Partnering with the Private Sector for Humanitarian Response

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This editorial first appeared in Embassy News on February 24, 2015.

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When the earth starts shaking under your feet, or when rising flood waters breach window sills, it is not long before you need urgent assistance to deal with the sudden exposure to imminent danger. But who is best positioned to provide that emergency help?

Depending on where you are in the world, the answer to that question will vary. Obviously, the more resources and expertise the people trying to help you have at their disposal, the higher your chances of survival will be. But the extent to which the different groups of responders are able to coordinate their interventions will also determine the effectiveness of their efforts, and hence, directly affect your circumstances.

Often, when disaster strikes in a developing country where a company operates, that company effectively becomes a first responder. Its assets (real estate, workforce, delivery chains, technology) are marshalled to protect local employees, to salvage damaged facilities, and to ensure their products will continue to find markets. Local populations benefit from relief activities even though the company is motivated first by corporate interests. It is the reverse of collateral damage.

While the immense resources of the private sector can be a welcome contribution in emergencies, when these are mobilized separately from the rest of the humanitarian system, the risk is high for friction, duplication, and interference.

Corporate engagement in humanitarian relief has expanded in scope and size in recent years. Such an example was borne out of one of last year’s worst humanitarian situations. At the height of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, a network of more than 80 companies operating in the region came together to form the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group (EPSMG).

Members of EPSMG briefed their employees and communities about the disease, supported the local economy by keeping staff on payrolls, donated equipment and cash to assist front line efforts to combat the disease, conducted advocacy activities with local authorities to stress the value of risk management and advise on disaster recovery. Their aim of mounting a global response to the Ebola crisis by mobilizing local resources was noticed and lauded by the UN.

We are now well beyond the point of asking whether international humanitarian organizations should partner with the private sector. The pertinent question is ‘how do we do it?’ and answering it requires the articulation of clear objectives and the development of strict criteria.

Many companies provide in-kind support in addition to cash donations. Ignoring the significant contributions business is increasingly making in this area will lead to parallel systems with inevitable blind sides and missed opportunities. That is why a shift toward greater coordination is now urgently needed to capitalize on our complementary sets of skills and expertise. Collaboration will foster the exchange of ideas and best practices, build preparedness and capacity, as well as ensure a more streamlined roll-out of joint interventions.

Above all, the needs of vulnerable populations surviving a catastrophe must be the driver of any partnership between an NGO and corporate entity. Reaching affected communities quickly and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in a way that respects local social norms are core values of the humanitarian enterprise. Established humanitarian principles and standards should guide the actions of all parties.

In order to move in that direction and dramatically improve our ability to respond to disasters, existing barriers separating corporate and humanitarian imperatives will need to be dismantled. The first and most obvious of these is the distinct cultural difference that exists between the shareholder-driven corporate world and the service-driven not-for-profit world. The second impediment to collaboration is the current lack of established channels or platforms where the two can explore and develop closer ties.

In Canada, where several NGOs already have partnerships with members of different industries (financial services, telecommunications, engineering, etc.) leadership will be needed to begin this dialogue and turn what is an ad hoc practice into a robust system.

The first step on the road to a model of shared capacity could be the establishment of a standing mechanism to promote better collaboration during disasters. Such a constructive space for stakeholders to discuss complex problems facing their respective sectors would help to identify common objectives in humanitarian disaster response, and act as an incubator for innovative solutions.

Work has already begun on that front, but it will need to be amplified and more actors will have to be brought into the process. With a grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), and in partnership with the Conference Board of Canada, the Humanitarian Coalition is conducting research and a series of consultations with the Canadian private sector to identify the most promising avenues for effective collaboration both in preparation for and during responses to disasters. A report will be presented later this year and we hope it will form the basis for a more formalized relationship that showcases business and NGO strengths while at the same time putting the needs of the most vulnerable at the core of our joint efforts.