian response in Ukraine is frequently stressed as a priority, there have been only limited efforts to date to build evidence, evaluate impact, strengthen accountability, and develop strategic tools that can facilitate practical approaches to local leadership and quality humanitarian response.

This study forms a baseline for localization within the current humanitarian response in Ukraine. It was undertaken by the NGO Resource Center (NGORC) in cooperation with Info Sapiens, a research agency specialized in behavioral and attitudinal analysis of public policy. The baseline process was supported by the Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG), the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and a senior advisory group composed of members from international and national organizations, donors, and the private sector. This report presents the findings of a localization baseline study, using an adapted Measuring Localization approach and framework originally developed by the HAG and Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (PIANGO), as a common means of tracking progress at the country level2. The study combined a survey of 180 staff from national and international NGOs, 15 key informant interviews, and a document review.

The primary purpose of this initiative is to provide a baseline and benchmarking of localization in Ukraine, recording findings against key indicators that can be used to create an evidence base for stakeholders to assess and track progress in the ongoing humanitarian response. For international and national actors, this can be used as a resource to track the implementation of localization commitments and identify challenges and opportunities in the response, as well as a potential resource and evidence base to advocate for accountability and change. Holistic explanations and recommendations fall outside the immediate scope of this initiative.