Annual reports

2023 was a challenging year for the humanitarian community, as international resources for aid and humanitarian assistance again struggled to meet increasing global need. This accelerating level of global humanitarian need is the driving force behind our new Strategy, which builds on the solid foundation of our work, but raises our ambitions for the role of humanitarian research and innovation in the future.

Our Annual Report details our first 12 months progressing against this new strategy: through our focused and responsive funding calls, showcasing the impact of R&I on humanitarian action, and direct engagement and discussion with actors at all levels of the system.

In 2022 we continued to find, invest in and champion robust research and innovative solutions that have the potential to address critical and complex humanitarian problems. The lifting of the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions in most of the world was a momentous achievement, made possible through global co-operation and the deployment of science and innovation on a scale never seen before. However, those affected by humanitarian crisis in many parts of the world did not receive the urgency of attention they needed and deserved.

This was also a year where we began to think more deeply about our role in the wider humanitarian system as we started to develop our new long-term Strategy which will shape our work from 2023 onwards.

In 2021, we faced some of our biggest challenges yet. Despite the impacts of COVID-19 and cuts to UK Aid, we continued to move forward with our ambitions to see a world better-equipped to handle humanitarian crises through supporting the work of our grantees and contributing knowledge, resources and research to the humanitarian community.

We continued to fund new research and innovation projects; publish valuable evidence and learning; and double down on our efforts to increase the visibility of humanitarian research and innovation investment and further strengthen the humanitarian system.

In 2020 we continued to deliver on our 2019-2023 strategy which encapsulates our ambitious direction. Our strategy is outcome focused, positioning us as a change-maker, effectively coordinating all our capabilities and assets on research, innovation, and partnerships to understand and address some of the most complex humanitarian problems.