Estimating financial flows for research and innovation in the humanitarian system from 2017 to 2021

Abstract

BackgroundHumanitarian crises affect millions of people worldwide – in 2020 alone, approximately 243.8 million people required humanitarian aid.1 However, there are chronic issues of underfunding in this sector, rooted in the structure of aid itself (mostly reactive to disasters, rather than proactive)2, as well as the conflicting goals of the donors, agencies, and governments responsible for carrying out humanitarian assistance.2 In order to improve outcomes for the people affected by these disasters, it is important to invest in both research and innovation work aimed at understanding and improving outcomes for humanitarian crises.3 However, there is limited knowledge of the volume of research and innovation for humanitarian assistance funding currently provided at a global scale.4 Methods In this report, I quantify the “humanitarian research and innovation” commitments and disbursements reported to three financial databases between 2017 and 2021: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Creditor Reporting System, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Financial Tracking Service, and the International Aid Transparency Initiative’s database.5–7 I analyze this data using keyword searches to identify the humanitarian sectors, events, and populations targeted by research and innovation projects. I also examine the funding sources, channels, and recipient agencies and countries involved, and provide context on the largest players in this field. Findings Between 2017 and 2021, disbursements for humanitarian projects with research or innovation components totaled $630.2 million. The largest funding source was the UK government, with $268.4 million in funding across the 4 years. The largest channel, or disbursing organization, was the UN, in particular UNICEF, which handled $130.5 million in funding. Most funding (45.8%) went to global projects without a specific country destination. Projects focusing on children and teenagers accounted for 34.7% of total spending. 59.4% of all disbursements went to human conflict and non-conflict events. 48.0% of humanitarian research and innovation funding went to research-only projects, 33.0% to innovation projects, and 18.1% to combination projects. Overall, research and innovation funding made up 0.3% of the global envelope for humanitarian aid in 2020. Interpretation The years 2020 and 2021 saw the most people affected by humanitarian crises in recent years, as COVID-19 disrupted and worsened existing crises, and created new ones. However, research and innovation in the field of humanitarian assistance makes up a small proportion of the overall funding for humanitarian aid. Funding structures need to be improved in order for the world to respond more effectively to humanitarian disasters.