Humanitarian funding review: our future response to global humanitarian crises
This publication is an independent, external review of the Scottish Government’s humanitarian funding, assessing the Humanitarian Emergency Fund and wider mechanisms. It examines challenges, global trends, and ways to strengthen impact, localisation, feminist approaches, and future funding models.
Footnotes
1 in the case of the United Kingdom a further reduction from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income.
2 Tackling the root causes and power structures which cause inequalities.
4 Executive Summary - Humanitarian emergency fund: independent review - gov.scot
5 It is important to acknowledge that the Scottish Government operates as a non-state actor on the international development stage. Constitutionally international development is a UK Government lead.
6 The Fall of US Humanitarian Power
7 International Rescue Committee, A New Era for Aid 2025. May 2025.
8 ICVA, The Impacts of the US Funding Suspension. 2025.
9 The New Humanitarian, The Deeper Damage Wrought by Us Aid Cuts. 2025.
10 Interviews with humanitarian organizations, major humanitarian donors, and researchers.
11Dang, Hai-Anh H., Knack, Stephen, and Rogers, F. Halsey. International Aid and Financial Crises in Donor Countries. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5162
12 Peter Hoffman, Humanitarianism in treatment: analyzing the world humanitarian summit. 2016
13 Hugo Slim, Humanitarianism 2.0 – New Ethics for the Climate Emergency. 2024; Interview, researcher on humanitarian systems change.
14 See the two enabling priorities of the Grand Bargain 2.0, on quality funding and localisation, (GB2.0 structure - Dec 2021); and Operational Best Practices, Good Humanitarian Donorship (Best Practices).
15 independent, neutral organizations that attempt to work outside the influence of a state.
16 Slim, 2024: ODI 2019, Understanding non-traditional sources of aid financing..
17 Ireland provides over €310 million to respond to humanitarian crises in 2024
18 Noting that the International Development Principles are not universally applied to humanitarian action – although HEF partners are closely aligned (see Section 5.2 for more details).
19 Our history | Start Network
20 To provide immediate and effective assistance to reduce the threat to life and wellbeing for a large number of a population faced with a humanitarian emergency.
21 E.g. A World in Crisis: Event Marks 5 Years of Scotland’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund | Oxfam Scotland, Scottish Government Funding to Islamic Relief Helps Over 6,000 People in Sudan – Islamic Relief UK, Humanitarian aid provided by Scottish Government for hidden crises in Sudan - TFN, Hope amidst crisis in Burkina Faso - Tearfund.
22 This term was also interpreted differently by different stakeholders. Some believed it reflected HEF panel member organisations; others interpreted it as Scottish academics or Scottish citizens who respond to emergencies.
23 Disasters Emergency Committee, Tearfund, Save the Children, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Christian Aid.
24 The Development Engagement Lab monitors public engagement with global poverty and development through a battery of 10 items.
25 Soomin Oh, Deputy Director, Development Engagement Lab. Scottish International Development Alliance Spring Conference 2024
26 The Grand Bargain (2016, revised in 2021 and 2023) is an agreement between humanitarian donors and aid organisations to get more means into the hands of people in need.
27 Why is the target of 25% of humanitarian funding to local and national actors so important? | IASC
28 The review team notes at this time that the Scottish Government Global South Panel is going through a refresh and is not currently operational – it is likely to present opportunities for the HEF in terms of increasing the voice of the global south in terms of an advisory role.
29 E.g. Peace Direct – Transforming Partnerships for Local Leadership, INGOs relocating to the South (K4DD), Nine Roles for Intermediaries
30 For a wider review of the economics behind shifting to an intermediary model – see Passing the Buck: The Economics of Localizing International Assistance — The Share Trust
31 Loss and Damage Collaboration – Scottish Loss and Damage Humanitarian Projects: Early Learning
32 Scottish Government – Taking a Feminist Approach to International Relations
33 Question posed – On the FAIR principles, please describe how aligned this is to your own organisation's approach and share any reflections on the practicalities of mainstreaming this?
34 Including e.g. adopting participatory approaches, partner country led and carrying out gender marking.
35 SCGA Highlighted Projects: Feminist Foreign Policy , ODI – Humanitarian Action in the Era of Feminist Foreign Policy: Narratives, Ambition, and Opposition in Canada and Germany, Findings from previous Scottish Government work Feminist approach to foreign policy - interview findings: final report - gov.scot), Inclusion and exclusion in humanitarian action: the state of play | ODI: Think change.
36 See this learning paper for a wider discussion - What is the role of Northern organisations in global justice advocacy? — Gender and Development Network
37 ODI working paper 'Where next for feminist foreign policy on funding feminist movements?
38 Urgent Action Fund – For Feminist Activism is a useful comparator. See Feminist Humanitarian Network for wider ideas.
39 The review team recognises that Scottish Government humanitarian funding is not ‘immediate response’ e.g. post-earthquake. Therefore the ‘speed’ which funding is disbursed is relative to the specific emergency and context but for the HEF is not likely to be immediate.
40 See Section 5.2
41 Exceptions - historically, in March 2019, the Scottish Government made a contribution of £100,000 in response to DEC’s Cyclone Idai appeal. Subsequently, it allocated an additional £225,000 from Climate Justice Fund to Strathclyde University to support responses to this emergency. It also took the decision to allocate the entire £325,000 against 2019-20 budget, effectively reduced the HEF budget for 2019-20 from £1 million to £675,000. Several HEF Panel members questioned why the Scottish Government had not consulted them for the allocation of funding to the Strathclyde University and raised the issue of accountability and policy coherence in the Scottish Government’s response to humanitarian crises.
42 In October 2023, the Scottish Government decided to provide £500,000 towards the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) flash appeal in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In November 2023, it added a further £250,000 towards this appeal.
43 All figures are estimates and conservative. Scottish Government civil service costs are not included.
44 This is likely an underestimate of salaries and effort and is for illustration purposes only, the review team did not seek data on panel member salaries. The review team also notes that a range of preparatory actions take place ahead of activation meetings and these are not accurately covered in this table. Wider actions not accounted for include time spent delivering donor compliance training with country teams, time spent supporting teams to deliver the HEF reports, time spent supporting Scottish Government to adapt processes for other types of activations e.g. Loss and Damage funding.
45 Noting that this figure does not include the costs of organisations meeting with JOA, developing proposals and reporting.
46 For more details on their governance and strategy, see Jersey Overseas Aid – Humanitarian Strategy (May 2025) [PDF].
47 JOA Annual Report, 2024.
48 To note that one of the original intentions of the HEF was to support panel members in ‘building public awareness in Scotland of humanitarian crises and raise additional funding’. It has been difficult to evidence the leverage that the HEF has brought in raising additional funding – that’s not to say it hasn’t happened.
49 Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, principles 5 and 12.
50 Charter4Change – Initiative for Locally Led Humanitarian Response
51 Climate Charter – Official Website
52 Sphere is a global network bringing together and empowering practitioners to improve and sustain the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance. Sphere hosts the Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP), the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS) and is joint copyright holder of the Core Humanitarian Standard.
53 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement founded the original charter.
54 ALNAP, 2006
55 ALNAP, 2023
56 Patton, M. Q. (2020). Evaluation Criteria for Evaluating Transformation: Implications for the Coronavirus Pandemic and the Global Climate Emergency. American Journal of Evaluation, 42(1), 53-89.
57 Darcy, J. and Dillon, N. (2020). Missing the point? Reflections on current practice in evaluating humanitarian action. London: ALNAP/ODI
58 ALNAP, 2006
59 Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.
60 UNOCHA, Global Humanitarian Overview 2025, 2025.
61 ALNAP, 2023
62 The review team has looked into a small number of cases where effectiveness was deemed below standard. These are not presented here due to the need to maintain confidentiality.
63 UN managed pooled funds were not considered as strong options for future Scottish Government funding as access is predominantly constrained to UN bodies – which does not align well with principles around localisation.
64 Noting that there is inherent value to Ministers that the Scottish Government is responding to all appeals and has cross party support.
65 Statistics on International Development: provisional IK ODA spend 2024
66 Estimates only and data presented for proportionate comparison purposes. Reporting windows may not match exactly.
67 Across OECD DAC members, the typical percentage of ODA allocated to humanitarian assistance is between approximately 11 and 14% of total aid (OECD DAC 2024). This is largely skewed by the choices of a few large donors: the average allocation is 15%, with many dedicating a much higher percentage. Smaller donors tend to commit higher percentages of their assistance to humanitarian aid e.g. Ireland and Norway 37% (Ireland OECD Cooperation Profile, Norway OECD Cooperation Profile), Germany 19% (Germany OECD Cooperation Profile).
68 I.e. The fund manager is given delegated authority to disburse an agreed annual sum of humanitarian funding on behalf of the Scottish Government. Scottish Government civil servants and Ministers would not get involved in activation decisions or approvals within the year. They would receive regular updates. The advisory body would also not be involved in decision making.
69 E.g. a catalyst window to support humanitarian actors in adopting feminist approaches; support for due diligence passporting; a window dedicated to small NGOs working in hidden crises which are underfunded etc.
70 E.g. INFORM Severity Index | ACAPS, COD | Crisis Datasets | HDX
71 The fund manager could explore due diligence passporting with other funds e.g. if the prospective member is already a member of the START network they could fast track access to HEF 2.0.
72 Directly – defined as an organisation which is legally registered in the country of interest.
73 If Scottish Government sign up to the Grand Bargain (window open July to Jan) there is an expectation of reaching at least 25% funding to local actors. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Grand Bargain | IASC
75 Donor Guidance on Promoting Inclusive and Locally Led Action Through Humanitarian Pooled Funds (PDF) – Developed by the UK, Switzerland, and Denmark, in collaboration with Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Jersey, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden
76 Flagship Initiative and its pilot countries (Colombia, Niger, the Philippines, and South Sudan), see UN OCHA – Flagship Initiative Overview.
78 Corra – International Development Learning Insight Briefing (PDF)
79 Building equitable partnerships | Social Development Direct
80 See also Interrogating the evidence base on humanitarian localisation: a literature study | ODI: Think change and Passing the Buck: The Economics of Localizing International Assistance — The Share Trust
81 The following interviews were requested but not secured: Islamic Relief Kenya, Government of Canada, Somalia NGO forum, Halo Trust, Mercy Corps, RINGO, West African Civil Society Institute, Sarah Boyek MSP.
82 Unlikely to measure change at impact level – Scottish Government contributes to this only.
83 https://www.unocha.org/country-based-pooled-funds , Home | CERF, Humanitarian Pooled Funds 2025 | Financial Tracking Service
84 IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund | IFRC
85 Further reading - Understanding Humanitarian Funds - Going beyond country based pooled funds. 2017
86 Start Network – Governance and Assurance Framework
87 OCHA Financial tracking services, 2024. Note these numbers do not necessarily represent total humanitarian spend, but represent money committed to and received by OCHA-tracked mechanisms.
88 In additional to Scotland, as of 2024 these were: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, and Sweden (Feminist Foreign Policy Network, 2023).
89 IPI, Small States and the Multilateral System: Transforming Global Governance for a Better Future. 2024.
90 Global Affairs Canada, 2023.
91 Brief: the Change Fund. Network for Empowered Aid Response.
92 Hilton Foundation: our approach to grantmaking. 2024.
93 ODI Humanitarian Policy Group: Interrogating the evidence base on humanitarian localization: A literatures study. 2021.
94IASC: Guidance on the Provision of Overheads to Local and National Partners.
95 ODI Humanitarian Policy Group. 2021.
96 ALNAP: Community-Led Innovation – Three years of learning. 2023
97 Humanitarian data drought: The deeper damage wrought by US aid cuts. TNH, 2025.
98 To note that the review team has a planned focus group discussion on feminist approaches in late April.
99 Canada Foreign Policy approach.
100 The Grand Bargain in 2022: an independent review | ODI: Think change
101 Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations, 2025.
102 Humanitarian aid donors’ declaration on climate and environment - European Commission
103 START Network, 2024.
104 An expected refresh of the HEF panel was noted by many interviewees and was informally discussed as likely to happen once this review was completed. Currently – the HEF Panel is comprised of leading aid organisations in Scotland with expertise in humanitarian assistance in developing countries. HEF Panel organisations must be:
Signatories to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and Members of the Core Humanitarian Standard CHS Alliance (HEF Operations manual).
105 A soft early step on this could include pre-vetting southern based organisations which already work with Scottish Government in other international development funds – which already meet the HEF entry criteria and can operate in more than one country. A potential ‘widening’ of HEF panel membership should prioritise global south actors. There is a risk that ‘opening up’ membership could result in more UK based actors entering the HEF and this will require careful management. As Scottish Government re-establish the Global South Advisory Panel – efficiencies could be sought to link this and the HEF panel members seats for global south actors.
106 Sida – Humanitarian Assistance
107 Provides more diverse funding to humanitarian organisations for recurring disasters that can be modelled and predicted – a risk pooling mechanisms which pre-positions funding for crises that happen with regular and predictable patterns of recurrence, like floods, droughts, and heatwaves Start Ready | Start Network. See also Pre-positioned funding as an approach to advance localisation and locally-led humanitarian action - Trócaire
108 One HEF panel survey respondent suggested funding for pilot projects to explore innovations or using funding to support global south capacity and systems strengthening work – to ultimately support them in future direct fundraising.
109 Wider Scottish Government work on feminist approaches (outside of humanitarian work) could be leveraged to explore humanitarian linked actions and pilot work.
110 The Kuja platform offers four practical solutions that ensure direct access to funding for local organisations, awareness and capability.
111 To note some HEF panel members were involved in the creation and piloting of this work.
112 ODI working paper 'Where next for feminist foreign policy on funding feminist movements?
113 Urgent Action Fund – For Feminist Activism is a useful comparator. See Feminist Humanitarian Network for wider ideas.
Contact
Email: ceu@gov.scot