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A comprehensive breakdown of multi-year humanitarian funding, looking at long-term trends in donors, recipients and earmarking. Are Grand Bargain recommendations being met?

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More than 1,000 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have worked in partnership with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) since 2014 to implement the vast majority of funding channelled through country-based pooled funds (CBPFs). This study brings together their experiences and recommendations to improve a mechanism that has become a staple of the humanitarian landscape and financing toolbox.

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This report is based on an analysis of logistics practices in the humanitarian sector and also considers progress in the private sector, which has put efficiency at the heart of its logistics strategies for a long time. Logistics in the private sector has indeed, for the most part, moved towards the outsourcing and pooling of logistics services, even between competing companies, with the double objective of reducing operational costs and increasing end customer satisfaction levels. The report recommends a change in operational strategy, moving from a model of fundraising and using funds to a model of fundraising and optimising these funds. One key element of this paradigm shift is the focus placed on planning in all areas of humanitarian logistics. In this respect, the question of donor funding is key. If funds are allocated based on anticipation instead of reaction to humanitarian needs, it would allow for a significant reduction in operating costs, and a more flexible and appropriate response to changing conditions in the field. This would also allow for a more strategic approach to emergency response thanks to greater emphasis on planning. A collaborative approach leads to a sustainable logistics model in the medium term and must involve strong commitment from all partners involved.

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Despite this insight, the trend is rather towards increased levels of earmarking. This trend relates to a number of, often inter-linked factors: control and accountability to donor countries’ tax payers, donor visibility, transparency and trust.