Beginning in May 2012, International Medical Corps and Concern Worldwide consulted with over 500 humanitarian professionals from across the globe and invited them to share their experiences with the international humanitarian architecture. Our goals focused on gaining valuable insights into their engagement and learning needs in this area.
We conducted the consultation phase through individual interviews, group consultations, and an online global survey. While the main focus of the BBR project is international and national Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), we ensured that a wide array of key stakeholders were involved. This included UNOCHA, various cluster leads, UN agencies and NGO consortia, as well as government representatives.
From May through October 2012, we conducted interviews with 88 individuals working in the humanitarian field. Between mid-August and mid-September 2012, 243 people participated in an online survey and 170 NGO staff attended consultation meetings.
BBR consultation meetings were held in the following locations:
- Washington, DC – May 23
- New York – May 30
- Geneva, Switzerland – June 6
- Nairobi, Kenya – June 12
- Dakar, Senegal – June 14
- London, UK – June 19
- Amman, Jordan – July 9
- Port au Prince, Haiti – August 6-7
- Islamabad, Pakistan – September 4
- Hyderabad, Pakistan – September 6
Overall, participants have provided valuable insight into the nature of NGO engagement and interaction with the international humanitarian system worldwide. Based on participant contributions, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative has begun developing content for BBR e-learning tools with pilot testing planned for spring 2013.