More than 125 million people across the world are in need of humanitarian assistance. Investment in global emergency preparedness by national governments, and regional and multilateral organizations can save lives and contribute to resilience and recovery. There is a need to explore new information technologies and partnerships, especially with communities, to give people a voice in emergency response.Technology and communications have given more people the means to articulate their needs or offer their assistance more quickly. Yet, too often, international assistance still works in traditional ways, focused on the delivery of individual projects rather than bringing together expertise to deliver more strategic outcomes. It is important for national, regional and international communities to refocus and place people at the center of these crises, moving beyond short-term, supply-driven response efforts towards demand-driven outcomes that reduce need and vulnerability. There is an urgent need for the international aid system, including the multilateral system of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and donors to commit to working in a new paradigm marked by three fundamental shifts: reinforce, do not replace national and local systems; anticipate, do not wait for crises and be prepared; transcend the humanitarian–development divide by working towards collective outcomes based on comparative advantage and over multi-year timeframes.