As humanitarian crises are evolving, becoming more complex and unpredictable, there is a growing recognition of the need to gather and analyse reliable data to guide humanitarian action. Humanitarian organisations, with their firsthand experience of complex humanitarian situations, have a unique opportunity to gather data, leverage knowledge, and disseminate evidence within their ecosystem. The past decade has witnessed increased engagement of the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement in research. Dedicated research departments, reference centres, foundations, academies, hubs and partnerships with the academic sector are emerging worldwide. In 2019, the Red Cross Red Crescent Research Consortium (RC3) was established as a collaborative network of RCRC entities and initiatives that are entirely or partially dedicated to conducting and promoting research in the humanitarian field. This position paper outlines RC3’s insights into the current state of research within the Movement and proposes key priorities for the future.

Facing Humanitarian Challenges: The Power of Research and Evidence-informed Approaches to Enhance Humanitarian Action

The IFRC Strategy 2030 acknowledges the importance of evidence, research, and data in shaping approaches and actions within the RCRC Movement. The Strategy stresses the role of research in National Societies’ development by enabling them to learn, adapt, and seize opportunities (see IFRC, 2018: 18). It further recognises research as vital for amplifying the Movement’s advocacy and policy influence (see IFRC, 2018: 24). Scientific practice is indeed crucial in capturing evolving needs and concerns of affected communities and in defining, assessing and strengthening the impact of humanitarian work. It helps maximise the impact of available resources, translate goals into measurable targets, and demonstrate whether and how humanitarian actions have a tangible effect. In the long run, evidence-informed approaches allow us to serve our humanitarian mission more effectively by testing assumptions, refining our strategies, and developing better ways of working with affected communities. In the face of ever increasing uncertainty and mis/dis-information, trust in information coming from credible sources becomes crucial. In this context, a continued commitment to research and evidence-driven practices appears necessary to ensure the RCRC Movement remains trusted and responsive in meeting the needs of affected communities worldwide.

RC3: Fostering Research Collaboration for Global Humanitarian Challenges

Being a prime example of this commitment, RC3 was launched in 2019 as an open, collaborative network of entities involved in research to improve the coordination and visibility of research within the Movement. In coordination with the IFRC and the ICRC, RC3 fosters greater collaboration and cooperation in research, supporting its members through sharing resources and expertise. Over the past five years, RC3 has expanded to include more than 20 members from all regions and successfully concluded various collaborative initiatives. By focusing on pressing research topics, RC3 and its individual members actively produce data and evidence to ensure the Movement is prepared to address global humanitarian challenges – including the impacts of climate change, evolving disasters, health emergencies, forced displacement, migration, and conflicts across the world. RC3 members’ work not only contributes to ensuring affected populations and their wellbeing are at the centre of the knowledge production process, but also inform policy decisions, guide funding allocations, and shape future academic priorities. It supports the Movement turning existing data into meaningful research insights and encourages critical thinking and self-reflection in the humanitarian sector, in line with the commitments of the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit.

From Research to Practice: Unlocking the Potential of Research for Social Innovation

The international RCRC Movement appears uniquely placed to conduct operational research in the humanitarian sector, not only because it represents the world’s largest humanitarian network, but also because most national societies already engage in data collection with communities on an everyday basis. Yet, and despite significant progress made in recent years, much work remains before we can confidently say our RCRC operations are fully evidence-based and our policies informed by cutting-edge science. Existing research efforts within the Movement are still too often unknown or misunderstood by key RCRC actors, donors and the general public. Moreover, there is still a critical gap between research findings and practical application in the field. While research generates valuable knowledge, greater investment is needed to ensure its translation into action. This requires not only making research accessible but also fostering stronger engagement with affected communities, practitioners and relevant stakeholders at every stage—from research design and conceptualisation to dissemination and implementation. By ensuring affected communities and practitioners have ownership of research findings, the likelihood of their application in the field increases. For instance, investing in post-research operational workshops can support research uptake, but so too can co-production and closer collaboration between academia, affected communities and the humanitarian sector to align research agendas with real needs and gaps. Without addressing these challenges, we risk failing to translate valuable insights into meaningful change and learnings.

A Vision for 2030: Achieving Evidence-Driven Humanitarian Impact through Building a Culture of Research, Innovation & Critical Thinking

RC3 members support a vision of a future where research is an integral part of the Movement’s daily operations. A future where research is fully prioritized by senior management, demanded by our operational teams in a participative way, and actively used in decision-making processes. A future where research serves as a catalyst for innovation, critical thinking, and risk-taking, without fear of addressing difficult or uncomfortable findings. Looking ahead, we aim to see this knowledge-based culture across all aspects of the Movements’ activities.

Achieving these goals will require a cultural shift within the Movement, one that embraces research as a critical facilitator of innovation and organisational change. How can we foster this change and support National Societies’ engagement in research? First, we must build research, data and evidence literacy across our vast network of staff and volunteers, ensuring that everyone understands what research is and is equipped to engage with research in a meaningful way. For research to effectively inform decision-making, stakeholders must trust both the evidence and the process through which it is generated. We must also ensure that research is co-created with practitioners and decision-makers, addresses gaps in programs and operations, and remains operationally relevant, translating findings into practical applications that can guide our work and sharing them across our Movement. Building strong, credible research partnerships will be key to ensuring we produce such high-quality, relevant research. The recruitment and development of research talent will also be essential.

RC3 members recognise that responsibility for research and evidence generation lies with everyone in the Movement, albeit in different capacities. While top-down guidance and resourcing are necessary, all staff should be able to contribute by integrating relevant research into their planning and connecting with the research community to collect and analyse data in the field. Leadership on research and evidence can come from all levels within the organisation. By collaborating with researchers and taking advantage of existing RCRC research capacities, we can all contribute to building a stronger evidence-informed culture.

In a time when public trust in international institutions is declining, a stronger focus on evidence and critical thinking is necessary to promote accountability, bolster our credibility, and strengthen our integrity. Evidence-based practices and science-informed decisions are a cornerstone to ensuring transparent, ethical and impactful humanitarian action. The future of principled humanitarian work will depend on our ability to self-reflect and to learn from empirical proof and evidence. Now is the time for our Movement to scale up its efforts to contribute to a more informed, effective humanitarian response. This is ultimately to better support those that we serve.

RC3 strategic directions 2025-2030

Over the next five years, RC3 aims to continue supporting the movement navigating uncertainty by leveraging science. We will focus on coordinating and assisting national societies in conducting research and using evidence to enhance the impact of their local actions. Our efforts will include co-producing, valuing, and disseminating knowledge, in close partnership with affected communities, RCRC practitioners, and humanitarian colleagues, to inform decision-making and improve humanitarian action. We will also keep strengthening our connections and foster new research collaborations to better understand and address current and emerging humanitarian trends and needs.

In practical terms, RC3 plans to enhance its coordination and collaboration by launching a global research initiative, uniting RC3 members to address a pressing humanitarian challenge. RC3 members will also explore the potential of using artificial intelligence in humanitarian research, and will work towards developing guidelines and actionable proposals for the responsible application of new technologies in humanitarian research. Lastly, RC3 will continue to advocate for the universal value of research on the global humanitarian stage, developing innovative platforms and tools to promote the work of RC3 members and of academic colleagues.

RC3 members

• Argentine Red Cross Humanitarian Observatory (Argentina)
• French Red Cross Foundation (France)
• German Red Cross Research Department (Germany)
• Health in Emergencies – Canadian Red Cross (Canada)
• Humanitarian needs and analysis department – Norwegian Red Cross (Norway)
• ICRC Centre for Operational Research and Experience (Switzerland)
• ICRC Review (Switzerland)
• IFRC Asia Pacific Disaster Resilience Centre (South Korea)
• IFRC Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Reference Centre (Barbados)
• IFRC Global Disaster Preparedness Center (USA)
• IFRC Global First Aid Reference Centre (France)
• IFRC Livelihoods Resource Centre (Spain)
• IFRC National Society Development Services (Switzerland)
• IFRC Regional Reference Centre for Disaster Preparedness (El Salvador)
• Interamerican Centre for Volunteering Development (Costa Rica)
• International Centre for Humanitarian Affairs (Kenya)
• Japanese Red Cross Disaster Management Research Institute (Japan)
• MHPSS International Movement Hub (Denmark)
• PIROI (France – Indian Ocean)
• Red Cross Red Crescent Global Migration Lab (Australia & Kenya)
• Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (Netherlands)
• Turkish Red Crescent Academy (Türkiye)
• 510 Initiative (Netherlands)

References

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (2018). Strategy 2030 Platform for change Global reach, local action. https://www.ifrc.org/document/strategy-2030

On 15-16 May 2025, RC3 will host the 2nd Edition of the RC3 Long Night of Research – a 24-hours global online event dedicated to research in the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement. The theme of this 2nd edition is “Science Connected for Humanity – Tackling Global Humanitarian Challenges through Research”. This event will be the occasion to learn more about fascinating research initiatives across the RCRC Movement and discuss how research can support the humanitarian sector face some of the most pressing global humanitarian challenges of our time. Don’t miss out – sign up for the event today.