The Advisory Panel on the Future of Humanitarian Action brings together leaders and thinkers from across the humanitarian ecosystem to chart a path toward a more legitimate, locally led, and politically grounded system of aid. Its vision paper challenges the status quo of a global humanitarian architecture that has become overly centralised and self-perpetuating, calling instead for a shift from an 'egosystem' to an 'ecosystem' – one that recognises, supports, and protects the many existing networks of solidarity already responding to crisis.

The paper identifies four entry points for change:

• Locally led delivery and coordination, with international actors in supportive and time-bound roles.
• Rebalanced control of data and knowledge, to strengthen accountability and local agency.
• Renewed political dialogue among a more diverse group of states and stakeholders to rebuild trust in humanitarian norms.
• Transitions toward sovereign, nationally led systems, replacing permanent emergencies with stability.

The paper is intentionally high-level and does not aim to present a single blueprint, but to encourage dialogue and shared experimentation. We hope that this can help catalyse conversations that are already taking place in many different places and inspire both challenge and ideas from others on how this vision can be delivered upon. We wish to develop these ideas further and test them in different settings.

The Panel invites governments, donors, and practitioners to both engage with us on the paper, and to use these ideas as a framework for action across ongoing reform processes – including the Humanitarian Reset, UN80, and the Grand Bargain – to build a future humanitarian system that is fit for the world it serves.

This vision paper was authored collaboratively by the members of the Advisory Panel on the Future of Humanitarian Action. It has been designed as an iterative paper, to be revisited and revised as the conversation evolves. For accountability and transparency purposes, previous iterations of the paper will remain available for download.

Published by the Overseas Development Institute