Larger cash transfers, less often: the simple answer to supporting agency and increasing aid efficiency? It’s time to view large cash as a viable solution to humanitarian crises – and as a key mechanism in the humanitarian reset – rather than as a series of pilot programmes that must continually prove…

While the humanitarian system focuses on questions of being more efficient, accountable and people-centred, it is paying insufficient attention to a simple mechanism that ticks all these boxes: cash. 💸

HPG Research Fellow @kerrie115.bsky.social explores in our new article: buff.ly/AkXZ4oA

The case for large cash transfers: supporting refugees to meet basic needs and build resilience This policy brief reports the findings of the baseline and endline surveys of the large cash transfer programme in Kiryandongo, and adds to existing evidence showing that cash is faster, cheaper, less...

💶 New evidence from #Uganda shows that large cash transfers to refugees:

• reduce children missing school
• boost engagement in paid work by 22%
• cost up to 44% less than in-kind aid over 6 months.

📖 Read on as HPG's @kerrie115.bsky.social makes the case for large cash transfers: buff.ly/7RbA74A

My colleague Mike and I wrote an article reflecting on the 2026 GHO, the insane number of humanitarian transitions announced, and why they are likely poised to fail, based on lessons we've identified in Iraq that have clearly not been learned. Read it now 👇

Why people displaced by conflict are particularly vulnerable to climate risks The effects of climate change do not affect everyone equally.

HPG Research Fellow @kerrie115.bsky.social explores the link between conflict, displacement and climate change – drawing on key examples from Sudan, Colombia, Bangladesh and beyond – in this new article for @uk.theconversation.com.

🔗 Read in full 👉 buff.ly/BcycfrQ

In our current aid crisis, we're constantly asking how to do more with less. Why not re-build the humanitarian system around cash-first responses? It's more effecient, helps local communities and people prefer it. To find out more, read my new policy brief 👇

If you're interested in IDPs, Iraq, livelihoods, urbanisation, reconstruction, climate change and/or transitions away from humanitarian assistance, check out the new report I wrote with some other very smart people (who are not on BlueSky)! 👇

How humanitarians can support Syria's fragile post-conflict transition Syria’s interim government has announced its first post-Assad elections, but deep societal fractures and recent violence highlight the ongoing fragile situation.

#Syria’s interim govt has announced its first post-Assad elections, but deep societal fractures & recent violence highlight the ongoing fragile situation. HPG researcher Leen Fouad urges global humanitarians to prioritise safety, localisation & accountability going forward – read on: bit.ly/41qOSBF

Quote: “This is what it looks like when humanitarian principles are not just ignored, but annihilated.” A Palestinian healthcare worker trawls through the rubble of a pharmaceutical warehouse. Credit: Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock

The int'l community has failed #Gaza. As the world watches the latest disastrous aid operations unfold, we must acknowledge that none of this is as far removed from how the current system plays out as we would like to believe. So, what next? HPG Director Freddie Carver reflects → buff.ly/pkC0YAC

Reading through some interview transcripts from Sudanese refugees in Chad and am a bit surprised at how many have mentioned the end of USAID funding. I naively assumed that they would feel the effects of the cuts but perhaps not hear all the reasons behind them. I wonder if the US assumed the same?

HPG at Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks 2025 Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) is a major annual humanitarian conference providing a collaborative space for humanitarian practitioners and experts, including HPG.

You can join in person or online! Find out full details of all our activities, and RSVP now at odi.org/en/about/our...

Looking forward to being at hashtag#HNPW in Geneva this week with some other HPG colleagues! I'll be speaking on panels on:
💵🧑‍🔧 cash-based livelihoods interventions with @iom.int
🌡️🚶‍➡️ climate mobility with @islamicrelief.bsky.social
🔄📈 accountability in research with @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social

The survey is anonymous, and the data collected will be used solely by the Humanitarian Policy Group in its current research on adapting urban IDP livelihoods to extreme and erratic weather.

‘Aid actor’ refers to anyone who provides assistance to people in need, i.e. local/national government officials, international/national humanitarian and development actors, NGOs, CSOs and local actors. If this sounds like you, please help us by filling it out: ee.kobotoolbox.org/single/87826....

We've launched a survey that aims to understand how aid actors are integrating the threats and risks of extreme and erratic weather events – such as droughts, flooding, heatwaves, tropical storms, wildfires, etc. – into their strategies, policies and programming.

As part of our project on the lives and livelihoods of urban IDPs, we're exploring how climate change/extreme or erratic weather events are changing people's lives in displacement -- not just a trigger for displacement. We're also looking at how much the aid sector is considering this in their work.

Join me starting next week online and hybrid in Geneva the week after!

I have a new colleague, Mike, and he likes charts. Give him a read below if you can bear reading anything more about the USAID cuts and dire state of the humanitarian sector:

I've been Interim HPN Coordinator for the last 18 months – it's a fantastic role. If you are interested in coordinating the voices of local, national and international humanitarian practitioners, so they can share their knowledge and experience with a practitioner audience, please consider applying!

The US administration assault on DEIA is an assault on the humanitarian principles of humanity and impartiality | Humanitarian Practice Network Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) is essential to principled humanitarian action.

There's been a lot of talk lately (and rightly so) about the impact of USAID cuts on the humanitarian sector, but I've seen less about the impact of the US's other directives, such as anti-anything Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility -- until now: odihpn.org/publication/...

Humanitarian Policy Group researchers Join the conversation

🚨 New #StarterPack alert! Stay up to date with our work by following the people behind the Humanitarian Policy Group's critical research: go.bsky.app/DLpdtkC

Work with HPG Role: Research partner (Consultant) We are seeking a research partner to support a study on the livelihoods of urban internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Baidoa, Somalia. Deadline: 24 February 2025

📣 #WorkWithUs: This research aims to develop a deeper understanding of the priorities and strategies of internally displaced persons (IDPs), identifying how aid actors can better support them in rebuilding their livelihoods on their own terms.

Further details & application info → buff.ly/48orDZW

So far I’m pretty rubbish at self-promotion on here. But if you want to keep up with me and my team and all things humanitarian policy, subscribe via the link below👇

What next for internal displacement? Four priority actions for 2025 Internal displacement has long been a neglected issue on the international stage. We explore four priority actions for internal displacement in 2025.

What should the humanitarian sector be focusing on this year when it comes to internal displacement? Check out our new blog here: odi.org/en/insights/...

At @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social, we're constantly on the lookout for illustrators to help us visualise our research. If you're an artist or graphic designer, especially with lived experience of displacement, please do reach out! We'd love to collaborate!

If you like me, you’ll love the rest of my team! Give us a follow!

Wish this had been offered ten years ago. Would have been brilliant for my PhD!

Come and join us on Monday! Details below 👇

Consultancies Join ODI for a rewarding career, with the opportunity to learn new skills and work within a highly motivated team.

We're looking for a research partner to work with us on livelihoods of urban IDPs in Mosul, Iraq. If you're interested or know someone who is, you can find the TOR (in English and Arabic) here: odi.org/en/careers/c... Deadline to apply is 25 November!

Internally displaced persons, rural–urban migrants, urban poor… what’s the difference? And, perhaps more importantly, does the difference matter?

I recently wrote some musings on the difference between IDPs, rural–urban migrants and the urban poor and why it matters. Please give it a read, and let me know your thoughts, as we’ll be working on urban IDP livelihoods for the next three years: odi.org/en/insights/...