From the global to the local- How data can inform urban solutions to displacement

As internal displacement continues to grow, and more internally displaced people (IDPs) find themselves displaced to urban settings, municipal governments are increasingly facing challenges when it comes to understanding and responding to the needs of displaced populations and integrating this into their urban planning. As the Office of the Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement (OSA) seeks to encourage longer-term, development-oriented responses, ownership and engagement from municipal governments will be critical to ensuring success. To accompany the implementations of these international standards at city level, access to reliable information and displacement profiling is key. The international community has developed a wealth of tools to generate quality, timely and accurate data and analysis, along with tools to support city-level decision-making on displacement responses and solutions. These tools are meant to better inform policy and programmatic decision making and by aiding local authorities to take the lead in these processes. Yet, many of these tools are yet to be deployed to their full potential, as many local government authorities faced with protracted urban displacement may not be aware of their existence. This event brings together experts from international humanitarian and development organisations and municipal authorities to discuss data and context analysis applications to support solutions in local, urban contexts, drawing on examples of good practices and lessons learned from around the world.
The session will begin by setting the scene at the global level, with IIED providing an overview of findings and key policy recommendations included in the new “Global Framework on Solutions to Urban Internal Displacement,” the rationale and need for such a framework, and how its recommendations can better support “solutions from the start.”
The session will then seek to translate these conceptual elements of global frameworks into concrete realities, drawing on specific examples from Colombia, Niger, Mozambique and Cameroon. Representatives from JIPS, IMPACT Initiatives and IDMC, as well as municipal authorities themselves, will respond to the following questions in a discussion format, to explore and share insights:
- How can global frameworks and national strategies be translated and operationalised at the municipality level? How can local learning feed into global processes? What tools and data are available to support this?
- How have municipalities responded to urban displacement? What are the best practices, key challenges and lessons learned that can inform future response?
- How can we strengthen the response to displacement to urban areas, drawing on recommendations from the OSA and Independent review of the humanitarian response to internal displacement?