Our core collaborator Quito Tsui will join “Community-centred innovation: shifting power and perspectives on community engagement in aid”, a panel organized by Helen McElhinney during this year’s Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW).

As the humanitarian sector grapples with calls for localisation and decolonisation —now further complicated by the recent USAID funding freeze—how do we ensure innovations in community engagement genuinely shift power to crisis-affected populations? This provocative panel brings together practitioners who are challenging traditional humanitarian power dynamics through both technological and traditional approaches to community engagement in this new funding reality.

Drawing from field experiences across multiple contexts, panellists will explore how different engagement methodologies – from radio to digital platforms – can either reinforce or transform existing power structures in humanitarian response. The discussion will critically examine what “innovation” truly means when communities are placed at the centre of humanitarian action, and how we can move beyond tokenistic participation to meaningful community leadership.

The session will challenge conventional wisdom about humanitarian innovation, offering both critique and constructive approaches to transforming community engagement practices. Panelists Quito Tsui, Ila Schoop Rutten, Ellie Kemp, Noor Lekkerkerker, Sophie Tholstrup, and Alex Ross will share honest reflections on successes, failures, and the ongoing journey toward a more equitable humanitarian response that can sustain itself amid shifting funding landscape.

The session is taking place at 25 Mar 25, at 9am CET.