Humanitarian Innovation

Even under the most challenging restrictions, people find ways to engage in creative problem-solving. Evacuees, displaced persons, and others caught in crisis often have skills, talents, and aspirations that they draw upon to adapt to difficult circumstances. This oversight disregards the capabilities and adaptive resourcefulness that people and communities affected by conflict and disaster often demonstrate. Whether in the immediate aftermath of displacement or in long-term protracted situations, in both urban and rural areas, refugees frequently engage in innovation. Displaced across international borders, evacuees face new markets, a new regulatory environment, and new social and economic networks in their host countries. Being adaptive and creative is often necessary to meet basic needs, to develop income-generating activities, or to keep long-term aspirations alive.