Projects — Salt Meadow Consulting

H2H Network is driving change across the humanitarian system, getting more to people in need, by coordinating and convening humanitarian-to-humanitarian support and services.
The report explores the unique challenges, needs, priorities, and limitations that Local Service Providers (LSPs) experience, drawing insights from interviews. It reflects on the understanding that true transformative change cannot occur in a vacuum; rather, it requires a conducive environment where local actors can have greater visibility on the global stage. Finally, it discusses the implications of how the H2H Network can strengthen its engagement with LSPs to enhance the impact of locally-led humanitarian services without replicating existing bureaucratic systems that aren’t currently serving.
Despite increased recognition of the reliance on local actors in humanitarian efforts, structural inequalities persist. Much of the funding still flows through international intermediaries and international organizations, and local service providers—despite their proximity to issues of broader strategic concern—often have limited opportunities to shape global agendas. This leads to policies and interventions that may overlook or misunderstand local needs, as well as a power imbalance that significantly affects local communities when decisions are made without their input.

At the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN), we bring together professionals working across different humanitarian organisations, contexts and world regions to create a community of practice around the topic of humanitarian negotiation.
We provide humanitarian practitioners with a safe and confidential space to exchange on their practices and develop their negotiation skills in our experience-based workshops.
Together with the members of our community of practice, we capture and analyse current negotiation practices to develop strategic negotiation tools. We also provide tailored support to organisations wishing to build the negotiation capacity of their staff members.
To complement research conducted five years ago, the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN) decided to conduct a second survey and series of interviews to update its understanding of how humanitarian negotiators manage pressure. The research provides insights into the evolution of the humanitarian sector, as well as the unique coping mechanisms developed by frontline negotiators to deal with pressure and identifies gaps in the overlap between pressure management and humanitarian negotiations.
The report covers the methodology and distribution of the research, and reviews the data in detail, including the sources of pressure, the impact of pressure on negotiators and negotiations, negotiators’ coping mechanisms, and the needs identified regarding pressure management.

Exploring humanitarian action through the lens of neuroscience, this article reflects on border spaces and motivating actions for those operating there. A combination of creative non-fiction and scientific interrogation, the authors utilize philosophy to uncover how and why people move.
Borders are certainly beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing. Even on the warmest summer day, borders can be dark and cold. Naturally, borders are places of geographic significance. They are also contested spaces where societal norms are replicated and broken. Uncovering practices in border lands reveals new opportunities and challenges for our social contract.