CHAtroom

CHAtroom

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CHAtroom episodes

  • CHAtroom#27: Contested Aid with Goda Milašiūtė
    Intermediary financing mechanisms and their potential to enable local leadership

    As a result of drastic cuts to humanitarian action worldwide and the ‘Humanitarian Reset’ – the latest United Nations’ reform agenda – so-called ‘pooled funds’ are playing an increasingly important role. As part of the CHA Work Plan 2025–2027, CHA research fellow Goda Milašiūtė is exploring the potential of various intermediary financing mechanisms to enable and anchor local leadership roles.

    In this episode of CHAtroom, communications lead Anne Tritschler asks her: What different financing mechanisms are there in humanitarian action? Why is such a high priority given to Country-Based Pooled Funds as part of the ‘Reset’? What is meant by ‘quality funding’?

    Post-it

    “To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.”
    -- Arundhati Roy, "The Cost of Living"

    Links:

    CHA Workplan (https://www.chaberlin.org/en/topics/contested-aid/))
    Locally led action at CHA (https://www.chaberlin.org/en/topics/localisation/))

    …and some resources which have significantly informed Goda's work:

    Hughes, Ed, Elise Baudot, Eileen Morrow, and Manon Glaser. 2025. Risk Sharing in Pooled Funds: Insights for Donors, Fund Managers and NGOs on Advancing Risk Sharing and Localisation. ICVA. https://www.icvanetwork.org/resource/risk-sharing-in-pooled-funds/

    Noe, Nicholas, and Julia Samokhvalova. 2025. The Ukraine Local Pooled Fund - Public Report. Triangle. https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-local-pooled-fund-public-report-september-2025

    Poole, Lydia, and Sophia Swithern. 2025. Financing for Locally-Led Action: A Framework for Understanding Options and Accelerating Impact. DanChurchAid (DCA). https://reliefweb.int/report/world/financing-locally-led-action-framework-understanding-options-and-accelerating-impact

    Posada, Alejandro, Alice Obrecht, Courtenay Cabot Venton, Sarah Selby, and Edith Macharia. 2025. Intermediary Models to Advance Locally Led Humanitarian Action. ALNAP/ODI. https://alnap.org/help-library/resources/intermediary-models-to-advance-locally-led-humanitarian-action/

    Schmitt, Chloe. 2023. Pooled Funding Models: Governance Systems. A Comparative Study. ICVA. https://www.icvanetwork.org/uploads/2023/12/ICVA-Pooled-Funding-Models-Governance-Systems.pdf

    Thomas, Manisha. 2022. Pooled Funds: The New Humanitarian Silver Bullet? NRC. https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/pooled-funds-the-new-humanitarian-silver-bullet

    Viswanathan, Vijayalakshmi, Loreine dela Cruz, Michael Vincent Mercado, et al. 2026. Building More Locally-Led Aid Ecosystems: 2025 Insights from Global South Civil Society. Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR). https://near.ngo/resources/building-more-locally-led-aid-ecosystems/

    21 min
  • CHAtroom#26: Contested Aid mit Sonja Hövelmann
    Wie das CHA Arbeitsprogramm die aktuellen Herausforderungen der Humanitären Hilfe aufgreift

    Vor welchen Herausforderungen steht die humanitäre Hilfe in diesem Jahr?

    In welcher Weise werden die humanitäre Hilfe oder humanitäre Akteure in Frage gestellt?
    Und wie will das CHA als humanitärer Think Tank diese Umbrüche und Herausforderungen begleiten?
    Diese Fragen beantwortet CHA Research Lead Sonja Hövelmann im Gespräch mit Kommunikationsreferentin Anne Tritschler in dieser Episode des CHAtroom.

    CHA Workplan 2025-2027: https://www.chaberlin.org/topics/umstrittene-hilfe/

    Post-it: Ist es machterhaltende oder machtkritische humanitäre Hilfe?

    „Egal, ob man zu humanitärer Hilfe forscht, für eine Geberinstitution oder eine Hilfsorganisation arbeitet, als Journalist über humanitäre Hilfe schreibt oder als Spender*in für humanitäre Hilfsmaßnahmen spendet, immer kann man sich fragen, ob es machterhaltende oder machtkritische humanitäre Hilfe ist.“ Sonja Hövelmann

    17 min
  • CHAtroom #25: Contested Aid with Jan Egeland
    Are we really entering a new era of contested aid?

    Are we really entering a new era of contested aid – or are we just seeing a little more of the same?

    Are organisational interests of UN and INGOs in the way for real transformation?
    And what role should Germany play?
    In CHAtroom episode #25 CHA director Ralf Südhoff welcomes Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council and former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator as well as Eminent Person of the Grand Bargain.

    CHA25 Conference Review: https://www.chaberlin.org/en/news/cha25-conference-review/

    27 min
  • CHAtroom #24: Contested Aid with Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu
    Opportunities and possible limitations of a truly locally led system

    Dr Sema Karaosmanoğlu, director of Support to life and former chair of the NEAR network, is the first guest in our new series of episodes on “Contested Aid”.

    CHA director Ralf Südhoff talks with her about the Humanitarian Reset process and why there is a lot of critique from the Global South; how local and international efforts could be balanced, the opportunities, but also possible limitations of a truly locally led system and why country-based pooled funds shouldn’t be the only way channelling more resources to local organisations.

    CHA25 Conference Review: https://www.chaberlin.org/en/news/cha25-conference-review/

    33 min
  • CHAtroom #23: Why do we talk about a crisis?
    with Ramesh Rajasingham

    Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA in Geneva and a key player in the 'humanitarian reset', was a keynote speaker at the CHA Conference 2025. In the follow up Ralf Südhoff interviewed him in the CHAtroom studio and spoke with him about a global crisis which goes well beyond the humanitarian system, about the status and the limitations of the 'humanitarian reset' agenda, about Ramesh's response to Global South critics who question OCHA's approach for internal system reform and what the next steps will be in the much awaited reset of the international humanitarian community.

    Donor letter to IASC: Suggestions for bolder action in line with Humanitarian Reset

    ERC letter to IASC Principals - The Humanitarian Reset

    Statement by Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher - The Humanitarian Reset - Phase Two

    34 min
  • CHAtroom #22: Humanitarian Reset
    with Hibak Kalfan

    NEAR Statement: Breaking the Cycle of Empty Promises: The Emergency Relief Coordinator’s ‘Humanitarian Reset’ must not fail local actors again

    CHA Conference 2025 Programme

    26 min
  • CHAtroom#19: CHA24 Special - Participation and the lack of trust
    with Dr Pınar Okur

    Upinion: https://upinion.com/

    Recording of Reporting of the Active Session 1 “Unusual Allies and Uncomfortable Truths” at CHA24:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkJK2g8LQO4

    “Listen to us” - Upinions session at HNPW2024: https://upinion.com/articles/listen-to-us-affected-people-reimagining-feedback-upinion-session-at-hnpw-2024/

    16 min
  • CHAtroom#18: CHA24 Special - Climate Change and Conflict
    with Janani Vivekananda

    adelphi project “Weathering Risk: Climate Analysis and Action for Peace”: https://adelphi.de/en/projects/weathering-risk-climate-analysis-and-action-for-peace

    Recording of Panel 2 at CHA24: Doubling Down - Fragility, Conflict and Violence in the Face of Climate Change

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppIWGSHBWS8

    26 min

About CHAtroom

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COVID-19, Klimawandel, Rassismus, immer mehr Menschen in Not – die humanitäre Hilfe steht vor großen Herausforderungen. Im Podcast des Centre for Humanitarian Action - CHAtroom - kommen Personen aus…