Time to let go: A three-point proposal to change the humanitarian system

This report reflects a growing sense, both from our own research on the ‘changing humanitarian landscape’ and in conversations with colleagues, that the ‘traditional’ humanitarian sector is on the cusp of a decisive moment in its history.

Despite a decade of system-wide reforms, the sector still falls short in the world’s most enduring crises. Perceptions of humanitarian work suggest that the formal, Western ‘system’ is not doing a good job in the eyes of the people it aims to help.

The formal system faces a crisis of legitimacy, capacity and means, blocked by significant and enduring flaws that prevent it from being effective. This report argues for a new model of humanitarian action, one that requires letting go of the current paradigm