Financing local leadership and agency in humanitarian responses

Niklas Rieger

Moderator

November 6, 2024 | 15:00 - 16:30

Multipurpose room 14

Development Initiatives Poverty Research Ltd

United Kingdom

English

Reference:

NE 14-05

WUF12

Networking Events

Summary

Refugee-led organisations (RLOs) are a crucial cog in the refugee-response machine, providing essential services to their communities, as well as being more likely to lead responses that are accountable, legitimate, transparent, effective and impactful. Despite growing consensus that RLOs require quality multi-year and flexible funding, they continue to be underfunded and side-lined in refugee responses.

This reflects similar challenges faced by other local and national actors (LNAs) that are receiving insufficient, often short-term and tightly earmarked international humanitarian funding to respond to domestic crises. In addition, those funding relationships between international and local actors are often inequitable, with tightly earmarked sub-grants that offer little scope for local knowledge to influence project design.

Against this backdrop, this event will bring together RLOs, other local and national NGOs, researchers and humanitarian actors to examine the barriers, obstacles and opportunities when it comes to financing local leadership and agency in humanitarian responses. In doing so, the event will draw on new research by ODI and Development Initiatives (https://odi.org/en/publications/the-failure-to-fund-refugee-led-organis…) and on past research by the Refugee Council of Türkiye (TMK) and Development Initiatives on funding to local actors for the Syrian refugee response in Türkiye (https://devinit.org/resources/funding-to-local-actors-syrian-refugee-re…).

Panelists will discuss some of the main challenges that prevent more funding from reaching RLOs and other local actors. Administrative, bureaucratic and regulatory constraints are a major barrier. But these could be overcome with technical measures and the resolve to drive them through. The crux of the problem goes beyond funding and is about the system as a whole, and the unequal power dynamics that underpin it. Going beyond these challenges, however, the event would also explore the opportunities for localising funding by showcasing the progress being made by the philanthropies and RLO networks already pioneering positive change. The discussion will also draw on ongoing research in support of the Grand Bargain commitment to localise humanitarian funding that showcases existing good practice on providing quality funding for locally led humanitarian responses.

Key discussion topics will include:
● Why is it important to shift power, decision-making and resources to refugee and local leaders?
● What progress has been made so far in funding RLOs and local actors?
● Why have we not made more progress? What are the barriers and obstacles to wider change?
● What can and should donors do to address these barriers and obstacles?
● What are the next steps/ indicators to demonstrate change in this area?

Objectives

Local actors and refugee leaders are not being given the funding and, by extension, the recognition and influence in humanitarian responses, they need and deserve. In 2022, just 1.2% ($485 million) of total international humanitarian funding reached local actors directly, with an even smaller proportion of funding allocated to RLOs specifically ($26.4 million) (ODI and DI, 2023).

A key objective of this event is to raise awareness and drive change towards localising humanitarian funding and empowering local actors, such as RLOs. Those at the top of the humanitarian system need to take greater responsibility and accountability for driving change and, as described by an RLO representative, start ‘putting actions behind their words’. This event would highlight where and how actions fall short of words and put forward concrete steps to address some of these issues.

The event also seeks to bring local actors, including RLOs, together with policy-makers and practitioners. This builds on our research finding that RLOs and other local actors are often isolated from donors, international organisations and each other. The gaps with donors especially undermine accountability by blocking communication, and reinforce unequal power relations that sustain an unfair and inefficient funding system. This event would be an opportunity to start bridging those gaps.