Humanitarian and resilience investments (HRIs) continue to increase, however, scaling them to impact is complex and requires cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and support. BCG partnered with WEF to uncover the current challenges hampering HRI market expansion and offer strategies to overcome them.
Our Approach to Humanitarian Response
Humanitarian response is about deploying resources in the most effective manner. We draw on a unique breadth of expertise, methodologies, and relationships to develop and carry out the optimal humanitarian relief strategy.
- Partnerships. Our humanitarian response consulting team regularly collaborates with NGOs, UN agencies, governments, and the private sector to unearth transformative solutions to humanitarian crises.
- Experts. Our global reach and cross-industry experience let us deploy the right people for the situation, so we can deliver the right humanitarian response—fast.
- Technology and Data. We use new tools and technologies—including the latest solutions in epidemiology, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics—to transform humanitarian response.
Our Client Impact Work in Humanitarian Response
We have responded to many manmade and natural disasters, marshaling a global network of experts and innovative end-to-end approaches. Our work spans the three key phases of humanitarian response:
When a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, the first priority for humanitarian relief was providing pragmatic short-term help. We deployed BCG experts in logistics, supply chain management, and finance.
To get West Africa’s Ebola outbreak under control, we worked with the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and the World Health Organization to develop an innovative 30-60-90-day plan—an effort that not only “bent the curve” but sparked new insights in how to respond to epidemics.
Our humanitarian response consultants created a long-term transformation strategy for the New Orleans Public Schools, which had been decimated by Hurricane Katrina.
Four years after the earthquake in Haiti, 150,000 people remained displaced, still living in the temporary plastic and plywood structures erected after the disaster. We helped Save the Children develop a fundraising strategy to raise more than $550 million in emergency funds to continue the response.
In the wake of of 2019’s devastating bushfires in New South Wales, we quantified the physical and economic impact across affected industries and communities—and developed regional economic response strategies that included practical, targeted recommendations for recovery.
One of the most intriguing and impactful ways to improve emergency preparedness is to harness—and coordinate—the expertise and resources of the private sector. We’ve supported the UN Connecting Business initiative (CBi) in creating and mobilizing national networks of companies. In the wake of the pandemic, CBi has been assisting business networks with more than 50,000 member companies in a worldwide COVID-19 response, including guidance for the private sector in four continents.
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A New Approach to Humanitarian Investing
Our Insights on Humanitarian Response
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Our Humanitarian Response Consulting Team
Our team of humanitarian response consultants help the social, public, and private sectors with humanitarian relief and emergency preparedness. Here are a few of our experts on the topic.
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