Responding to Protracted Displacement Using the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Approach: UNDP and UNHCR Theory of Change

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) want to identify areas of strategic collaboration in situations of forced displacement.1 The increasingly complex and protracted nature of forced displacement has precipitated a renewed interest in adopting a Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus approach in the UN, the international community and among donors. The project developed a Theory of Change (ToC) for use at the country level to support UNDP-UNHCR collaboration on forced protracted displacement; to understand how UNDP-UNHCR intervention responses support forcibly displaced persons, host populations and host governments; and to inform measures to prevent displacement. Responses should be people centred, needs based and not status based, so UNDP and UNHCR should work with other organizations to support different displaced groups depending on mandate, capacity and the presence of stakeholders. Contexts vary so target populations might, for example, include refugees and asylum seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and stateless persons alongside host populations.

The ToC is intended to be adapted by UNDP and UNHCR to specific national and situational contexts as they collaborate or explore collaboration. It can be used as a reference document throughout the project management cycle in situations of displacement/protracted displacement in conjunction with other strategy and policy documents. It is recommended that the contextualized ToCs are regularly reviewed to capture changes in the policy, operational and institutional environments relevant to the UNDP-UNHCR collaboration.

The ToC diagram helps to identify opportunities for UNDP-UNHCR collaboration and to understand how interventions contribute to the HDP nexus, and can be revised and adapted to maximize the positive impact on the HDP nexus. UNDP and UNHCR country offices can show other stakeholders how their interventions contribute to the HDP nexus.