Since September DCHI and WorldStartup have supported a Student Project Group as part of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Minor ‘Responsible Innovation’.
Starting with academic research on the obstacles of localising aid, the group identified key insights into the different stakeholders involved and how these dynamics exasperate the challenge of local impact. The proposed solution offers valuable insights into the way in which a fund could allign the resources of humanitarians and startups to realise greater impact.
The contradictory objectives and views on humanitarian aid creates a structural power struggle between western investors and local communities. It is the struggle between heavily context dependent investments, financial sustainability and ethical responsibility through a systematically flawed network.
This network consists of a complex web of actors. We conducted an actor analysis to gain knowledge about the issue, and subsequently conducted interviews with representatives from Save the Children, Response Innovation Lab and several startups related to the field.
Based on their position in the wider network and despite their Western roots and influence, non-profit mediators like DCHI are in the prime position to facilitate change on a larger scale.Based on the knowledge acquired it shows that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem.
Bernd Mayer, Joëlla Klingers, Alex Klinkenberg & Roel de Rijk
Download their research report for an in-depth explanation of their proposed solution, alongside a rich stakeholder analysis of innovating humantiarian aid. If you would like to know more about this project, get in touch with Lotte.
