ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the formal organizational architecture that attempts to coordinate and govern each of the actors, and provides some examples of what happens outside of this formal architecture. It outlines different elements of humanitarian action and presents some of the main elements of both perspectives on humanitarian coordination and architecture. The chapter also provides an overview of the United Nations-established and globally mandated coordination system and the governance, fundraising, and policies that define it. Following the protection challenges in Darfur and coordination gaps in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami response, the emergency relief coordinator commissioned an independent Humanitarian Response Review of the humanitarian system. Effective coordination of humanitarian action at the country level, often referred to as the “field level,” hinges upon humanitarian coordination leaders: the Humanitarian Coordinators or Resident Coordinators. Humanitarians have long relied on “early warning”—or the forecasting of likely conditions three to six months out.
