Bridging the (financial) gap

Abstract

We live inan increasinglycomplex andinterconnected world, were severaldevelopments likeshiftingpolitical power,blurry physical and conceptual frontiers, andrecentlytheCOVID-19 pandemic, test theresilience of organizations andindividuals.Thehumanitarian system and its financingstructures are under greatpressure asseveralprotracted crises affect over 2 billion peopleliving incountries byfragility, conflict andviolence. Despite the efforts ofgovernments,INGOs, andother allies to address some of thelong-lasting fundingand efficiencyproblems;the gap between needs and aid continue togrow.For thisreason, severalorganizations areexploring Innovative Finance ; a wider rangeoffinancingstructures and sources that have thepotential of increasing funding,improvingtheefficiency and effectiveness of processes, andcrowding in newactors.The aimof this graduation project was toinvestigate how could theNetherlands RedCross(NLRC) seize the potential of theseinnovative financingmechanisms to increasetheimpact of their humanitarian activities.The first partof this projectcontemplatedresearch involving three spheres of knowledge:thehumanitarianlandscape, innovativefinance, and the NLRC as an organization,whichlead to therealization that the entitiesinvolved in this topic are connectingto eachotherto increase their resources and knowhow.However, this ‘EmergentEcosystemforInnovative Finance’ is facing some barriersto their success,namely,cumbersomecollaboration, reluctance & hesitation ofexternal actorstoengage, and unfit processesfor addressing uncertainty andcomplexity.Luckily,research also offeredrecommendations on how to tacklethesedifficulties, whichare collected in threecategories. The first one is tobuild and nurturesocialnetworks, the second one to articulateproblem field andshared visions;finally, toadapt individual’s and organization’smindsets,processes &structuresThe NLRC, as a key player in thehumanitarianlandscape could benefitfrom working withthese novel financialmechanisms, and couldoffer importantassets and expertise to thisecosystem.However, they are still hesitantaboutadopting a more proactive stance.With theaim of helping the members oftheInternational Assistance Department of theNLRCto articulate their visionand exploreways to overcome their barriers fortakingpart in these innovations;the outcome of thisproject is a dialogic toolin the form of alarge-scalevisualization of the key findings of theresearch.This object hasthe double purposeof increasing awareness on the topic,andfacilitatingdialogue between members of theNLRC or other stakeholders.It’splayful andcolorful visual language aimsto be attractive and engaging. And it’ssizeandmaterial provides flexibility of use; it could beshowcased as stand-aloneposter,or be theanchor piece of a workshop.