Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (ALNAP)

Comprised of over 100 groups, the ALNAP network gathers data from across the world’s humanitarian organizations, produces studies using the data, and holds in-person and online learning forums to disperse  information from the studies. It additionally re-packages its studies for widespread use, offering over 22,000 digital resources in its Humanitarian Evaluation, Learning and Performance (HELP) library. ^{1 2}

ALNAP considers climate change to be an existential threat to humanity and asserts that addressing climate change ought to be a cornerstone of humanitarian aid. ³

Background

Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance is an international network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving humanitarian charities. ¹

The network was created in 1997 in the wake of the Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance’s response to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. ⁴

Activities

Comprised of over 100 groups, the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance network gathers data from across the world’s humanitarian organizations, produces studies using the evidence, and then holds in-person and online learning forums to disperse information from the studies. It additionally re-packages its studies for widespread use, offering over 22,000 digital resources in its Humanitarian Evaluation, Learning, and Performance (HELP) library. Of those, over 850 are ALNAP publications and over 3,000 are evaluations of organizations. ^{1 2}

ALNAP regularly releases publications on the connection between humanitarian aid and climate change. In June 2023, it produced a briefing entitled, “The climate crisis and humanitarian action: current approaches and discourse,” which argued that “climate crises” will exacerbate the demand for humanitarian activity and spending. ⁵

The network also releases an annual report called “State of the Humanitarian System” (SOHS). Its 2022 report, authored by SOHS co-leads Alice Obrecht and Sophia Swithern alongside Jennifer Doherty, claims that climate change must be dealt with through environmentalist policies to protect the gains of humanitarian efforts. It quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said in 2021, “Our world has never been more threatened. Or more divided. We face the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetimes.” ³

Members

Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance’s members include agencies of the United Nations, members of the Red Cross/Crescent movement, the Dutch government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the International Rescue Committee, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, IMPACT Initiatives, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Global Public Policy Institute, the European Commission, Development and Humanitarian Learning in Action (DAHLIA), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), CARE International, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Solidarites International, Oxfam, Save the Children, and numerous others. ^{6 1}

Leadership

As of March 2024, Juliet Parker was the director of Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance. She is a strategic management specialist in the nonprofit management industry, having worked as a programming advisor for 20 years. Prior to joining ALNAP, she was the director of operations at Action Against Hunger UK. ⁷ She worked at humanitarian group Christian Aid for nearly 15 years. ⁸