Elrha and partners to highlight need for better tracking of research and innovation investments

With humanitarian needs growing rapidly, it is more important than ever that spending on humanitarian research and innovation strategies are as impactful as possible. As UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) starts today, together with partners we will highlight the need to better track who is leading  humanitarian research and innovation and where it is taking place. 

On 11 May, we will be hosting a hybrid panel discussion to share and discuss findings from the Global Prioritisation Exercise (GPE) as part of HNPW. The GPE is mapping and analysing humanitarian research and innovation actors, as well as outputs and investments that have been undertaken in the last five years. The panel will explore the emerging data and will call for funders to prioritise efforts to shift funding allocations to partners closer to where humanitarian needs are most directly experienced.   

The panel discussion: Follow the money: a deep dive into investments for humanitarian research and innovation, will share emerging data from the GPE.

• Date: Wednesday 11 May 2022
• Time: 13:00-14:30 BST; 14:00-15:30 CEST (venue time); 12:00-13:30 UTC 
• Location: Hybrid – Salle 9, The International Conference Center Geneva or via Zoom link 

The discussion will be chaired by Mark Bowden, Chair of the GPE Reference Group and Senior Research Associate with the Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute. We will have panellists from academia and the humanitarian sector, including Jess Camburn, CEO, Elrha and Samer Jabbour, Professor of Public Health Practice at the American University of Beirut’s Faculty of Health Sciences. 

HNPW is one of the largest humanitarian events of its kind and will run from 3-20 May. In its eighth edition, this hybrid conference has more than 250 sessions scheduled and is hosting 50 virtual exhibition stands.