The Humanitarian Exchange and Research Centre works to close the gap between policy and humanitarian practice.

About Us

Founded in Geneva in 2014, the Humanitarian Exchange and Research Centre (HERE) works to close the gap between policy and humanitarian practice. We endeavour to understand and promote the steps that need to be taken in order to uphold the rights of crisis-affected people.

Latest outputs

Meeting needs, needs meetings - but how many?

Years ago, when OCHA was in need of a tagline, its staff engaged in an email exchange on ideas for the new marketing catchphrase. With the cluster approach as the mainstream humanitarian coordination model still in its infancy, but the excessive number of meetings that came with it already a resilient critique, the suggestion “Meeting needs, needs meetings” was more than apt.

What went wrong?

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Roundtable | The Future of Humanitarian Coordination

This note provides a summary of the round table discussion on the topic of humanitarian coordination, hosted by HERE and attended by a selection of humanitarian practitioners and independent experts.

This round table was conceived to exchange ideas on the thinkable priorities of the United Nations’ newly appointed emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, and to outline systemic issues that stand in the way to ensure a fit-for-purpose humanitarian coordination model.

Read the summary note

IOM & Protection

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has contracted a HERE member of staff to carry out this assignment.

IOM has a key role in ensuring respect for, and the protection of, the rights of all beneficiaries, including a rights-based approach to migration.

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'What Next?' Conference - Video Summary

Using the visual summaries compiled by visual facilitator Stéphanie Heckman during various sessions, this video guides you through the key moments of HERE-Geneva's 'What Next?' conference.
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HEAR, HERE! - The humanitarian podcast.

Our brand-new podcast is out!

In Episode #1, Ed and Marzia sit down to take stock of the state of protection in humanitarian action.

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Latest blog | Vacancy: someone to shake up humanitarian coordination

Given humanitarian coordination is the USG/ERC’s mandate, whoever takes the helm at OCHA must have a vision for the future direction of travel. And it needs to be a direction that involves more than simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic...
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UNICEF as a leader

Two members of our research team have been commissioned by UNICEF as part of the team that will evaluate its role as Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) and to conduct a review of the co-leadership arrangement of the education cluster.
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The Role of Mandates | Final report

For the past three years, HERE Geneva has been researching the role that mandates – defined broadly as organisations’ goals or missions (the ‘why’) – play in how humanitarian organisations set priorities in situations of armed conflict: arguably the most complex and contested spaces in which humanitarians operate.
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HEAR, HERE! - The humanitarian podcast.

A brand-new podcast episode is out!

In Episode #2, humanitarian professional and independent consultant Manisha Thomas joins Ed to discuss the history of the clusters.

Listen

2020 HERE Annual Report

In an effort to advocate for a stronger #protection status, improved #accountability, and principled work in #humanitarian action, our work in 2020 spotlighted gaps around Coordination & Cooperation within the sector and its #Leadership.
Read about our work in 2020

The Role of Mandates | Final report

For the past three years, HERE Geneva has been researching the role that mandates – defined broadly as organisations’ goals or missions (the ‘why’) – play in how humanitarian organisations set priorities in situations of armed conflict: arguably the most complex and contested spaces in which humanitarians operate.
Learn more

ongoing work

Review of inter-agency project for refugees and displaced

HERE-Geneva together with ECORYS are currently supporting the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the implementation of their Prospects Partnership.
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The future of humanitarian coordination

Our newest self-initiated project combines research and exchange on humanitarian coordination providing lessons learnt and formulating suggested ways forward that address the challenges identified.

The final synthesis report will be available in December 2021.

Project description

UNICEF as a leader

Two staff members of HERE have been commissioned by UNICEF as part of the team that will evaluate its role as Cluster Lead Agency (CLA)
Learn more

New research | Review of Education Cluster Co-Leadership

The Global Education Cluster (GEC) is the only Global Cluster co-led by a United Nations (UN) agency – UNICEF – and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) – Save the Children International. Two HERE staff member have been commissioned to conduct a review of the co-leadership arrangement of the education cluster.
Project description

Inception Report ｜Principled Humanitarian Programming in Yemen

Developing an understanding of the challenges and decisions related to negotiations, access, and coordination that organizations pursue to uphold principled humanitarian action in Yemen.
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IOM & Protection II

Following an external assessment of IOM's policies on protection undertaken by a HERE staff member at the end of 2020, the organisation decided to launch a project to define an institutional approach to Protection (DIAP).
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WFP Nigeria country strategic plan (2019-2022)

The evaluation will assess WFP contributions to CSP strategic outcomes, establishing plausible causal relations between the outputs of WFP activities, the implementation process, the operational environment and changes observed at the outcome level,
Read the ToR

HERE Publications

We carry out applied, mixed-methods research and analysis, engage in dialogue with operational humanitarian actors, and feed the humanitarian community with independent reports, policy papers, and studies. Browse through our library!

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