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Self Report 2018

The self-report on WHS Commitments below is organized according to the 24 transformations of the Agenda for Humanity. It is based on commitments pledged at the time of report submission. Click on the 'Expand' symbol to expand each section and read the reporting inputs by transformation.

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  • 2A
    Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ODI commits to dedicating resources to explore how stronger international standards can mitigate harm from the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas.
    • Policy
    • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has continued to examine violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen via an ongoing blockade that continues to obstruct the flow of humanitarian assistance both inside Yemen and through the ports. This is part of a project that looks at counter-terrorism measures and its implications on the humanitarian crisis there.

    An ODI research fellow sits on the Yemen Safe Passage group, an informal network of British diplomats and academics all acting in their personal capacity, who have worked in Yemen for substantial periods and who share a concern about the well -being of its people. The network continues to lobby through parliament towards better British engagement in Yemen. 

    ODI is also currently exploring the implications of cross border exchanges on the protection of civilians in Libya with a focus on people’s mobility across the Tunisian-Libyan border.   

    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    Through participation in and monitoring of media coverage, as research on Yemen is covered by Al-Jazeera and British as well as newspapers in the region, and through policy engagement, of which ODI is engaged with in forums such as the Hague, London and Washington DC.

    5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?

    The lack of political will among some States to adhere to their obligations to protect civilians during hostilities is currently preventing the creation of mechanisms that would strengthen compliance and accountability. States not engaged in armed conflict must not shy away from holding those who are to account.

    Keywords

    IHL compliance and accountability

  • 3A
    Reduce and address displacement

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ODI commits to generating evidence over the following year on how to better support refugees in protracted displacement in key contexts, to support donors and governments of affected countries to prioritize solutions that strengthen the self-reliance and resilience of refugees as well as host communities.









    • Policy
    • Leave No One Behind
    • ODI commits to supporting and reinforcing the Solutions Alliance as a central platform for collaborative action in support of solutions to protracted displacement. This engagement will include exploring how to support Solutions Alliance to expand its activities to one or more additional countries affected by forced displacement.
    • Partnership
    • Leave No One Behind
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Refugees

    In 2017, the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) finalised its work on refugee livelihoods in protracted displacement. The project produced five case reports on the lives and livelihoods of refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Malaysia and Cameroon. A final report was published towards the end of 2017 reflecting on these case studies. This final report proposed nine key principles of how to better support refugees in protracted displacement through improved livelihood strategies.

    As part of this work, HPG joined a series of workshops on refugee self-reliance and co-authored a Research In Brief led by the Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre. Further opportunities to disseminate the research including the organisation of a public event at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on refugee livelihoods, a twitter chat, and participation in conferences and workshops. In early 2018, HPG published with other development colleagues at ODI a policy brief on the lessons learnt from the Jordan Compact and implications for future refugee compacts.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    HPG continues to seek opportunities to disseminate the findings of its research in relevant fora, including through engaging in public affairs, writing blogs but also through taking on commission work on refugee livelihoods. With the closure of the Solutions Alliance, HPG and colleagues at ODI continue to engage with collaborative initiatives such as the consultations on the Global Refugee Compacts and the Global Migration Compacts and will continue to do so in the coming year.

    Keywords

    Displacement

  • 4A
    Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • ODI commits to continuing to serve as a secretariat for the Regional Organisations Humanitarian Action Network (ROHAN) as a vehicle for sharing information and analysis amongst regional organizations and strengthening the expansion of the network, supporting it to become independent.


    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    • Recognising the potentially transformative power of unconditional humanitarian cash transfers, ODI commits to supporting scaling up cash through evidence-based policy advisory and influencing efforts, including convening discussion and research with diverse stakeholders and organising a cash conference in 2017.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Strengthening national/local leadership and systems

    The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) partnered with the African Union to co-host the 2017 Regional Organisations Humanitarian Action Network (ROHAN) Conference in Addis Ababa. Attended by representatives from 13 regional organisations, the conference covered issues ranging from working in conflict to key policy processes in the international humanitarian system including the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). ODI is supporting ROHAN members to achieve their commitments by establishing channels for communication, including quarterly conference calls, and producing synthesis documents of member's commitments and progress.

    Cash-based programming

    ODI has continued to support the scale up of cash-programming through building the evidence base for cash. In 2017, this has included documenting the effects of The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF cash assistance in Jordan and the United Kingdom Department for International Development and European Civil Protection/Humanitarian Aid Operations (DFID/ECHO) approach to cash assistance for refugees in Lebanon that highlights the challenges of moving to large-scale humanitarian transfers delivered by a single agency. ODI continues to play a key role in the third-party monitoring consortium for the World Food Programme-led (WFP) humanitarian cash transfer programme. ODI has also had a key role in policy influencing this year, including hosting the launch of The Cash Learning Partnership’s State of the World’s Cash Report.

    B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?

    The conference in Addis was an important opportunity to review progress among the members, with support from ODI as secretariat. As we move into the next phase of ROHAN with members assuming greater ownership, ROHAN will explore more rigorous approaches to assess its progress.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    ODI has begun planning for the 2018 ROHAN Conference, which we are hoping will be hosted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in the Caribbean region if appropriate resources can be mobilised.

    Keywords

    Cash, Displacement, Local action

  • 4B
    Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

    Individual Commitments (2)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility
    • ODI commits to producing analysis which helps donors and governments understand how to prioritize solutions that make progress on the concepts of risk and resilience which feature heavily in the World Humanitarian Summit and linked agreements including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement. This will have a specific focus on building resilience to climate extremes and disasters.
    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

    • ODI commits to undertaking research to improve understanding of the linked challenges of climate change, natural hazard-related disasters, conflict and fragility and the implications for international aid.


    • Policy
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    In 2017, the Overseas Development Institute's (ODI) Risk & Resilience programme's Resilience Scan looked at several different facets of resilience, including risk insurance, universal health coverage, solar power systems and how political institutions can support climate resilience. A report published in May also examined progress post Sendai:  Delivering disaster risk reduction by 2030: pathways to progress, examined countries’ individual progress and reporting under the Hyogo Framework for Action, and how lessons can be drawn to achieve the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Case studies included in the report covered a range of examples from low and middle-income countries, each with varied risk levels, starting points, and trajectories of progress. ODI has also worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to prepare a report examining the complex linkages between the effects of climate change and human mobility. Other research also explored why Disaster Risk Reduction is often lacking in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

    ODI has also expanded its policy influencing work in this area, hosting events in 2017 that explore risk and resilience in relation to urban settings, international agreements and specific country contexts such as Somalia. This advocacy work is complimented by research reports on forecast-based early warning schemes, reviews of refugee initiatives such as the Jordan Compact, and multiple blogs on climate risk, famine prevention and flood resilience.

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    ODI's Risk & Resilience team are increasingly addressing transboundary risks and the intersectionality of climate, natural hazard and conflict-related disasters. A forthcoming paper produced with UNDP will specifically target policymakers with suggestions on how a shift to a more risk-informed approach, and has the potential to reduce humanitarian need and accelerate development progress. Several streams of work are also underway to help governments understand how to apply resilience in their own contexts.

    Keywords

    Disaster Risk Reduction, Migrants

  • 4C
    Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

    Individual Commitments (1)

    • Commitment
    • Commitment Type
    • Core Responsibility

    • ODI commits to developing strategic collaborations with think tanks and academic institutions in crisis-affected regions and in emerging donor countries in order to share expertise, including initiating joint research, staff exchange and joint events throughout its research cycle.  


    • Partnership
    • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
    1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.

    Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis and planning towards collective outcomes

    The Overseas Development Institute's (ODI) Humanitarian Policy Group is currently undertaking its 2017 – 2019 Integrated Programme: ‘From the Ground Up: Understanding Local Response in Crises’. All of the research projects for the case studies are conducted jointly with research institutions based in the case study countries, with researchers contributing to the planning as well as conducting interviews, focus groups and research dissemination with affected people. Case study countries include Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, Libya and Myanmar.

    ODI has developed a partnership with the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF); a network of foundations from across the Arab Region.  It serves as a hub for networking, knowledge sharing and capacity building for its members and partners to bolster the capacity and efficacy of strategic philanthropy in the Arab region. A workshop was held in Beirut in September 2017 as part of this partnership, and ODI and AFF are currently collaborating on developing a study that looks at the impact of cash transfers (CT) measures on Arab philanthropy. 

    4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.

    ODI is now represented in the academic committee for the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists’ Global Donors Forum 2018 which is to be held in London. The focus is on: Building Resilience Ecosystems: Philanthropy’s Response to Inequality and Social Tensions. ODI continues to build active links and partnerships with academic and research institutes across the world.

    Keywords

    Local action

Attachments

  • WHS Commitments Attachments
    Transformation - 4B, 5B | Disaster Risk Reduction