Operationalizing Humanitarian Complementarity and the Evolving Roles of INGOs

About the Strategic Reflection

Following the publication of Oxfam's Learning from a Partnership-Centered Response in Ukraine, Oxfam undertook a strategic reflection process to explore a broader question: what does the Ukraine response reveal about the future role of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) within a changing humanitarian system?

The process builds on the findings of the earlier learning review and combines additional partner reflections, interviews with humanitarian stakeholders and facilitated strategic discussions across Oxfam. Rather than evaluating program performance, it examines how Oxfam's role, presence and contribution evolved over the course of the response, and what this experience can offer to wider discussions on humanitarian reform, localization, complementarity and the evolving role of international actors.

This paper captures the key insights from the strategic reflection process and considers their implications for both Oxfam and other international actors at a time when the humanitarian system is grappling with how to respond to growing humanitarian needs with fewer resources, while better supporting the rights, leadership and capacities of affected communities.

Key Reflections

Drawing on Oxfam's experience in Ukraine, the learning note explores five interrelated reflections:

• Complementarity should be treated as a strategic design principle. Humanitarian actors need to make deliberate choices about the roles they play within a response ecosystem, based on where they add value alongside local and national actors.
   
• Local humanitarian leadership requires intentional organisational change. Partnership-centered approaches depend not only on funding local actors, but also on adapting organizational structures, staff roles, funding approaches and decision-making processes.
   
• Humanitarian roles should evolve over time. International organizations should regularly reassess their added value, organizational footprint and presence as contexts, partnerships and response ecosystems change.
   
• Institutional strengthening is part of humanitarian response. Investing in the long-term resilience, leadership and sustainability of local organizations strengthens humanitarian outcomes both during and beyond individual responses.
   
• The humanitarian system must value enabling roles. Partnership accompaniment, brokering, influencing, institutional strengthening and responsible transition are not secondary activities, they are core functions that enable more complementary, locally led and effective humanitarian action.

Why it Matters

The humanitarian sector is facing profound change. Shrinking resources, humanitarian reform processes, and growing commitments to localization are prompting renewed questions about the future role of INGOs.

This learning note does not propose a model to replicate. Instead, it uses Oxfam's experience in Ukraine to reflect on how international organisations can become more intentional about their role, presence and contribution within different humanitarian contexts. It suggests that future relevance will depend on clearly articulating where international actors add value, recognizing when others are better placed to lead, and investing in the partnerships, institutional strengthening and complementary functions that enable more effective and locally led humanitarian action.