Research News

On 17 November, 2009, DFID announced a £3 million investment over the next five years in research to improve humanitarian practice. The permanent secretary Nemat Minouche Shafik made the announcement at a conference organised by the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP).

The money will be used to find new ways of delivering aid to the most vulnerable people affected by conflict and natural disasters. Every year, nearly 300 million people are affected by conflict and natural disasters. In 2008, $18bn was spent on humanitarian assistance.

During the conference Minouche said: "The humanitarian system is in good shape to absorb innovation, and can make the difference between life and death for thousands of people. We want to see a humanitarian practice inspired by the greatest imaginations and grounded in the very best evidence."

Despite growing demand for, and investment in, humanitarian assistance, many of the technologies and approaches that are used today have not changed in more than 20 years.

Practitioners experiment with new ways of delivering assistance every day, but innovations are rarely tested rigorously or shared from one country to another.

Reasons to act now to develop more innovative approaches to the delivery of emergency aid:

1. We need to be ready for the new and growing challenges of our time. Climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events. We also know that people living in areas of conflict are among the most vulnerable in the world.
2. In the current economic environment, there is an even greater need to deliver the best aid in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. We want to reduce dependence on imported technologies and expertise and strengthen the capacity of communities in affected countries to respond to crises.
3. As a result of reforms, the international humanitarian system is now better able to absorb innovation.

Food for thought

The remarkable work of Valid International, part-funded by DFID, is just one example. It has sparked a revolution in the way we can now treat severely malnourished children. Using a special new food that can be produced locally, parents can look after their children at home rather than in special clinics, thereby reducing the chances of catching infections.

Between 20-30% of children suffering severe malnutrition usually died using old methods. The new approach reduces this to about 5%. As a result, fewer children are dying and more children can benefit from treatment - all at lower cost.

DFID wants to see more work like this. The department will invest up to £3 million over five years to support NGOs, scientists and social entrepreneurs to come up new approaches to the challenges of delivering high impact, low cost assistance in difficult environments.

This investment is part of DFID's wider commitment to ensure that the global development effort is underpinned by strong evidence. Over the next five years, DFID will spend up to £1 billion to find solutions to the wide-ranging challenges we face.