Today, humanitarian assistance is one of the most dynamic areas of global governance. The demand for an international response to humanitarian crises is on the rise. This increase relates to a growing vulnerability of large parts of the world’s population to the effects of war and natural disaster due to factors such as changing forms of warfare, climate change, urbanization, population growth, raising food prices, and the scarcity of water and energy. The humanitarian assistance provided has also grown significantly. Humanitarian aid budgets are on a consistent rise, as are the actors providing this assistance.

The increase of humanitarian actors in combination with amplified linkages between humanitarian assistance and other global issues challenge the effectiveness of the humanitarian system. As a result, humanitarians intensively discuss how assistance should and can be effectively provided both in light of these challenges and in the spirit of the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. The debate is accompanied by essential and significant reform processes, aiming at making humanitarian assistance more predictable, accountable and inclusive.

GPPi contributes to the improvement of humanitarian assistance through in-depth analysis, global dialogue and the evaluation of humanitarian assistance programs. The institute is a full member of the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action, and it makes its publications available to the wider humanitarian community through ReliefWeb, an online resource for humanitarian information and analysis.

All publications related to humanitarian assistance

Current projects

August 2011 – February 2012

Food Security: A Mapping of European Approaches

The German Marshall Fund of the United States has asked GPPi to head up a study on European approaches and activities supporting food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

October 2009 – March 2012

Humanitarian Assistance: Truly Universal?

This research project aims to develop a deeper understanding of the norms, interests, policies and operational procedures shaping the humanitarian aid of selected non-Western donor countries.

November 2011 – May 2012

Evaluation and Review of Humanitarian Access Strategies in DG ECHO-funded Interventions

The European Union’s humanitarian aid department, DG ECHO, has asked GPPi to evaluate the strategies used by aid organizations to gain access to populations in crisis contexts.

December 2011 – July 2012

Evaluation of OCHA’s Regional Office in Western and Central Africa

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has commissioned GPPi to conduct an in-depth evaluation of its regional office for Western and Central Africa, located in Dakar, Senegal.

January 2012 – December 2012

Policy Development for the European Union's Humanitarian Aid Department (DG ECHO)

The European Union’s humanitarian aid department, DG ECHO, has asked GPPi and two partners to support its policy development.

Completed projects

August 2011 – January 2012

Evaluation of the ProCap and GenCap projects

For UN OCHA, GPPi is evaluating two projects meant to address civilian protection and gender issues during humanitarian emergencies.

March 2011 – January 2012

Humanitarian Coordination in a Changing World

UN OCHA asked GPPi researchers to head up the research for a study about the history and future of humanitarian coordination.

October 2010 - August 2011

The Role of Transition Funds in Bridging Relief and Development

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GTZ commissioned GPPi to analyze efforts to link relief, rehabilitation and development in German assistance.

March 2011 – July 2011

Evaluation Framework for the UN Somalia Assistance Strategy

The UN asked GPPi to support the monitoring and evaluation of its Somalia assistance strategy, which focuses on social services, poverty reduction as well as good governance and human security.

April 2010 – June 2011

Uniting on Food Assistance

Promoting Evidence-Based Transatlantic Dialogue and Convergence

July 2010 – October 2010

Real-Time Evaluation of UNICEF’s Response to the Sa’ada Conflict in Northern Yemen

GPPi assessed the performance of UNICEF relief activities in Northern Yemen during the ongoing conflict.

April 2010 – July 2010

Inter-Agency Real-Time Evaluation of the disaster response to the Haiti Earthquake

On 12 January 2010, an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti’s capital Port au Prince and its surrounding areas...

July 2009 – May 2010

Cluster Approach Evaluation Phase II

The Cluster Approach is one of several pillars of the humanitarian reform aiming to improve the effectiveness of international humanitarian...

January 2008 - December 2009

Raising the Bar

Enhancing transatlantic governance of disaster relief and preparedness

April 2008 - April 2009

Implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Gender Standby Capacity Project (GenCap)

It is a well-established fact that gender issues matter greatly in humanitarian situations. Yet, the different needs and capabilities of women, girls, boys, and men in situations of crisis are more often than not overlooked in the rush of emergency...

April 2007 - March 2008

Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Gender Standby Capacity Project (GenCap)

The Interagency Standing Committee Sub-Working Group on Gender in Humanitarian Action made a sustained and coordinated attempt to introduce gender expertise into humanitarian situations through the Gender Standby Capacity Project (GenCap)...

March 2006 – June 2007

Corporate Engagement in Disaster Preparedness and Humanitarian Response

In recent years commercial actors have begun to play a growing role in development assistance and conflict prevention.