How can the humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) nexus succeed? NGOs between humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and peacebuilding

The HDP (humanitarian–development–peace) nexus is a policy and practice to better link humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and peace- building activities of aid organisations in settings of war and protracted crises.

While borne of good intention, the different mandates of NGOs in these three fields do not always complement one another or, at worst, clash. Local concepts of conflict resolution and approaches to humanitarian assistance, development and peace in the global South can also differ from those of the global North. The question then arises: How does the HDP nexus contribute to building peace in local communities?

To address this question, this project investigates the experiences and perspectives of local communities and NGOs working in HDP projects in Iraq, South Sudan and Mali. So far, we find that in HDP projects, there is no regular monitoring of how HDP activities impact local conflict dynamics. We argue that HDP nexus projects need to consider local understandings of conflict and locally existing peace potentials to succeed. The HDP project adopts a qualitative approach based on several months of fieldwork per country (two months in three localities each). bicc researchers interview individuals from local communities as well as staff of our HDP-implementing INGO partners and their local NGO counterparts. The bicc project team is also developing an HDP app to support implementing HDP projects in the future.

The HDP Nexus Application is a digital platform designed to assist international, national and local organisations, particularly those operating in conflict-affected regions, to understand and operationalise the Humanitarian–Development–Peace (HDP) nexus from a bottom-up perspective by including local voices. With its knowledge-sharing features, it aims to foster cross-learning and stronger coordination among various stakeholders to better address day-to-day challenges. 

Click here for more information on our app.

• International Rescue Committee

• Malteser International

• Welthungerhilfe