Diaspora Organizations and Their Humanitarian Response in Somalia: Enhancing Coordination in Humanitarian Settings

DEMAC's mission is two-fold: to enable inclusive coordination and collaboration among diaspora organizations providing humanitarian assistance, and to facilitate higher levels of engagement and visibility for diaspora organizations in the humanitarian system. Diaspora organizations are multi-sectoral, fast responding actors who work transnationally, including in countries facing humanitarian crises. They have a unique advantage due to their local connections and ties, and are often part of the first response in the aftermath of a disaster. Diaspora organizations are also key actors when it comes to raising the alarm in times of crisis, and their capacity to collect and disperse funds rapidly ensures that they are a key factor in unlocking the first responses in crisis settings. DEMAC's work has been a key factor behind stronger representation and visibility of diaspora organizations in the humanitarian ecosystem. The organization has piloted concrete liaison structures between diaspora and institutional humanitarian actors towards improving operational coordination in specific crisis settings. DEMAC has also conducted a number of studies aiming to increase understanding of motivations and modus operandi of diaspora humanitarian engagement, replacing assumptions with evidence on diaspora contributions. DEMAC is currently working with five selected emergency-prone focus countries, while at the same time remaining prepared to engage with and support diaspora from additional countries should a humanitarian crisis unfold in their country of origin. The organization is developing an operational framework for diaspora and humanitarian actors to improve future responses to humanitarian emergencies. The framework will include a standardized approach for the international humanitarian system to assess and document the role and impact of diaspora in selected emergency responses. DEMAC will also use the documentation from selected diaspora emergency responses to engage with diaspora humanitarian actors to enhance the generation of lessons learned and self-reflections from diaspora-led emergency responses. DEMAC will develop guidelines, tools, and resources in support of diaspora emergency engagement, with a view to remain prepared to support diaspora organizations' engagement in new emergency responses and facilitate coordination among responding diaspora organizations and between diaspora organizations and the humanitarian system. Finally, DEMAC will enhance the knowledge among diaspora organizations about the humanitarian system to enhance probabilities of coordination between the two. The study highlights the importance of diaspora organizations in humanitarian responses, particularly in countries where international actors have a limited presence. Diaspora organizations are heterogeneous, with different capacities, values, and approaches, and can play a valuable and agile role in humanitarian responses. However, assistance provided by diaspora organizations and the formal humanitarian actors often follow parallel tracks, resulting in a lack of mutual understanding and recognition, and thus a lack of coordination and collaboration that would be of benefit to the overall response. DEMAC's work aims to address these gaps and challenges, and to enhance the knowledge and awareness of the nature and significance of the diaspora. The organization's ultimate goal is to contribute to transforming the humanitarian ecosystem by laying the groundwork for a deeper understanding of diasporas as humanitarian actor groups with different modus operandi for the implementation of aid in practice.