The picture is not all bleak. The past decade has also seen localisation become front and centre on the humanitarian agenda, increased relevance of pooled funds, a push for increased diversity in representation and more accountability, and agreement on the Global Compact on Refugees, Global Refugee Forum, and New Way of Working. Whether any of these translate into practice is, of course, an entirely different story.

Many of the abovementioned developments are external. At its core, the system and its dynamics have changed very little. From the start, HERE focused precisely on this discrepancy between policy and practice, building evidence and putting forward constructive analyses of where the gaps are and where gains can be made for governments and agencies to fulfil their humanitarian responsibilities and commitments.

To achieve this, we have, in the ten years since our founding, carried out research, evaluations, reviews, and other types of analyses and aimed to foster dialogue. We have undertaken our own dedicated programme of research as well as assignments at the request of others. Unconstrained by affiliation, we do not shy away from speaking truth to power and propose radical and transformative changes. Too often we see that time and energy are wasted when persistent political problems are tackled with technical solutions. Such solutions also risk losing sight of the values and principles that orient humanitarians to do the right thing and not only do things right. The systemic issues that our research unearths point to the continuous relevance of humanitarian principles, protection, and accountability, which are critical to the quality and effectiveness of humanitarian action.

In the lead-up to our tenth anniversary, join us as we extrapolate the lessons and recommendations that past pieces have brought up and explore any outcomes, follow-up, or lack thereof. Starting with a special birthday episode of our Hear, HERE! podcast, we will build up to a collective deep-dive into what change means (or should mean) for the sector, in the shape of an anniversary event in November 2024.