Error message

Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in drupal_settings_initialize() (line 802 of /backup/agenda/public_html/includes/bootstrap.inc).

Self Report 2017

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.

Expand All

4C
Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

Joint Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Commit to taking concrete steps to ensure that humanitarian action is based on high quality evidence. We will do this by investing in research and the collection, synthesis and analysis of data, by improving the quality and accessibility of this evidence, and by adopting better practices and systems to use and value evidence. We commit to developing this more evidence-based humanitarian sector through collaborations that are multi-national, multi-organisational and multi-sectoral.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
Partners: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (ALNAP), IMPACT Initiatives, World Vision International, Oxfam International , International Rescue Committee, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, Sphere, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) - University of Manchester, Public Health in Humanitarian Crises Group - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action (CERAH), International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), Wiley, Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP), School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University, Cochrane, Queen’s University Belfast, REACH Initiatives, ELRHA, Georgetown University, The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), Groupe URD, Center for Refugee and Disaster Response - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    The Evidence Lounge initiative for the World Humanitarian Summit, led by Evidence Aid, aims to inspire and enable the humanitarian sector to apply an evidence-based approach, when and where appropriate. The initiative seeks to strengthen the humanitarian sector’s evidence base, improve the sharing and dissemination of the evidence available and promote the use of evidence, all through collaborations that preferably include the crisis affected populations.

  • Achievements at a glance

    The partners of the WHS Evidence Lounge met afterwards and agreed that the Evidence Lounge was successful and that it should continue as a community of practice (CoP) to bring together actors to exchange views and information related to the generation, use and dissemination of evidence in the humanitarian sector to contribute to a more evidence-based approach to humanitarian action and decisions when and where appropriate. The CoP aims to minimise overlap and wastage of resources and increase the impact of the individual initiatives. By the end of 2016, Evidence Aid in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, identified possible funding for an 2017 Evidence Lounge Event in Geneva, to bring together the practitioner and research community and forge new collaborations to jointly develop a practical guide on how to use evidence in the humanitarian sector, and launch the online CoP.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    Progress will be assessed by; numbers of participants at the Evidence Lounge in Geneva / active users of the CoP by 2018 / Successful publication of the practical guide on how to use evidence in the humanitarian sector / Uptake of practical guide

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    From the start ALNAP has been actively supporting the development of the CoP with practical advice, while the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) continues to be closely involved and plays a key role in the development of proposals. The main challenge is to find the resources to implement the proposals. The CoP will demand dedicated human resources and financial support beyond what Evidence Aid can currently provide. By the end of 2016, the LSHTM identified the first external opportunity for financial support that will be further explored in 2017.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    In 2017, Evidence Aid in collaboration with some of the key partners of the WHS Evidence Lounge, especially the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and ALNAP, will aim to start the online CoP and organise the first Evidence Lounge event. By the end of 2017, the progress on the practical guide on how to use evidence in the humanitarian sector, will hopefully allow for publication in 2018.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides', what would it be

    To advance the transformation as envisioned in the Agenda for Humanity, the humanitarian sector needs to know what works and what doesn’t, and why. Therefore, it’s crucial that decision makers are equipped with high quality, unbiased information; in other words robust evidence.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Accountability to affected people ☑ Innovation