Beyond assumptions: How humanitarians make operational decisions

The ability to make good decisions – particularly under urgent and uncertain circumstances – is fundamental to effective humanitarian response. Yet decision-making to this extent has received little academic attention. Our new ALNAP Study ‘Beyond assumptions’ seeks to address this gap and it is the result of over two years’ work exploring the nature of humanitarian contexts, the different types of decisions that they require, and the most suitable approaches to making these decisions at the country/field level.

This research builds upon ALNAP’s previous work on humanitarian leadership and coordination, where the importance of good decision-making emerged as a key theme. Time and again humanitarian evaluations have also flagged it as an issue, with decision-making receiving regular criticism for being too slow, disconnected from strategy, opaque and unaccountable.

In this webinar, Leah Campbell and Paul Knox Clarke present the research process and key findings in the study. They are joined by Alexandra Levaditis (World Vision) and Jonathan Beloe (IRC) who also discuss and reflect on concrete steps decision makers and organisations can take to improve leadership and decision-making on the ground.