Humanitarian Futures Programme
Encyclopedia
The Humanitarian Futures Programme (HFP) is an action research
programme based within the School of Social Science and Public Policy
at King’s College London.
It attempts to help organisations with humanitarian responsibilities to prepare for future humanitarian threats. The HFP believes that these threats will be more complex and unpredictable than those of today, and that their impacts will be of an exponentially
different order. The HFP also focuses upon solutions with a view to helping such organisations strengthen their prevention, preparedness and response capacities. These potential solutions come from a range of sources – including the natural and social sciences, the corporate sector and the military
.
The HFP aims to develop a series of tools, methods and approaches to assess humanitarian organisations’ futures capacities and the potential ways to strengthen them. In addition to its partner organisations, these resources are being created with the intention of aiding the wider humanitarian community in planning for the future.
The programme director is Dr. Randolph Kent, a former UN Humanitarian Coordinator
in Somalia
and several other East Africa
n crisis
zones.
, develop and test
ways to enhance organisational anticipatory, adaptive and collaborative capacities.
established at the London
level and in countries in which the HFP works, e.g. Central African Republic
, Ecuador
, the Philippines
and Tajikistan
, to bring the knowledge
of leading social and natural scientists together and explore factors that might create humanitarian crises in the longer-term as well as ways to mitigate their impacts. The Futures Group also aims to enhance the exchange of knowledge between humanitarian policy
-makers and scientists, and develop ways to ensure a more effective dialogue
. A pilot
Futures Group for West Africa
is being established in April/May 2009 as part of a collaborative project with the Economic Community of West African States
.
s and assesses their relationship to humanitarian needs. It also tests the capacity of organisations to adopt such practices through its work with partners.
attempts to help organisations become more anticipatory, adaptive and collaborative. Its methodology is designed to test an organisation’s current capacities and identify ways to strengthen these organisational qualities.
frameworks for determining the anticipatory and adaptive capacities of humanitarian organisations. The overall assessment framework is designed for outside analysts and peer group
reviews to assess individual organisations’ capacities for dealing strategically with future threats and mitigation opportunities.
One instrument
is the Organisational Self Assessment Tool
(OSAT), a questionnaire
which asks respondents to give their personal views on future humanitarian threats, the organisation’s ability to anticipate future threats, to adapt to them, to innovate and to collaborate with new types of organisations.
with staff
from different levels of an organisation as well as survey
s, which focus on three principal areas:
The SHARP is designed to help an organisation prioritise the many issues driving change in its area of interest and develop a clear framework for forward planning.
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
programme based within the School of Social Science and Public Policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
at King’s College London.
It attempts to help organisations with humanitarian responsibilities to prepare for future humanitarian threats. The HFP believes that these threats will be more complex and unpredictable than those of today, and that their impacts will be of an exponentially
Exponential growth
Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value...
different order. The HFP also focuses upon solutions with a view to helping such organisations strengthen their prevention, preparedness and response capacities. These potential solutions come from a range of sources – including the natural and social sciences, the corporate sector and the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
.
The HFP aims to develop a series of tools, methods and approaches to assess humanitarian organisations’ futures capacities and the potential ways to strengthen them. In addition to its partner organisations, these resources are being created with the intention of aiding the wider humanitarian community in planning for the future.
The programme director is Dr. Randolph Kent, a former UN Humanitarian Coordinator
Humanitarian Coordinator
The Humanitarian Coordinator is the senior-most United Nations official in a country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The Humanitarian Coordinator is appointed by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator when a new emergency occurs or an existing humanitarian situation "worsens in...
in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
and several other East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n crisis
Crisis
A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society...
zones.
Programme components
The HFP has three main components designed to help organisations with humanitarian responsibilities prepare for the future.Component 1: Participant development
Working with governments, and inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to learnLEARN
LEARN may refer to:* Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network, a website run by the Anti-Defamation League* LEARN diet, a brand name diet product...
, develop and test
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
ways to enhance organisational anticipatory, adaptive and collaborative capacities.
Component 2: The futures group
A forumInternet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
established at the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
level and in countries in which the HFP works, e.g. Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, to bring the knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
of leading social and natural scientists together and explore factors that might create humanitarian crises in the longer-term as well as ways to mitigate their impacts. The Futures Group also aims to enhance the exchange of knowledge between humanitarian policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
-makers and scientists, and develop ways to ensure a more effective dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
. A pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Futures Group for West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
is being established in April/May 2009 as part of a collaborative project with the Economic Community of West African States
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
.
Component 3: Innovations
The HFP aims to identify various innovative practices from a broad range of disciplineAcademic discipline
An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined , and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to...
s and assesses their relationship to humanitarian needs. It also tests the capacity of organisations to adopt such practices through its work with partners.
Methodology
The HFP's methodologyMethodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
attempts to help organisations become more anticipatory, adaptive and collaborative. Its methodology is designed to test an organisation’s current capacities and identify ways to strengthen these organisational qualities.
Assessment frameworks and organisational self-assessment tool
The HFP tries to develop assessmentEvaluation
Evaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
frameworks for determining the anticipatory and adaptive capacities of humanitarian organisations. The overall assessment framework is designed for outside analysts and peer group
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
reviews to assess individual organisations’ capacities for dealing strategically with future threats and mitigation opportunities.
One instrument
Scientific instrument
A scientific instrument can be any type of equipment, machine, apparatus or device as is specifically designed, constructed and often, through trial and error, ingeniously refined to apply utmost efficiency in the utilization of well proven physical principle, relationship or technology to...
is the Organisational Self Assessment Tool
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
(OSAT), a questionnaire
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case...
which asks respondents to give their personal views on future humanitarian threats, the organisation’s ability to anticipate future threats, to adapt to them, to innovate and to collaborate with new types of organisations.
Key informant interviews
The HFP team conducts individual interviewsInterviews
Interviews is:# the plural form of "interview"# a compilation album by Bob Marley & the Wailers, see Interviews # a C++ toolkit for the X Window System, see InterViews...
with staff
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
from different levels of an organisation as well as survey
Statistical survey
Survey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....
s, which focus on three principal areas:
- 1. StrategyStrategyStrategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
formulation capacity mappingMappingIn geomatics or geospatial science and technology:Mapping usually refers to map-making and often used instead of cartography.Mapping term is also sometimes used for geospatial data collection but in fact it is not mapping because a map is created from some cartographic works In geomatics or...
.
- 2. Strategy and operational alignmentAlignmentAlignment may refer to:* Alignment , secondary evidence used to associate features such as postholes* Alignment , in Israel from 1965 to 1992...
mapping.
- 3. Knowledge network analysisAnalysisAnalysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
.
Futures groups
The HFP also supports organisations to continue working with the Futures groups in order to try to incorporate local scientific expertise into their policy making – strategy and related operational – agendas.Strategic Humanitarian Action Resource Pack (SHARP)
The Strategic Humanitarian Action Resource Pack (SHARP) exercise is designed to try to help an organisation strengthen strategic planning through the use of scenarios.The SHARP is designed to help an organisation prioritise the many issues driving change in its area of interest and develop a clear framework for forward planning.
Programme donors
Donors of the programme are:- The British Red CrossBritish Red CrossThe British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
- Department for International DevelopmentDepartment for International DevelopmentThe Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
(DfID) - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway)
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible for Swedish foreign policy.Current ministers:*Carl Bildt Head of Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs.*Ewa Björling as Minister for Foreign Trade...
- OxfamOxfamOxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
GB - United Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
- Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Recovery (UNDP-BCPR) - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian AffairsOffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian AffairsThe United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , is a United Nations body formed in December 1991 by General Assembly Resolution 46/182...
(UNOCHA) - United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID)
Collaborating partners
Collaborating partners are:- Center for Strategic and International StudiesCenter for Strategic and International StudiesThe Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
(CSIS) - Complexity Research Group, London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE) - DARA (international organization)
- Feinstein International Center, Tufts UniversityTufts UniversityTufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
- Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development InstituteOverseas Development InstituteThe Overseas Development Institute is one of the leading independent think tanks on international development and humanitarian issues. Based in London, its mission is "to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement...
(ODI) - International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) - for further information, see The Future of Humanitarian Action.
- Linksbridge - for further information, see The Humanitarian Innovations Challenge, HFP, March 2011
Outputs and reports
- "Dimensions of Crisis: humanitarian needs by 2015", HFP, Humanitarian Futures Programme, 17 January 2007.
- "Responding to Catastrophes: US Innovation in a Vulnerable World", HFP, Kent, R. & Ratcliffe, J., March 2008.
- "The Future of Humanitarian Assistance: The Role of the United Nations", HFP, Kent, R., Dalton, M., von Hippel, K. & Maurer, R., 2004.
Further reading
- 'SOMALIA: IRIN interview with Randolph Kent, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator', IRIN News, July 2000, accessed 9 April 2009.
- 'Assistance, protection, and governance networks in complex emergencies', Lautze, S., Leaning, J., Raven-Roberts, A., Kent, R. & Mazurana, D., The LancetThe LancetThe Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
, Volume 364, Issue 9451, 11 December 2004, accessed 9 April 2009. - 'The new aid giants', IRIN News, 12 November 2007, accessed 9 April 2009.
- 'Randolph Kent on urbanisation and "humanitarian futures"', IRIN News, 21 November 2007, accessed 9 April 2009.
- 'Humanitarian futures (part one) - "exponential complexity"', IRIN News, 24 July 2008, accessed 9 April 2009.