What is the current global humanitarian architecture? What is the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC)? And how can NGOs engage in the various IASC coordination mechanisms? On 31 May, PHAP and ICVA hosted the first online session of the new learning stream on humanitarian coordination.

Participants were provided with an overview of IASC humanitarian coordination mechanisms at the country and global levels, followed by an opportunity for questions and answers.

The event examined the current coordination structures, and the way for NGOs to engage in such structures, also exploring how the global-level structures coordinate with country-level mechanisms, and how they feed into each other.

Briefing paper

ICVA has prepared an explanatory briefing paper on the discussions during the event. You can access the document in English and in French. The briefing paper will be soon available in also Arabic.

For additional resources on this topic, you can go here.

Follow-up responses and interview with Kirk Prichard

Read the written responses to the follow-up questions by the guest experts

Read the interview with Kirk Prichard from Concern U.S. on the importance of understanding humanitarian coordination.

Recommended resources

• OCHA, “International Coordination Mechanisms,” UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Humanitarian Response, “Clusters: Who does what?,” HumanitarianResponse.info
• Emergency Directors Group (EDG), “IASC Emergency Directors Group 2016 Summary Report,” Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), March 2017
• ICVA, "NGOs & International Inter-Agency Humanitarian Coordination Architecture," NGO Coordination Resource Centre
• IASC's website

Geneva Humanitarian Connector

This event was made possible through the Geneva Humanitarian Connector, an initiative of PHAP supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

Learning objectives

• Knowledge of the different IASC coordination structures at country, regional and global levels
• Familiarity with key actors of the global humanitarian coordination system, and their main roles
• Understanding of the cluster approach, its purpose and main features
• Awareness of the main opportunities and challenges for NGOs to engage in coordination mechanism
• Familiarity with sources of information on the humanitarian coordination structures

Target audience and event access

The event was particularly targeted to those working in international and national NGOs engaged in humanitarian action, who are seeking for a stronger understanding of the various humanitarian coordination mechanisms. The event was also open to the public.

Learning stream on humanitarian coordination

As part of the learning stream on humanitarian coordination, this event was the first session of six live interactive online learning events that ICVA and PHAP have organized in the coming months with the purpose of providing NGOs and humanitarian workers with a stronger understanding of the humanitarian coordination mechanisms at global, regional, and country levels.