Humanitarian crises, emergency

preparedness & response: engaging

the private sector
Andrea Danti Humanitarian Affairs Officer
Humanitarian Financing Section - Sudan
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Business engagement in traditional and new emergencies

Private sector engagement in emergency preparedness and response will grow as

humanitarian challenges such as conflict and disasters are joined by new risks (urbanization,
climate change, pandemics and technological interruptions).
In the first days after major disasters, local and national businesses play a crucial role in the
response. Global firms are also rising to meet humanitarian challenges, whether by providing
funds and materials, by restoring critical services or by developing new technologies and
approaches.
Partnerships focused on emergency preparedness and response between aid agencies and
businesses are becoming increasingly common. IKEA Foundation and UN refugee agency
UNHCR have worked together to introduce new, durable shelters for displaced people.
Opportunities and barriers to further engagement, from case studies:
 Emergency response in Haiti & Indonesia initiated
partnerships with PS and new modes of engagement
Background
Role of PS response in humanitarian action in
the aftermath of Haiti earthquake in 2010
Significant engagement of PS (international
and local) both as donors and in partnership
Haiti
Selected case studies
Mission '4636'
Use of SMS communication to locate population
Crowd-sourcing platforms and innovative
collaboration
Peace Dividend Marketplace-Haiti project
Creation of an on-line platform that facilitated
local procurement
Background
Middle-income economy with dynamic SMEs
PS has a long-standing record providing
goods and services to humanitarian actors in
emergencies
Indonesia
Selected case studies
Disaster Resource Partnership (DRP)
Cross-sector partnership between humanitarian
organizations, government and the PS
ACA micro-insurance
Micro-insurance coverage to low income households;
Part of government's Financial Inclusion strategy
 Jordan and Kenya: role of local Small and Medium
Enterprises in Humanitarian Assistance
Background
Role of PS in the on-going Syrian refugee
crisis
Characterized by cultural specifics and
refugee-run businesses, esp. inside the
camps
Jordan
Selected case studies
WFP food vouchers and e-vouchers
Food assistance in form of vouchers that can be
redeemed in local shops
Partnership with Mastercard
Developing e-learning platforms for students
Engaging with the ICT industry to develop e-learning
platforms for students in camps
Background
Presence of vibrant and innovative PS
Many severe and repeated humanitarian crisis
Track record of public-private partnerships for
humanitarian actions
Kenya
Selected case studies
K4K
Raising contributions by individual donors with the use
of mobile technology and social media
Kenya Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP)
Managing cash transfers in times of droughts
Ensuring recipients have bank accounts open before
emergency
 PS focal point deployment in Philippines gave valuable
first hand experience on engaging with PS in emergencies
OCHAs PS focal point deployment in Philippines
Objectives
Reach out to Filipino PS networks to broker
information flow and opportunities
Liaise with clusters to identify their needs
Philippines
Act as a focal point for global and national PS
queries and offers of support
Map potential PS partnership opportunities for
preparedness and response in future crises
Results
Connecting IASC clusters with the local business network
leading PS response (i.e. PDRF)
Disseminating humanitarian info products to business
audiences globally and nationally
Establishing relations with key Filipino networks
Briefing multi-national business networks; responding to
over 150 calls & emails; collaborating with Global Compact

Challenges Recommendations made to

Trust & OCHA Country Office Create additional enablers and platforms for PS-
communications gap Philippines humanitarian planning and engagement in Manila
Specific recommendations related to facilitating
Capacity additional OCHA Headquarters systematic engagement with the PS in
workload
preparedness and response
PS private sector; PDRF Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation; IM Information Management
 3 dimensions of engagement with the PS in detail

Mapping of PS engagement models (2/3) Preparedness

1 2 3 4 5 Response
Charitable Type Commercial Recovery
2. Characteristics of engagement
Emerging

CSR Integration Core business 3. Phases

5
One-off Duration Long term
4
Single company Scale Sector-wide
3
Traditional

Private sector as donors Private sector as suppliers Direct private sector

2
to humanitarian and service providers to engagement with
organizations aid agencies vulnerable populations
1

Donors Suppliers/ service providers Direct PS engagement

1. Forms of humanitarian-PS engagement
 Mapping indicates a variety of models were described;
with suppliers/ service providers being predominant
Mapping of PS engagement models (3/3) Key highlights
Case studies are from all 3
phases: before-during-after
Emerging
Characteristics of engagement

5 10 11 humanitarian emergency
7
28 9 21 25 26 70% of analysed case
4 23
28
24
30 studies fall in only 3 sectors
27
22 8 13
3 20
2
4 6 31 Partnerships do not
29 32 12
necessarily take years to
19 5
14 15 16 17 develop; the crisis can be a
Traditional

2
1 3
driver (e.g. Haiti)
1 18

Donors Suppliers/ service providers Direct PS engagement

Forms of humanitarian-PS engagement
Legend:
Telecom/ICT Banking Micro-
1 Case study ID Preparedness Response Recovery related related insurance
Note Case studies, presented by their ID are mapped. They are in greater detail listed in the appendix of this presentation
Case studies outlined three main benefits of engagement
with the PS
PS represents an additional source for fundraising and
1. Increase in funding contributions (in cash or in kind);
base Considering private donors mobilization in emergencies (e.g. Haiti, 2010),
the potential is significant, though can be unstable

PS has a potential to transmit knowledge, innovation and

2. Access to technical efficiency gains that can be under-developed in the humanitarian
expertise and services sector. Ex. Improve comms on the ground, strengthen needs
assessments and IM, provide legal or logistical expertise

Humanitarian and PS collaboration can support economic

3. Can support local recovery and increase resilience through preparedness
economy This can be done indirectly, e.g. through market-based interventions,
local procurement, engagement with SMEs etc.
Case studies identified several PS incentives for
collaboration in emergencies
From CSR motives to core business motives

Support local markets

Philanthropic Customer loyalty and
and access new
aspirations to help brand reputation
markets & customers

Employee engagement Access to learning and

& staff morale knowledge

Opportunities to pilot
new technologies and
services
Nevertheless, there are significant barriers to effective
partnerships
Barriers
Conceptual and cultural Institutional Operational

Organizational complexity within intl

Mutual mistrust between PS and aid
agencies
Limited awareness of opportunities
and potential forms of collaboration
Differences in language and
terminology
aid community Focus on traditional forms of
engagement where PS is at best a
No clear strategy and commitment
donor
from side of intl aid community
Lack of evidence on the impact of
Intl organizations not being aware of
partnerships
their own skill gaps and comparative
advantages High transaction costs (time,
resources) required to build a
Not having a single point of contact for
partnership
PS
Personalized nature of engagement

Key challenges

Misaligned cultures and Insufficient strategic & Insufficient operational

capabilities institutional foundations foundations
 Recommendations can be clustered in six action areas
that address main barriers, as well as the benefits

Misaligned cultures and Insufficient strategic & Insufficient operational

capabilities institutional foundations capabilities
Vision &
strategy

1. Make a business case for partnerships

2. Improve operational efficiency of aid delivery

Aid delivery
processes

3. Innovate in key areas

4. Design demand-driven partnerships

5. Create institutional enablers

Enablers

6. Set-up engagement platforms & capacity building

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