Reframing displacement crises as development opportunities
Roger Zetter, Professor Emeritus, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/publications/reframing-displacement-crises-as-development-opportunities
The displacement of refugees and IDPs is pre-eminently a humanitarian and a human rights challenge. But large-scale displacement crises also present significant development opportunities and challenges, in addition to the humanitarian needs and the 'humanitarian imperative'. Using a political economy analysis the policy note demonstrates the developmental impacts of displacement, highlights evidence-based arguments in favour of developmental approaches to assisting displaced populations and their hosts, and indicates the scope these approaches offer for sustainable responses that benefits not only displaced people but also host societies. It provides a systematic analytical and methodological framework for: mitigating the negative impacts, by improving strategies to tackle the economic costs and impacts of displacement; and maximising developmental returns from displacement.
This policy note was the conference paper at the Copenhagen Roundtable on Solutions, held 2-3 April 2014. Read more about the Roundtable: http://www.endingdisplacement.org/
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UNHCR Ideas: Open innovation inspiring collaboration and new ideas within the UN
Louise Bloom, Research Officer, Humanitarian Innovation Project, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
http://www.oxhip.org/2014/03/new-hip-review-on-an-online-collaborative-innovation-platform-piloted-at-unhcr/
Since 2012 UNHCR and the Humanitarian Innovation Project (HIP) have been actively collaborating in several areas of thinking around innovation for the humanitarian world, and in this context HIP were invited to carry out an independent evaluation of the UNHCR Ideas pilot. 'UNHCR Ideas' is a tool for creating new ideas amongst an online community. Powered by SpigitEngage, the online platform is specifically designed to enable collaborative problem solving and idea generation. The platforms' online community contribute ideas, solutions and discussion to a common problem statement posted on the site. The UNHCR Innovation team launched a pilot 'challenge' on the platform in August 2013 - intended to empower the participants to innovate for the organisation. The pilot involved 318 participants from over 50 counties - including employees from UNHCRs offices, partner organisations, and refugees. The platform aims to start building a culture of innovation within and around the organisation, and to help find new solutions for longstanding challenges in their global work with refugee communities. This pilot was used by UNHCR Innovation to learn whether, and how, the platform can be used more widely within the organisation, and beyond. This report summarises the set-up, output and inside workings of the pilot 'launch challenge'. This report specifically looks at the relationship between UNHCR and Spigit, and provides an overview of how UNHCR Ideas supports the wider process of innovation for the organisation. Future opportunities and recommendations for use of the platform, and collaborative innovation, within UNHCR and more widely for the humanitarian sector are discussed.
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