About
At the Humanitarian Action Initiative, our primary mission is to promote and support the study of humanitarian assistance through research, courses, events, and policy engagement. We bring an interdisciplinary approach to the study and practice of humanitarian assistance to improve understanding of the complexity of humanitarian crises and encourage scholars and students to develop cross-cutting, innovative skills that address challenges in the field. Our faculty represent a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including: anthropology, emergency and disaster medicine, emergency management, gender studies, geography, history, international affairs, media and public affairs, political science, and public health.
Our evidence-based academic research informs policy recommendations on how to rethink humanitarian action and transform its coordination, financing and governance to shift the power towards those affected by humanitarian crises. By promoting critical thinking and reflection about the humanitarian system; encouraging analysis and deconstruction of the historical legacies, narratives, practices, and preconceptions shaping the field; and offering opportunities to engage in research projects independently, we train students to be reflective, effective, and ethical humanitarian practitioners.
The Humanitarian Action Initiative’s core objectives are:
- to educate and train the next generation of reflective humanitarian practitioners
- to conduct rigorous, independent research on humanitarian assistance
- to engage the policy communities in Washington D.C. and around the world
- to raise awareness of humanitarian crises, needs, and assistance in the general public.