In his report on the World Humanitarian Summit “One Humanity: Shared Responsibility”, the former UN Secretary-General proposed an Agenda for Humanity that would help to meet people’s immediate humanitarian needs - while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability. This “new way of working”, adopted by eight UN humanitarian and development entities, aspires to work towards collective outcomes across the humanitarian and development community. Wherever possible, those efforts should reinforce and strengthen the capacities that already exist at national and local levels, whilst ultimately working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

On 5 October, the fifth online session of PHAP’s and ICVA’s learning stream on humanitarian coordination focused on the New Way of Working. In this session, we unpacked what the overall goals of this process mean in practice, what changes are needed in different parts of humanitarian and development work, how these changes impact NGOs, as well as how can NGOs can influence the process.

Follow-up responses and interview with Fabrizio Hochschild

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

As an introduction to this session’s topic, read the interview with Fabrizio Hochschild, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination in the Executive Office

Recommended resources

• O’Brien S., "Rising humanitarian needs call for a new way of working," Portland Communication, March 2017
• OCHA, “New Way of Working,” UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2017
• OCHA, “Commitment to Action: Transcending Humanitarian – Development Divides”, Agenda for Humanity, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2016
• OCHA, “West and Central Africa Regional Policy Dialogue. The New Way of Working: from delivering aid to ending need”, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), January 2017
• United Nations, “USG and ERC Stephen O’Brien Remarks at the High Level Workshop – The New Way of Working: Advancing Implementation”, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

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 New Way of Working, including its aspirations, the actors involved, and its potential implications across the humanitarian sector
• Awareness of the New Way of Working's impact on NGO operations and policy priorities
• Familiarity with engagement opportunities for NGO to contribute to and influence the New Way of Working
• Familiarity with further sources of information on the New Way of Working

Target audience and event access

The event is 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 is also open to the public.

Learning stream on humanitarian coordination

As part of the learning stream on humanitarian coordination, this event was the fifth 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.