Promoting innovation and evidence-based approaches to building resilience and responding to humanitarian crises: an overview of DFID’s approach
This policy paper provides an overview of DFID’s work to build the evidence base and catalyze innovation in the humanitarian sector, including the reduction of exposure and vulnerability to hazards and better targeting of investments in disaster risk reduction. In addition to a summary and introduction, it comprises three parts. Section 2 sets out the aims and objectives of the strategy, locating it within the wider context of DFID’s humanitarian policy.
Section 3 identifies the four big problems around which DFID is concentrating its efforts: (i) decision-makers do not have access to good information about the multiple dimensions of risk; (ii) little is known about which interventions are most effective, and there is a reluctance to try new ways of working; (iii) in a context of rising climate-related stress, urbanisation and population growth, the humanitarian systems’ capacity to design and deliver humanitarian assistance is overstretched and will soon be overwhelmed; and (iv) the right capacity, systems and incentives are not in place to ensure that high quality evidence is available and used to inform decision-making. Section 4 describes how DFID’s interest in this area is delivered.