
Eilidh is a strategic foresight consultant with a decade of experience supporting humanitarian organizations through research, analysis, and strategy design. She has led multi-country futures projects, developed foresight toolkits tailored to the aid sector, and authored widely used publications such as The Future of Aid, From Voices to Choices and Strategic Planning in the humanitarian sector: a manual to Foresight and Futures-thinking. Eilidh has managed analytical teams within INGOs, taught on foresight and humanitarian systems, and facilitated change across diverse organizational settings. As Founder and Director of IARAN, she brings a systemic, collaborative approach to navigating complexity and shaping long-term strategies for global humanitarian actors.
One month after the Future of Aid 2040 report launch in New Delhi, hosted by IARAN, START Network, CHL, and the Humanitarian Hub, discussions continue across Berlin and Bogotá. The report envisions a reimagined aid system by 2040 centered on inclusivity, local leadership, and collective action. Key voices—including Sneha Mishra, Anuj Tiwari, Rajesh Kapoor, Vasundhara Pandey, and Manu Gupta—called for equitable resource distribution, decentralized decision-making, and stronger community ownership. AIDMI emphasized integrating local knowledge and the evolving role of AI to enhance future aid delivery and resilience.
The world is facing a severe economic downturn, but the flow of remittances has been relatively stable and continues to provide support for many families in low and middle-income countries. According to the World Bank, global remittance flows reached $626 billion in 2022, an increase of 5% from the previous year. This growth is smaller than in previous years, but it is significant given the economic outlook. Investing in livelihoods support for migrants in high-income countries could be an effective way of supporting communities globally.
The growth in the humanitarian sector to include private companies as partners and implementers challenges the notion that organizations working in the humanitarian sector must be driven by the humanitarian imperative alone. The inclusion of commercial firms whose fundamental purpose is to make a profit necessitates an examination of the consequences when the humanitarian imperative is but one of many motivations.
In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the practical realities that either foster or inhibit participation and the assumptions that underscore “capacity development” approaches, this paper examines a capacity development approach that was co-designed by the Regional Humanitarian Analyst at Save the Children East Africa Regional Office and the Project Director for the IRC-UoN Partnership for Education in Emergencies.