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The use of evidence by the Humanitarian sector

Posted on 06 July 2021

In the past decade, huge progress has been made in the availability of academic research and evidence to inform humanitarian policy and practice.

Despite global commitments, and initiatives to share evidence between humanitarian organisations, the use of research and evidence to inform humanitarian action has not kept pace, and yet using evidence and research would improve outcomes for people affected by crisis.

This paper by ELRHA - From Knowing to doing: Evidence use in the Humanitarian Sector - explores this challenge and potential solutions, based on a literature review and a consultation of key informants from a range of humanitarian organisations. The paper concludes that collective effort – by all stakeholders – is required in six key action areas:

  1. Partnerships
  2. Global South leadership
  3. Evidence brokering
  4. Research translation and application
  5. Humanitarian data
  6. Humanitarian leadership