The strategic challenges of humanitarian operations and disaster management have increased many fold in the current era because of increased scale and frequency of all types of disasters – natural and manmade. Three of the most devastating natural disasters (the Asian tsunami, the Haitian earthquake, and the Japanese earthquake) registered in the last 100 years took place during the last decade.

The Humanitarian Research Group focuses on developing a body of research that will address and improve missions of the US Department of Defense (DoD), first responders, policy makers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Our objective is to do the following:

• Conduct academic and applied research in humanitarian operations; 
• Provide a source of education and thought leadership in humanitarian operations and military operations other than war and; 
• Align humanitarian research activities with and disseminate findings to US governmental (to include Department of Defense) and non-government entities, as well as other academic institutes.

Our research is organized into the following principal streams:

Disaster Preparedness 

The success of a disaster relief operation depends on the execution of the humanitarian supply chain to support the strategies and objectives of the public authorities in order to provide effective aid to those affected by the disaster. Until recently, the major thrust of the emergency planners was on operational details; however, this cannot be accomplished without long-term commitments, the most important of which is the pre-establishment of adequate capacity and resources that enable an efficient response. Such disaster preparedness begs the questions: What assets need to be in place in anticipation of a disaster? And, where should they be located?  

Response Supply Chain

At any given time, a response supply chain in humanitarian logistics supplies a wide range of products and services fulfilling surges in demand while sharing the networks and capacity that support the flow of other relief items. The supply chain for humanitarian relief must be agile to respond to abruptly changing supply and demand, and must also be adaptive to market (or demand) and strategy changes.

Interagency Collaboration

Humanitarian organizations offer stability during disaster through relief operations. Organizations or nations observing a disaster event often reach out to support or enable the recovery of important resources, services, and infrastructure. These efforts, whether internal or external to affected areas, require collaborative relationships among and between humanitarian providers.  

Contingency Contracting

Specific examination and analysis of actual logistics and contract capability in real-world response, especially in the ability of the US Department of Defense, to deliver the right mix of goods and services, when and where they are needed given limited resources, can be utilized to create a more robust capability for future events. Having contingency contracting in place increases the ability to react effectively and efficiently, especially when there are constraints of resources such as budget and manpower.

Case Studies 

Case studies uncover the processes and problems underlying humanitarian logistics efforts through lessons learned, and are valuable for describing progress made by humanitarian organizations in responding to disasters. Case studies also direct us toward the needs for future research and investigation. These case studies of the past, combined with the challenges of today as experienced by the humanitarian officials, set an agenda for research in the field of humanitarian logistics by inspiring readers to pursue research in those areas.

For those interested in sponsoring research projects please contact the Founding Members. Each project will begin with a detailed needs assessment to establish the research objectives of the project. Sponsors can expect well designed research engagements, regular progress updates, and timely delivery of the final products, reports and documentation.

Aruna Apte, HRG founding member

Keenan Yoho, HRG founding member