Online Event: Community Matters: Social Networks and Localization of Aid

In protracted crises in which formal governance structures are weak to nonexistent, people depend heavily on local systems—both social and economic—often more than they depend on external aid. Consequently, more research is needed to understand the ways in which humanitarian assistance may either strengthen local support systems, or potentially undermine them. This topic is at the crux of a central challenge faced by humanitarian actors: how can assistance best support people’s existing strategies for coping and recovery in crises? It is also critical to the question of the localization of humanitarian assistance, except that in this case the phenomenon being studied is not local humanitarian organizations but the actions of local community members and their social networks.

Please join us for a discussion on the importance of social networks in humanitarian response. The discussion will cover the key points of Mercy Corps and the Feinstein International Center's Currency of Connections research initiative which examined the role of social support networks in South Sudan and the findings' implications for the humanitarian community and beyond.

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.