Refugee Innovation: Humanitarian innovation that starts with communities

Innovation is playing an increasingly transformative role across the humanitarian system. International organisations, NGOs, governments, business, military, and community-based organisations are drawing upon the language and methods of innovation to address the challenges and opportunities of a changing world.

Bottom-up innovation by crisis-affected communities remains under-recognised. Despite some pioneering efforts to engage the capacities of communities, a significant proportion of humanitarian innovation remains focused on improving organisational response. Bottom-up innovation can be defined as the way in which crisis-affected communities engage in creative problem-solving, adapting products and processes to address challenges and create opportunities.

Refugee populations offer examples of bottom-up innovation. This report examines refugee innovation in five countries: Uganda, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States. These illustrative cases present a range of contexts: advanced industrialised, middle-income, and developing economies. They also cover a range of phases of the refugee cycle: mass influx, protracted situations, and resettled populations.