Observation: Most of the participants are whiteInference: it is difficult to get visas to the USA, and much of the humanitarian thinking is occurring in the north and westObservation: Most of the panel discussions are about the aid systemInfe…

This is my first experience with a large-scale academic conference. Two and a half days – over 400 people, 4 panel sessions per day, up to 9 panels per session to choose from, up to 5 papers per panel. The Second World Conference on Humanitarian S…

400 people gathered in an auditorium to hear the opening speeches. Many familiar faces. Waves and smiles. Searching for the forgotten name. How long has it been? You haven’t changed. Many new faces. Open, expectant, like-minded, allies.Humanitaria…

Three yeas ago I was shocked by Clay Shirky’s “Here comes everybody: the power of organizing without organizations”.Humanitarian aid workers should read the book because it explains how communications and social media technologies are disrupting,…

As we prepared a joint paper for the upcoming conference, ECB’s Matt Bannerman, and CDAC’s Rachel Hougton and I spent some time talking. We had each participated in inter-organisational collaborations that had drifted from informal relational enti…