UNHCR’s leadership and coordination role in refugee response settings is an essential and defining part of the agency’s mandate and mission. The protracted and multidimensional character of recent refugee crises, and shift in the humanitarian and development landscape (including the Global Compact on Refugees) have led to significant variation in how UNHCR executes its leadership and coordination functions. This, in turn, raises questions about how UNHCR positions itself as the global leader and coordinator in refugee settings. Against this background, UNHCR commissioned HERE-Geneva with an independent desk review of its leadership and coordination role in refugee settings, looking at past refugee responses in the period 2014—2018 and considering whether and how UNHCR may need to reorient its approach to leading and coordinating refugee responses in the future.