Citation

Clarke PK, Campbell L. Disasters 2018; 42(4): 655-673.

Affiliation

Senior Research Officer, ALNAP, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12282

PMID

29578631

Abstract

The atomised nature of the humanitarian system has led to frequent and repeated attempts to coordinate humanitarian activity. Since 2005, some of the best resourced, and arguably most successful, coordination mechanisms have been the humanitarian Clusters, groups of UN (United Nations) and non-UN actors that engage in sectoral coordination of humanitarian response (such as the provision of healthcare and water) at the global and country level. Nevertheless, it is not clear exactly what 'coordination' means in the context of a Cluster. Formal guidance suggests that they should be aiming to create a single, joint strategy to guide the activities of members. Actual experience of the Clusters, however, indicates that looser forms of coordination are more effective. This finding resonates with organisational theory, and with the experience of emergency management professionals beyond the international humanitarian sector. To capitalise fully on the success of the Clusters, policymakers may need to rethink their attitudes to, and expectations of, coordination.

© 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Language: en

Keywords

Clusters; complexity; coordination; emergency management; monitoring; response; strategy