The influence of cash assistance on the localisation agenda in Kenya's humanitarian sector.

Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) has gained importance as a modality for humanitarian disaster response during the last decade. Research has documented its benefits and listed challenges for implementation. Simultaneously, humanitarian organisations have committed to the localisation agenda to better serve people affected by disasters through local actors. These two ongoing transformations in the humanitarian sector may support or challenge each other. The authors use Kenya as a case study to analyse how CVA influences the localisation agenda in the humanitarian sector. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with national and international organisations to gain insights on how the international organisations and their local implementing partners view and experience the mutual support or potential tensions between CVA implementations and the localisation agenda. The analysis is based on seven dimensions of localisation applied to CVA in Kenya based on existing frameworks. The findings indicate that CVA can support the localisation agenda if properly managed. It provides smaller organisations an opportunity to get involved without expensive structures. International organisations need to redefine their role and withdraw from direct implementation and be willing to give up power. The local organisations benefit from forming national networks that give them a voice within the humanitarian system. These transformations rely on personal leadership and on capacity development focusing on coordination, collaboration and organisational strengthening beyond the technical skills needed for implementation. Contribution: This study identifies how CVA and the localisation agenda affect each other in Kenya. This contributes to the understanding of the future development of the humanitarian sector.

The stagnation of innovation in humanitarian cash assistance.

Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) has been gaining traction among humanitarian organizations as the preferred aid modality in disaster relief and complex emergencies. While the advantages of cash are well documented, the ongoing digitalization of cash and the emergence of innovative financial instruments can be associated with new operational challenges and a stagnation in innovation. This paper reflects on the changing environment in CVA as a result of technological breakthroughs in the global financial system. The concept of humanitarian innovation is introduced to differentiate it from a similar process in the private sector and to investigate factors, contributing to a slower pace of acceptance, a reluctant implementation, or a complete rejection of innovative approaches in the humanitarian organization. The purpose of the study is to conceptualize the challenges of new technology adoption and scaling, as well as to analyze the direction and current stage of the diffusion of innovation in the humanitarian sphere. Ten interviews with informants representing humanitarian agencies and the private sector were conducted to discuss their experiences with new CVA tools and perspectives on innovation in cash and voucher assistance. The results demonstrate that there is no uniform perception of innovation across the field, and the challenges of diffusion can be associated with several domains, including internal and external capacities, inherent characteristics of new financial technology (fintech), and a wider social, political, and regulatory context. According to the cyclical model of technological change, the innovative CVA fintech is currently at the ferment stage characterized by a high level of uncertainty and competition. The subsequent emergence of several dominant designs followed by incremental innovation is plausible in the future.

Cash and voucher assistance along humanitarian supply chains: a literature review and directions for future research.

This study reviews research on cash and voucher assistance (CVA) by applying a humanitarian supply chain management perspective. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify, analyse, and synthesise past academic research. The content, context, and process framework was used to structure the content analysis. The findings reveal that the outcomes of CVA programmes are dependent on critical context-specific variables that influence feasibility and operability. Humanitarian actors must consider factors that are external (the nature of disaster, politics, economy, and infrastructure) and internal (local market availability and accessibility, supplier/donor interest, supplier/vendor selection and contracting, and beneficiary preference) to the supply chain. The delivery process is influenced by them, impacting on programme responsiveness and cost-efficiency. The results provide insights that humanitarian practitioners can utilise to reconsider their supply chain strategies when deciding on the selection and implementation of CVA programmes. Potential literature gaps are identified, and recommendations for further research are provided.

The use of cash assistance in the Covid-19 humanitarian response: accelerating trends and missed opportunities.

The operational and socioeconomic consequences of Covid-19 have made cash assistance the global go-to relief modality, whether through humanitarian or social protection channels. Cash has proven to be an adaptable means of saving lives and supporting livelihoods and mitigating the pandemic's impacts on local economies while giving recipients the flexibility to decide what they require. Many humanitarian organisations have increased the scale of cash programmes, while government-administered social assistance mechanisms have been utilised on a huge scale. The crisis has bolstered attention on why linkages between social protection and humanitarian cash are important, including how to work together more effectively to enable better coverage of those in need. This paper has been developed with inputs from across the CALP Network. It explores how cash and voucher assistance-with a focus on humanitarian response-has been scaled up or adjusted in response to Covid-19, and how it is changing ways of working.