Breaking the Hourglass: Partnerships in Remote Management Settings - The Cases of Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan

This study set out to examine partnerships between international and local organisations engaging in humanitarian action in remote management and insecure settings. The study was motivated by the lack of systematic research in areas where international organisations have limited access due to insecurity or lack of permission from host governments. While most large international organisations have developed guidelines around partnerships, these partnership approaches tend to be designed for development contexts or when humanitarian space is accessible to outsiders.

The study used the case of northern Syria, specifically focusing on cross-border assistance from Turkey, and was complemented with a historical review of Iraqi Kurdistan during and after the US-led Operation Provide Comfort in the early 1990s. The objective of this research was to improve the evidence base on how international organisations could most effectively partner with local organisations in remote management settings. Specifically, the study pursued four specific areas of inquiry in order to fulfill this objective: i) How do international organisations identify local partners? ii) How do international organisations assess and build the capacity of these partners? iii) How are monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) conducted in these settings? iv) How do local partners prepare for eventual donor withdrawal?

The findings from this research aim to inform and improve the ways in which international and local organisations work together in settings of remote management or insecurity, with lessons for country donors, United Nations agencies, international organisations, and local partners.