Promoting innovation and evidence-based approaches to building resilience and responding to humanitarian crises: A DFID Strategy Paper

The Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR), commissioned by the Secretary of State for International Development and independently overseen by Lord Ashdown, called for a transformation in the way DFID and the wider global community approach the humanitarian agenda. To deliver this transformation it will be critical to build a strong understanding of the scale and nature of the challenges we face; to establish which of our current approaches are most likely to work; and to find and test new and innovative ways to effectively tackle the challenges of the future.

As part of its response to the HERR, the Coalition Government agreed to include humanitarian issues as a core part of DFID’s research and evidence work, and to use innovative techniques and technologies in its humanitarian response. This strategy sets out how the Government plans to deliver on these commitments. The strategy is set against the context of DFID’s commitment to go beyond a focus on responding to crises, and to invest in approaches that promote resilience. A core part of the strategy is to work with policy-makers and practitioners to deepen their understanding of the concept and application of resilience, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected situations.