Humanitarian Operations: A World of Opportunity for Relevant and Impactful Research

TLDR

Disaster impacts have risen while funding has fallen, heightening the need for effective humanitarian aid; supply chain management is critical, yet academic solutions adapted from commercial contexts have had limited success amid rapidly evolving practitioner challenges. The study aims to highlight challenges in aligning practitioner needs with academic research and to identify opportunities for impactful, relevant work. The authors analyze the mismatch between practitioner needs and academic publications and propose ways to bridge this gap.

Abstract

The number of people affected by disasters has increased over the past decades, whereas funding has declined. The need for effective humanitarian aid is, therefore, larger than ever. Humanitarian organizations have recognized the critical role of supply chain management in reaching beneficiaries, and they have introduced commercial routines and best practices. Academics realized that humanitarian operations constitute a fruitful new research area and adapted solution techniques developed for commercial operations to disaster situations with mitigated success. Meanwhile, the problems that humanitarian practitioners face quickly evolve. In this paper, we highlight challenges in matching practitioner needs with academic publications and outline the great opportunities for impactful and relevant research.